Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun, I'm just borrowing it for awhile. Trigun is property of Yasuhiro Nightow, Mad House, Pioneer, and whoever else was smart enough to get a piece of the action. I just know I wasn't. T_T
"..." is talking
'...' is thinking
Hello readers! Rhys here *waves* and look... this chapter is longer than usual! Yay! I told you it would happen eventually. ^_^v
-----------------
A Glimpse of Eden
-----------------
Chapter 3 -
~
Only a month had passed since Meryl had started caring for the child and already he was getting too heavy for her to carry around all the time. She had learned from Vash long ago that he and Knives weren't human, they were a type of hybrid Plant. And so was this child, apparently. She had also recently learned that this child would age faster than human children did. He was just past two months old and already he appeared to be two years old.
She had also given the boy a name... Locke. She liked it. Knives hadn't looked too pleased to discover that she had named the child, but what was she supposed to do? Go around calling the child 'boy' like Knives went around calling her 'girl' whenever their paths happened to cross? Hmph... why he insisted on calling her that when he knew perfectly well her name was Meryl...
Carefully shifting Locke to her other hip, she continued on toward the arboretum. She had explored much of the ship in the month she had been there and the arboretum was by far her favorite room. It was so green and beautiful, so different then the rest of the bland ship. So different than the entire planet for that matter.
Upon entering the room she found her favorite spot under a large oak tree and settled down with the boy. Almost immediately, he wriggled out of her grasp and toddled off toward a colorful flower. 'Wow... walking at only two months. That had to be a record or something.'
She laid back on the grass and relaxed, enjoying the peaceful surroundings, but careful to keep an eye on Locke. She didn't want him getting too far out of her reach. While she watched the child play, she thought over what little she knew of Knives. She hadn't seen much of him in the month she had been there and she had the nagging suspicion that he was avoiding her. When they did meet it was usually brief, he either completely ignored her or asked only about the child.
He treated her with a practiced politeness, but she knew that deep inside he resented her presence and only put up with it for Locke's sake. She knew he had an intense hatred for the human race, of which she was part. When he looked at her with those ice blue eyes of his... she shivered. He didn't look at Locke like that, only her. Like she was nothing, something he could easily crush beneath his heel. Like a... bug, or something.
The doors of the arboretum slid silently open and Knives walked in, startling Meryl. He hesitated upon seeing her, almost as if he was trying to decide whether or not to come in after all. Catching sight of Knives, Locke forgot his fascination with the red flower and clapped his hands together, happy to see him. Smiling at the boy, Knives walked over to where Meryl sat and bent to pick him up when the toddler reached for him.
The child began to speak a mixture of baby talk and mispronounced words at him and Knives thought he caught something about a cat, but he wasn't sure. He shook his head, not understanding, and the child looked annoyed with him.
Meryl laughed. "He's telling you about his cat." Knives glanced down at her.
"Cat?" He was confused. There were no animals on board.
Meryl pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Watching Knives interact with the child was so interesting. The hardness left his eyes and he seemed to relax, to fully enjoy the child's company. She briefly wished he acted like that towards her, but dismissed the idea. Knives... being pleasant to her. Treating her like a human being. But, Meryl supposed, he did treat her like a human being. Like a bug.
"I made him a stuffed cat to play with. I found some material and sewing things, so..." She shrugged. Surely there was nothing wrong with that. She had also made the child some clothes, but she doubted that Knives had noticed.
Knives frowned, thinking. He supposed that was alright. Locke squirmed in his arms, reaching his hands toward a leafy plant and Knives put the child down and watched as he grabbed hold of the plant. And promptly tried to eat it.
"No, Locke!" Meryl leaned over and pulled the leaf from the child's mouth. "You don't eat that!"
"No, no, no!" he repeated back at her, and he grabbed for the plant again.
She pulled the child into her arms and tempted him with a cookie. The child seemed reluctant to let go of the plant, but finally he grabbed the cookie and munched on it happily. Knives watched as the boy, or 'Locke' as the girl called him, chewed on the snack and then leaned back into the girl's arms with a contented sigh.
