Alphonse Elric (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
armoured) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fossilised2015-08-28 12:21 am
armoured) wrote in fossilised2015-08-28 12:21 am
Snowblind Body Shenanigans
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.
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[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?]
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[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?]
no subject
I mean it, Zack! Don't put that on me, I won't take your coat away from you.
[Don't make him do something drastic, Fair. Like SCOWL.]
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Which is why he just rolls his eyes at Al although the smile starts to fall. ] Whatcha gonna do if I do? Frown me to death? [ Okay, that was kinda mean and he doesn't want the kid to feel anymore useless than he already must feel... but... yeah. ]
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I'm not totally helpless, and I won't be responsible for you travelling without a proper coat. If something happened to you because of the cold it would be my fault.
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[ Seriously, this is his choice, Al. His. Which mean it will still be his fault. Not yours. That is Zack logic anyway.
So, he's going to... ignore any other protests at this point. Yep. Instead, he's going to go into his bag again and this time, he's going to rummage more through his back. Admittedly, his might have been eyeing his gloves as well, but with those long nails of Al's, until he finds a way to clip them, that's not gonna fly. That and he thinks he's pressed enough of his luck for the day.
At least in that sense. Now, in another sense... ] Ah-hah! [ Yank. Out comes his searching hand and with it, some... small package in foil wrapping. The grin he gives Al is almost shit-eating as he waggles it in front of the kid. ] Have something like this on your list? [ ...Yeah, he might have avoided any kind of teasing about that list (because he gets it, really. A good way to be hopeful!!) But! It doesn't mean he wasn't thinking about it more.
GUESS WHAT IT IS, AL. GUESS. ]
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For now he allows his attention to be taken by the foil-wrapped food.
Food.
He is suddenly acutely aware of the hollowness beneath his ribs, and the way that his stomach is literally concave. He knows that logically he probably shouldn't eat anything, his system won't be able to cope with solids right away, but there's a longing in his eyes that's so strong as to be painful.]
What is it?
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Coat War I!!But oh, yes. Oh yes, Al. Look at it. SAVOR IT.
...Yeah, he's probably going to puke it out, but if he's okay with that fate.... Then Zack's... stupidly okay with it, too. The kid's not eaten anything amazing in ages.
What better way to introduce him back to one of life's simple pleasures than... ]
Oh, not much. Just some chocolate I picked up. It's not the best, but...
[ He's already starting to peel back the wrapper. It's already been opened. He's been slowly savoring it throughout the last month, offering it in tiny bits between friends... Not around Al though. He caught on soon enough how much that might have been kinda... a dick move to do, even if Al never complained. But... Now's definitely a good time to bring up this particular snack. ]
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His eyes get even bigger when he sees that distinctive hue and catches the scent of cocoa. It's strange... even though it's been years since he last smelled chocolate, he recognises it immediately. It's so distinct, and it definitely gets his mouth watering.]
Wow!
[He leans forwards to get a closer look.]
I can't believe you haven't eaten it all by now, you must have an even stronger will than Brother.
[He's mostly joking, nobody has a stronger will than Ed, but there is a kernel of truth in there. If he found such a delectable and rare treat, he sure as hell would have eaten it by now.]
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But the excitement in Al's voice is more than enough to get him to start hella grinning, all teeth, once more- even as he claims indignantly: ]
Hey! Believe it or not, I can have some self-control- Sometimes! [ Really, if he didn't have self-control, he would have hurt Al only moments ago. All the same, he pops off a little piece and holds it out. ] Up to you.
[ He knows this might be a very fucking bad idea. But... retrospect didn't really hit until he'd already peeled it out of his pack and he would'a felt like too much of a dick not to offer it. That and a part of him's hoping if they're just careful that maybe they'll get lucky... ]
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So he does take it. Slowly, he lifts it up to his nose and just inhales the aroma of it, rich and warm and sticky, letting that fill his senses before he even thinks of tasting it. The anticipation is unbearable by the time he does pop it into his mouth, and surely the look on his face has to be comical.
His eyes are so wide, shining with genuine tears and amazement, and his expression is a mask of wonder. He's clearly overwhelmed, and all just from a small piece of chocolate.]
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But that's without context.
With it?
...Well, there's the underlying well, fuck, I hope this ends well. ...But. There's also just this... real moment. Where all over again, there's that reminder of just how much Al lost that he's finally experiencing all over again after so, so long. And it really does warm him to be his audience in this. To see him be so happy despite all the trials Zack knows he's going to be in for from therein. Especially in snow hell.
So, he sits there and watches with his head now tilted and resting on his hand, that hand with the rest of arm balancing with an elbow on his knee. He knows better now to clear his throat when he speaks. ] So? [ Like he couldn't tell what Al thought... ]
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He grins at Zack's question, displaying teeth that are now spotted with a light coating of chocolate in a not at all attractive fashion.]
It's delicious! I'm glad I forgot how good it was, or I'd never have been able to cope without it.
[He chuckles to show that's a joke. Mostly. Probably.]
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Softly, he prods: ] And that's only the start, yeah? Heh, maybe we'll get lucky and find another house with a fireplace soon. Get you some good eats!
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[Al bends down to the side of the sofa and struggles to lift his pack up onto his lap. It's so surreal to him to struggle with something like this, when yesterday he had been able to lift it with barely any effort at all.
He fishes around inside for a few moments before pulling out a tattered notebook, which he hands over to Zack. Inside are lists upon lists of food and drink items, with the ink faded enough near the beginning to show that it was begun long ago, and the pages worn enough to show how often it had been read by wistful eyes.]
See? Chocolate was on there, right near the top. Just under Granny's apple pie and Miss Gracia's quiche.
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unlike some bunkmate he knows.But understanding he's more than got permission, he does finally gingerly flip to the first page. And there they are, just as he noted. Some of it's in older scrawl than others. Some of it's been moved down or up the list. And some of it's definitely been smudged and harder to discern. And it's a pattern that continues with torn pages here and there as he starts to page through the rest of its contents. The list goes on for a while before it finally peters off and Zack bows his head with closed eyes a moment.
When he's next opening them, it's so he can glance back to his own bag. Unzipping its front pocket, he pulls out a pen and offers it to Al. Then, he flips open the notebook and points to chocolate. ] Looks like you've got something to cross out now. [ He wishes he could somehow get a hold of his granny or let whoever "Miss Gracia" know about Al, too. But... this was still a start, right? ]
no subject
...I guess you're right.
[He takes the pen in slightly clumsy fingers, as he doesn't really have the dexterity for delicate movement yet, and puts a tentative line right through the word 'chocolate', giggling like a kid caught doing something naughty.]
That feels really weird, like I'm a vandal now.