Snowblind Body Shenanigans

[armoured]

This is an open post for anyone set in Norfinbury. It's a random scenario where @Admin has (for mysterious meme reasons) decided to give Al his body back. This isn't game canon, obviously, I just wanted to play about with Al in his body as it will never happen in game. Action and network responses are welcome, as well as fudging the locations of characters.

---

[Al has become used to his periods of unconsciousness during the night now. He still can't think of them as sleep, not without dreams or his real body to rest in, but they're at least predictable. Usually he wakes quickly and without any grogginess that would come from real sleep, but today everything has changed.

He wakes up slowly that morning.

As soon as he wakes up, he knows everything is different. He can feel the wooden flooring under his back, rough and splintered, and hear the thud of his heart beating in his ears. He lifts one stick thin arm in amazement to stare at it, almost uncomprehending as he looks at his fingers splayed out in front of his eyes. This must be a dream. It has to be a dream, his first one in years, but... God, it feels so real.

He's in a state of shock as he pulls up to unsteady feet and scoops up his tablet automatically. He can barely keep hold of it, his fingers have none of his usual dexterity and his hands are trembling violently. It's this trembling that causes his fingers to slip and activate the video feed. The camera is at a strange angle, but it shows the upper half of a teenage boy in an extreme state of emaciation. His ribs are protruding and his stomach is concave. He has long blond hair that hangs down over one eye, the other one is wide and staring in surprise.

His legs seem ready to fold almost at once, but he forces himself to walk to the door and open it. The sunlight on the snow almost blinds him, and the wind causes goosebumps to raise on his skin immediately. He sets one bare foot in the snow and gasps, a delighted and amazed sound.]

Wow, it's so cold...

[He laughs softly, unable to stop the sheer wonder bubbling out of him. Is this real? Can it truly be so?]

Comments

[maskintape]

Crap.

[ He has a spare sports jersey back at his own shelter, but hadn't thought to pick it up in his rush to come to the rescue. Which he's going to proceed to kick himself over, since Tim wouldn't be Tim without a great big stack of self-loathing.

After some hesitation, he takes off his stupid scarf and hands that overIt should help a little, at least. ]

Not gonna offer you my pants. That's where I draw the line.

[ Making shite jokes while standing around awkwardly and wondering if he should leave yet: ~the Tim Wright experience~ ]

[armoured]

[The infection...

The rather ungrateful thought flashes through Al's mind as Tim starts to unwind the scarf, but he squashes it almost immediately. If he is going to catch it, then he'll have caught it already, adding in the man's scarf which he's breathed all over isn't going to make a difference.

So he smiles and takes it, wrapping it around his neck rather incongruously to the rest of his state of undress.]

Mm, it's so warm.

[Duh. But he looks enamoured.]

Are you sure you don't mind?

[forfeits]

Al? Al!

[ he moves to crouch in the snow beside his brother, wide eyed and worried. ] Hey, what is it? what's wrong?

[ he looks over his brother, unsure of what is wrong. he's only ever had to repair metal and armour and now this? the joy still thrums in his chest but he is equally worried. did he hurt Al? is Al even okay enough to be here like this?

or worse. if it was human transmutation, with a false philosopher's stone... was it failing? ]

[armoured]

[His expression is a weird blend of pain and exhilaration. It takes a few moments for the fringes of white around his vision to fade and Ed's face to come into clear focus above him.]

I think I broke something when you knocked us over.

[He sounds amazed, and definitely not blaming Ed. His bones are ridiculously brittle, even falling the wrong way could shatter them. He gives a sudden a delighted chuckle.]

I forgot I could feel pain, isn't that funny?

[forfeits]

I... I'm sorry.

[ Al breaking something here, when they have no alchemy, when they have no real doctor or medicine. fear knifes through Edward. ]

It's... well -- [ he wants to be happy, of course, because Al is about to start a new journey, a new life in his body again, but here of all places? he reaches forward and carefully hugs Al, tugging him close, holding him firmly, but not too tightly. ]

We'll just have to get you healthy again, yeah? Then all of Norfinbury better watch out. Let's get you inside. [ and whether or not his brother protests he doesn't care -- he dips and reaches to pick his brother up. no more broken bones, thank you very much. ]

[baymaxing]

Training for what? I mean, I guess that would be hard to lug around otherwise besides wearing it, but....

[But it would barely manage to fit Al or Hiro in that particular armor, from what Hiro recalls of 'Al' supposedly being about two feet taller than himself. Still, perhaps that's not the important thing to focus on here but rather, in getting Al better situated in the meantime. He pauses before glancing to the backpacks.]

