doubledollar | IC INBOX

[ Wolfwood is clearly a creature of habits. Vash may only sleep two hours a night, but it's clear that Wolfwood's pretty comparable in terms of time spent awake and time spent in restless sleep--he's late to bed and early to rise, and since Vash is more messed up than usual, he's been grudgingly doing... farm things in his early mornings.

well. eventually he's doing farm things. there's another thing he's doing, but it hasn't panned out, so it might slip Vash's notice that Wolfwood's been testing his Cross Punisher every morning, pointed above a stretch of fence that doesn't appear to have anything living in relative proximity behind it. he wakes up at ass o'clock, pulls his weapon's trigger, gets a whole lot of nothing, and then goes to harass the vegetables with a cigarette in his mouth and Ebony bouncing on his hip because he's pissed off. you never know when you're going to have to make an example of a tomato--he thinks those are tomatoes? the names all blend together.

it's a nice little routine for a couple of days.

and then on the fourth day, instead of a whining click, Vash (and anything else sentient enough to care at Vash's little homestead) will have 5 am filled with the shrill scream of Wolfwood's gun doing what she does best.

enthusiastically. loudly. hope you weren't enjoying one of your two hours of sleep. ]

[ being able to sleep only 2 hours a night was pretty much the most amazing thing about this world. He wasn't sure WHAT brought it on--he'd sort of fell into the habit after buying a particularly nice set of heart-shaped sunglasses from a goodwill store. But his two hours was all he needed and they were IMPORTANT to him.

The habit that Wolfwood had gotten into didn't bother him yet so far--because HOW would it affect him so far? He barely woke up to someone shaking him awake, let alone to a click click of a gun that refused to fire. His sleep was sound and blissful, for four beautiful days since he'd invited Nico to come live with him on his little farm-slash-garden.

What you don't expect at literal DAWN of the fourth day is to be rocketed out of bed due to the sound of gunfire.
Because not only was there THE SOUND OF FUCKING GUNFIRE AT HIS COTTAGE AT 5AM, but, you know. PTSD made him immediately think he was under attack.
His only hand shoots under his pillow, grabbing up his .45 colt, and he's holding it out, looking around to see where the FUCK the threat was.

...Nothing in the house, however, as he looks around. Libra probably having already left for early-morning sermons at the local church, and ... no wolfwood. ]

--Nico??

[ Vash cries out, a panic hitching in his voice as he's up out of bed, shirtless with only a pair of stretchy sweatpants clinging to his hips. Gun still in his hand, racing out into the garden to make sure his friend is SAFE. ]

[ refreshed is refreshed, right? what's it matter if it was two hours of heart-shaped sleep, or four hours of intense coma action? sleep was a good thing. which is probably why it's a bit of a dick move that Wolfwood is interrupting sleep for anybody close enough to hear the Cross Punisher scream her war cry. fuck you, chickens. you bite him anyway.

Wolfwood jerks up when he hears his name from what he had been doing--thankfully, not lying in a puddle of his own blood, covered in wounds he can't close because mysterious bandits had decided to? rustle the Stampede's cattle? who the hell knows what might happen in this world, but what didn't happen is Wolfwood didn't get shot. the Cross Punisher is tipped down, muzzle resting on the grass as Wolfwood shoulders the cross like Jesus in reverse, apparently making the march to his crucifixion as difficult as possible by pushing the cross instead of dragging it.

Wolfwood is fine. Half-dressed and smoking a cigarette, but fine. Vash's fence, however, is a casualty--the story the mulched up collection of wood tells is a tragic one. A concentrated shot that jumped when Cross Punisher actually reported for the first time in four days, Wolfwood not ready to brace the gun to keep it steady. There's a whole-ass section of fancy splinters for Vash to survey. ]

What is it, Spikey?

[ alive, health, hale, and playing dumb as a box of rocks until his brain kicks in and he realizes what he's looking at, and then he's.

staring at Vash's chest. the tit grate is new. ]

... damn, Blondie. The assholes from your stretch of sand really did a number on you.