Knives' eyes narrowed. He had to be careful. It wouldn't be wise to allow the boy to get too attached to the girl. He walked over and leaned against the tree, crossing his arms over his chest, deep in thought. When the boy was a little older he would take a more active role in raising him. Teach the boy to work the computers and other things that would be a help to him. There was alot of work still to do. He had plans.
He watched the boy's eyes drift close and his grip on the cookie weaken. He must be tired. The soothing sound of the stream was probably helping to lull the boy to sleep as well. Locke dropped the remaining bits of cookie and cuddled into the girl's arms before finally falling asleep. Knives watched her drop a kiss onto the boy's blonde head and brush the hair back from his forehead. He had been right. The girl was perfect for the job. She truly seemed to care for the child.
He shifted his weight and saw how the girl tensed at the slight movement. He smiled. The girl didn't trust him. And why should she? He was the one that would bring destruction to her kind. His smile was immediately replaced by a frown. And didn't they deserve it? They enslaved his kind, sucking off their energy like leeches. He felt rage rising up within him but he forced it away. It wouldn't do to get angry now. He would save it, harbor it, until he could unleash his fury on the human race.
He glanced down at the girl who so lovingly held the child. She was one of them. How dare she look so peaceful when he was a mass of raging emotions! He wondered how she would react if he decided she was no longer needed and disposed of her now.
"It's so beautiful."
Knives tensed, surprised at hearing her speak again. The girl had always acted so nervous around him before, scared even. Why did she address him now?
At his continued silence she spoke again. "I can't believe a place like this exists. It's so different from Gunsmoke."
Knives smirked, his gaze proudly traveling over the many different varieties of trees and plants that grew in the arboretum. Of course it was different than her planet. Here there were no humans to corrupt and pollute it. He had made this place to be his temporary refuge. Once the human filth was removed he would begin on the planet, to transform it into his vision of Eden. He glanced back down at the girl again. She was looking up at him, awaiting a reply.
"It's a biosphere. The room is engineered to support plant life," he finally replied, his tone flat and edged with boredom.
She searched for something else to say to fill the uneasy silence that followed. "So I guess it's like the ones on Gunsmoke.... like Little Arcadia?"
Her comment earned a derisive snort from Knives. "It's nothing like the ones on your planet."
"Oh..." Bah... why was it so hard to have a conversation with this man? A new thought occured to her. "Can this be done outside? I mean, can you make trees and things grow without the need of a biosphere?"
His eyes narrowed dangerously. "If I wanted to."
Ignoring the warning alarms going off in her head, she plowed forward with her next question. "And... you don't want to?"
"Not now." He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. Hopefully, the girl would take the hint that he was no longer interested in a conversation.
A minute passed, and then... "Why not now?"
He sighed. Opening his eyes he glared down at her, wondering why he was even bothering to answer. "Because now is not the time."
"And when would that time be?"
Knives raised an eyebrow and tried to conceal his amusement. If anything, the girl was certainly persistant. "When all of humanity is purged from this world. Then, and only then, will I create my Eden," he answered, his tone almost patronizing.
Meryl frowned slightly. Purged? She knew he disliked humans, but to take it so far? "Why do you hate humans so much?"
He glanced away. "The humans are parasites. They live off the suffering of my kind."
"The Plants?" Unconsciously, she tightened her grip around Locke and he let out a sleepy moan in protest.
"Yes."
"But--"
"Humans are also violent, selfish, and deceitful," he interupted, locking his eyes with hers, "they are a blight on this world and must be removed."
Meryl carefully stood to her feet, adjusting Locke so his weight would rest more comfortably on her hip, and turned to face Knives, who quickly stepped away from the tree and straightened to his full height, easily towering over her small frame.
"Not all humans are the same, Knives. You can't judge the many for the actions of the few."
He frowned at the sound of his name. He had never heard her use it before. He thought for a moment, but decided not to take offense at the familiar way she said it. She was a human after all. She didn't know any better.
"They are all the same. Liars, murderers, and thieves."
