Sand and Dust - Trigun Stampede
Yeah... I don't have any words for this one really. Vash has been living rent-free in my head and I need to get all my ideas out before I forget them, so please enjoy this hiding/allergy scene that definitely should've happened but unfortunately didn't. Set between episode 4 and episode 5. I love this little family and Vash duh <3
Comments and tags and feedback are always loved and appreciated as well ☺️
After their escape from the worm, the band of journalists and outlaws stop at an desecrated shanty town to search for fuel and supplies. It's small, with only a few buildings standing as proof that people ever lived here. The place looks like something out of a horror movie.
Meryl is the only one who wants to keep going. Something about this place doesn't feel right to her. “The radar says there’s a populated outpost fifty miles from here. We shouldn’t stop here, it looks abandoned.”
“I’d like to stretch my legs,” Roberto says, one of the first to hop out of the vehicle. Wolfwood and Vash follow shortly after. “And it looks like it’s three to one, newbie.“
“We won’t be here for long,” Vash reconciles gently, opening Meryl’s door for her. “It’ll be better to search here first, in case the next outpost isn’t welcoming.”
Meryl grumbles something about wanting to go one day without getting shot at or eaten by something before she hops out of the car, following behind Roberto.
“Vash and I will search the shops for supplies. Roberto, you and the kid find some fuel for the car,” Wolfwood says as he lights another cigarette, his cross weighted across his back. “Meet back here in forty five minutes.”
The two groups split up and head in opposite directions. Roberto and Meryl walk towards what looks like a service station while Wolfwood and Vash search a dilapidated store for bullets and supplies.
“This place looks like it’s been abandoned for years,” Wolfwood says as they saunter inside. Golden flecks of dust dance through the air, like shimmery diamonds. Just the sight makes Vash’s nose itch.
Wolfwood kicks over a box and rummages through the contents. “Wonder what happened.”
“There’s no plant here… but it doesn’t seem like there ever was one to begin with. Maybe they just couldn’t keep supplying the town.” Vash looks around the store. The windows are shattered, the shelves toppled over in a heap. The place has been ransacked, either by bandits or something else.
He starts to investigate for any information or signs of life while Wolfwood kicks another box over. Vash's gaze lands on deep, long scratch marks on the floor that lead out the door. They’re about a meter long and are cut deep into the wood.
“Was someone dragged out of here…?” It doesn’t look like an animal made this. He looks closer at the walls. There’s smatterings of blood near the baseboards and pieces of the wallpaper have been ripped apart. More signs of struggle.
Suddenly, the earth begins to vibrate, deep and slow. Vash freezes as the walls begin to shake and the broken glass on the floor starts to chatter. Dust billows off the tops of the shelves in waves.
Vash slides quickly over to the broken door and presses against the wall, peering outside. Something is here.
“Wolfwood,” he hisses, searching for him in the store. The undertaker appears silently beside him, like a ghost, and Vash nearly yelps in fright at the surprise.
“We’re being hunted.” Wolfwood’s breath is low and quiet. “Another worm, or something of the same size. See the sand over there?” He points to the enormous, sharp ridges rising like waves at the edge of the town.
Vash gasps when he realises where it's crawling to. “It’s heading for Meryl and Roberto—“ He moves to lunge towards the door, but Wolfwood is quicker and shoves him roughly against the wall, his hand pressed tightly to Vash’s chest.
“Idiot! Do you want to get swallowed up again? If they hide and keep quiet, it won’t know they’re there. We just have to wait it out.”
Vash heaves an irritated sigh but relents. Wolfwood is right. The worm might know they’re here, but as long as they stay put, it should pass on. He tries not to imagine the poor human who made those scratch marks on the floor, a helpless victim for the worm’s appetite.
They wait, pressed against the wall as the sand starts to shift towards the store rather than the service station. Even though it's now headed for them, Vash feels hope blossom in his chest at the fact that the worm has changed course from Meryl and Roberto. He shuts his eyes and sniffles, eager to get out of this dusty store.
