FMA: The Real World (Part Four)

[amouri]

Barry followed them quietly, listening in silence.
He noticed the sudden change in attitude of the old man, and the follow-up reaction from Sarai.
Slightly confused, he watched them exchange farewells and saw the old guy go.

"No no, I'm fine with that." He returned her smile, and went a few steps towards her.
"Do you want me to carry it? I don't mind."

[velinda]

XD (If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get Zolf slapped.)

Roze looked at the man, as he bet a quarter. She didn't know if she wanted to go on nothing, so she decided to fold. "Um... I'm out..." she said, putting her cards down. She looked to him as he spoke, and shook her head. "Um.. not really. I don't really play Poker at all..." However, her face turned red at his next remark, and she had to turn her face away. "I-i guess so..." she nearly whispered, and the next part was barely spoken over her breath, but with the quietness of the closet, Zolf might be able to hear her anyways- "I-i would rather... have you looking at me..." As she said that, if he could see her cheeks, he would see her deep blush that was forming on her cheeks...

[Zolf J Kimblee]

After she folded her hand, he chuckled and scooped the small pile of change. He laid down his shitty hand of cards, grinning like the devil. He didn't have shit... just a high card.

He grew silent at her softly spoken words. She was blushing deeply... and he even felt his cheeks getting warm. He shifted uncomfortably, not quite knowing what to say or do. What he really wanted to do was kiss her right there and then. But damned if he was gonna kiss her in a linen closet. Too tacky for a lady. He hesitantly reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it. That wasn't too tacky, he supposed. "You're a sweet little gal, you know that?" he swallowed nervously, "Say... I'd love to...you know... take you out somewhere nice sometime. Maybe catch a bite to eat and a movie."

Shit! Did he just ask her out on a date? He couldn't recall actually trying to date someone for the longest time. Picking up a stranger in the bar was pretty much the extent of his past experience in 'dating.' But Roze... she was different. She was a lady and he liked that. Well... that and bein 32 years old and counting... Guess he was mellowing with age.

A panorama of thoughts flashed in his mind. He saw a rapid fast forward of he and Roze dating... Roze in a wedding dress... Roze and him buying a house...Roze with an extended and pregnant belly... Roze screaming in a delivery room... and a pretty little child holding their hands, prattling away about pre-school. His heart was racing and he nervously launched into a diversionary poker lesson.

"Lesson one, little lady," he said smugly, "bluff the hell out of the first shitty hand you get. And then show your cards after you win... or lose. After that, no one will know what the hell to expect from you."

"Poker is about this much luck," he added, holding his finger and thumb a tiny bit apart, "all the rest is psychology and money management."

A tiny bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

Roze... in a wedding dress.. the thought persisted. Holy crap! She's beautiful!

[Zolf J Kimblee]

Sarai

She smiled at Barry and offered him one of the two bags she'd been carrying down the street.

"Here," she said, "one for you and one for me."

He was such a gentleman and so sweet. How in the world could he possibly be guilty of the crimes he laid claim to from the past? Well, it was not her place to judge, and certainly not from past actions. They didn't always dictate a persons' present course of life.

And being torn from one world and thrust into another... well that could cause a level of life-changing trauma. She herself was still very disoriented and who knew how it would shape her life in the days to come?

In the back of her mind though, she didn't really accept that this was her permanent home. It was a form of denial, but even a futile hope can pull a person through a crisis until they were ready to accept reality.

The bus ride home was quiet, but comfortable. She didn't feel the need to engage in small talk with Barry, but was content to sit quietly next to him. It felt nice.

When the bus pulled at the stop near the house, she got to her feet, taking her bag and stepped off with Barry to return to the house.

[velinda]

(Zolf... you're post made me laugh. >.<)

Roze watched the man apparently have a battle with himself, and he decided to take her hand and kiss it, and basically asked her out on a date, although his words were a bit shaken. "Well... I would love to go on a date with you..." she said quietly, and her blush hadn't gone away, mainly because she had recieved a hand-kiss from the man. "And a Movie'd be fine, and the meal can consist of Theater Food." She looked into his eyes... they seemed to be feeling with pain, yet they seemed to be remorseful.. and appreciative... she assumed something must've happened in the past that he still was a little regretful for... "That'd be perfect for a first date; although I can't say I'm an expert on this stuff..." she gave a quiet giggle to him, as he started to talk about poker again, apparently trying to get rid of his thoughts he was having, whatever they were... but she might have guessed what they were... "Thank you, Zolf... for the instructions..." After that, she leaned over and quickly pecked him on the cheek, while still holding his hand. After she pecked him, she quickly sat back, with another blush on her face. D-did I really just do that...? she wondered. But... it wasn't that bad... She turned to face him again, and said, "I-i think we should get back to the game... for now..."

