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

[lancingintherain]

[Freya is in the other room trying to coax a fire from a small pile of kindling when she hears someone shifting around. At first, she dismisses it, but since their team had split for a day to cover more ground, the only other person in the house with her was Al—and that doesn't sound like Al. It sounds quiet, which is everything that Al isn't. There's no scraping of metal against wood, no clanking of him standing up or walking his big metal boots across the floor.]

[she's on her feet in an instant, frozen stiff and listening intently. The door opens. And then there's Al's voice.]

Al!

[she dashes out of the room; if there's an intruder, she's going to kick their ass. Or help Al kick their ass. Or just ask them politely what they're doing coming into people's temporary houses without asking—]

[she stops short in the middle of the room. Al isn't here, but one human is. A very, very sick-looking human, wearing no clothes at all and standing just outside the door, in the snow. For a moment, all she can do is stare in bewilderment.]

[armoured]

[He is too focused on the sensation of snow beneath his toes to notice the sounds of someone moving around behind him at first. It's cold and sharp and wonderful. He wriggles his foot a bit deeper in, enchanted by the crunching and shifting snow.

But then she's right there behind him and he can't fail to notice her. Her shadow falling out of the open door is what alerts him, though he should have been paying attention to the shout of his name prior to that.]

Freya?

[He turns his head to look at her. His thin face is stretched in a painfully wide smile.]

Look at this, my toes are going numb.

[He says this like it's the single best thing ever.]

[lancingintherain]

[she stands and stares as the emaciated stranger with her friend's voice turns his head to look at her. Although—it's not really quite Al's voice, is it? It's different. Deeper.]

Uh—

[His pale complexion, that blond hair—those didn't seem unusual on their own. Norfinbury has a lot of shortages, of a lot of things, but pale-skinned, pale-haired humans isn't one of them. It's his face that gives her pause. Humans all kind of look alike to her anyway, but she's definitely seen features like his before. His golden eyes, too.]

[her mind races. A third Elric brother, maybe? One Al and Ed hadn't mentioned? Obviously something horrible's happened to him: torture? But that doesn't explain how he knows her name. She barely hears what he says, and ignores his toes to keep staring openly at his face.]

Who—who are you? I'm sorry, I—

[she glances around him, out into the gentle morning snowstorm, and shouts, with an edge of urgency:]

Alphonse!

[armoured]

[There's a brief stab of pain that Freya doesn't recognise him, but it's there and gone in an instant, obliterated by that relief and joy that simply can't be contained. He can't judge her for not knowing who he is, not when all she's ever known him as is a suit of armour.]

Freya, it's me.

[His voice is softer, and his smile a little more genuine and focused. His toes are going numb now and his legs are shaking badly with the effort of holding him up. He either hasn't noticed, or doesn't care, that he's still naked in front of her.]

This is my real body, it's-- It's really me.

[lancingintherain]

What?

[her voice is nearly a whisper. Her eyes grow even wider, and she feels lightheaded as she scrutinizes his face again. Her legs feel weak—and that's when she notices that his own legs are shaking. No wonder; they're so thin that it's a miracle they can even hold him up at all.]

[he's weak and naked and it's cold—the wind chills her through the layers of her scavenged sweater and her shirt, so it must be worse for him. She pushes the question of how is this boy actually Al away and finally moves, reaching him in two long strides and holding her arms out out for him to take.]

Here—here, hold onto me; lets get you inside first.

[forfeits]

[ ...Ed has only seen that face in his dreams. He's only been able to see the bright eyed boy beyond the large, heavy doors of Truth, where he remained, unattainable and unreachable.

so when he's flicking through the network, trying to keep his mind occupied, and that's what he sees and hears, his blood runs cold. he's sure it's just an illusion, that it's just the cold and the hunger finally doing him in for good. he's too afraid to get up and go check, to turn the corner to the front door and see nothing there, to find Al still sleeping, still shiny armour and all.

