Angel Rain
Sunlight, pale with the dawn, played across the sand, just a proper angle to make the dust sparkle as if a field of gems. Against the opposite horizon, and to his eyes only, two Plants working side by side gave off their own faint glow, outlined against that dark part of the sky with the milky and ethereal light one would expect from a heavenly body of some sort. A little black cat wandered by below, stared up at the open window, and gave a loud, sad, "Nyao," before passing along.
A Thomas was making little noises in a stable nearby, smoke drifted from a pipe chimney in the distance. Nothing else disturbed the placid morn, sound nor sight, and it felt as if the entire world slept silently, safely in the sweet embrace of dreams. Not a bit of danger or evil could possibly exist in such tranquility.
For once, with this sense of comfort and peace in his heart, he leaned at the window, both elbows on the sill that was cool with the night chill even through the sleeves of his pajama top. Letting his head rest in his hands, a lazily considerate look upon his face, absent-mindedly blew a stray and unusually limp lock of hair out of his eyes. The offending bit of hair assumed an upright position, and wiggled about ad the rest of the mess did in the light breeze passing in through the window.
With such a pleasant sense about everything, he let his head rest mostly in his right hand, blinked once, and then closed wide emerald eyes. It crossed his mind that a person wouldn't need anything but the wind on their face, and for a moment he imagined himself sitting on soft grass, a child, his brother beside him and listening intently to a beautiful dark-haired woman before them, explaining to them that this wasn't exactly how grass felt, that the sky was an invisible shade too light, but that they were bright and she knew that, if they closed their eyes and tried, they could imagine just how everything really was.
His brother turned to look at him, smiled a smile that lit up his entire face. And the child Vash smiled back; absolutely nothing was wrong.
Shocking was his return to the present. Instantly, his eyes snapped open, and he leaned out the window to look about. One sun had crept above the horizon, and the second was rising behind. All about was more activity, and the cat passed by again, chasing a poster that read, "Wanted Dead or Alive: Vash the Stampede; $$60,000,000,000" as it blew along in the already dusty breeze, the feline nyaoing happily.
Now he turned around and looked about the sparsely furnished hotel room. Kind, sad green eyes were narrowed in alarm, if not a bit of worry.
Perhaps it had been an echo of another memory, something more recent. But, no, how could it be? That apprehension still seized his heart in an iron grip. He had heard, had felt Knives.
Kuroneko-sama was very happy with his new breeze-propelled toy, so happy that he gave an exhilarated, "Nyao!" whilst pouncing on it, then standing back, tail raised high and wriggling, nose to the ground, waiting for it to make the next move. The poster was up in the breeze in an instant, fluttering above the sand like some dusty moth. With each pounce, he gave a nyao, nyao, nyao….
"Through the angel rain
Through the rust and the gasoline
Through the cruelty of strangers
…."
Tune in next time to see what becomes of our hero, Lord Black Cat! Same Cat-time, same Cat-channel!
And if anyone would be so kind as to point out which Trigun song I reffed in this, I'd like them a whole lot! As if too many people will read this, anyway….