Disclaimer: Trigun is sadly enough not mine, or there would have been way more episodes!

Chapter 47: Knives' POV
He had not expected blue-eyes to track him down. Nor had he expected her to settle next to him on the cliff side and just wait. Her emotions were calm, as was her mind, something that he found unusual since he could normally hear a great deal from her. Even with no empathic ability he also found that he could often sense her emotions. Turning his head towards her, he gives her a questioning look.

"Hi," she softly greets him.

He turns back to the desert, muttering, "Why did you climb up here?" He really does wonder why she would have bothered. Despite their traveling together he did not think they were friends, he was only accepted as an extension of his brother, not for himself.

Smiling at him, she replies, "Your hurting, and ummm, its not good." She pauses for a minute before continuing, "Meryl suggested that you would over think things, I think she's right. It's just…" she trails off, uncertainty in her voice.

Temper had sent her? Why would she do that? It did not make any sense, she did not like him. Neither of them really liked him. Why would they, he was the reason that they were trapped on this planet, he was the reason that life is the way life is. Giving an internal shake of his head, he fleeting looks at her, his emotions in turmoil. Go away blue-eyes, I do not wish to deal with any spiders right now. He tells her, his mind voice even, even if his emotions are not.

She ignores this order however, instead scooting closer to him on the rock and tentatively wraps an arm around his shoulder. "Nope, not doing it, you'll just sit up here and feel guilty. You might even deserve to feel guilty for some things, but something says you'd feel guilty about way more than is actually your fault. In that regard, Meryl is completely right and you two are alike." Tilting her head to the side, she smiles at him, before continuing, "you know, you don't have to bottle it up any more. Talk to Mr. Vash, talk to Meryl, talk to Lady Kikyo, talk to someone, just get it out of your system so it can't poison you again."

It takes him a moment to respond to her. For one thing he is not used to someone willing touching him. For another thing, why did she not include herself in that list? Why was she the one sitting here? His brother could have, well no he could, he went and exhausted himself, and his temper stayed with him. Never mind, was that why had she been willing to trek up here? Eventually his curiosity as to why she did not include herself in that list wins out and he inquires about it. Why didn't you include yourself?

She shrugs, "Meryl is the only one who ever talks to me about problems. Everyone else thinks I am too slow or innocent." In her thoughts he catches echoes of chapel, but there is something else there beneath the surface. After echoes are sadness , even occasional loneliness.

Changing the subject, he eventually questions, Why did you forgive me? And why are you touching me?

Her smile widens as she happily answers, "Well my grandfather used to tell all of us kids that it is better to forgive than to become that which you are angry at and my mom always said a hug can help make anybodies day better." Her emotions warm up as she pauses for a moment before continuing, "besides why shouldn't I forgive you? Your Mr. Vash's brother who is going to be living with us, past that, and this is really important, Meryl accepts you."

What? he response without thinking, what does she mean by that? Temper accepts me? There is no way that can be correct, she must mean something else. What do you mean temper accepts me?

She turns her head a slight more, her smile widening until he is sure that it could not go any wider. "Meryl accepts you as is. She trusts you, she doesn't really trust anyone. I mean, she trusts me after years of working with me, and she trusts Mr. Vash, but everyone else? No. It's just not like Meryl to trust people easily despite the way she acts sometimes."

He sighs, surprised, and looks back out at the desert. Chapel was a good judge of character, a surprisingly good person despite the fact he was a trained assassin. That had been the reason why he had assigned him to guarding his brother even as he wanted to harm him. That ability to judge character had been useful for insuring that he understood that his brother was supposed to be safe. Those scars though, from the time before he had assigned him a protector, and even a few from after made him realize quite how strong his brother was. It also made him realize how much damage he had taken. Dai had healed most of the damage yet there was still so much of it. Perhaps he should talk to her about it. If chapel could trust her to deal with things, perhaps he could as well.

Mentally frowning he decides he might as well. He is fairly certain that temper already knows way more than he wants her to, not just because Merra and Vash told her either. Some of it he is fairly certain that she figured out on her own. Which means that if blue-eyes was to ask, she would probably get an answer without ever asking him. Yet, she had not asked, not even when she had figured out it was his fault that chapel was dead.

