CHAPTER NINE: Physical Presence
PART THREE…Escape …"Callisto?" Knives paused, attempting to remain calm in composure and tone as he breathed in sharply to call her again. He shifted uncomfortably in the vast, empty belly of the plant bay. "Callisto…"
Nuisance mewed behind him. The long-haired, wild-looking cat trodded forward and rubbed roughly against his jeans. Getting no response as the man called the name again, the cat stretched its long, thin body up his leg, holding his thigh in a bear hug for attention. Again she let a little chirp, and poked the soft part of his leg with a claw.
Jolted, Knives shook his leg and the cat darted into a shadow. He squatted to the ground and the cat came to him, loyally, to climb onto his shoulders.
As he batted the tail fur from his face, he reminded himself that his cries to Callisto were pathetic. He shouldn't have to work so hard just for a reply. When he'd come to bring produce last week and been unanswered, he'd become worried and searched the complex. Callisto had come casually out from a doorway after twenty minutes, rolling her eyes at him for his overreaction. "This place is too big for me to come running out the moment you step in, you know," she'd scolded with her child's voice.
Standing slowly, he let Nuisance jump to the floor with a thud and follow him out to the toma cart. This time he wanted to act with a cool nonchalance, instead of a crazed, parental flailing. Behavior was surely the key to get Callisto back into his daily life. That and time. "Patience," he muttered, lifting a great basket of potatoes onto his head. He steadied it with one hand and held a sack of carrots and a sack of plantains in the other hand, walking slowly to avoid tripping over the cat, goofily darting between his legs as he moved.
Knives bit his tongue after too much time had passed and all of the goods had been moved into the food closet. Glancing about to be sure she wasn't playing some cruel joke on him, he gave up once more.
Final beams of sunlight slithered from the ceiling windows and, with a faint whir, long rows of artificial lights clicked on.
Startled, Knives ran to the control room. It was clean and the secondary computers were running and warm. As it seemed, Callisto had booted up the old systems and was sapping more power from the plants for her personal comfort. This angered Knives some, but he repeated the 'patience' mantra and sauntered towards the food closet. So long as the extra systems were running, he would utilize them. He filled a sack with various vegetables and made his way down a winding hall to a kitchen area.
For the twenty-first time, Knives shooed Nuisance off of the huge, steel countertop. She jumped right back up the moment Knives' hands returned to their work, to bat at a stray white-capped mushroom. "Dammit, Nuisance! You get your meat can when we eat!"
"Cats don't understand English," a familiar young voice commented dryly. The smell of a hot meal led her to him and she grabbed a bowl he'd just washed. "Done yet?"
As usual, Knives forgot his lecture the moment he saw her.
Nuisance licked her mouth over and over, and returned to licking the empty can again. This was fruitless, so she leapt onto the table, between Knives and Callisto, to clean herself.
The meal was complete, but Knives was still annoyed by the cat's interference. He thought their conversation was becoming personal, though the past month's attempts at bonding didn't lead much of anywhere.
As if in answer to his thoughts, the cat moved from licking her paws to licking her butt.
"That's inappropriate, damn cat," he murmured, dropping his hands into his lap.
"Actually, it's perfectly appropriate." Callisto lifted her spoon and moved it about in the air as she spoke. "Far from wasteful, and perfectly natural. Quite sanitary. Cats' waste systems and behaviors are more sanitary than ours. We're so primitive; in that and in everything, my research is showing. Did you know that the plants have bypassed defecation as we know it, but they still do dispel solid waste? The trick, however, is that they collect it in-"
"Please don't talk about that," Knives asked softly.
She rumpled back into her seat and tapped the spoon on the table. "I'm finding out the most interesting things. At first, I was just observing the power levels and stuff, but now, with the lights and the computers…and the more time I spend here, the more I think they're helping me out."
Knives submitted to talk of the plant angels; perhaps he could keep her attention a bit longer. "Is Arad still feeling the dizziness?"
Callisto nodded solemnly. "But I'm developing experiments to find a way to help her. By increasing particular chemicals in her cherubs, I've been able to calm her without putting stress on her core, but there's a better way. Pretty soon, I'll be able to begin editing the humans' old plant medical theory texts. Neat, huh?"
Emphatically, he nodded. "Fantastic. Your research will be invaluable, I'm sure. You're sure to become far more specialized in plant angel medicine than I am – I hope that when your research is complete, you'll serve the entire angel population, and not just this bay. It's not fair to the others."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't encrypt my files. No passwords, no nothing – you can browse through them on the network whenever you have a problem to solve; I don't need to be there."
"They like to see you. I bore them," Knives added honestly.
"I'm sure they understand," she countered. "They're not the ones who're worried about me being here. You're the one not thinking rationally."
Knives crossed his arms. "Ah, but I am. Without someone to talk to and be with, I'll lose my sanity. It's rational that I want to remain sane, since it's for the plants' best interests. Nuisance makes horrible company; I miss traveling with an intelligent creature."
"That's awful selfish! You can visit me weekly like you do, and everything will be fine. You don't need me for anything; you just think you do. You'll be fine without me." Callisto smacked her forehead, remembering the stories Knives used to tell her, when she was mastering language. "Before Vash beat you! Yes, remember that! You had those Gung-ho people, but you didn't hang out with them or anything. Before Vash beat you, you liked being all alone and stuff. Don't get all mushy just because I'm a plant and a girl. Seriously, you need to stop being so superficial and so selfish. Gunsmoke doesn't revolve around you." With that, she stood and pulled her gloves back on. "I need to go back to the bay. I found some old specimens I want to test. Thanks for dinner; see you next week."
Nuisance looked up from cleaning her belly and stared widely at Knives as Callisto's heavy footsteps faded.
Knives rubbed his eyes roughly with his fingers in frustration. "But I was lonely back then – I missed my brother…and I learned how to be lonely and to want someone with me, and if I…I just want someone to receive my companionship," he whispered softly, "and treat me with that same kind of…just…affection would be…dammit…"
If Callisto had heard his words, she would have ignored the sentiment, though, for she knew his wants and reasoning, and saw within them far too many flaws.