Want something to eat? You look like you could use it. Don't tell me you've been letting Mochi get even fatter giving him all your food.

[It's an attempt to lighten things, at least. Whether it might actually work, he's not sure, but even so.]

[armoured]

[He hates seeing the worry painting Ed's face, but even that can't dull the wonder he's feeling at the moment. He wishes that Ed could feel what he feels, not the pain but the simple joy of feeling pain at all, and then he wouldn't be looking so afraid.]

...Mm.

[He doesn't argue as he's picked up, nestling a little more closely into Ed's embrace. His brother is so warm, and he seems to big now after having to look down on him for so many years.]

I can hear your heartbeat, Brother.

[His body still hurts, his shoulder more so than anywhere else for the break, but it can't stop him from fixating on this new source of amazement.]

It's so strong.

[armoured]

[It's a poor joke, but Al still laughs all the same. The idea that he could have got this thin just by giving Mochi his rations is pretty amusing.]

I guess I should have kept some back for myself, huh? But how could I say no when he gave me those big eyes?

[He is glancing around even now looking for the cat. To touch his fur would be the height of luxury now.]

[lancingintherain]

[she swallows, and closes her eyes briefly when he says that, then glances back at that door, herself. She picks up the trousers and bundles them up, her hands moving on their own, as she finally speaks.]

He... we don't have to wake him yet.

[she comes back and sinks onto the couch next to Al, her hands still bundled in the trousers. He looks so impossibly small, all curled up in that sweater. Alphonse shouldn't be this small. She's still so confused, and a little frightened, but those worry lines on his face make her put on a reassuring voice.]

He'll be... he'll be overjoyed, won't he? This—having your real body back, this is what you've both been working towards for years, isn't it?

[armoured]

Mm.

[He understands that she's trying to reassure him, but this is too huge of a thing for platitudes. He could hope that Ed would only see the culmination of their efforts finally bearing fruit, but he knows his brother too well. Ed will ask why, and he will blame himself if the answers aren't what they like.]

But I don't know how it happened, what if-- what if they used a philosopher's stone on me? Brother and I swore that we would never do that, no matter what happened.

[lancingintherain]

[she rests one hand lightly on his shoulder, with the awkward sincerity of someone who's not used to comforting other people but who really wants to give it her best shot. She looks into his face, her voice soft.]

And you didn't, Al. And neither did your brother. You haven't broken that promise. If they—the admin, or, or whoever—used one of those, that isn't your fault.

[of course, she's got no idea what a philosopher's stone is, but she can guess that it's nothing good. She cant ask him about that mystery if he freezes to death first, though, so she holds up the trousers, already feeling guilty about hole she'd cut in the back for her tail.]

Here—put these on.

[armoured]

[She doesn't understand, but he can't blame her for that when she doesn't know what the stones are and what they're made of. But it does matter, it matters a hell of a lot because Al will never be able to forgive himself or find happiness in his body if it was bought at the cost of other lives.

He doesn't reply again, he only ducks his head and worries his lower lip with his teeth. Long golden bangs cover his face pretty effectively, but he's not exactly subtle at hiding his discomfort after years of not having to worry about his expressions giving him away.]

Mm, thanks.

[He doesn't even make comment on the hole yet, just slipping his trembling stick legs into the legs.]

Are you sure you don't need them?

[lancingintherain]

[you can't hide behind your hair from a gold medalist in the Hiding Behind My Hair Olympics, Al. Freya watches him as he gets dressed, feeling more unsettled about this situation than ever. She manages a soft smile at his question, though, and shakes her head firmly.]

I'm sure. Consider them yours. You can't go around half-dressed, and I've got clothes already—and fur, too. This new body of yours doesn't even have that.

[his new body doesn't have much of anything, honestly. He's so thin that he almost vanishes inside his borrowed clothes, and she regards him anxiously.]

[armoured]

I know.

[He lifts one thin arm up to his eye level, looking at his hand just as anxiously. It's so pale, he can almost see his veins through the paper like quality of his skin.]

...I've never even Brother this, but I turned away from my body just before we were taken here. I had the chance to get it back and I said no.

[Wouldn't he have made the same choice here?]

[lancingintherain]

[she looks at his hand with him, at the ghostly blue veins under his skin. She clasps her own hands together in her lap, part of her thinking that if she'd been made to choose between a suit of armor or this frail body, she might pick the armor.]

[feeling mean for even thinking such a thing, and unsettled by what he's just said, she looks at him with fresh concern.]

What...? Didn't your body vanish? [she's fuzzy on the details from when he told her what happened. Something about human transmutation being totally great? She wrinkles her muzzle at a really awful thought:] ...Was your body being stored somewhere?

