[action]

[automailed]

[October 3rd again. Don't forget. This marks the second time he's hit this date in Luceti, and the first time in his life since carving the words upon his pocket watch that he's met it without Alphonse. That's probably what hurts the most, this time. No closer to getting home, no closer to regaining their bodies, even though he knows that he's only a day away from victory when he goes home. The second worst part is that he's only one day past an experiment that stole those memories from him- that he had, in fact, forgotten. Hadn't even known what the watch or the date upon it even meant.

Tch... stupid place. For the first time in a while, he hates it again.

He's going to keep up with the annual tradition anyway, for Al's sake as much as his, so tonight at the back of House #23, some time after dinner, Edward will be seated at a campfire, occasionally tossing logs into the flames, with a collection of snacks, some books, and notebook paper piled around him to get some work done. He'll be there all night, so any nighthawks or curious passerbys are free to stop in and see what's up.]

Comments

[automailed]

Your stomach will thank you later.

[Five will do just fine, kiddo. He'll help himself to one or two, though. The bonus of being a teenager living on his own is that there are no such limitations |D]

[zorichan]

[Hmph! Zoro's gonna childishly ignore Ed in favor of roasting his marshmallows. He doesn't even mind that they're catching on fire because they're his marshmallows now and he'll do what he wants with them and anyway he likes them better burnt so there. B[

Have some broody silence for your trouble, Ed.]

[automailed]

[Like he cares if you're mad, brat, he's not your dad 8|]

Hey, your marshmallows are burning.

[zorichan]

[Well YOU SHOULD! Because it's your fault! Grrrr.]

I want 'em that way! [But, still, they do look kind of overdone... He's gonna pull them out of the fire-- NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU SAID!!! D<-- and blow on them sulkily. The top pieces are almost fused to the stick, the bottom-most one barely warm, but he makes an effort to eat through everything.

Zoro's face is gross and sticky after but he can't help but feel proud of himself for... well, he's not actually sure what he's happy about. But he is. SO THERE.]

[automailed]

[Edward doesn't comment- right away. He'll just watch with his brow lifted, munching idly away at his own marshmallow - which, by the way, has been slowly cooked and browned to perfection.]

...So. Worth it?

[That looked disgusting, bro.]

[zorichan]

[The burnt bits left a bad taste in his mouth, ew. But while the look he gives Ed is nothing less than grossed out, his tone certainly implies that he'd just experienced the culinary equivalent of winning the lottery.]

Yes! Itw'sgood. [... he's not very good at lying. >_>]

[automailed]

Uh-huh.

[Wow, that was terrible and he is totally not buying it. But whatever, it's a harmless lie anyway.]

Are you still hungry? I think I've still got hotdogs left. They don't burn as easily as marshmallows.

[zorichan]

[That snaps him out of his marshmallow induced funk. He looks up at Ed eagerly.] What're hotdogs? Can I have some? Do they taste better than marshmallows?

[automailed]

[Edward goes back to the gear behind the log, switching the marshmallow bag with a package of hotdogs and handing one over. He skewers another with his own stick, hovering it over the fire.]

It takes longer to cook, but you can just eat them raw, too. It's meat. ...Sort of.

[zorichan]

[Zoro follows suit. Thankfully, this one doesn't catch on fire as easily.]

How do you tell when they're done?

[automailed]

That's easy- they get kind of dark and crunchy, like the marshmallows.

[zorichan]

[Oh, ok. Easy enough. Zoro kicks his feet against the ground impatiently, humming under his breath as he waits for the hotdog to finish cooking.]

[automailed]

[Hm... kid seems settled enough. While they wait for the dogs to cook, Edward glances sidelong at him, brow lifting.]

What're you doing out so late, anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping?

[zorichan]

[He shakes his head. Thank God for the darkness. Zoro wasn't sure if he was blushing or not.] I got kinda lost, but I saw your fire through the trees. I didn't know there was a town over here.

[He says all that like it should make some kind of sense to Ed. As far as Zoro was concerned, he'd wandered over to Luceti from his own village.]

[automailed]

[Whoa, whoa, whoa. That sounds like-]

You don't know where you are?

[But this isn't a time that New Feathers come in, is it? Unless he's some kind of straggler... he seems pretty unconcerned about it, though.]

[zorichan]

[More head shaking.] Not really.

[Not that it bothers him. :|]

[automailed]

[Oh geez. He isn't good with newcomers at all.]

Okay, uh... well, you shouldn't be wandering around alone in the middle of the night. We've got a spare room or two in my place, so we can try to find someone to look after you in the morning.

[zorichan]

It's ok, I'm used to it. [He pulls his hotdog close and stares at it. Is it done yet? GOSH this is taking forever.

At Ed's offer of a room, he looks up in surprise.] I can take care of myself! [But the thought of not having to sleep in a tree tonight was tempting... 8|a]

[automailed]

[Used to it? Take care of myself?

...Familiar.]

What about your parents?

[zorichan]

[Shrug.] Never knew 'em. I stay with my sensei now.

[automailed]

[Sensei... that's a teacher, right? Kinda like how he and Al stayed with Izumi for a while, maybe. He's assuming that's what the huge sword is for.

...What kind of teacher would give a kid a sword like that? 8|]

What's your sensei's name? Maybe I know 'em.

[zorichan]

[Sensei's name? UHHH... wow, what was it again?]

Uh, uh, Koshiro! Koshiro-sensei. [...] Do you know him?

[/hopeful]

[automailed]

Sorry, no. [....] But that doesn't mean he's not around. I don't actually know that many people.

[zorichan]

Oh. That's ok. I'm sure he's back home. [Zoro scratches the back of his head thoughtfully.] He doesn't really leave the village a lot.