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(no subject)

WHO: Alphonse Elric and you
WHERE: Various places
WHEN: The end of September/early October
WHAT: Al goes about his day while awaiting the Mars mission's return.
WARNINGS: None that I can think of. If you would rather do brackets/actionspam I will match.

A. Aegis HQ

Al's been spending a lot of time helping hold down the fort while other members of the Force are traveling to and exploring Mars. Part of him wishes he'd gone along, but he knows to most of society, he's still practically a child, and thus might have been discouraged from going. His lack of knowledge about the technology being used might work against him, as well.

So he spends a lot of time sparring and training, keeping his body in top shape like Izumi had drilled into his skull. He also takes the time to research medical schools in De Chima, strengthening exercises, and perhaps stops to look up stuff about Halloween as a break.

The base is soon filled with some tasteful Halloween and fall decorations, and every now and then the delicious smell of cider, hot chocolate or exotic teas fills the rooms near the kitchenette.

B. Costume

Back home, a walking suit of armor tended to attract a lot of unwanted attention. Here, Al thinks, it might not attract as much... and so, for his Halloween costume, he decides to use his alchemy to shape some foam and plastic into a more form-fitting approximation of his old armor. He uses it to have a little fun, casually strolling around De Chima and Maurtia Falls like this is ordinary attire.

C. Patrolling

Outside of the armor, Al walks his usual beat around Maurtia Falls, carrying a short sword concealed underneath his clothing and keeping a wary eye out for trouble... though he can also be seen playing with young children and stray cats.

He can't be TOO serious, after all.

D. Wildcard

Name a time and a place to run into him.

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[Lucina's arrival is unusually loud and unexpected -- a loud clang rattling through the place, followed by a muted curse and some scraping. following that, the long tromp down the halls on the way to the locker rooms.

she's rather...dusty today, her armor in a state of half-on, half-off as she idly picks at some of the fasteners with one hand, her other lugging her small shield along the way. hair is frizzy and might be in a ponytail? or it just decided to stick out that way and gave up physics.

tiredly, she tromps along until--]

GYEAHGH-!! [she walks into one of the cute little autumn decorations dangling and, mistaking it for a bug, grabs it, yanks it, and violently throws it away from herself as she staggers backward.]

[Al's doing a cooldown stretch when he hears the telltale sounds of someone approaching the rooms. He then yelps with surprise when he hears Lucina's yell, and he scrambles up and into the hallway to see what's the matter- only for the decoration to hit him square in the face.]

UGH! [Then-] Lucina, are you OK?

YAH! Ohh! [Al's sudden appearance startles her, too, and has her scrambling to stay upright, her elbows catching the wall behind her and finally stopping her backward stumble.]

Oh--gods--Al-alphonse? [exhale. she puts a hand over her heart.] Gods, that was...that gave me quite a shock...

I'm sorry- was it the decorations I put up?

[He can make an educated guess, given that one of them had just been flung in his direction. He approaches Lucina, to see if she needs help up.]

I've... been reading about the holiday Halloween, so... I thought I might put some pumpkins and things up.

[He sounds more and more sheepish the more he speaks.]

[she accepts the help, sighing out in a huff once she's got her feet steady.]

No, no, it's fine. I wasn't paying attention to... [she looks down, frowning.] ...Bats on strings...? [squint. did Alphonse take this from Odin's belongings? or, wait--

looking back his way:] Holiday, you said?

[Alphonse nods.]

It happens at the end of October and is dedicated to the harvest, and remembrance of the dead. ... I'm still trying to figure out what bats have to do with that, but there were a bunch of them at the store. Plus costumes to wear, and a lot of candy. Uhm, anyway, I came from a farming town back home, so I thought it sounded nice.

[Lucina combs her bangs out of her eyes, brow furrowed as she listens, until her eyes widen with realization.]

Ah--harvest, you said? Yes--yes, my cousin did tell me about a harvest-season holiday full of costumes. [because of course he would; who, other than Odin, would be more excited?] Costumes and...[squint.] Ghosts? You did say the dead, right? Or did Odin make that up...

... you know, I'm not sure about that, now that you mention it. I love being able to use the internet to look things up, but I don't know how much of it is truthful.

True. [grimace.] Some of the things that place comes up with in regards to Odin can be just... [shudder. eughhgh.

sigh.] Anyway, forgive me... I didn't break anything, did I?

I can only imagine. I looked up fanfiction ahead of FanPort, and some of it is just... absurd. A lot of characters working at coffee shops.

No, I think you're good! I can fix it in a snap, anyway. [To demonstrate, Al takes the wayward bat, brings it back to where it was hanging, and claps his hands to transmute; in a small flash of blue light, the decoration is as good a new.]

Oh-! [the light show catches her off-guard, and she steps away with surprise, holding her breath for a beat longer until she spies the repaired decor.]

...Gods, Alphonse. Did you already tell me you're a sorcerer? If you did, I completely forgot!

I might have forgotten. [He smiles sheepishly at that again.] It's an ability I had back in my world called alchemy. I can reshape things into new forms.

Amazing... Does that mean you can also mend wounds, too? Like a healer's magic? [and without a staff or other apparatus, no less...just his hands...]

That was one of the abilities given to me by the Porter, coincidentally! Alchemists can be healers, as well, but it requires special training. I need to know what something is made of and how it's put together before changing it, which includes human anatomy. It's very delicate.

Ah, that's right-- [that's how he'd introduced himself before -- a healer. she internally kicks herself for forgetting; gods, she needs a nap. still, she smiles back at him with a nod.] So...almost like doctors of this world. The ones who take pictures of bones and organs?

