Characters: Alphonse, Davesprite, Dug, Homura, and Sora Location The aquarium Date: Day 177 Summary: Many people converge on the aquarium Warnings: None
[The aquarium is a creepy place, let's all mingle.]
[Al cuts a strange figure as he clanks into view of the aquarium, a metal suit of armour standing just about eight feet tall with a loin cloth, a towel wrapped around his shoulders like a cape, some pink earmuffs and a scarf wrapped right around his helmet to hide the faceplate from view.
He steps into the aquarium and shakes the snow from himself, before peering around to see if anyone else is there.]
Hello? Anyone here?
[His footsteps echo loudly on the floor as he comes further inside.]
[Sora had gotten back from his latest bout of exploration and was setting up shop in the gift shop like he normally did when he heard something echoing through the halls. He tensed out of habit and hunkered down where he was, slowly reaching for his keyblade--
Only to relax completely when he heard Al's voice.]
Al!
[Hoping up from his little nest, Sora made his way out of the gift shop and into the main area of the aquarium, beaming at the other when he spotted him.]
[He hesitates, but Sora deserves to know in case it comes up.]
I spoke to Mr. Solomons, though, and he was kind of annoyed that I was coming up to meet you. If he gives you a hard time over it, don't listen to him, okay?
[Davesprite's group is last to arrive, for though they've made no detours, they had the furthest distance to travel. And it's not that Davesprite's eager to arrive. It was here the other day that his wariness first crept in, leaving him jumpy and nervous, and it's lingered enough in the past days that he expects another visit will do no favors. And why should it? This is the place he ran into Bucky first, where the almost-fight between Bucky and Charles went down, and where he and so many others were trapped during the static and eyes that overtook everything.]
[Once inside, that feeling us validated. He hears metal. Something about it tickles a vague familiarity, subtle but not distinct, distorted through echoes and distance from the source. But the sound of metal has always meant be wary, first in training and then in game, sword fights traded up from Bro to monsters with feet clanking across the gears of the Land of Heat and Clockwork for months on end.]
[He splits off from Homura and Dug. He moves past broken fish tanks and displays, slow, listening. He gets his wooden spoon from the loop in his utility belt into his hand, a downright stupid weapon but the best thing he has. He peers past a corner—]
Al? Jesus fucking christ, dude.
[His shoulders slump out of their ready posture as he floats properly into a view, matching with a sigh that falls out of him. Al. Of course it's Al, and he knows the sound from the network, so of course it sounded different here in person.]
B. Open
[Even after he's figured out where the clanking is coming from, Davesprite's nerves don't disappear completely. It's not his fault with the paranoia rattling around his brain, but he probably doesn't know that yet, and it doesn't stop the occasional background clank from kicking at his nerves anyway. It's like instinct. He can tell himself it's safe all night, but the feeling's still there bugging him.]
[The best way to distract himself, obviously, is to babble. Homura, Dug, and Sora alike will surely know by now that it's common with him, and he keeps it up whether or not they're in range to even hear him.]
I gotta wonder, what kind of fish were they keeping in this place? What's Alaska need an aquarium for? Some tiny little town, population 100, and you're telling me they got themselves a fancy place like this? Little old towns in the south only wish they got it that fancy. Probably. Did they have them? Houston had one but I never went. Who wants to stare at fish all day? You got the gulf right southeast, the bay before that; what do you need the aquarium for? But then Alaska's freezing, right, so maybe they needed it. How close are we to the ocean? 76 kilometers from Kotzebue, and what does that mean? Who uses kilometers in America? How long's a kilometer? Forget the center, I'm gonna find a car and learn to drive so I can haul us all on a goddamn road trip. 'Sup, Kotzebue, can you teach me geography? Can you teach me why the American education system went and changed the measurement system sometime in the past 141 years? Where's the ocean, Kotzebue, I want to stare at the fish while I swim my way to Russia to give Winter a piece of my mind.
[He's just going to keep it up if no one interrupts him.]
[He almost doesn't hear the sound of his own body any more, he's so used to it, though he does know that he's not particularly good at sneaking. His feet make noise no matter how much he tries to muffle it, and the plates of his armour clink together softly with each movement. He has no idea that sound bothers anyone else.
Davesprite is much stranger in person than over the video, though at least he's prepared for it and doesn't show visible surprise, just raising a hand in a slightly awkward wave.]
