LOG ; complete

[mother-rem.livejournal.com]

When; May 28 (night)
Rating; PG
Characters; Knives (sharpest_knife) and Rem Saverem (mother_rem)
Summary; Rem runs into Knives during a grocery shopping trip and has what ends up being a not so pleasant discussion.
Log;

This City was very amazing, as far as Rem could tell. She hadn't been there long, but she was already feeling quite at home; the apartment had everything pre-furbished, one son next door and the other..not so far away though she was trying to avoid talking to Knives for a bit. The only thing it lacked was a food supply. Without a thought, she had gathered her things and headed to that nearby grocery store in search of sustenance.

They were moving soon, perhaps the next day, and to a permanent home. Knives figured it would be good to buy more seeds for his new garden, since after seeing the geosphere he realized there was enough space for more plants. He was returning to the apartment with the small bag in hand, passing several food and trinket vendors before one caught his eye. He paused in front of the seller's wares, contemplating a gift for his human pet. He supposed he should get her something to wear, around her neck or in her hair, because human girls liked those sort of things. ...Right?

Curse that store! It always seemed like it was moving around, even though it really wasn't. Rem just had this ability to get herself lost somewhere in a place like this. It was annoying. But through those streets the woman trekked, her eyes looking around for the store until a familiar profile came into view. It couldn't be...but..it might be. Remembering Vash's words, Rem quickly tried to hide, but..she just couldn't not keep an eye on him.

It took only a couple of minutes for Knives to decide on a gift, and this he dropped into the bag with the seeds as he turned to continue home. Teal eyes swept over the thinning crowd twice before a certain stare caught his attention. Rem.

He considered walking past her and going home, but no, this chance was too sweet to pass up. He realigned his steps and approached her arrogantly, the corners of his lips pulled down in a scowl, and stopped directly in front of her. His glower twisted suddenly into a grin, anxious and manic.

"Well, if it isn't our mother." His voice was low and hostile.

She realized instantly that Knives recognized her. Now that he was walking over, she stood taller, arms loosely by her side ready to run if she needed to. She remembered the things Vash had said; this could turn out very ugly.

"...It's nice to see you too, Knives." Her own voice was low, but serious. His tone definitely did not sit well with her. It was tempting to run, but seeing how things were now, she probably didn't have a chance. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try if she had no other choice.

"Nice. Of course." The man tilted his head, trying to decide exactly what to do to her now that she stood in his grasp. Unfortunately, he couldn't kill her. Rem's death would send Tessla into tears of grief and hate, and as much as he enjoyed fighting Vash, it was so bothersome to have his younger twin preach in his ears. But at the same time, he couldn't just let the woman he hated most walk away without a scratch.

A scratch... "How's Vash's arm?" Knives wondered if she knew.

Her brows lowered just a bit as she watched him. The other twin was right. This one really had changed.

"He seems to be doing better, last I heard." Her eyes weren't angry, just very sad as she watched him. It seemed like it was only yesterday that this man had been a boy who was sensitive and, dare she say, happy. Then again, there had been that curse day not too long ago and it only made her remember the times on the SEEDS ship. "He's taking plenty good care of himself."

Well, that meant she knew he was having trouble with his arm. That didn't tell him if she knew exactly what it had been. He faked a sigh and rolled his eyes, turning his gaze skyward.

"I told him, if it's too much energy, he should just release it. The City regenerates its parts if destroyed." But keeping it inside was to be expected from Vash. Knives wasn't surprised.

Was that true? "..How interesting. I didn't know that." She was an explorer, after all. These things interested her far beyond the possible danger she was currently in just by speaking to Knives. But she quickly thought back to what they were discussing.

"He has a lot of people worrying about him with it," she sighed herself. "I really do hope he'll be allright."

Knives offered Rem a slight smirk as if she'd said something absurdly naive, absently flexing his left arm. He hadn't used his own weapon in a while... Had it been a week? More than that? He hoped he wasn't getting too soft.

His next words were edged like steel. "Have you ever seen his arm, mother?"

There was that tone again, the voice that sent shivers down her spine when she heard it. "...I haven't. Vash keeps that secret from me." True, it made her worry more not being able to see what was ailing him, but if he was not letting her see it, then he had a reason and she wouldn't question.

She glanced around; the area they were in was almost empty, save the two of them and some stragglers leaving. This was not a good sign.

It was getting late, and who knew what Elendira and Legato were concocting in the kitchen for dinner? Knives couldn't spend too much time taunting Rem, so getting to the point would be best.

"I'd show you, but see, Vash and I are a little different. His arm morphs into something like a cannon, with a blast strong enough to destroy whole cities. My arm, on the other hand..." His hand snapped out and grabbed her chin none-too-gently. The entire arm transformed then in one giant wave, starting with feathers at his shoulder. Twisted flesh cascaded down the limb until two blades shot from his wrist and bit into both sides of Rem's neck. Not deep, but still painful.

"I thought it was rather ironic that you'd named me Knives."

Not good. Rem tried to pull away from his hand until she felt the sudden stings of pain shooting through her neck. That was entirely unexpected, Her brows furrowed as she watched him, not able to bring herself to move.

"...Maybe. It just ..depends on what you do with it..." the woman managed to word out, almost in a whisper.

Knives half-shrugged. "Maybe. For example, I could kill you right now. A flick of a wrist is all it takes to remove your head. And you have no idea how I would love to see that happen. But..." Slowly, reluctantly, he withdrew his arm, blades and all. "I'll have to content myself with the lesser filth, it seems."

He moved to walk past Rem but stopped short. "Remember, though: You're the last one left," he hissed. "I've killed all of them but you. Sleep well tonight, Mother." One of his blades flashed in the fading light, and Knives retreated into the darkness.

Rem swallowed a bit, trying so hard not to move, lest those blades cut any deeper. She could already feel tendrils of blood dripping down her neck. She was trying so hard not to let him see her hand trembling, but she was relieved when he pulled his arm away, taking a deep breath, her hand going straight to her throat.

"....Hn," was her only response, glancing over her shoulder with wide eyes as he walked past. So this was why Vash told her to stay away. Not that she'd ever doubted him, but the woman was stubborn and had to see it for herself. Knives was...frightening now.

"...r-right.." The warmth on her hand made her remember the sudden wounds. She had to take care of that, but not let Vash know. It would be a while before she could come out of her apartment again. Knowing this, she quickly disappeared into the City's shadows.