The earth rumbles again, sending sheets of dust and sand off the shelves again. The aftermath hangs suspended in the air directly around Wolfwood and Vash, surrounding them like a fog.
Vash rubs at his nose. The itch that blossomed in his nose when they walked into the store has become more persistent, rooted. His eyes are starting to water and he can feel his throat becoming tight as the dust enters his sinuses. This is not a good time for his allergies to act up. He tries not to breathe, but that just makes the itch worse and makes his nose start to run. The rumbling gets deeper as the worm approaches. It feels like there’s a tingling, burning fire in his sinuses. He presses his head back against the wall, breath catching in his chest as the itch becomes too much to hold back.
“Hih… hh… hihhh…!” His eyes slip shut as he hitches, eyebrows pinching together in sneezy irritation. He’s going to—!
“H’NDKT!” Suddenly, there’s a warm hand pressed against his nose, pinching his nostrils shut and forcing him to stifle. He releases a shaky breath and opens his teary eyes to see Wolfwood staring daggers at him.
Don’t. You. Dare. He seems to say with his gaze. Wolfwood's hand is still clasped around Vash’s nose.
The worm rumbles past them, the vibrations growing lighter as it moves on.
Now that the imminent danger is out of the way, Wolfwood releases Vash and grabs him by the collar of his jacket, pulling him up so that Vash is just dangling in the air by Wolfwood's fists. He chokes in surprise and grips his wrists.
“You dumbass! You’re going to get us killed!“ He hisses, pushing Vash back against the wall.
“S-sorryhh… ihht’s the duhh.. duhhst…- heh! H’IGKT’uh! Hih’IGKTsh!
Wolfwood has dropped his grip on Vash’s collar to press his hand around the blonde’s nose again and catch the two sneezes. They both freeze as the rumbling of the earth comes to a sudden halt. They've been heard.
They’re chest to chest now, silent. The only sounds Vash can hear are their heartbeats pounding rhythmically in their chests, waiting for the inevitable.
In an instant, the worm races back in their direction again and the earthquakes resume in greater intensity.
Wolfgang presses him so tight against the wall that Vash can barely breathe. They need to stay silent. He can only drink in small sips of air around his hand, which is probably for the best because every breath just ignites the itch deeper in his sinuses. He rubs his nose against Wolfgang’s hand, desperate for relief. He’s so itchy. He has to… he’s going to—
“Vash—” Wolfgang stutters as he watches Vash’s features twist again. This is a battle that Vash is going to lose.
“H’ihTSSHHhiew!” Vash sneezes loudly against Wolfgang’s hand, unable to hold the sneeze back despite the support. Wolfgang curses under his breath as the spray coats his hand and pulls his hand back, readying his cross. The rumbling of the earth intensifies.
The itch has multiplied in his nose, flecks of dust and sand pressing themselves deeper into his sensitive nostrils. He sneezes again, and again, and again.
“H’TSCHhh! H’ITSCHh’tssh! Hh-ih… H’aHTSSCHhh’ue!”
“You absolute dipshit!” Wolfwood shouts and punches him in the chest. Vash grunts against the blow and leans against the wall. Any remaining glass on the window shatters as the worm screams beneath the sand.
Wolfwood grabs his machine gun cross and rips off the fabric, twisting the cross across his shoulders. He takes aim as the worm peaks above the sand with a roar. The building shakes and the ground starts to give way beneath them.
“Run!” Wolfwood kicks Vash in the ass out the door, sending him falling on his face and into the sand. He sneezes again but scrambles to his feet as the worm rams its enormous neck into the store.
Wolfwood fires off a round at the giant beast’s head, leaping towards solid ground before racing after Vash. His bullets make direct contact and penetrate the beast's hide. The worm roars and sinks back into the sand, bloodied and angry. The earth shakes again.
“If we survive, I’m going to kill you!” Wolfwood smacks the back of Vash’s head as they near the vehicle. Roberto and Meryl are already in the front seat, searching for them.
