[log] Trading Spaces [closed]

[coyoteking]

Characters: Charles, Al, Church, Zach, also Cecil
Location Somewhere around F21, the lake tunnel, then 242
Date: Day 156, midday and Day 157, evening
Summary: Brief meet-up with Al and Co while they travel in opposite directions, then meeting Cecil in the fire station
Warnings: Language for sure

[Charles doesn't like the lake tunnel. It makes him feel claustrophobic and sets his teeth on edge. Unfortunately, it's the only way into the Entrance, and that's where he's decided to go, good life decisions be damned. It's cold outside (duh) but not as cold as it has been, so he's a little less worried about frostbite while traipsing around out here. Actually, being in the tunnel helps a lot with that, cutting off the wind. So, you know, trade off.

He's starting to think 'hey maybe this isn't so bad' when he spots three shapes up ahead. Someone coming from the other end of the tunnel, and there really isn't an option to give them a wide berth. Which he isn't even sure why he wants to bother doing in the first place. It's not like he's fucking scared of these losers or something. Definitely not. He pointedly keeps trudging forward, hatchet over his right shoulder.]

Comments

[coyoteking]

Yeah, ours is- was, a pretty big country, too. Military run, huh? How's that work out? Is it like, real strict or something?

[armoured]

Not really, it's just that Amestris has a lot of neighbouring countries that aren't really friendly, so we need to have a strong military presence to keep ourselves safe. It just kind of evolved that the government and the military got mixed a long time back.

[Because that's how Father designed it.]

[coyoteking]

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Before our country kind of broke apart, I guess it was a bit like that. Shit got heavy during the War, and the military took the lead. Not everybody liked that, of course. But it's not our problem anymore.

[armoured]

It's not?

[Why does he feel like asking might be a bad idea? And yet he's going to ask anyway.]

What happened? How did your country break apart?

[coyoteking]

Well... It's kinda complicated. Basically there was that big-ass war, and countries bombed and assaulted the hell out of each other. Most of our military was in other countries at the time, but what was left, they stationed it around the important places, to protect them. So there was nobody left to protect the rest of us.

Blah blah, some time passes, and the "important" parts of the country are the only parts still held by the original government. The rest of us just kind of made our own rules and now we live by them.

I mean they'll probably try to unify someday, but so far? They haven't. Rumor has it we're better armed now than they are.

[armoured]

[That sounded a little like what happened in Ishval, and Al's shoulders droop ever so slightly. It's not an exact parallel, but it's always horrible to hear of a whole country torn apart by war.]

I hope you do manage to unify again, keeping in fractured pieces is only going to delay peace from coming back properly.

[Though he's sure Charles knows that.]

It must have been hard to live through, I'm sorry.

[coyoteking]

[Inexplicably, Charles laughs a little. Inappropriate? Maybe. Whatever.]

It didn't- I wasn't alive when all that happened. That was like... I mean it ended like four or five years before I was even born. But, well, I guess I've heard the horror stories most of my life. It does sound like it sucked.

To be honest, I kinda hope we don't unify. The government got us into this mess, and then they left us to fend for ourselves. We do alright without 'em.

[armoured]

Then maybe you just need a new government?

[He shrugs, he knows what it's like when the government is corrupt.]

That's what's happening in Amestris at the moment. The government... the head of the military, it's all involved in a plan that could destroy the country, so we're working our hardest to stop them and replace them with people who want to help foster peace.

[coyoteking]

[Charles' expression is mildly impressed.]

Wow, so you're like... some kind of rebel? Or is this a kind of a secret thing? Like an underground kinda deal? Sounds dangerous.

[armoured]

[He huffs a quiet laugh.]

I guess we are rebels, though I never really thought about it like that. It is dangerous, but it's too important to turn back from, people will die if we don't keep going. People already have died, we owe it to them not to stop until we've succeeded.

[coyoteking]

[Well damn.]

That's pretty noble of you. And I don't mean that in like a condescending way, I actually mean it. Most people would be too chicken shit to stand up like that.

[armoured]

I don't know about that, I think people would surprise you. When everything is on the line, people tend to find their inner strength is much greater than they would have imagined.

[coyoteking]

[Charles snorts. That's certainly not been his experience.]

Usually when people surprise me, it's in a way I don't like. But hey, I'm sure there's some good out there in the world, or whatever.

[armoured]

Of course there is, you just have to look around you to see it even here.

[The smile is evident in his voice.]

There are people here willing to protect one another at all costs, people sharing what little they have and helping strangers. Even in the face of terrible things, there's always good to be found in every world.

[coyoteking]

[He snorts.]

Yeah, okay, guess I can't argue with that. I mean I could say that they're just doing it to help their chances of escape- [but he thinks of Watson, and Luna, and, of course, Al-] but I guess that's not always the case.

[armoured]

[He brightens visibly, easy to tell even without facial expressions just by the openness of his stance and the lilt to his voice.]

Glad you see it too.

[Hurrah!]

...I guess we better get moving towards shelter, huh? It's been nice talking to you, though.

[Even if they are ships that pass in the night.]