4

Knives

By the time the two made their way into the first semblances of civilization on their route, the first sun had vanished behind the horizon and the second was in close pursuit. The first stars had started to become visible directly overhead as the sky gradually began to darken, and the temperatures had just begun to decline, heat from the day's sunlight still radiating off the sand. Legato led the way into the town by way of the main road, which was moderately populated; though still early in the evening, those who were planning on spending a good night out had begun to emerge and head to their destinations, passing by the families that were on their way home in time for their children's bedtimes. Knives followed closely behind Legato through the town, never dropping more than a pace or two behind, though Legato did move at a slowed rate in consideration for the plant's desires to inspect his surroundings. Passing through the main square of town, Legato stopped and turned to Knives.

"I don't suppose you're hungry?" the human asked, trying not to let his voice sound too hopeful.

A tiny smirk crept onto Knives' face, as Legato hadn't entirely succeeded, "I think I could manage to eat something."

Legato nodded, not bothering to hide his smile, and led the way to a restaurant he had eaten in a few times before, while tracking one unfortunate outlaw, and found to be satisfactory enough. Once inside the establishment, they found that it was a busy night; a small wait was to be expected for the table, and the dining area was bustling with noise and activity. Ordinarily, Legato would have just manipulated a few minds to accommodate their needs, but he decided instead that this would be a good experiment; the Knives he knew as his master – who admittedly would not be in such a place, let alone with Legato – would not tolerate having to wait his turn to be served after all the humans who had arrived before him, nor would he stand for their noise. In fact, were his master actually here, odds were that the building would not be. In any case, though, this was a wonderful opportunity to see how Knives as he now was would react to being placed in a situation that would try his patience to an extreme and expose him to a large, concentrated sample of humanity.

Yet when the human glanced over to see how his companion was handling the situation, he was greeted with the calm, peaceful expression of one who was patiently and considerately waiting his turn. A blue eyebrow arched curiously, though he tried his best not to fully gape at the plant. Despite his efforts, a pair of blue eyes glanced over and met his gaze.

"Is something wrong?" Knives' brow furrowed, innocently puzzled.

"No, not really," the human murmured, "Just a little annoyed with the wait, not to mention the crowd and all the noise."

The plant smiled, "They are admittedly loud, but they're just having fun. It's kind of nice to see so much life in the middle of all the desolation."

Legato responded by staring.

"You're giving me that look again," Knives remarked, a bit guiltily.

"What look?" Feigning innocence was not Legato's strong suit.

"The one that means I've said or done something that I'm definitely not supposed to have said or done," a bit of frustration was evident in the tone, though clearly not with Legato.

"Well, it's just that… you're not behaving like yourself. Or at least not as I know you," Legato shrugged.

"It doesn't sound like I'm a very nice person," a slight frown came across the tanned face.

"It's not really that you're not nice… it's just that…" the human found himself at a loss, "…people just don't understand you."

"What do you mean?" Knives tilted his head slightly.

"Well, I mean that…" Legato hesitated before finding what he wanted to say, "People don't really seem to understand why you act the way you do or do the things you do, and you might come off as being… not a very nice person, as you put it, but it's only because you see things in a way they can't. Most of them don't even realize that your point of view exists."

"Why's that?"

"Well…" the human chided himself mentally for having said so much, "I suppose you could just say that you're different… you just… have a unique way of thinking."

"Oh… okay." Any further questioning was cut off as a waitress lead them to a table. It was somewhat apparent that Knives didn't really get what Legato meant, but was content enough to stow it away with everything else he didn't quite understand at the moment, which was rapidly becoming a considerable load.

-…-

By the time they reached the inn, the streets had grown still and quiet, all but completely devoid of any sign of life. At this hour, the families were at home and the drunks had already found their bars. Save for a few poor souls that couldn't handle their alcohol and were already out of commission and being dragged home by companions, the town had reached a strange, peaceful calm. They stepped quietly into the building, and Legato made his way to the counter behind which a supposedly cheerful, plump man stood ready and eager to devoid him of a sizeable chunk of his meager funds. All that his budget really allowed for was one room, though with two beds, which the innkeeper handed him the key for with a pleasant if not artificial smile – once the double dollars had been forked over, of course. Legato decided that he did not particularly care for this man and thought that extended exposure to him might bring Knives back to himself, but that he could not bear to do such a thing to his master.

Once Legato had granted the small fat man a slight nod in response to his appreciation for their money, he led the way up to the room. Leading Knives around was something that, at the start of the day, had seemed quite absurd; Legato was also certain that somehow, no matter how unlikely he knew it was, Knives' memory would return in an instant and he would find an angel blade lodged firmly in his skull for having the audacity to do so. By now, he was a bit less afraid of the angel blade scenario occurring, since the plant had peacefully and willingly followed him this far without incident, though the entire thing still felt absolutely ludicrous as far as he was concerned.

The room was modest but satisfactory; two single beds were situated against the left wall, a nightstand between them. On the right wall was a writing desk and chair. On the far wall were two chairs, and on the wall with the door were two other doors; one to the bathroom and one to a closet. Also on the far wall was a double window, through which poured enough moonlight for Legato to find and operate the light switch.

He and Knives each dropped their packs on one of the chairs, and before he could even suggest the notion, Knives collapsed onto one of the beds. A bit of concern arose within Legato; the plant shouldn't be so fatigued from a day of travel, which meant that his injuries were still affecting him.

"Are you alright?" Legato inquired gently as he sat on the second bed.

"Yeah," Knives responded, turning onto his side to face the other man, "I'm just a bit tired."

"Are any of your injuries still in pain?" Legato leaned forward a bit, his concern growing.

"My arm still hurts a bit," the blonde replied, "And sometimes I get a pain in my abdomen, but it's not too bad."

Legato frowned, "I should have given you a few more days to heal… I know you mend quickly, but you were in terrible condition…"

Knives shook his head, "No, I'm much better. It's fine, Legato, don't worry about me."

The human could only sigh in response as he lowered his gaze; Knives' suggestion was clearly not a viable option.

"In any case, I'm going to sleep," the plant spoke again as he buried himself under the covers, yawning even as he spoke, "And you look exhausted, so you should do the same."

Legato nodded absently, "Yes, Master."

His eyes widened as the words left his lips, worried that Knives would grill him for an explanation, but as soon as his panicked gaze jolted up to meet Knives, he saw that the plant had already dropped off to sleep. He sighed again, though this time in relief.

"I suppose you were tired…" he smiled softly as he crawled under his own covers, "Goodnight… Knives."

The human drifted off moments later, the sound of his own voice addressing his master by name still circulating in his head.