[ oh, yeah, buddy. the chickens are PISSED with you. theres a loud honking coming from Brad, behind the house, as the sound had most definitely spooked the big thomas awake without a doubt. Luidia, the creepy hornbill with literal horns in the river nearby is staring down wolfwood with a pissy stare, flapping her big wings slowly, vexed as she was also woken up from a nap.

Upon coming out of the cottage to see that his friend, newly arrived, wasn't riddled through with bullets and was, actually fine, Vash seems to wilt in place--almost falling to his knees as he realises the source of the sound should have been obvious: the Cross Punisher. ]

Man, for real? You nearly gave me a heart attack, I thought the garden was under attack or something, jeez. Way to give a man a real effective wake-up call...

[ he wheezes a bit as he starts to move over to where Wolfwood is, gun still in hand because hes not wearing his usual holster. finger off the trigger, though. ]

But hey, your gun works again, that's a relief. Maybe Dante was right, she was just jammed up because of something to do with crossing over into this world? Which means it'll be fine, you just gotta wait a bit, huh.

[ meaning your regen will come back, too. but. ah, speaking of wounds, hes looking down at his bare chest. suddenly self-concious, he raises his arms to cover himself, backing away, awehehsgh....,]

Oh, uh. Yeah. Kind of embarrassing, huh? This isn't usually the sort of thing people like to see...

I'll go get my shirt. I just ran out without thinking...

Edited 2023-04-17 21:54 (UTC)

[ fuck you, Brad. if you weren't such a bitey asshole, he'd care about your well-being. Luida's on thin ice too. You keep your shit to yourself, don't start nothing, won't be nothing.

he might have flipped Luida off with the hand that isn't on the trigger. no one will ever know.

by the time Vash reaches him, Wolfwood manages to look almost casual--only his... new appendages imply that he's anything less than completely chill, ears going from airplane take-off ready at the surprise of Cross Punisher finally weighing in to relaxed and perky, one giving a happy flicker as he relaxes against his gun, looking sidelong at Vash. ]

You don't even sleep that long! Besides, you'd think you'd be able to sleep through most anything, given your track record for chaos.

[ he teases by way of an apology, shifting his gun up onto his shoulder and clicking her closed and off. ]

Hate waiting for shit, but if the cannon comes back and my ampoules start working again, then I guess I'll be all set with nothing to worry about... 'til I run out of ampoules. But we'll build and cross that bridge when we find that canyon, I guess.

[ happy ears, relaxed expression, smoke curling up from his lit cigarette--and then his ears perk forward a little as Vash puts an arm up over himself like that's gonna cover much of anything. ]

Hey, relax, I've--kind of seen it before. My Blondie had to fish a bullet out of his guts, so I've. It's fine. Who knows how mulched up I'd be if I didn't heal to clean when my drugs are working, eh? Nothing to hide.

[ brad is gonna peck the SHIT out of you when its your turn to feed him next, he knows youre the one who made the offensive noise at 5am!!!! Luida, on the other hand, will just continue to stare evilly from where she sits in the river. barely moving. eating fish. judging. one day her revenge for your middle finger will come, swift and sharp. ]

Yeah, sure maybe I don't sleep that long but like !! I ENJOY my two hours of sleep a night! Sometimes I even sleep extra 'cause It's just comfortable, you know???

[ he sighs though, letting his hand fall away from his chest as he gives a little sigh. ]

You'll just have to be careful to like... ration them out, when the time comes to use one. Maybe like. ...I don't know. Only use them when the wounds are like, clearly fatal? There are healers here, so they can pep you up a bit of you get a non-fatal wound. Like Libra. He's a great healer.

[ he looks awkward for a moment as Wolfwood admits that the... absolute mess of his body isn't something so unusual to him. He's seen it before, huh. Fish a bullet out doesn't sound wrong either. nah, it's something he can see himself doing. ]

If I were a proper plant, maybe I would heal. But.
Ha. ...Anyway.

What the...
Hell did you do to the fence? Really? Did you have to wreck the fence?? Aw, man...

[ Vash isn't that innocent, Brad! it could've been him! Wolfwood dismisses the wildlife as briefly as he thought about it, leaving Luida to her devices as he begins to rewrap his gun, satisfied that it's working once more--relieved, almost, that at least part of him is back to functioning. ]

I know you do, and then that throws my schedule off.