[baymaxing]

Easily. If you've lived with it for years like I have, anyway. I guess not everyone around here is used to demanding pets and saying no to them though.

[Still, Hiro rummages through his bag and finds some of the Cheerios still in the box he'd found and hands it over to Al. They've been pretty good on sharing between the group where necessary to make sure nobody goes entirely without. It's all they can do, really. Especially regarding essentials like food and water. Even with Mochi as well. Hiro straightens and shifts to sit next to the other as he has another piece of his gum.]

[armoured]

[His eyes are still fixed on his hand, remembering enclosing his larger metal hand all the way around this thin wrist in distress and frustration.]

Yeah, it was-- It was growing without me, waiting for me to come and claim it. But when I had the chance, it-- there was... everyone was fighting and I needed to be able to fight too. I didn't want to be useless.

[And now he will be. This isn't a situation where this body is any use either, he will just be a burden on everyone when the situation is already so dire.]

[armoured]

[The Cheerios are dry and so stale that they're hard as rock, but Al still holds them in his hand as if they were precious gems.

It's only a moment before he has them tipped into his mouth, and-- god. Oh God. The texture of them, the flavour, the way they make his mouth suddenly flood with saliva... all of it is magnificent and overwhelming and awe-inspiring.]

Wow.

[He can't help the breathy exhale, too enamoured to even consider hiding how amazing this is for him.]

[baymaxing]

I know, I think they're probably past their date, sorry.

[But that's when he glances over and sees how delighted Al is. Over some dry, off brand cereal. Which is perplexing for Hiro, the teen unaware of how amazing such a meal might be for one that hasn't eaten or hasn't tasted anything in years even if he did try or pretend to shove food down through his helmet of the armor.

To him, there have certainly been a million better meals, they just don't have the variety in food to exactly be picky in Norfinbury. As much as he prefers the wings and gummi bears.]

You okay?

[armoured]

Y-Yeah.

[He knows he should be trying to be more circumspect, but it's just impossible right now. His eyes are brimming with sudden tears, though the expression on his face clearly labels them as tears of joy.]

They're just really good.

[That's convincing, right?]

[baymaxing]

....Old, stale cereal? I wouldn't say this is anything to sob over. I know they aren't that great but really.

[He wouldn't say they were that good. Or quite absolutely that terrible to constitute tears. But then, he's never actually seen Al as a human. Or knows the whole story. Maybe he just cries really easily all the time for some reason? Hiro's feet dangle a little as he swings them and keeps munching himself, passing more over to Al.]

Don't let me get to the point of feeding Mochi with it if you like it so much.

[forfeits]

[ perhaps he is not experiencing pain for the first time, or hearing and feeling all of these new things that Al is, but seeing the absolute joy and amazement on his brother's face is enough. ]

Yeah, I'd hope so. I was worried, this kind of cold isn't good for anyone, you know.

[ Al is so impossibly light in his arms and that scares him more than anything. he gets his brother inside and kicks the door shut behind him, taking his brother to a spot where he has some blankets and things set up for sleeping. only then does he gingerly sit Al down, careful not to jostle him too much. because once Al is down? Ed starts peeling off his coat. ]

Need to get you warm.

[armoured]

[It's only when he's been set down among the blankets, and the elation is beginning to fade, that the true enormity of the situation begins to sink in again. Ed's worried face fills his vision, and his words feel like a knife to the heart even if they may seem innocuous enough.

He is no longer immune. He has to be kept warm, he will have to be carried, he will be-- This is a place where his body will be a burden just as much as it would have been in the fight with Father, maybe even more so.]

Brother...

[The smile is gone, and there's worry in the mirror of Ed's golden eyes.]

What are we going to do? I can't travel like this, and I'm just going to slow everyone down.

tags this super late because I thirst for al

[lancingintherain]

[she makes a face at the image of Al's soulless body growing away in some cosmic lost-and-found, but she doesn't miss his implications or his tone of voice in the last thing he says.]

Not useless. You aren't. There's so much more to you than just that old armor, Al—it might be gone, but we've still got the most important part of you right here.

[she gently closes her hand around his.]

[forfeits]

You're not going to slow anyone down. I'll carry you, if I have to, until you get stronger. You will get stronger, it's just going to take time.

[ he means it, too. he'd put Al on his back and take him anywhere and everywhere if he had to. this is the first time he's seen Al's real body in years, first time he's seen his brother again and his heart practically aches at the thought that it would happen here, in Norfinbury.

he finally reaches and drapes his coat around his brother, trying to tuck the fabric around him to keep him warm. ]

We're not leaving you behind, Al.