“Drive!” They both shout as they tumble into the backseat. Without missing a beat, Meryl shoots the car forward and they take off.
Vash is in the middle of a sneezing fit as they drive away from the town, holding his head in his hands. "H'idTSHh! Heh... H'ipTSHhhiew! Hih-hih-hh..! H'ITSSHhhh'ue! Snfff..."
He takes a deep breath and slumps against the seat, exhausted, but not before one final, "Huh.. hahktschh..." It's no more than a release of air and is a testament to how tired he is. He snuffles again and scrunches up his nose as the itch subsides.
"Enough! Will you shut up already!" Wolfwood snaps, pressing his body tight against the car door. He looks like a sibling who wants to do nothing more than to get away from his younger, annoying brother. Anger rolls off of him in fiery, unrelenting waves.
In the rearview mirror, Meryl watches as the general store sinks into the sand and the worm rises above again, its cries splitting the sky. It decides not to follow them, luckily.
“Jeez. No wonder that town is abandoned,” she says, turning on the radio. “I told you guys we shouldn’t have stopped there. We could’ve been swallowed up again!”
“Blame needle-noggin over here,” Wolfwood mutters, pressing a cigarette to his lips. He casts a glare at Vash out of the corner of his eye, who is pawing at his irritated nose.
“I told you I’m.. I-hh.. h’ITSHHiew!” He sneezes again, the spray catching Wolfwood’s thigh. “Sndff! I told you I’mb sorry!”
“I don’t care! And would it kill you to cover your mouth?!” Wolfwood punches Vash’s arm and turns to glare out the window, mumbling something about how disgusting Vash is and how he wishes he’d left him with the worm. Vash just smiles and rubs at his arm, chuckling sheepishly.
“Hey, boys, no fighting. Be nice,” Meryl chides, angling the rearview mirror to look at both of them.
Vash gives her a shy smile and waves, his nose a bright rosey pink. Wolfwood glares at her reflection and flips her off before turning his attention out the window again. She laughs, and turns up the radio as they race across the dunes of sand.
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BLUE HAIR RAVENSTAN IM PTERODACTYL SCREECHING
*rm!clyde autism vc* erm, actually! its pterodactylus!~
but, no, fr. he is the moment, the movement!!!!
and everyone thinks it's because he's in his cool boy, cool blue, blue rad(s)berry, bad boy era, when in reality he's in his imy ky sad boi era.
like after they fought when the call girl news came out, which, tbh, i think ended with kyle about to call ravenstan 'stan' but then he stopped himself at the last second and yelled out, "no, fuck that! you don't Deserve to have his name! my stan would NEVER do this to me!
....fuck you, raven."
which...OOOOOOOOF. when stan and kyle know who each other are and don't call each other by their actual first names...its really bad. like actually, at the end of The Kyle Can't Say I Love You Fight where jersey is begging ravenstan to stay, stan gives him one last chance and is like "tell me you love me." and kyle is like "w-what?" and stan grabs kyle's hand, looks deep into his eyes, bearing his heart and is like "tell me you love me and i'll stay." n kyle tries and tries and tries
...but he Can't :(
so stan wipes his eyes, laughs a sad little laugh, drops kyle's hand, picks up his black jansport backpack and in The Voice just goes
"adios, jersey."
and SLAMS! the door behind him.
now, one of my favorite things about writing rm is a lot of stuff seems really cute and coy on the surface, but it's actually kind of insidious. or even that something as harmless/innocuous as a nickname might carry the weight of the world across a mere six letters. see, because when ravenstan called his kyle 'jersey' at the that first crimson dawn concert when he chose kyle as his victim, as we all now know, stan knew exactly who kyle was, but pretended not know, and what's more? stan gave kyle a cute little nickname...
jersey.
cute, light, bouncy. on the nose, where blush ran like red snow across that valley of freckles and melted our college student ice king into glassless puddle at the mere utterance of that word from raven's lips. not too much to think about there. seems like a simple thing, calling the boy you like a funny name, to tease him or make him feel special.
to everyone but stanley marsh in that moment, calling kyle jersey and continuing to call him jersey wasn't something he did to be cheeky, it was strategic...it was personal. because it was much easier for stanley marsh to call his precious long lost kyle broflovski jersey...