[ as if Wolfwood has a schedule outside of passing out whenever the nicotine and the horrors will permit him to finally rest. he might be teasing, a little. just a little. lighten the mood a smidge. ]

Yeah, yeah, like I said. We'll build the bridge when we get there, no point in fussing over it now.

[ there are other things to fuss about--like Vash's odd melancholy about his body. it makes a part of Wolfwood itch, as his eyes dart across the roadmap of misery Vash has gone through in his life; at least he's wearing sunglasses in the early morning light to hide some of his more obvious looking. ]

Eh. If you were a proper Plant, you'd heal, and if I weren't a freak of a human, I wouldn't. We're a funny pair, don't you think?

[ lighten the mood? lighten the mood. somehow. someway. Don't think about Julai and focus on the wreckage of the fence instead. at least this one wasn't Vash's fault, unless you extrapolated his invitation for Wolfwood to come stay with him as being a fault. ]

I mean. I shot the fence. I didn't want to shoot the trees, so I've been using the fence as my target, and I. Wasn't expecting my gun to work, so it kind of kicked me off balance and. Tada.

Look, it's not my fault! Sometimes some mornings are cozy and warm, and... [ mrgl mrgl... ]

You know, if you want, sometimes I CAN sleep outside. I was thinking of setting up a nice hammock between the two biggest apple trees over there. I could sleep for as long as I need in the nice spring and summer sun...

[ He looks thoughtful, a finger tapping his bottom lip as he gives a little laugh.
Actually turning to smile at wolfwood with one of those genuine smiles that fully reach his eyes as the other calls them a pair. It makes his heart feel light. ]

I think we make a fantastic pair, thank you very much. What would I be without my best buddy at my back.

And fine. I'll forgive you about the fence, but that just means you're gonna' help me rebuild it. I got this garden as a gift, you know?? I don't wanna' mess it up...!

One of these days I'm just gonna throw a blanket on you and use your body as a pillow. [ it's probably not the most effective threat, since Vash is about 10% metal, but still. ]

It's your house and your bed. I ain't about to put you out of it. I just sleep in the chair when you decide you want a full four to eight.

[ ... he probably means a table chair, too, not anything soft and cloth that the house might have laying around.

he's minding his business, wrapping his gun, and Vash turns one of those genuine smiles on him--one that reaches his eyes and softens his shoulders and everything, and Wolfwood is taken by how... good? it looks on the consummate liar, head tilting a little as Vash trots out one of his favorite sayings, shaking his head a little with a rueful chuckle. ]

There you go again with that best buddy stuff. At least that smile looks good on you, when you actually mean it.

[ and then the emotions are thankfully cut fucking short as Vash hurries them into the catch. ]

Eh? I don't know the first thing about building a fence, Spikes. I can string some tomaswire for the little assholes, but I ain't exactly an engineer. Or a laborer.

Edited 2023-04-18 11:54 (UTC)

[ yeah, naw, wolfwood, it doesnt at all have the same effect you think it does. it has the blonde man smiling even just a little more, half because it was funny that Wolfwood tried to make it sound like a threat, and... well. ]

The chair is way too uncomfortable! It wouldn't be the first time I've had you sleep at my back, anyway. When travelling, sometimes all there was to do was rent the only available room, so...

[ he doesn't mind. go ahead, blanket him, wolfwood.

hes gonna move over to the broken fence, then, moving to carefully put his gun aside. taking a moment to pop the safety on before tossing it gently down onto the grass to sort through whats broken and whats still useful.

...But he does do a hard pause when Wolfwood says. ...That.
His eyes widening a little as he turns his head, fixing the man who's wrapping his beloved gun with care, a bubble of a memory rising in his mind.
In the middle of a dusty desert, sitting next to a bus. having just rescued the priest from being lost in the middle of nowhere, the man smiles down at him after giving away half his day's food rations to a pair of beggar children.

So you can smile for real after all
I was starting to get worried, you kept smiling away while looking like you're hiding away a lot of pain.

It looks good on you!

He turns back down towards the mulched wood, pulling apart pieces that can't be reused, tossing them to the side. firewood, for later. ]

It's not hard, Nico.
I can show you, okay?