['Stranger in person' goes for Al just as well. While his armor didn't look small when he saw him over video, the sheer size now is a little intimidating. Al said he was fifteen, didn't he? This doesn't look like the armor for the average person that age, much less someone who doesn't sound as though his voice has broken yet. It makes him wonder more still what the purpose of the scarf over the faceplate is, but he doesn't ask. Al made it clear enough that it's an uncomfortable topic.]
[The longer he looks at him, the easier it is to push back his wariness over the sound.]
Yeah, no wonder. No legs.
[He motions down with both hands in a kind of presenting motion: tada, it's a floating tail. Of course, paranoia had him sneaking around more carefully, too.]
Just got here. Homura and Dug are around too, but I heard you, and—
Oh, uh--- yeah, I guess I do make quite a bit of noise, don't I?
[He looks slightly abashed, but there's not much he can do about it. Knowing there are others here too is pretty good, he always enjoys company, though he's a little unsure about Homura after their first conversation. Talking with her might remind him of Mami too much, and he misses her every day.]
Sorry, I hope I didn't disturb you too much?
[He does his best not to move around a lot after lockdown so as not to disturb people who are sleeping, but it's still early yet.]
[He's just starting to notice how Davesprite seems on edge. It's not the strangest thing here, but he can't help but wonder if something specific has happened.]
[Scared? Is that how he comes off? His mouth presses flat, tight, but he knows he's been more wary lately. Homura pointed it out too.]
I'm not scared, just careful. The last time I was here was when I ran into Bucky, and you obviously saw what I said about that. Not to mention the static and the eyes. Plus we've been going down around the entrance area, through here and then past the fire station, then ran into other people yesterday... There were six of us at that house; you know the risk. So now I hear a mystery clanking from deep in the building, and like hell I'm going to barge in blindly after that.
[It slips out in surprise before he can hold it back. He's not that offended, Davesprite didn't think that when he saw who it actually was, but it's not pleasant to know he can put people that on edge just from the sound of his footsteps.]
I guess my footsteps do sound kind of unusual.
just in case, cw: abuse mention (though Davesprite doesn't recognize it as such)
It's more... Metal sounds mean 'watch your back' to me. My brother trained me to sword fight, and sometimes he'd do sneak attacks, so I had to keep on guard. Then in the game my friends and I played, my land was full of gears just constantly clanking in the background. And if I heard more footsteps coming, something irregular, it meant an underling might be coming. It's basically instinct by now.
[The explanation feels inadequate somehow, but he doesn't know how better to put it.]
[He can't really look confused, but the subtle way his armour moves says he's curious. He's not particularly concerned, it sounds like the sort of training Izumi would employ.]
That makes sense. My teacher used to sneak attack us on occasion to keep us on our toes, it definitely means I have sharper instincts now.
[He shrugs.]
Swords sound pretty cool, I've never really trained in weapons of any kind. I know alchemy and hand to hand fighting for combat, I guess that's all I've ever needed.
[He hears the tiny clinks, milder with the slight movements, but there just the same. It's been a while since they were there in the background so frequently, but he's better at not reacting once he knows the source, even thought something like a gut feeling keeps nagging him that it's unsafe.]
Al, you're a kid with a giant suit of armor. You could probably knock someone across a room if you slapped them hard enough.
[So no, he does not expect he would need a weapon.]
But how do you use alchemy for combat? We made new weapons with the form we had, but I'm gonna guess that's not what you mean.
Well, alchemy is based on the principle of Equivalent Exchange.
[He perks up, obviously extremely passionate about this particular topic of conversation.]
An alchemist then uses the power of tectonic plates shifting to transmute materials from one thing into another, as long as it's the end product is the equivalent of what's been used. But that doesn't just have to mean making a chair out of the ground, and leaving a small hole behind. It could be leaving that same hole behind, but creating a giant fist out of the earth to punch someone with.
[Alchemy is awesome, okay?]
Combat alchemy is pretty much what I specialise in, creating weapons and defences out of the environment around me. Or even bits of my armour, I could transmute the metal of my arm into a blade or something similar.
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He steps into the aquarium and shakes the snow from himself, before peering around to see if anyone else is there.]
Hello? Anyone here?