Yeah! That kind of technology is a lot more advanced than what I had back home, in fact, but learning how to use it would help me learn how to heal better.

Then I'm doubly grateful you're part of this time... [goodness knows her time at the clinic hasn't made her much of a doctor. she rolls her shoulder and grimaces.]

I-I hope you'll pardon me. I'm...kind of a mess, here. I need to get this stuff off..

I'm glad to be a part of this force, myself.

[Alphonse nods.]

Sure, and I'm sorry I interrupted you. We can talk more about this later.

Yes, definitely. Pardon me-- [she's just gonna drag her dusty self off to the showers and a mirror -- to discover just how much of a disaster she looked like and be embarrassed about that. gods. why. why does flying ruin hair. ~~to say nothing of wrestling hooligans~~.

give her twenty minutes and she'll be back in civvies, hair tied up nice and neat, and back to wander about and see all the decor Alphonse's put up with less dirt in her eyes.]

Are these...cornstalks? [she lingers at a doorway where some have been affixed, gently tugging at one of the crinkly leaves.]

[Al's gone back to rearraging things in the meantime, fussing and trying to make things look just so, even though he's not sure what "perfect" Halloween decorations look like.]

Yes! The store had hay bales and scarecrows, too, but I figured those would just be hazards in a place like this. Or someone might sleepily attack the poor scarecrow, and considering the variety of powers we have...

[she chuckles, her cheeks a bit pink out of self-consciousness realizing...considering how she'd reacted to the bat? that...yeah. that would've been likely.

gods. she needs a nap.]

It's very charming, Alphonse. The place will do well with a bit of festivity, I think. [it's a bit too sterile for her liking.] And some sense of a farm...You have to travel a bit to see anything like that from here.

[Al nods.]

I thought it would help this place feel a bit more like a home. I know we're here to be peacekeepers and protect the populace, but... I feel like it's good for morale if we can enjoy being here in our downtime, too.

["like home." she may be worn out, but she at least catches that.

head tilting:] So...you grew up around farmland? Corn and bats and trees?

[He nods.]

Well... not too many bats. Brother and I grew up in a country town called Resembool, and there were a lot of sheep farms. Most kids ended up being farmers when they grew up, but Brother and I studied alchemy, and our neighbors were mechanics. [He pauses before remembering to add:] We have a special form of artificial limbs called automail in my world that require skilled mechanics to build and maintain. Unfortunately, a lot of people need them due to having been injured in war.

Edited 2018-10-12 19:41 (UTC)

Mechanical...limbs? [her eyebrows raise.] You mean, like--like armor. But armor that is your body. Not a peg-leg, but a metal one?

[gods, imagine a pirate with an armored leg...]

Yeah, kinda like that! The limbs attach to the body's nervous system and work like a normal limb. But they're heavy and require careful maintenance to work, and the surgery is very painful. Brother had automail for his right arm and left leg. I don't know how he managed for so long, but he's determined.

[she winces at the notion. full plate, affixed to your body like a limb, heavy and dragging on you all the time...]

He must be; it sounds excruciating. That's incredible, Alphonse; I don't believe there was anything like it in Ylisse. Armor, yes...but, enchanted to be a proper body part? [she shakes her head.]

It's one of the reasons I admire him so much- and anybody who can maintain Automail. Some people hide weapons inside theirs, even- blades and claws and such. Brother used alchemy to shape his arm into a blade a lot, and it came in handy in combat.

It sounds handy, to be sure. [and somewhat like Sir Beetle's armaments...things she envied for a time. until the Shimmer.

but...] But you've no augmentations of your own... I take it that it's not as common as I'm imagining? Or as desirable outside of battle. [he did say he grew up on a farm; what business do farmhands have with sword-hands?]

[He nods.]

Automail is a great piece of engineering, but it's also hard on the user. It's so heavy, it stunted Brother's growth somewhat, and you need to be careful to not let it rust or fall into disrepair. It also does require losing a limb- you can't just put it over a healthy limb. So the people who DO have automail tend to be ones who've lost theirs in accidents or war.

Ah...

[a war, is it? it's really too much to ask that there be a world out there that's not rife with it, huh. she feels a little pang of empathy for him and his brother as she nods.]

I understand. It's still very incredible technology. The chance to move and act freely again... I don't know if even this world has such things.

It doesn't seem to... not yet. I'm kind of glad for that, that the need to make such advanced artificial limbs wasn't necessary. There are robots, but those seem to be designed to do tasks that are too dangerous for humans, not replace what they've lost.

That's the sort of thing we can help keep from being necessary. [nod.] So let's work hard to help these people, right?

I plan on it. I won't sit by while people need my help.

Good man. [another resolute nod. then, giving the decor a thoughtful look:]

...You know. We ought to make something of all this work of yours, don't you think? It is for a festival season, right? [gears are turning.]

Mmhmm. I'm open to ideas for how to make it better.

[tapping her chin with thought.]

We ought to do some more research...see what can be really done with this facility for the occasion. I bet we could even invite locals to visit! That would help make stronger bonds with the city, don't you think?

[Al's face brightens up at that.]

Hey, that's a pretty good idea! The public might want a chance to see us as people- not just a faceless group. It'd help them relate to us.

[nod nod nod] That's right! We could only benefit from a bit more good will, yes? I think we ought to give it a try.

I should ask Jacob, see what he thinks...

[He nods.]

I'd appreciate it if you would. Anything to help us build a good rapport with the citizens of this place.

[fist pump! suddenly energy? wasn't she exhausted two minutes ago?]

That's right! Get some good ideas brewing for more decor, Alphonse; I'll need your help!

I'm on it. Come to think of it, there's probably a bunch of ideas on the internet.

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