Ed takes a deep breath before turning on his own feed, his voice cracked and quiet. ]

A-Al...?

[armoured]

[The image on the screen shifts as Al turns half back towards the door. He heard Ed's voice and assumed his big brother was behind him, and so it's a few moments before he realises where the actual sound came from.]

Brother!

[Atrophied arms lift up the tablet screen so it's more level with his face, a face that's near split in two for the wide smile covering it.]

Isn't it amazing? I can't-- I can't believe it.

[forfeits]

[ he's not sure it's real. god knows they've suffered enough hallucinations here, but this seems so real his heart catches in his throat. the joy in Al's voice -- it's something he's not heard in years and that certainly can't be false.

the tablet clatters noisily to the floor and where Al looked before, the empty doorway, Ed now stands, gaping, eyes wide. ]

Al? [ the boy looks sickly, frail, but it's the same boy he saw beyond the doors, the same wide golden eyes and long hair -- they could be twins if they'd both been trapped with Truth. ]

Alphonse! [ excuse the tears, the joy, the shock, Al, but you're about to get a big hug from your brother. ]

[armoured]

[Al doesn't have even a fraction of the strength needed to withstand a running hug from Ed, so he goes over backwards with a soft 'oomph' of surprise. Hitting the ground hurts. It's a sharp and jagged pain that whites his vision out momentarily, forcing all the air from his lungs.]

B-Brother--

[It comes out in a half breathy murmur, before he's lifting his arms to wind around Ed in return, heedless of their dumb position laid out in the snow. His voice is suppressed tears and wonderment.]

It's really real, it's-- I'm-- It's real.

[forfeits]

[ Ed cannot think of snow or cold right now -- he can only think of his brother, wrapped in his arms. His real live brother, in his real body. it makes his heart practically burst. ]

It's... it's not a trick? It's not ...

[ he falls with Al of course and laughs the whole way, happy tears streaming down the apples of his cheeks. ]

I didn't think -- It's you, Al.

[baymaxing]

[Of course Hiro knows Al. He and Tadashi have since managed to rejoin with his previous group he'd been traveling with for safety, and he wasn't about to argue on that idea, once they had figured where to meet each other again. He'd been surprised with the armor, but it didn't take long to adjust to. Even if his neck hurts just looking up at the tall armour, given it's a good two feet taller in comparison to the tinier teenager.

He's initially in the other room with his own tablet, checking up on things since he woke up as to how the rest were doing when he hears the noises, hears the other's voice. But it isn't accompanied with the usual clanking movements of Al's armor, which has Hiro frown. Should he be worried? He's not sure, but surely it is better to check just in case, right?

So he does, distracted from the initial video feed showing the stranger, the other teen with the long blonde hair that he now sees in front of him in the snow. Apparently without clothes.

Or shoes. What the hell is he thinking?]

Of course it's cold, it's snow. I'm not saying you can--wait, Al? That you?

[He honestly actually had no clue what the other really looked like, given he's just seen the armor prior to this. But he thinks that's who it is, from the voice. The hair and eye colour are similar enough to Ed's to make that guess, at least. Excuse Hiro as he stares for a bit in surprise and initial confusion.]

[armoured]

[He's honestly been so long in the armour that he's temporarily forgotten what it feels like to have to worry about modesty and clothing. And even if he did remember, he's too overwhelmed to worry about that right now... Everything has changed in an instant, and it's both amazing and terrifying.]

Huh?

[He half twists his body. It's so strange to look and almost be on the same height level as Hiro, so used to looking down on him from afar. He smiles, wriggling his toes in the snow in delight.]

Yeah, it's me. I just--- I came out to see what it was like, isn't it wonderful?

[baymaxing]

Came out here to--Al, you idiot! If you want to go out in that, put some clothes on or you'll get frostbite or something!