[His footsteps echo loudly on the floor as he comes further inside.]
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Only to relax completely when he heard Al's voice.]
Al!
[Hoping up from his little nest, Sora made his way out of the gift shop and into the main area of the aquarium, beaming at the other when he spotted him.]
Hey! It's just me right now, I think.
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[The warmth is evident in his voice as soon as he sees the other boy, immediately clanking over to him happily.]
It's so good to see you, have you been waiting for me long?
[He knows Sora got here a little while back.]
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[Sora grins, tucking his arms behind his head as he tilts it.]
How was your trip up? You didn't run into any of those monsters or anything, right?
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[He hesitates, but Sora deserves to know in case it comes up.]
I spoke to Mr. Solomons, though, and he was kind of annoyed that I was coming up to meet you. If he gives you a hard time over it, don't listen to him, okay?
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Sora winces slightly but manages to keep a smile in place.]
It's alright. He tends to get mad about a lot of things but I won't take it to heart.
[He'll try not to at least.]
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[He quite likes Alfie, from what he's seen of the man, but he can be a bit too mercenary for Al's taste. He sort of reminds Al of Colonel Mustang.]
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[Though Alfie did have a tendency to try and control every little thing Sora did as of late which was a bit irritating.
But he was doing his best to keep his temper in check.]
It's all part of the job after all! [Insert blinding smile here.] Plus, it means I get to see everyone a little bit more, which is nice.
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[Now he sounds stern himself, and he adopts a sort of mothering pose.]
He can work with you and even give you orders without being a jerk about it.
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It's really not that bad. He gets upset sometimes but I just take it all in stride.
[He's met people far grumpier.
Like Cloud.]
Plus, if working for him means I get to help people, that's all that matters to me. I want to do whatever I can.
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[He only knows one or two, people like the Joker, who don't want to help out and figure a way home for everyone.]
You're doing something really good with this, but it still doesn't mean you should let him treat you with anything other than respect.
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I won't let him, Al, I promise.
[Honestly with as crappy as he's been feeling lately, if Alfie comes at him he may just snap.]
You hungry? I could figure out how to build a small fire if you want! I still have some of the pellets I've been using!
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[How he feels cold when he shouldn't be able to feel anything is a mystery he's scared to probe at deeper.]
How about I provide the food, if you provide the fire?
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[Davesprite's group is last to arrive, for though they've made no detours, they had the furthest distance to travel. And it's not that Davesprite's eager to arrive. It was here the other day that his wariness first crept in, leaving him jumpy and nervous, and it's lingered enough in the past days that he expects another visit will do no favors. And why should it? This is the place he ran into Bucky first, where the almost-fight between Bucky and Charles went down, and where he and so many others were trapped during the static and eyes that overtook everything.]
[Once inside, that feeling us validated. He hears metal. Something about it tickles a vague familiarity, subtle but not distinct, distorted through echoes and distance from the source. But the sound of metal has always meant be wary, first in training and then in game, sword fights traded up from Bro to monsters with feet clanking across the gears of the Land of Heat and Clockwork for months on end.]
[He splits off from Homura and Dug. He moves past broken fish tanks and displays, slow, listening. He gets his wooden spoon from the loop in his utility belt into his hand, a downright stupid weapon but the best thing he has. He peers past a corner—]
Al? Jesus fucking christ, dude.
[His shoulders slump out of their ready posture as he floats properly into a view, matching with a sigh that falls out of him. Al. Of course it's Al, and he knows the sound from the network, so of course it sounded different here in person.]
B. Open
[Even after he's figured out where the clanking is coming from, Davesprite's nerves don't disappear completely. It's not his fault with the paranoia rattling around his brain, but he probably doesn't know that yet, and it doesn't stop the occasional background clank from kicking at his nerves anyway. It's like instinct. He can tell himself it's safe all night, but the feeling's still there bugging him.]
[The best way to distract himself, obviously, is to babble. Homura, Dug, and Sora alike will surely know by now that it's common with him, and he keeps it up whether or not they're in range to even hear him.]