...than kyle.
it's probably not as obvious as i think it is when i'm writing it in, but if you look closely in rm, you might notice that ravenstan almost exclusively calls kyle jersey, except for a couple really tender moments, or by accident. bc he's not supposed to use kyle's name/
one, it's just too hard, because saying kyle's name invokes way too much raw emotion in him, like the raven voice drops, he starts doing the stan voice, his eyes get shiny, it's half a sob, half a prayer, there's an overwhelming urge to hold him...like it's too obvious. kyle can't say ily and stan is not supposed to say kyle's name.
so he created jersey as a buffer, a fail safe. he created the jersey nickname to create distance between himself and kyle, so that he could keep his head on his shoulders and not go off book.
which is not to say that later on they don't use raven/crow and jersey/yersey when they're being funny/feeling fond, but if kyle calls stan raven in the shrewd deadpan voice or raven calls kyle jersey in the aloof, cool boy raven voice....THEY ARE FIGHTING!!! which...ya.
anyways, speaking of ravenstan's blue hair ( the closest approximate of which i think is this picsart monstrosity i edited [ which idk who drew this but all the credit in the world to them like thats my son ], i also did a blonde one ) after the fight, i just know stan was spiraling super hard, a bottle of chase azul tequila and a bottle of blue arctic fox hair in the other, washing his face w/ his tears, scream singing to abba on vinyl ( jersey loves abba, stan gave him a lot of shit for it growin up, their first dance at sadie hawkins was also an abba song )
and just boarded the plane the very next day with blue ass hands and blue ass hair...also pls note that when stan made the seating arrangements, it was well before they had that fight, so stan put himself next to kyle ( and its a small private plane so the rows only have two seats, i think ) and its a mess like...Roll Clip!
jers: "what? wouldnt'ya ratha sit next to ya girlfirend? here, i'll mov-"
raven: "kyle, you've been mentally preparing yourself to sit in this particular seat for weeks. you begged me to show you the layout of the plane so you could practice. you're not moving. plus, she has a window seat and you hate the window seat. i made sure you were sitting in the aisle seat so you could get up, so you don't feel trapped."
jersey, trying not to be rizzed: "and yet here i am...Trapped. With. You."
jersey, scoffing: "wow. blue? really?"
raven: "thought you'd be pleased, considering it's your favorite color"
jersey: "not anymore."
ravenstan, being a little shit: "oh, yeah? what's it now. whatever it is, i'll change it. i brought color oops just in case." ;)
jersey, rolling his eyes: "y'know, i actually don't like any colors at the moment. hate 'em all! guess you'll have to shave ya head." <3
raven: "no worries. gq magazine says i have the bone structure for it."
aAAAAAASASASAAAAA!!!!! they are being so cunty like boys relax oh my goddddddd...speaking of being relaxed. kyle is not that. kyle does not like planes, reads the emergency card 100 times, makes them check all the systems like 100 times and is particularly frightened by taking off the runway/turbulence so he actually...grabs stans hand by accident, breathing really and stan just squeezes his palm reassuringly and strokes the arch of jersey's knuckles with his thumb before they break away and kyle pretends like it never happened.
stan also...falls asleep on kyle's shoulder for like 70% of the flight, like kyle is just doing something dorky like the sudoku puzzle or reading hemmingway and stan's beautiful freshly blue chai-scented head plops on kyle's shoulder, sleeping soundly. and i shit you not kyle is scared to move that entire flight, a baby looks like its gonna start crying and kyle gives it The Glare and it swallows that sound back up. he's fighting demons and the demons are wanting to gaze longingly at your sleepy ex-sbf and kiss him on the forehead aaaAAAAAAA.
but ya! i love you manic blue hair stan! my hero! my zero!
-uncle nina, dyed hair idiot boy stan agenda
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