[At least for the moment Hiro isn't otherwise seeming too concerned on the lack of clothing, more worried on him going out with the snow like that and the possible injuries or damage as a result. He's not even considering whether they could potentially find something for him to wear that would fit properly, or just yet noting how terribly thin and malnourished the other is. Simply instinctively stepping forward to the older boy and reaching to take his hand and lead him back inside to the relative warmth and safety.]

[armoured]

[Frostbite, of course. He hasn't had to consider anything like that in such a long time that the frailties of his body will take a while to get used to. It's still second nature to think of himself as invincible and impervious to most things.

Al curls his fingers into Hiro's, the long nails scraping his skin lightly. Hiro's palm is so soft and warm, and it just serves to make Al notice just how cold is really is out here.]

M-Mm, maybe that's a good idea.

[He chuckles self deprecatingly.]

I guess I didn't think, sorry.

[baymaxing]

[Hiro isn't even thinking on how everything must be new to Al. Not just yet. More worried about the kid out in the cold while stark naked. So he doesn't think anything of it when the other reaches and takes his hand, barely registering the longer nails as they scrape his palm a little in the process. The difference of their temperatures is still rather evident, less easily ignored. Which only proves to reinforce it was a good thing Hiro found the older teen quickly like this.]

Come on, we'll see if we can manage something for you. I can lend you my hoodie and coat if you need it, but there might be other clothes we've found that might fit a bit better.

[Because regardless of them both being rather thin, Al is still a little taller in comparison to Hiro. And Hiro doesn't have more layers in regards to pants or anything to offer. He's quick to pull Al inside and shut the door, searching after sitting the other down on the sofa to find some clothing to offer. Which he does manage to find.]

These are something at least. [Offering some old boots, pants and a long sleeved shirt in the meantime. Along with a blanket.]

But....do I want to know what happened here?

Bullshit assumption that Zack's actually friggin' around!!

[heroproceeding]

[ Zack's been out on a supply run since very early that morning- earlier than Al, himself, had awoken. The store's not too far from where they are, too. Which makes for a fairly quick trip there and back. He needs to be quick anyway. They'd all done their run the other day and designated a time for them all to pack up and leave. And while he doubts they'd just leave him, he knows there's a lot of ground to cover. The sooner they set out, the better.

Of course, then, he would expect to have company on his way back to the house they'd all shacked up in for the night. He just... certainly didn't expect a young boy standing at its threshold, testing his foot in the snow and looking absolutely thrilled by it. ...Never mind the boy's buck-ass naked and looks like he hasn't seen a meal in ages. And that's what ultimately gets him darting forward- what the heck is going on here? ] Hey! Are you crazy? You're gonna freeze out here!

One day it will happen, he will be assimilated into katamari ball of cr madness

[armoured]

[ZACK USES SHOUT AND RUN. IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!

Al is startled by the sudden appearance of someone running towards him at full pelt, and that's what has him stumbling backwards a step. His legs are too atrophied and his balance is too shot for him to stay upright, so he falls backwards with an almost comical look of surprise on his face.

Hitting the floor hurts. He has no fat to cushion the blow, and his entire body is weak as hell, so it feels for a moment like all the air in his body has been forcefully expelled.

Wide eyes look up at Zack in a startled pain that quickly melts into a welcome and warmth.]

Wow, I forgot what falling down felt like...

[Excuse him laughing.]

I don't think I want to do it again soon.

LMAFOSDUFHS One day, they will certainly meet sofuhsdfsf FOR SURE

[heroproceeding]

[ ...Okay, retrospect? That was dumb of him. Of course, he'd scare the hell outta anyone running full tilt like that in Norfinbury. So much for thinking before he acted. But then this was Zack. The fall gets a wince out of him as he stops himself before he steps on the poor skeleton of a kid over. He already startled him enough to make him lose his balance and fall. He doesn't wanna run him over on top of things!