I gotta wonder, what kind of fish were they keeping in this place? What's Alaska need an aquarium for? Some tiny little town, population 100, and you're telling me they got themselves a fancy place like this? Little old towns in the south only wish they got it that fancy. Probably. Did they have them? Houston had one but I never went. Who wants to stare at fish all day? You got the gulf right southeast, the bay before that; what do you need the aquarium for? But then Alaska's freezing, right, so maybe they needed it. How close are we to the ocean? 76 kilometers from Kotzebue, and what does that mean? Who uses kilometers in America? How long's a kilometer? Forget the center, I'm gonna find a car and learn to drive so I can haul us all on a goddamn road trip. 'Sup, Kotzebue, can you teach me geography? Can you teach me why the American education system went and changed the measurement system sometime in the past 141 years? Where's the ocean, Kotzebue, I want to stare at the fish while I swim my way to Russia to give Winter a piece of my mind.
[He's just going to keep it up if no one interrupts him.]
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Davesprite is much stranger in person than over the video, though at least he's prepared for it and doesn't show visible surprise, just raising a hand in a slightly awkward wave.]
Oh, uh-- hey! I had no idea you were here.
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[The longer he looks at him, the easier it is to push back his wariness over the sound.]
Yeah, no wonder. No legs.
[He motions down with both hands in a kind of presenting motion: tada, it's a floating tail. Of course, paranoia had him sneaking around more carefully, too.]
Just got here. Homura and Dug are around too, but I heard you, and—
[He cuts himself off with a shrug.]
Had to see who it was.
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[He looks slightly abashed, but there's not much he can do about it. Knowing there are others here too is pretty good, he always enjoys company, though he's a little unsure about Homura after their first conversation. Talking with her might remind him of Mami too much, and he misses her every day.]
Sorry, I hope I didn't disturb you too much?
[He does his best not to move around a lot after lockdown so as not to disturb people who are sleeping, but it's still early yet.]
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[Locked in between the armor and whatever Al looks like on the inside. Surely the armor can't be all he is, right?]
I'm fine. [Simple, dismissive, even tone.] Just pays to be careful around this place, you know?
[Or hypervigilant about sounds with bad associations. Either or.]
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Yeah, I know.
[Can't deny that being careful is important.]
...you seem kind of-- scared, is everything okay?
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I'm not scared, just careful. The last time I was here was when I ran into Bucky, and you obviously saw what I said about that. Not to mention the static and the eyes. Plus we've been going down around the entrance area, through here and then past the fire station, then ran into other people yesterday... There were six of us at that house; you know the risk. So now I hear a mystery clanking from deep in the building, and like hell I'm going to barge in blindly after that.
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[It slips out in surprise before he can hold it back. He's not that offended, Davesprite didn't think that when he saw who it actually was, but it's not pleasant to know he can put people that on edge just from the sound of his footsteps.]
I guess my footsteps do sound kind of unusual.
just in case, cw: abuse mention (though Davesprite doesn't recognize it as such)
[His answer is quick and firm.]
It's more... Metal sounds mean 'watch your back' to me. My brother trained me to sword fight, and sometimes he'd do sneak attacks, so I had to keep on guard. Then in the game my friends and I played, my land was full of gears just constantly clanking in the background. And if I heard more footsteps coming, something irregular, it meant an underling might be coming. It's basically instinct by now.
[The explanation feels inadequate somehow, but he doesn't know how better to put it.]
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That makes sense. My teacher used to sneak attack us on occasion to keep us on our toes, it definitely means I have sharper instincts now.
[He shrugs.]
Swords sound pretty cool, I've never really trained in weapons of any kind. I know alchemy and hand to hand fighting for combat, I guess that's all I've ever needed.
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Al, you're a kid with a giant suit of armor. You could probably knock someone across a room if you slapped them hard enough.
[So no, he does not expect he would need a weapon.]
But how do you use alchemy for combat? We made new weapons with the form we had, but I'm gonna guess that's not what you mean.
no subject
[He perks up, obviously extremely passionate about this particular topic of conversation.]
An alchemist then uses the power of tectonic plates shifting to transmute materials from one thing into another, as long as it's the end product is the equivalent of what's been used. But that doesn't just have to mean making a chair out of the ground, and leaving a small hole behind. It could be leaving that same hole behind, but creating a giant fist out of the earth to punch someone with.
[Alchemy is awesome, okay?]
Combat alchemy is pretty much what I specialise in, creating weapons and defences out of the environment around me. Or even bits of my armour, I could transmute the metal of my arm into a blade or something similar.
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