Fine. Next time you decide to take more than your government mandated two hours of sleep, I'm just gonna shove you over and get comfortable. I'm gonna steal the blankets, too.

[ it's a familiar enough sleeping arrangement--not with Vash, but back home, at the orphanage... and hey. nobody's sobbing their eyes out at night this time. small miracles and mercies, right?

he wraps his gun meticulously, so he misses Vash's entire journey through his memories, Wolfwood planting Cross Punisher steady so that she stands without his involvement as he comes over to look at what Vash is doing with the pile of splinters that he called a fence just yesterday, hands in his pockets as smoke curls from his cigarette and his ears slowly come up from their folded back position, coming to rest in a normal, happy cat position instead as he watches the man work. ]

I mean. If you ain't showing me, then you're leaving me to my devices, and whatever happened next was on both of us to varyin' degrees.

[ theres no guarantee that Wolfwood would go to bed while vash isnt crying one day so Don't hold your Breath he's prone to letting himself go some days, unlike the Blondie you're more familiar with. ]

Man, do I have to go buy you your own blanket, too? I just got Libra that bear shaped one he uses. Aw man.
I'll keep a lookout at that goodwill place.
...And be careful it doesn't come with any weird magic curses this time. [ mumble rumble.

sigh.

But he will continue his work, pulling apart the damaged parts of the fence, tossing them to the side for kindling, later. He then points towards the house, where theres long boards set against it--likely left there by the previous owner for setting up plinths for the grape vines or building the fence in the first place. ]

Bring two of those over here, will you?
I can grab the toolbox, its got a hammer and nails...

[ time to scoot to grab an old wooden box with some fancy designs on it, then scoot back. ]

Because I've only got one arm, I'm gonna rely on you to nail the nails in. But i can hold up the board and show you where to secure it, okay?

[ crybaby Livio, soon to be replaced by crybaby Vash. Wolfwood snorts and gives Vash a little smirk as the man grouses about blankets. ]

Weren't you listenin', Blondie? I said I'd steal your blanket. You don't gotta buy nothing. You can try your luck with blankets from the place, I'm done with playing chicken with gettin' cursed or not.

[ his cute widdle cat ears flick at that moment, and hey, at least Wolfwood isn't incandescent with rage anymore about the whole ears thing? he watches Vash continue to sort until he's brought into the process, balancing Cross Punisher on her end before he makes his was over to the wood as indicated, picking up the two boards easily and laying them at Vash's side as he comes to settle next to the man, crouched down to watch what he was doing. ]

Seems simple enough. Almost too simple. You sure there ain't a catch?

[ call him a crybaby and he'll CRY EVEN LOUDER no he wont but maybe who knows dont tempt fate or something. ]

Ffffine, take my blanket, it's not like I need it!!! It's warm enough I could. Probably go without it for a few hours. [ he doesn't say 'you'll probably keep me warm,' even if the words are RIGHT THERE he's going to push them off.

But for now he's settling up next to the fence, holding up that wooden board once Wolfwood had put it down. he's gonna nod towards the little toolbox. ]

Sure, it's that simple. It's just a fence. Fortunately, when I got here, someone was already building it and didn't finish, but the wood was all laid out, so...

Grab a hammer out of that, and some nails. There's a small box of decently-sized ones.

Use the hammer to hit the flat side of the nail, the pointy end into the wood.
Drive it right through and the boards will stick together.

We'll do it on both sides, with both pieces and have it fixed in no time.

[ and then Wolfwood will punch him because a grown ficus sobbing his dumb little eyes out is nowhere near as compelling as a six year old doing it. ]

Tch, you really are pathetic. You've gotta fight for the stuff you believe in, Spikes, like good blankets and premium bedtime, and yet here you are, compromising and shit.

[like he does with everything. dingdong.

he rummages through the toolbox to produce the items requested, nails at his feet and hammer in his hand. he flips it around a few times to get a sense of the weight, and it's such a little thing; Wolfwood doesn't usually do smalltime work like this, so it's sort of. novel? in a sense.

he takes a nail and fits it over the join of his middle and ring fingers, holding it where Vash had indicated, and then he lines up the hammer, kissing his teeth and giving a little shrug. ]

You say it's easy but that's rarely how things go with you around. Don't blame me if it's ugly; I'm not much for building things up.