It's only after he stops his running gait that he presses forward enough to offer out a hand to the kid. His mind's whirling, wondering where he'd come from and why he was in such a state of poor health and undress as he was and why was he out sticking a foot in the snow? Was it some kind of 'I survived the snow, so I'm going to taunt it' victory step? He seems so happy, even though Zack's sure he's sore from falling. What the hell? ]

Are you okay? [ He's watching over the boy with concern written all over his face. ]

[armoured]

[Al reaches upwards without hesitation to take the hand offered to him. His fingers are like brittle twigs, trembling and freezing inside Zack's.

He can tell that Zack doesn't know who he's talking to, but he's honestly still too enamoured with the feelings spreading through his body to be hurt by it. His back and butt are aching with the warmth of a newly forming bruise. It's an ache that he genuinely couldn't remember feeling beforehand, even though he knows he must have felt it when he was little.]

It's me, it's Alphonse.

[He chuckles, eyes shining.]

I guess I look a bit different now, huh?

[heroproceeding]

[ So small. His hands are so small and fragile that Zack makes extra delicate work to grip them and even then, he feels that familiar uncertainty. No matter the strength he's lost since arriving there, he was still once SOLDIER. And he still feels ridiculously strong compared to many there. And now, dangerously so, with the bony hand shaking as it holds onto his gloved one.

But despite his unease, the boy just looks elated, like it's the first time he's seen the light of day in a while or something. The behavior's bizarre, so bizarre he--

.....What did he just say?

What did he just--

But that voice... Now- Now, he hears that soft speech. Young, much younger than he really was without that odd, metallic echo. No, it's fuller but still... Still... ] A-Al?

[ Zack's eyes are wide in shock. His hand's frozen, holding onto the young boy's as he searches the boy's face. The bright blond hair and those gold eyes.... Even his facial structure's too similar to Ed's to be coincidence. No, it's-- It's really!?

The former SOLDIER's at a kneel before he even realizes it. He hasn't separated his hand from Al's. If anything, he's holding it just a bit tighter. His other hand reaches up rest on the Al's bony shoulder as if to just help ground himself that he's not just seeing another crazy hallucination, but no. He's very solid and-- ]

-How...?

[maskintape]

[ Scrawny shirtless teenage boys are not something Tim ever expected - or wanted - to see on the snowhell network. So his immediate response, delivered in glorious video-o-vision, is as follows. ]

What - what's wrong with you? Put a coat on.

And eat a sandwich.

[ It's only then that he notices the network ID, at which point his face goes from "uh what" to "WAIT WHAT THE FRICKETY FRACKING HECKIE?????" within the space of a second. What. What? U wot m8. WHAT. ]

[armoured]

[Al tries to lift the tablet up when he hears the voice coming out of it, but his fingers are clumsy and weak, so it slips out of his hands and falls into the snow. Tim would get a brief end-over-end view of Al's entire skinny frame, showing that he's dangerously thin and utterly naked.]

O-Oh!

[He drops to his knees a little harder than intended, fishing the tablet out of the snow and wiping the screen carefully.]

Sorry, you startled me.

[Wait, he said something, right? A coat--]

I guess I didn't think about putting a coat on, I just... It's so cold out here, I forgot what cold really felt like against my skin.

[maskintape]

[ Jesus caterwauling CHRIST. Once again Tim doesn't address the whole HEY YO YOU'RE AL thing because he is far too busy pressing his hands against his eyes in second-hand mortification. ]

Jesus - pants. Pants. Look, I get it, you can pee now. Nobody needs the visual.

[ Okay that's KIND of approaching the whole "this is Al right" thing. Sort of ]

[armoured]

[Pants... right. He glances down at his body and his expression is one of a renewed naked delight and astonishment. His lips suddenly curl up into a smile and he begins to laugh.]

--You're right, I guess I can now.

[Only Tim.]

I don't think I own any pants, I never... uh, needed them.

[maskintape]

Might want to, uh, rectify that. Or get a sheet. Or something.

[ Pls. Don't laugh at your own junk, Al, that's so many kinds of wrong. ]

Or at least get inside away from the snow before you freeze your ass off. You just - you just got that thing, man.