Tempest Wind (Vash x F!Reader)

Unexpected Visitors

Despite Vash's best efforts, you refused to sleep. Most of the night you spent walking around the abandoned village again. Looking at what was left of the houses and the things left behind by the people. You found a few books and pictures, some broken tech like radios, and miscellaneous components. It seems like they left on their own accord and weren't chased out by something else. You sit down on the little step leading into the house where Vash is sleeping and look up into the sky. You see a shimmer of green gracing the black sky. The color green is trying to tug at some memories. The voices are quiet, enough for you to hear the hum of the larvae in the sky.

You close your eyes and try to imagine a vivid green. It feels like home to you, but how? What is green like that? It's not a very common color on this planet, so why does it have significance? Large shapes start to form from that green, with different shades of it looming over you. But it doesn't feel threatening. An icy coldness engulfs your feet and legs up to your knees, the breath of chilliness traveling up, creeping into your spine, and radiating all over your body, making you shiver. You know this feeling—the coolness only water brings, but no water from this planet. A river flowing over rocks, natural water burrowing its way through the landscape. And something else this planet doesn't have—woods. Large trees reaching for the sky, their greenery hiding you from the spring sun.

You look back towards the mossy green path to see a little girl on the river bank looking sadly at you. You have your pants pushed up above your knees as you stand in the freezing water. You start feeling bad for the child and go back, struggling against the stream. You hand her your boots and lift her onto your shoulders, so she sits partially on your bag.

"You're a big girl; you'll have to start crossing the river yourself at some point. Next spring you'll be too heavy for me to carry!" Gentle words cross your lips, and your voice sounds a lot younger.

Holding onto the legs of the girl, you make your way to the other side of the stream; it's not far, and you put the girl down before getting out and drying your legs that you can barely feel. You put on your boots and pull down your pants before starting to run on the spot, trying to get your blood back into your legs to warm them up. The child next to you laughs and starts mimicking you.

As you come back to reality, you see the suns starting to creep up over the horizon. You look over and see Vash sleeping in the same position as you had left him in before going outside. Outside? You sit up from the armchair and walk to the kitchen. Everything seems just as you left it—Vash's bowl next to the gas burner, the mess kit taken apart, laying on the counter. The unsettling feeling is quickly replaced by your brain feeling like it's going to explode. Your hands cup your head, and your fingers pull on your hair. A silent hiss escapes you. Trying to breathe through the pain and not lose focus, you stagger forward till you find the counter against you. Breathe in. Breathe out. Focusing on a simple task is enough to calm the screeching. With the screams quieting down, you realize you hear other voices; they are faint but definitely there. You carefully peek out the window and see figures moving around the abandoned village. These don't seem to belong to bandits or looters. You see women and children walking hand in hand, looking into the vacant houses. Some men are among them too; one turns to look at the house you're hiding in, and you duck down.

Silently, you rush back to the bedroom, kneeling by the bed and starting to shake Vash awake. As he opens his eyes, he sees the panicked expression on your face and your finger on our lips, signaling for him to be quiet. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, he partially sits up.

"Listen." You only whisper to him, and already he is turning his head towards the window, training his ear to hear the voices coming from outside.

"Let's pack up quickly," he says quietly, but he is a lot calmer than you. With a simple nod, you go back to the kitchen and pick up the stuff you left laying about and stuff it all into your bag. Returning to the bedroom, you see that Vash has already changed into his regular travel clothes and is rolling up your blankets and mattresses. You stuff your bag full of everything you can pick up and go check the toma saddles to make sure they are ready to go.