doubledollarWHO: Vash + The Network, + The Cottage
WHERE: Both at his home and on Libra
WHEN: Around 11am on Jan. 3
WHAT: Hey guess who woke the up
WARNINGS: Possible mentions of death, but otherwise it's just a sad plant man waking up.
.//_ Long Sleep - ○ [ closed to Kni ]
[ Nights on No-Man's land are long and cold. The days are blazing hot in a way that can't be described--but the moment the sun went down, the air became dry and unkind to the skin, and to anyone who didn't have the privalege of a home heated by gas or fire learned to bundle up and wait it out.
The best that Vash the Stampede--once again a Wanted Criminal with millions of doubledollars on his head--chooses the warmest place he could to spend the night. The remains of a beat-up old restaurant that had been long abandoned now that the city it was in no longer had a Plant to breathe vitality into it.
That was his life, lately. Eat what he could. Run as fast as he can. Stay away from the major cities where the majority of people lived now that the world was so changed--now free of Millions Knives and those who wished to wipe out humanity.
Earth knew of the Plight of No Man's Land, now, and it'd be only a matter of time before the planet became one that thrived.
And Vash would be no part of it. Having saved the world, Noone knew the whole story of what he'd done. Only that the fight between he and his brother lasted too long, endangered the lives of too many--and they all wanted someone to blame it on. That's fine. It suited Vash fine to be the one they blamed. They were safe, and that's all he cared about.
《 All he cared about? 》
No, that's not entirely true. There are other things to care about. The insurance girls. Livio. Wolfwood's memory, and a small apple tree were things he'd have to take care of, still.
...And of course there was
...Eve, and Dante. Zulius and Jun... Rose. Waver, Takame--
Kni.
《 Who? 》
He's drifting into sleep that feels lucid. Like he's falling through space, sparkling stars passing through his fingers as he tries to wake up; tries to stop himself before he falls too far.
《 But how far? 》
The building he'd fallen asleep in had been dark--pitch dark, enough so that you could see the entire galaxy spread out in the sky just outside. And he's sure that's why his eyes suddenly ache, why there's a bright blue light that threatens to blind him.
And the touches of a ... song. One that, by instinct, he feels himself gently ... singing along to.
《 It always comes to me. That song. 》
It isn't in the dark, cold building in a forlorn, abandoned city that Vash wakes up in, but rather, the warm, bundled comfort of his own bed, in his home. His home--on Earth, not on No Man's Land. But...
His eyes fly open as it all comes back in a rush. Like a flooding of his brain, the dam between where he was and where he should have been simply breaks, and were it not for the glowing blue Plant holding onto him where he lay.
He might have thrown himself out of bed, all at once.
There are patterns dancing across Kni's face, in an odd, and yet familiar way that he can't quite recognise. His own skin almost turns pale and white under the others' touch, small, featherlike scales lifting up--under his eyes, out of his ears--until he's looking a little leafy under that glowing light.
...Unsure if the other is asleep or awake, Vash does the one thing he can think of in this moment:
He laughs. A short little unsure sound that bubbles in his chest, uncomfortably. An unamused, uncertain sound as he moves to wrap his arms around the small version of his precious brother. ]
.//_ Hello, World - ○ [ Open to Libra Network ]
video: un: ♡☮STAMPEDE
[ he almost wants to just do this over text. But. Given what's happened, he manages to tell himself that it'd probably mean more to show his face. to show he's alive and okay and--not. dying. Having looked back to the post Kni made, he figures it's pretty important people know he's. You know. Alive.
So the image that's appearing on the screen is of one Mr. The Stampede--and while he does smile, the expression does appear to be a little hollow, a little tired. Mixed in with the fact that his hair is nearly fully black--...strangely, save for some very minor golden roots at the very base--he's not exactly looking himself.
But alive. alive is important, right? ]
I'm sorry if Kni--
No.
I'm sorry if I worried anyone. Falling asleep like that and not waking up must have been pretty uncomfortable for anyone to witness. But.
...I'm okay. It was weird, but I wasn't ... here. I know I was here, but I wasn't. I think I went back home for a while. ...A long while. Once my internal clock figures itself out, I'll figure out exactly how long.
But I'm okay. I'm tired and I definitely feel like I'm made of rusty wire--and my face hurts a bit for some reason.
But I'm okay.
I don't know what you all did while I was asleep, but. I probably have a few of you to thank for what you did do while I was out.
Thank you.
...
Um. Now if I can. Put that aside for a minute, I have a really important request.
...I don't want to leave this world ever again.
I.
[ he's quiet, and his expression goes vacant--like he's somewhere else. Just for a minute. ]
I don't have any reason to go back to No Man's Land.
So if anyone knows how I can... keep from ever having to go back there.
I'd appreciate the help.
Thanks.
.//_ Home Free - ○ [ Open to Anyone at the Cottage ]
[ and after the message on Libra is done, he's going to get up from bed, where he's tucked Kni in--who probably hasn't slept in days and desperately needs it.
He'll be puttering around, refamiliarizing himself with the home he'd been away from for what is... likely years, at this point. Fixing his hair back into its usual style, and. Maybe looking for a certain something he knows Wolfwood might have hiding away in some corner in the cottage.
Feel free to stop him in his sort of manic, quiet shuffling. He could probably use a friendly voice or touch to bring him back down to earth after all that's happened. ]