[Action]

[automailed]

[When Edward Elric wakes up in the middle of the forest after his kidnapping, he is not quite himself. Outwardly, of course, there is no change- he looks a little more tired, perhaps, as if he's been sleeping poorly, and it seems like he hasn't eaten well for the past month. If asked, he'll complain about a seemingly perpetual hunger that no amount of food seems to satisfy.

Beyond the physical sense, however, he's not Edward at all. Not that he'll let anyone else know about it. There's a homunculus in control of his body, tied by a twisted bloodline, with a maelstrom of wailing voices in the back of his mind, one he's grown so used to over the course of several hundred years that it's nothing but a dull background noise now. With one additional voice that just happens to be louder than all of the others-

"You bastard! You bastard, Pride, give me back my body!! You think I'm going to sit here quietly while you use me like this!? You can't just take over!! You can't shut me up, dammit!!"

But even with all that shouting, all that effort... it's still nothing more than just that: background noise. And he can ignore it, as long as it takes. Homunculi are skilled at such things.

Still- he lingers in the woods for a while, considering his next step. Separated from Amestris and Father, no goals to be met, no Promised Day of which to ensure the successful passage, no allies to speak of, and a new body to which he needs to adjust. Fullmetal has friends here, people who would fight him if they knew the truth. And as strong as he is, he can't fight off an entire village of powerful fighters.

The alternative is obvious, and not, he assumes, difficult. He's spent more than fifty years pretending to be a young child; a teenage alchemist shouldn't be that hard.

When he finally makes it into the village, his first step is not to head back to his own house. Truth be told, he's not certain where that house is. His priority instead is getting himself a good meal, and for his current stomach, that means ordering a lot. So "Edward" can be found in Seventh Heaven for most of the afternoon, eating enough food to fill about five people, minimum. With a bit of directional help, he'll be heading to the smithy to look for Winry, then home itself. He can be pestered in any of those locations, in the woods, or in the village somewhere on the way. He's been gone for a month, so his sudden return is something to celebrate, right...?]


(ooc: like the post says, Ed's basically shifted to an AU where Pride took over his body in volume 26 of his canon. This means that his body is that of a human-based homunculus, and has the strengths and weaknesses of Pride and (to a lesser extent) Gluttony. The journal prided may occasionally be used for special icons, but he'll be keeping his true identity on the down-low as much as possible. If your character can sense multiple souls or other such things, please contact me! It would suck to spoil the surprise to everyone before it's time |D)

Comments

[automailed]

[Pride pauses mid-bite at the sudden interruption, though he doesn't look particularly surprised; he'd felt eyes on him for some time now. He'd been wondering if it had been suspicion, that his behaviour was somehow noteworthy, but now that he's been addressed, there's no familiarity to go hand in hand with the challenge.

He leans back in his seat, lifting a brow.]

Is this a wager?

[not_a_troll]

Aye! It is!

[The grin on Loki's face broadens and he nods again to emphasize that this is, indeed, a wager.]

[automailed]

So what do I get if I go through with it?

[Not that he needs anything, but humans are obsessed enough with gambling that a reward is an expected commonplace he's all too familiar with.]

[not_a_troll]

I have not decided yet.

[Loki looks at the other, grinning broadly.]

But I will decide after you have achieved to finish the seventh course, yes?

[automailed]

That's a crappy wager if I've ever heard one.

[Doesn't stop him from a) continuing his meal and b) gesturing for another round to be brought over.]

[not_a_troll]

[Loki notices that.]

So we have a deal?

[automailed]

As long as I reserve the right to ignore your "reward" if it sucks.

[Doesn't stop him from eating, mind you. They don't call him Gluttony for nothing.]

[not_a_troll]

But my rewards are always of an outstanding quality, ignoring will be hard.

[He look at the other with an expectant look on his face. His mischief-senses are definitely tingling.]

[automailed]

Yeah, whatever you say.

[He doesn't trust this kid one bit. Nooooot one bit. But since he doesn't really trust anyone, it's not exactly a surprise.

He watches Loki without trying to make it seem like he's watching, still picking away at his food. He'll finish that aforementioned seventh course without any difficulty, too.]

[not_a_troll]

Whatever I say, yes.

[Loki nods in agreement. And he doesn't expect the other to trust him at all, but it will be fun to see what will be the outcome of all of this.

So he watches the stranger curiously as he eats that seventh course with a remarkable lot of ease.]

What is your name?

[automailed]

[He pauses briefly at that, masking it by working his way through a couple of french fries. It's always a bit of a jump, changing identities; After hundreds of years it gets tricky to remember who you are.]

'm Edward Elric. State Alchemist.

[not_a_troll]

[Loki notices the other pausing but does not think much of it. After all, those are a lot of French fries.]

An alchemist? So you are on a continuous quest to change ordinary metals into solid gold, yes?

I am Loki Laufeyson of the house of Odin. But you may call me Loki.

[automailed]

Doing that's actually illegal on my world.

[And a useful one, at that. Humans are always so eager to get rich as quickly as possible- it's a convenient distraction from what's really going on behind the scenes. Heh. It's a shame there's no money in this place, it would make his life so much easier.]

[not_a_troll]

It is? So the art of alchemy manifests itself in a different way? How?

[And now Loki notices...this Edward Elric would win the wager. He wonders if such an appetite is healthy or bordering insanity.]

[automailed]

It's complicated.

[He doesn't have enough interest or understanding of Fullmetal's alchemy knowledge just yet, so he's hoping to delay any explanation by being vague. He's also ignoring the alchemist's gloating in his own head. The foolish human considers such small things to be victories, really?]

[not_a_troll]

I am fond of complicated things. I am also fond of very avoiding answers.

[A grin.]

It seems you are able to provide me with both.

[automailed]

I could, but I don't have to.

[Nosy brat. He's trying to eat here, why are you pelting him with questions 8(

"If you're really this lousy with alchemy you'll get caught in no time. Don't expect ME to help you, either."]

[not_a_troll]

Of course you don't have to.

[Loki goes to sit down right across you now, Avoiding Alchemist.]

But you could, yes?

[automailed]

Yeah, I could. But I'm here to eat, not teach brats about my trade.

[not_a_troll]

Shall I teach you my trade in trade of you teaching me your trade? That seems like the most fairest of trades.

[automailed]

...Yeah, I guess that'd be acceptable.

[Might as well be aware of what they guy's capable of. Just in case.]

[not_a_troll]

[Loki is capable of extreme trolling, but nothing really big.]

Aye. Then this shall be a deal, yes?

[He extends his arm and offers Edward his hand.]

[automailed]

I'll teach you of it. Minimally. Until I get bored.

[And only then does he extend his hand. It's not like he can't just back out of it later if he feels like it; Fullmetal's fickle if nothing else.]

[not_a_troll]

And let me guess. You get bored quite easy, yes?

[He shakes the other's hand anyways. And no, you cannot back out of it later, Edward.

After he's done shaking hands he leans forward a bit and steals a fry to nibble on.]

[automailed]

[OI DON'T STEAL MY FOOD 8[ BASTARD. He doesn't retaliate or protest, but Loki's getting the evil eye now.]

Very easy, yes.