Knives' pale blue eyes held her own violet-grey ones. A long moment passed between them, both refusing to be the first to break the tense standoff. Locke began to stir in Meryl's arms, growing uncomfortable in her tight grip and frustrated by the lack of attention he was receiving, and she had no choice but to turn away from Knives to concentrate on the child.
"I think he's hungry."
Knives shrugged dismissively. "So feed him." He glanced off toward the stream, glad to soon be rid of her unnerving presence.
She hugged Locke close and moved toward the door. As the doors slid open she glanced back at Knives. He was still staring off into the distance, looking so troubled, so alone...
"I give you my word, Knives." He glanced back at her, his beautiful eyes cold and empty. "Any promises I make, I keep. I will never lie to you."
"Never?" he replied mockingly.
"Never."
And with that she turned and left the room.
-----------------
End chapter 3
~
Ana: Wow, thanks for sticking with me and reviewing every chapter that comes out. I appreciate it!
Calumongal: Another reviewer that's sticking with me, thanks! Yeah, Knives has no idea what he's in for. But then, neither does Meryl...
Magnet-Rose: Thanks for your review and positive comments! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too.
WW: Woot, thanks for the review!!!
Jeril Dragonsoul: Yeah, there are a bunch of Knives/children stories out there, but I hope mine is a little different. Knives basically dumped the kid on Meryl and is barely around. That will soon change, though.
One last thing... I'm thankful for the people who say I write description well, but I honestly think my descriptions are the weakest part of my writing. But if you guys say it's good, who am I to argue? ^_^
~
Next time: Meryl learns the hard way about the difficulties of raising a toddler and the difficulties of trying to reason with Knives.
~
Meryl: I'll give you readers a hint on how it goes... Knives is an arrogant a$$hole!
Rhys: Meryl, please... watch your language. There are impressionable children around...
Meryl: Don't give me that! I know you're having a fun time writing this stuff!
Rhys: *giggle* Yeah, wait'll you see what happens between you two in chapter 7...oops, maybe I shouldn't ha--
Meryl: Argh!!! *tries to run away*
Rhys: --ve said that... _
"..." is talking
'...' is thinking
Hello readers! Rhys here *waves* and look... this chapter is longer than usual! Yay! I told you it would happen eventually. ^_^v
-----------------
A Glimpse of Eden
-----------------
Chapter 3 -
~
Only a month had passed since Meryl had started caring for the child and already he was getting too heavy for her to carry around all the time. She had learned from Vash long ago that he and Knives weren't human, they were a type of hybrid Plant. And so was this child, apparently. She had also recently learned that this child would age faster than human children did. He was just past two months old and already he appeared to be two years old.
She had also given the boy a name... Locke. She liked it. Knives hadn't looked too pleased to discover that she had named the child, but what was she supposed to do? Go around calling the child 'boy' like Knives went around calling her 'girl' whenever their paths happened to cross? Hmph... why he insisted on calling her that when he knew perfectly well her name was Meryl...
Carefully shifting Locke to her other hip, she continued on toward the arboretum. She had explored much of the ship in the month she had been there and the arboretum was by far her favorite room. It was so green and beautiful, so different then the rest of the bland ship. So different than the entire planet for that matter.
Upon entering the room she found her favorite spot under a large oak tree and settled down with the boy. Almost immediately, he wriggled out of her grasp and toddled off toward a colorful flower. 'Wow... walking at only two months. That had to be a record or something.'
She laid back on the grass and relaxed, enjoying the peaceful surroundings, but careful to keep an eye on Locke. She didn't want him getting too far out of her reach. While she watched the child play, she thought over what little she knew of Knives. She hadn't seen much of him in the month she had been there and she had the nagging suspicion that he was avoiding her. When they did meet it was usually brief, he either completely ignored her or asked only about the child.
He treated her with a practiced politeness, but she knew that deep inside he resented her presence and only put up with it for Locke's sake. She knew he had an intense hatred for the human race, of which she was part. When he looked at her with those ice blue eyes of his... she shivered. He didn't look at Locke like that, only her. Like she was nothing, something he could easily crush beneath his heel. Like a... bug, or something.
