001 Enter the Alchemist

[snacklist]

[Sometime after the initial panic of finding himself in a strange place where books talked at you when you opened them, there were no Homunculi or anyone familiar at all, and... everything ever; much later at night after things have started to sink in, there is a polite sounding voice over the journals after a self conscious throat clearing.]

Good evening! My name is Alphonse Elric and... do any you know Brother? His name is Edward and he's the... [little] ...alchemist with a red coat.

[What more can he really say? This is still so overwhelming and ridiculous.]

...I hope I can meet you all in person soon, talking over... a book seems a bit impersonal for a first meeting. [And then, in case that made anyone think he didn't want to talk now, he hastily added:] But it's nice to meet you anyway.

[ooc: Open to all]

Comments

[bloodsugar]

[ah. ;( but no mention of their father...?]

I'm... sorry. Sorry to hear that...

[snacklist]

Thanks.

[He clears his... throat... a little, the hollow sound awkward.]

Brother wouldn't believe this place.

[bloodsugar]

[herps...]

...Is he a... skeptic sort of person?

[snacklist]

I don't think you need to be a sceptic not to believe in a magical kidnapping castle.

[bloodsugar]

W-well. You seemed to stomach it well enough, Al?

[snacklist]

I'm not as angry as Brother, he'd yell and put on a scary face.

[bloodsugar]

Ahhh, so! He's that type, eh?

[snacklist]

Right! He's makes the scariest faces and he's really rude!

[bloodsugar]

Well, he sounds positively charming! He must make you quite proud with an attitude like that... [heh heh.]

[snacklist]

[He laughs, rubbing a hand over the top of his helmet.]

He really does make me proud. He's not just got a scary face, he's really kind and determined too.

[bloodsugar]

[f... fff; all the warm fuzzies for brotherly love.]

Yeah? I wonder what he'd say if he could hear you talking him up like this, Al.

[snacklist]

Mm... He hears it back home too, it's not a secret.

[bloodsugar]

[oh god his heart HIS HEART HISHEART]

A-ahh. Brothers should always know they're loved... I'm glad to hear that, Alphonse.

[snacklist]

Do you have a brother, Abel?

[bloodsugar]

Mm, I do! His name is Cain. [he flashes a thumb's up YEAHHH BROTHERS.]

[snacklist]

[Abel and Cain goes RIGHT OVER HIS HEAD.]

Is he here too?

[bloodsugar]

[herps.]

Ah-- no... no. Not anymore, I'm afraid...

It's a shame. He would've liked you, Al, I'm sure of it. But he might come back one day, hm?

[snacklist]

I think it's a good thing Brother isn't here, even if I'm going to miss him. We have things to do that are more important, and I trust him to be okay when I get back.

[bloodsugar]

[oh... right, right. time...]

...That's the funny thing about staying here, Al. Time doesn't behave like it should.

You could spend years in the castle, but when you're sent back home... you won't remember any of it, and it'll all have taken place in the blink of an eye!

[snacklist]

Really?

[...He's silent a moment, processing that (hard as it is to actually process).]

Good, then I know Brother won't be worrying about me.

[bloodsugar]

Mm. We wouldn't want that, would we? Or for you to miss out on something good at home, too!

Everything'll be waiting for you right where you left it when you head back one day.

[snacklist]

[Like them getting their original bodies back, which he knows will happen one day!]

I guess I can enjoy the vacation then, huh?

[Or at least, that seemed to be the best way to look at it.]

[bloodsugar]

Exactly!

...Though...

[it really wouldn't be fair of him to paint the picture of paradise, when Paradisa was anything but.]

This place isn't all roses and sunshine, Al. There are a few things that you should know about while you're here.

[snacklist]

[Nowhere ever was all roses and sunshine, what mattered was moving forwards through it.]

What?

[bloodsugar]

[let's start at the beginning, shall we...]

...When you first woke up here, Paradisa took something of a 'price' from you for entry. I guess it's an 'entry fee,' even if we never asked to be here to begin with. Courteous, isn't it? [ahem.]

It can be anything from one of your senses, to memories, to an ability to do something. Silly, like putting on your clothes -- or serious, like no longer being able to see from an eye. Whatever it is, there's no way to tell what you've lost for certain without discovering it yourself.