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

[noblefive]

Alphonse, huh? Nice to meet you... Well, speak to you.

I'm Noble Five, or Jorge if it's easier. And, sorry, but I've never seen the guy you're looking for.

[He is new, and pretty tall, so it'd be easy to miss a guy like Edward.]

[snacklist]

Oh.

That's okay! It's nice to meet you anyway, Mr. Jorge.

[noblefive]

Sorry. Maybe someone else's seen him.

And you don't have to call me 'mister.' Jorge'll be fine.

[That, and Jorge has been a military rank since he was 14. He's never been a mister.]

[snacklist]

I'm sorry to ask if lots of people have before, but... is there really no way home? It's just I have some important things to do.

[noblefive]

No, not that we can see.

If it makes any difference, when you go back home, you go back to when the castle took you.

... Apparently.

[snacklist]

[So he'll go back to being trapped in that dome with Pride... Good, at least he won't be letting Brother down. He sounds more than cheered up at that, just making a determined noise.]

Okay!

Dictated forever

[onlyanapple]

[Sweet, innocent, perfect. A new victim]

Can't say I've seen an alchemist around here for quite a while.

[noblefive]

Heh. Any time. Glad I could help. You adjusting okay?

[snacklist]

Really? None at all?

[He sounds surprised. Sure, they weren't common, but for there to be none?]

[snacklist]

Mm, I think so. It's pretty strange, isn't it? I feel like maybe I'm dreaming.

[Except he couldn't sleep.]

[onlyanapple]

Yeah, last few I saw were months and months ago. You missed the train stop, kid.

[snacklist]

That's okay! Maybe I'm making a... new train stop.

[Haha. Ha. Ha.]

[noblefive]

Tell me about it. I'm supposed to be dead, after all.

[snacklist]

Supposed to be, isn't 'is'. You should be grateful for life.

[He knows what it's like, he's just a soul in a suit of armour, after all.]

[courageous_wit]

An alchemist...? I'm afraid I haven't heard of any alchemists here.

[noblefive]

Well, believe me, I'll be making the most of my time here.

[Considering that, back home, he was ten seconds from being sucked into a void]

[snacklist]

That's the spirit!

So... um... where exactly is here?

[onlyanapple]

[Long pause]

Wow. You're making it far too easy. It'd be almost sad to take advantage of that.

[snacklist]

I guess I'm one of a kind then, huh?

[snacklist]

...

I thought it was funny.

[modernholmes]

Sorry, I haven't met anyone like that here.

[snacklist]

That's okay, I know Brother can take care of himself.

[And hopefully he's still back home, trying to foil Father.]

[modernholmes]

Sometimes friends and family from home show up here weeks or months after a person arrives. Nothing is for certain in this.

[snacklist]

[He wished Ed were there, it was strange for them to be separated, even after they had spent time apart after Briggs. But... they have a future to walk towards, they have to stop Father and the Homunculi, and they wouldn't be able to do that here, so he has to put his personal feelings aside.]

I hope Brother doesn't come.

[modernholmes]

He might not. Or he might. We don't have much of an effect on who is brought here.

[And he was still more than a little annoyed about that. If there was anyone he would have wanted to stay safe at home, it would have been Ran and Haibara.]