The doors of the arboretum slid silently open and Knives walked in, startling Meryl. He hesitated upon seeing her, almost as if he was trying to decide whether or not to come in after all. Catching sight of Knives, Locke forgot his fascination with the red flower and clapped his hands together, happy to see him. Smiling at the boy, Knives walked over to where Meryl sat and bent to pick him up when the toddler reached for him.
The child began to speak a mixture of baby talk and mispronounced words at him and Knives thought he caught something about a cat, but he wasn't sure. He shook his head, not understanding, and the child looked annoyed with him.
Meryl laughed. "He's telling you about his cat." Knives glanced down at her.
"Cat?" He was confused. There were no animals on board.
Meryl pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Watching Knives interact with the child was so interesting. The hardness left his eyes and he seemed to relax, to fully enjoy the child's company. She briefly wished he acted like that towards her, but dismissed the idea. Knives... being pleasant to her. Treating her like a human being. But, Meryl supposed, he did treat her like a human being. Like a bug.
"I made him a stuffed cat to play with. I found some material and sewing things, so..." She shrugged. Surely there was nothing wrong with that. She had also made the child some clothes, but she doubted that Knives had noticed.
Knives frowned, thinking. He supposed that was alright. Locke squirmed in his arms, reaching his hands toward a leafy plant and Knives put the child down and watched as he grabbed hold of the plant. And promptly tried to eat it.
"No, Locke!" Meryl leaned over and pulled the leaf from the child's mouth. "You don't eat that!"
"No, no, no!" he repeated back at her, and he grabbed for the plant again.
She pulled the child into her arms and tempted him with a cookie. The child seemed reluctant to let go of the plant, but finally he grabbed the cookie and munched on it happily. Knives watched as the boy, or 'Locke' as the girl called him, chewed on the snack and then leaned back into the girl's arms with a contented sigh.
Knives' eyes narrowed. He had to be careful. It wouldn't be wise to allow the boy to get too attached to the girl. He walked over and leaned against the tree, crossing his arms over his chest, deep in thought. When the boy was a little older he would take a more active role in raising him. Teach the boy to work the computers and other things that would be a help to him. There was alot of work still to do. He had plans.
He watched the boy's eyes drift close and his grip on the cookie weaken. He must be tired. The soothing sound of the stream was probably helping to lull the boy to sleep as well. Locke dropped the remaining bits of cookie and cuddled into the girl's arms before finally falling asleep. Knives watched her drop a kiss onto the boy's blonde head and brush the hair back from his forehead. He had been right. The girl was perfect for the job. She truly seemed to care for the child.
He shifted his weight and saw how the girl tensed at the slight movement. He smiled. The girl didn't trust him. And why should she? He was the one that would bring destruction to her kind. His smile was immediately replaced by a frown. And didn't they deserve it? They enslaved his kind, sucking off their energy like leeches. He felt rage rising up within him but he forced it away. It wouldn't do to get angry now. He would save it, harbor it, until he could unleash his fury on the human race.
He glanced down at the girl who so lovingly held the child. She was one of them. How dare she look so peaceful when he was a mass of raging emotions! He wondered how she would react if he decided she was no longer needed and disposed of her now.
"It's so beautiful."
Knives tensed, surprised at hearing her speak again. The girl had always acted so nervous around him before, scared even. Why did she address him now?
At his continued silence she spoke again. "I can't believe a place like this exists. It's so different from Gunsmoke."
Knives smirked, his gaze proudly traveling over the many different varieties of trees and plants that grew in the arboretum. Of course it was different than her planet. Here there were no humans to corrupt and pollute it. He had made this place to be his temporary refuge. Once the human filth was removed he would begin on the planet, to transform it into his vision of Eden. He glanced back down at the girl again. She was looking up at him, awaiting a reply.
"It's a biosphere. The room is engineered to support plant life," he finally replied, his tone flat and edged with boredom.