[ gunning them down, sure, but making something? not his specialty, not what they broke him apart to make him do with deadly efficiency.

all the same, it's just a hammer, just a nail. it doesn't take long to drive it into the post that's still standing, and add a second nail a little ways down to keep the board sturdy. ]

I'd rather compromise and make everyone happy than be selfish. It's not like having my blanket stolen will ruin my sleep so badly that I'll be upset.

[ he gives a small chuckle, shifting where he's standing to line up that wooden board so nico has a good shot at it..]

Even if it is a little ugly when we are done, I don't mind, either. It'll have a certain charm to it.

[ he smiles down at the other with a goofy expression. shifting the board to line it up on the post on the opposite side now that its been secured on one half. He gestures with his stump arm for Nico to do the same thing on the other side now. ]

Something we can say we built together, right?

I find that hard to believe. You fall apart at the slightest poking sometimes, so I can totally see you wailin' and gnashin' over losing your blankets.

[ he smirks as he does his work, nailing in the board, it wasn't that hard there's not that much to be proud of--and yet. And yet. Vash says this... completely schmaltzy shit, the kind of things he'd expect to hear out of.

out of the orphanage matrons, or literally anybody but a man named after natural destruction incarnate, and yet here he is, breathing it out as easy as he looses his pacifistic idealism, and it makes Wolfwood feel funny. he's not sure he likes it. ]

I ain't claiming it if it's ugly, though. It's all you if it sucks.

[ he deflects so he doesn't have to think too hard on the weird feeling in the back of his neck, scooting with Vash over to the other side of the fence area to repeat his nail-wizardry--and hell, even doing it again, both sides to a second board above the first board.

it's kind of nice. meditative, almost. ]

I do not fall apart!! I just complain about how I'm being abused, I'm well within my rights to complain when something makes my heart sore, you know??

[ unlike the vash you know, he's so very prone to whining or complaining at the drop of a hat. is that better or worse than the quiet, kicked-puppy looking babygirl you're used to? you decide.

Anyway, there is most definitely something very calming about just. Setting up and building a fence.

Even stepping back to admire it with Wolfwood once they're done, one hand on his hip as he tips his head to the side, to get a good look at it. ]

And see, just like that. All fixed, and looking great, actually?

Good as new. Like it didn't get shot apart. We can use the broken wood as kindling!
You did a great job?

[ on one hand it's kind of nice that this Vash fires back, given that the other Vash just... tolerated so much and it unlocked some form of cuteness aggression in Wolfwood because he was angry in general about his whole fucking situation, but now mouthy Vash unlocks his general prey drive because hey.

it's fun to see him fall apart. ]

You absolutely go into weird hysterics. You'd complain about the sun being in your eyes if there was nothing else going on to ruin your day.

[ if Vash the Stampede would ever be so lucky to as to have a day where the worst that would happen to him was 'sun too bright'. They repeat their fence-building, section by section, kicking away rotted wood and shot up pieces towards a general pile until what Wolfwood had chewed through in a matter of seconds is, in the matter of an hour, reborn.

he also sits back to admire the work for a moment, trying very hard to ignore the weird satisfaction that comes from being praised for something so innocuous. ]

Want me to shoot up the rest of the fence, then?

[ ... he's grinning. he's teasing. ]

[ look this vash absolutely just rolls over and tolerates a lot of shit too. difference is, when he actually has something to gripe about, he would gripe about it!!!! at least in this world there's only ONE sun, unlike the horrible two on noman's land.

and if worst came to worst he could pop out his cool heart-shaped sunglasses to actually block out the rays!!! his usual ones weren't exactly suited for that. ]

I would not complain about the sun. Not unless it was like, actually getting in the way of something I was doing! Then maybe I would. Maybe.

AND DO NOT BREAK MORE OF THE FENCE. [ he yelps, moving to stand in front of the rest of it!!!!! ]

I don't actually know how to make fence boards!? There are just a few premade ones over there, so--
Don't go breaking the rest on purpose!?

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