Slowly, not sure what to say, he starts speaking. His mind voice is soft, even as far as he knows, maintaining the same tone as he tells her about how things came to be the way they are. Feeling that the only way to completely explain why he was feeling the way he did, he starts at the beginning, back before the Fall. He only skims over some things, leaving out the dark details even though he does give a general idea of what happened. When he is done he continues to stare out into the desert. He really does not want to know what her reaction is before she wishes to tell him which is why he had kept a tight control over his telepathy.

While he was talking she had looked out over the desert, listening but not saying anything. When he is done, she surprises him by titling her head to look at him, the most startling expression on her face. A small smile curves her lips, even though there is sorrow in her eyes, there is also acceptance. It causes the weirdest feelings inside his head, and it is something he wants to consider later, not right now while sitting atop a cliff with her giving him that look. He really wished he understood human expressions a little better sometimes. Even more surprising is the fact that she goes from giving him a half hug, to turning to give him a full hug, resting her head against his shoulder as she does so.

His breath catches at the contact, its different from anything he can remember. The hugs that Rem had given him had a maternal feel to them, a parent to a child. When Vash would hug him it came with its own feelings, almost always with one of them comforting the other. But this, this was comfort, yet there was something else just beneath the surface he was determined not to look for. Slowly, not sure as to why, he hugs her back. However, he barely maintains a grip, allowing her the control of the touch. Definitely not something he is used to.

Eventually she lets go, sitting back and reaching for her canteen. When it comes back empty she drops it on the ground beside her hand, sighing. For a minute he considers refilling it, but decides not to because the lizaeri had always told him his created water tasted too salty.

We should return to town, in your state you need extra water and there is none here. He comments, not mentioning the fact that he could probably make some.

Slowly getting to her feet, she nods once. For some reason, her eyes never leave him as he stands. He gets the impression that she is studying him. Before he can consider that however, she softly remarks, "I really am not looking forward to the walk back down that hill, did you have to pick somewhere so high to sit?"

Glancing out over the cliff his mind carefully judges the height, for just his weight it would be an easy flight. Adding her weight and it would have to be more like coasting than flying but he could get them to the bottom of the cliff without the community seeing them, without her having to walk, and without having much difficulty. Smiling to himself at the plan, he steps over next to the cliff and does a second look to make sure his math is right.

Do you trust me? he inquires, curious whether the fact that temper trusts him would correlate into her trusting him. Part of him would rather her trust him for him, but it is not something that he is going to push at this point.

She nods solemnly once, responding, "Of course."

The curiosity in him gets the better of the manners he is trying to show. He lessens his grip on his thought hearing ability just enough to get the impression of her reasoning and is startled to discover that part of it might be from temper, but not all of it.

His smile turns to a smirk as he reaches across his back to unfasten the intentional placement of an opening in his armor. Once he feels the snaps unhook, he drops his arm to his side, allowing the power to well up within him. Moments later he feels it as the change begins and his skin, bone, and muscles shift as the massive wings unfurl from within.

Her eyes widen. A look similar to shock but far more pleasant fills them. Almost without considering her actions she steps forward, one hand lifting as if she wishes to touch them. Just before she does, she seems to realize what she was doing and a blush colors her cheeks. When she goes to step back she nearly trips on the canteen and he reaches out to catch her before she can fall even as she corrects her own balance.

"Your beautiful," he hears her say, though it is so soft that he almost wonders if it was aloud or in her head.

Holding a hand out like one of the knights he remember from the childhood stories, he waits for her to decide what to do. It is one thing to say you trust a person, it is completely another to allow them to carry you in the wind.

Again she nods once, before slowly accepting his hand. She almost yelps when he shifts his weight to scoop her up. Once he has her, one arm behind her back, the other under her knees he takes a step back unfurling his wings just before jumping. She quickly wraps an arm around his neck, but keeps watching him. Again he can feel her body prepare to yell and again she does not.

As he turns in the air towards the community of Maran, she settles her head against his shoulder. He can feel it as she goes from being somewhat tense, to relaxed, to sleeping as he steadily flies down the edge of the sheer side of the cliff.