One-shot book

Sleep

Im in the trigun trenches.

word count: 1839

OC in canon

GEN

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It had been two-hundred-thirty-four and nine hours since the crash, and sixty-two days and nine hours since his brother had officially run away from them. Nai stared silently at the sands that swelled around the buried ship he had made their home. He picked at the fabric covering his legs, it was sandy and itchy. He missed the dome. Even if the dome meant he was trapped on that stupid ship, at least it wasn't sandy.

He shivered, his eyes dragging over to the sun in the sky. The third was still rising. Nai hummed, the holy sun. He could not help but associate the suns with the words he would read silently. That could be a sign that this planet was destined for his plan and his paradise. This planet he found, the antithesis of them falling as dazzling stars chose, will be a paradise for him, and his sisters. His only family.

He will be the new Moses. He will guide his people through the desert, he will act as a vengeful hand and part the sea of diseased vermin. Cut through them like grain a farmer cuts. He will make their Eden, and seal the gates to those unworthy. His sister's hymns will no longer be in pain or suffering, but a harmonious, peaceful orchestra. His daydreaming was interrupted by a soft prodding to his mind. Raising his head, he tilted to look into the burrow.

He had commandeered this ship early on into the long days of his soon paradise. He followed the voice of a lone sister nearby and found this maintenance ship. The scent of vermin was strong in the ship, but it was stale. His sister's bulb lay in the back of the ship, tucked away behind a compressed maintenance panel. The parasites that they had were, had left her to rot. Alone to burn herself out till she drained her energy into this useless ship. He believed that the rot he smelled on the wind was their flesh being ripped by the vultures of this planet (he hoped so they wouldn't come back an encroach on his small haven). He snuck closer to the plant, her eyes peeking out of the bud she was in. His feet's soft padding is the only thing besides breathing machines and whispered breaths.

She blossomed upon seeing his arrival, large glass eyes flickering in the artificial lights. Her soft chirruping melody filled his mind as she swam closer to the glass. He felt his mouth twitch into a smile leaning over the flickering console. The cool glass was a balm to his skin from the blistering heat of the dry landscape outside. He huffed under his breath at the gentle but excited prod from her.

'Are the suns up' her voice crooned through his mind.

"The third just reached its highest point" he whispered like a secret. Her bemused mind glided over his, asking for a peak of what's outside.

"It looks the same as it did the day before" he hummed, tilting his head back from her. Hushed blue flickered off her eyes and lashes from Nai's own markings. The plant huffed in annoyance, bubbles wisping past her mouth.

'You don't know it could change suddenly, she wheedled petals a flutter, we don't get to see outside' her gaze slid over him to the makeshift bed. Following her unwavering gaze to the mattress he pulled to the center of the chamber, he swallowed the lump that grew at the sight.
The women on the bed's shallow breath filled his ears, finally being cut from the pneumatic hiss of machines. Her brown hair pooled around her head, blonde showing their faces in her roots. Pale skin almost translucent as sweat dripped from her temple.

'She was calling for you again.." his sisters hushed in his mind, a melancholy whistle to her lips. 'I think she's lonely...'

Pulling himself from his sister he walked closer to the bed, dropping to his knees to crawl to sit next to the women's bed. He leaned over her, not yet touching or disturbing her. Fingers twitching on his knees, her breaths puffed against the silicone of the breathing mask and soft drip of liquid for a drip.