She searched for something else to say to fill the uneasy silence that followed. "So I guess it's like the ones on Gunsmoke.... like Little Arcadia?"
Her comment earned a derisive snort from Knives. "It's nothing like the ones on your planet."
"Oh..." Bah... why was it so hard to have a conversation with this man? A new thought occured to her. "Can this be done outside? I mean, can you make trees and things grow without the need of a biosphere?"
His eyes narrowed dangerously. "If I wanted to."
Ignoring the warning alarms going off in her head, she plowed forward with her next question. "And... you don't want to?"
"Not now." He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. Hopefully, the girl would take the hint that he was no longer interested in a conversation.
A minute passed, and then... "Why not now?"
He sighed. Opening his eyes he glared down at her, wondering why he was even bothering to answer. "Because now is not the time."
"And when would that time be?"
Knives raised an eyebrow and tried to conceal his amusement. If anything, the girl was certainly persistant. "When all of humanity is purged from this world. Then, and only then, will I create my Eden," he answered, his tone almost patronizing.
Meryl frowned slightly. Purged? She knew he disliked humans, but to take it so far? "Why do you hate humans so much?"
He glanced away. "The humans are parasites. They live off the suffering of my kind."
"The Plants?" Unconsciously, she tightened her grip around Locke and he let out a sleepy moan in protest.
"Yes."
"But--"
"Humans are also violent, selfish, and deceitful," he interupted, locking his eyes with hers, "they are a blight on this world and must be removed."
Meryl carefully stood to her feet, adjusting Locke so his weight would rest more comfortably on her hip, and turned to face Knives, who quickly stepped away from the tree and straightened to his full height, easily towering over her small frame.
"Not all humans are the same, Knives. You can't judge the many for the actions of the few."
He frowned at the sound of his name. He had never heard her use it before. He thought for a moment, but decided not to take offense at the familiar way she said it. She was a human after all. She didn't know any better.
"They are all the same. Liars, murderers, and thieves."
Knives' pale blue eyes held her own violet-grey ones. A long moment passed between them, both refusing to be the first to break the tense standoff. Locke began to stir in Meryl's arms, growing uncomfortable in her tight grip and frustrated by the lack of attention he was receiving, and she had no choice but to turn away from Knives to concentrate on the child.
"I think he's hungry."
Knives shrugged dismissively. "So feed him." He glanced off toward the stream, glad to soon be rid of her unnerving presence.
She hugged Locke close and moved toward the door. As the doors slid open she glanced back at Knives. He was still staring off into the distance, looking so troubled, so alone...
"I give you my word, Knives." He glanced back at her, his beautiful eyes cold and empty. "Any promises I make, I keep. I will never lie to you."
"Never?" he replied mockingly.
"Never."
And with that she turned and left the room.
-----------------
End chapter 3
~
Ana: Wow, thanks for sticking with me and reviewing every chapter that comes out. I appreciate it!
Calumongal: Another reviewer that's sticking with me, thanks! Yeah, Knives has no idea what he's in for. But then, neither does Meryl...
Magnet-Rose: Thanks for your review and positive comments! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too.
WW: Woot, thanks for the review!!!
Jeril Dragonsoul: Yeah, there are a bunch of Knives/children stories out there, but I hope mine is a little different. Knives basically dumped the kid on Meryl and is barely around. That will soon change, though.
One last thing... I'm thankful for the people who say I write description well, but I honestly think my descriptions are the weakest part of my writing. But if you guys say it's good, who am I to argue? ^_^
~
Next time: Meryl learns the hard way about the difficulties of raising a toddler and the difficulties of trying to reason with Knives.
~
Meryl: I'll give you readers a hint on how it goes... Knives is an arrogant a$$hole!
Rhys: Meryl, please... watch your language. There are impressionable children around...
Meryl: Don't give me that! I know you're having a fun time writing this stuff!
Rhys: *giggle* Yeah, wait'll you see what happens between you two in chapter 7...oops, maybe I shouldn't ha--
Meryl: Argh!!! *tries to run away*
Rhys: --ve said that... _