kaisou | SeeD 11 - small steps

WHO: Vash + Kni, for now
WHERE: Kaisou + Stardew Stable Gate
WHEN: Mid-September
WHAT: Vash picks up Kni after school, gonna go get chickens to cheer him up
WARNINGS: None for now, will update if needed.

[ It ... really didn't come to any sort of surprise to Vash that he's been called to Kni's school at least three times this week. He knew, with absolute clarity, that it would take a long time for Kni to get used to this. The idea of getting along with others 'his age', that learning how to cope with socializing wasn't going to be something he got used to over a weekend.

He'd pleaded Kni's case to his teachers a few times now, and gave them the simple option: when he starts to get too much to handle, please call me--I'll come take care of it.

Today wasn't a day he got called in to take Kni home early or to talk to him during lunch--so Vash is? Kind of proud of the kid for making it a whole day without any (that he knows of) huge interactions they need to discuss.

He doesn't know about the note that's hiding in the pocket of Kni's overalls as he waits outside--all seven goddamn feet of Vash the Stampede--wearing his hair up in a ponytail, and a floppy hoodie that fortunately didn't get too small for him when he shot up a bit in height.

When he sees Kni slowly moseying out of the school after the bell, vash will do as Vash does--wave at him like a crazy person and run over to scoop the kid up into his arms.

Sorry buddy, you're getting a hug from your big brother. ]

Made it the whole day today, huh??

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[ there's a... visible change in Vash's expression. Even if Kni didn't see it; he'd feel how their psychic link goes a little quiet, the happy, carefree song becoming a little quieter, a little more somber.

He'd expected this question eventually, but this early...

...

He'd promised he'd never lie to Kni. And he wasn't about to start here. Not with this. ]

...It's.

Something like that.

[ it wasn't WRONG to say that 'age' made it darken, but... ]

Age has something to do with it. But it's less 'getting older'... and more. How much energy we use. Just like how humans get old and wrinkly, and their bodies start to get weaker. Plants don't ... age the same way. But when we lose the energy that sustains us, our hair starts to turn black.

[ ...he can see that Kni might start to worry, so he immediately flashes a grin. ]

--Don't worry! I'm only 151 years old, and it only got this dark because I had a freak accident about two years ago--where I used up a whole bunch of energy at once. It was fully blonde before that accident--see--and it isn't something can that can happen in this world.

So, so long as I don't do it,--which, remember, I can't. It's a power I don't have access to in this world--my hair won't get dark for a very, very, very long time.

[vash would be right to presume hearing something like that would immediately spark kni's concern. his heart lurches as the implication of what it means to lose energy. already he's thinking too fast, his steps beside vash slowing down as a result.

kni knew they weren't immortal or invincible, that like all living things, there was an expiration date on them. instinctively, he knew their expiration was far different from humans or animals. the years would pass them by with little effect on them, and kni was fine with that.

but this changed things. vash was only 151 years old and already...]

A freak accident...

[now he looks up to vash and his eyes move to the black patches that colored his hair.]

Does this mean... we'll have different lifespans?

[ he holds his hands up. He can tell the other is already worrying, overcalculating the new knowledge in his head, in his hands. He'll even stop to put a hand on top of Kni's head. ]

I'm honestly not sure--but let me reassure you of something.
My hair only turned black for the first time when I output a lot of energy at one time, as I just mentioned. There wasn't a single black hair before that.

So, I figure, if I don't use my powers at such a volume, I'll live for a really, really long time.

Honestly, I'm really of the opinion that I never have to use my plant powers. Not with the magic that exists in this world being less... detrimental to my life span.

So don't worry.
You'll not lose me anytime soon.

[but what if-

the weight of vash's hand on his head knocks that particular thought off its tracks, making a little noise of surprise. it's true he's worried, the feeling coming so easily to him, but if vash was so certain, then

then, he'd trust him.]

You promise, right?

[just to be sure, he wants vash to promise it. only then could kni relax, thin shoulders easing under the anxiety of a future that may not always have his brother in it with him.]

[ hands are going onto either side of his face as Vash moves to kneel in front of kni.

Just so he can look him in the eyes--just so he can make sure Kni knows he's absolutely serious about this. ]

I've kept every promise I've made this far, right?

I won't leave you alone here.
I won't.

[he can't help the little pout he makes when vash takes his face, brows knitting together on reflex. vash is serious, so he won't complain.]

You have...

[the worry that had crept its way into their connection seems to ebb away now, slowly. kni is naturally anxious, the product of thinking and feeling too much. it always spills over.]

Okay. I believe you, Vash.

[and it's the truth. if vash promises him something, kni knows he means it.]

I don't want to go anywhere without you there, too.

[ they both have a reckoning coming and in a few months this conversation is going to be HELL to remember.

For now though he's going to pull Kni into a hug--careful not to squish the chickens of course--and give his head a rough, reassuring pat. ]

It just means that when we get older, I'll have to rely on you a bit more. If I need to conserve my energy to make sure I don't burn out faster than you do--it means I'll really be counting on you to protect me, you know?

[kni will remember, just like he remembers everything, the good and the bad.

the chicks' container make it difficult for kni to return the hug, so instead he leans against vash, butting his head against that hand ruining his carefully brushed hair.]

I'll always protect you, Vash. [even at his own detriment--] Maybe there's a way I could give you some of my energy, if it ever came to that.

[they were different versions of the same species so what would and wouldn't work was all a mystery, but kni would try anything for vash.]

[ what if he--

what if he just did the mental and physical gymnastics necessary to pull Kni up into his arms--sitting on one of his broad shoulders in a comfortable postion where he could still hold his babychickens while they walked?

what if he did that

he's doing that.

up you go, buddy. ]

Here's hoping it never comes to that. I'd not want to hurt you for my mistakes, you know? You have no idea how important you are to me.

[ a pause. ]

Well, maybe you have some idea.

[up he goes! it's a nice view. he's sure he can see for miles from up on vash's shoulders, maybe even the curvature of the earth itself.

kni looks down at vash, leaning just a little against his head.]

Only as important as you are to me, Vash.

[enough to doom the world over and over, even.]

If you can carry the weight of my mistakes, then I can carry yours, Vash.

[and he understands; his mistakes, whatever shape they take in the future, will send his brother veering off into a direction he never wanted for his brother. in the end it's his responsibility, something he has to be accountable for in some way.]

SeeD 11 - small steps

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