The Humanoid ~Vash x OC AU~

Chapter 10: Breakfast Under Ship 5

Leilani

A hundred and fifty years ago, he was born on a spacecraft called Ship 5. A ship traveling in a caravan of other crafts. All collectively called SEEDS. Each carrying a mass collection of humanity – humans in their pods, held frozen in deep sleep. Some of which are the predecessors to us here on No Man's Land.

Our ancestors.

But more importantly, his place of birth and first true home. His origin and start. Where everything that is Vash began. For the last several minutes, he has sat, telling me about Ship 5 and its function – the blueprints and how it worked. Everything.

"That's amazing," I say, astounded and in awe. "It sounds like everything was so different. So...not simple, but maybe..." I search, rattling through my mind looking for the right word, but I can't find it. "Different."

He chuckles, "It was different. Very different. Being on Ship 5...moving through the stars like we did..." His eyes drift to the ceiling, his thoughts hanging above him as he smiles. "People now could only dream to do that. To see what we saw. To experience what we experienced." His gaze falls back to mine. "Sorry. No offense."

I shake my head, smiling, "None taken. I couldn't even imagine what it was like. To be someone who surfed through the stars the way you all did... It sounds like magic."

"It was. In a way, anyway."

He speaks fondly of this time, leaving his features smooth and light. This way of life was clearly before everything began to go wrong. Before his life was uprooted and thrust into a never-ending hell. Maybe even before the Great Fall.

But as much as I enjoy seeing him become swaddled by those happy memories, I want to know more. I want to sink into things beyond just Ship 5. I want to know him.

"Ship 5 was your home," I say warmly. "You were born there. So, I'm guessing it's safe to assume the plant you were born from was there too."

I tiptoe around this, unsure of how he'll feel. Logically, I know plants don't reproduce through sexual acts and typically reproduce through a process similar to mitosis, leaving a clone copy of the parent plant. As a result, they don't even have a true gender or sexual organs. However, despite that, Vash was born from a plant.

Vash sits for a bit longer, then stands, nodding, "Yes. They were. Well, I knew they had been." He starts to stir the soup, glancing at me over his shoulder. "After Nai and I were born, I don't know what happened to our parent plant. I don't know if it survived or not. I was never told, and I never asked."

I see. Being a creature that reproduces by a near-asexual means must imply that something like the rarity of a live birth could result in death for the parent. It makes sense. Plants aren't designed to deliver live offspring the way humans are. And yet, it rarely happens. Rarely. Very rarely.

He pauses his stirring, standing still for a moment, thinking. Becoming lost in whatever is swirling through his head. And suddenly, I wish I could look for myself. To see what he sees. To observe his past through his perspective. To know what he is feeling.

"I could have asked," he finally says, returning to his stirring. "Rem would have told me. She was our caretaker. Rem Saverem. She was the one who took care of Nai and me. Taught us the things we needed to know. Raised us."

Rem. Rem Saverem. That's a name I haven't heard. However, based on what he said and the lightness in his tone, I'd say she was someone he respected. Maybe someone he was even close to. After all, as his caretaker, she was...

The closest thing to a mother to him.

Suddenly, I feel small. Insignificant, even. But why? Why do I feel this way? Why is there a twinge pulling at my chest? Why?