[aspiredeathe]

((Sorry 'bout that xD Thankfully school is starting again, so my disappearing acts will be a lot less frequent =D))

Jean looked up momentarily from the fire to smile a welcome at the woman. He seemed to be rather fixated on not burning the food. He'd never live it down, both men knew that.
Denny actually stood up, stuck out his hand and introduced himself "Denny Bloch, that's Jean."

At the mention of State Alchemists, both pairs of eyes looked at her and the taller of the men finally spoke "We don't really have any say in that. Besides, we've been here a few years, I'm not sure we'll be allowed back into the army just like that."
"Hnm, we're all probably on the deserter list right now. Unless someone actually saw us disappear." Denny added his two cents, sitting back down and patting the space of deck next to him, inviting the young woman to sit.

They'd both discussed countless times what would happen if everyone got sent back.
They'd be detained, interrogated, possibly arrested or sent out a nut house.
And if there were witnesses to their disappearance, interrogation and that would probably be it.
But whether they'd all go back to their ordinary lives?
Jean was a father now and as much as he loved his job, he doubted Riza would quit hers to raise a kid. Still, she had changed since they'd been here, so who knew.
Denny was pretty uncertain as to what he'd do.
This world had shown him so many new things.

[velinda]

Hikari nodded to the two men. She understood them well enough, so she thought. She sighed, and looked to the sky. "That's fine... After all, I guess I wasn't there in the first place, right?" A small smile played upon her lips. She took the man's hand and shook it, and told them her name. "I'm Krystal Hikari, though many call me by my last name. It's up to you which you call me by..." Her voice was innocent enough, as was her name, but her look wasn't that pure. It wasn't that she was evil, it was that somehow, some people got the shivers when they took in the details of her body, mainly the eyes and hair. However, the tatto on her right hand, albeit smaller than the back of the hand that it was on, seemed to add some mystique to her.

"Well... What you guys do if you suddenly got back to our world? Me, I'd probably continue pursuit of the career in the State Alchemists if I was allowed. Here... my runology doesn't work... which is a shame... I'm guessing that many people's alchemy doesn't work here, at least that is what I was told... and I've been thinking... if we ever get back... will our alchemy work again? If it didn't... think of how different the world would be there... Without Edward as a state Alchemist, or Scar being able to kill them, or even Roy, the Flame Alchemist... It's a scary thought..." She shook her head, lowering it to face the ground. Even if it was a scary thought, she knew that it probably would be for the best... after all, with less alchemists... there would be less war over who gets them and their morality...

[amouri]

Barry followed Sarai up the driveway to the house once more, still holding the back he had willingly offered to carry.
The door was as always unlocked, and he opened it absentmindedly.
He walked into the living room and placed the bag on the table, then turning to Sarai.
"You hungry?" He asked offhandedly. "Mealtimes tend to be rather scattered around here. Motly we just let...Scar get on with the cooking." He smiled sheepishly.

He glanced at the bag of clothes again.
"You probably need some place to put them, huh?"
He could probably catch hold of Martel if she were around, to make sure there was a spare room.
That would also solve any upcoming problems with sleeping arrangements.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

She laughed merrily at Barry's comments. It was delightful to hear him talk. "I don't know where I'm supposed to sleep." she said, "I was just going to sleep on the couch until I found out who's 'head of household.' I'm assuming it's that Dante woman and Scar?"

After all, the woman, although not entirely pleasant, had a commanding air about her. And she and Scar both had an air of responsibility and action. Most everyone else had an aura of waiting and following surrounding them.

She couldn't actually 'see' auras, but she was very sensitive to the emotional and mental energy that surrounded people, making it easier to read them. Body language and posture told a lot as well.

"I smell steak," she said, "I say we go raid Kimblee's BBQ. He did say everyone was welcome to it."

She laid her bag on the floor, out of the way of foot traffic. Sleeping arrangements could be handled once Dante or Scar could be approached.

Kimblee

The atmosphere in the closet was getting a bit tense, although pleasantly so. He rubbed his cheek with a small grin after she kissed him there. He reached over and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, gazing at her fondly.

Now! Back to poker...He dealt them five cards each and set the deck down. "Oops! Ante up a nickel." He tossed a nickel into the pot and picked up his cards. He held the ace of spades, 8 of spades, 2 of spades, queen of spades and...fuck...6 of clubs. Damn...looked like he would be working on a flush. No chance for a straight here. He waited for her to pick up her cards.

"So..there's a movie called District 9. About aliens!" he laughed, "Wanna see that?"

Whoah! he thought, did she say first date? That meant she already liked him well enough to be thinking there could be a second date!...and a third! He bit his lip to hide the silly-ass grin that wanted to take over his face. Is this what it felt like when you was fallin for someone? You suddenly feel like an adolescent, awkward clod with no clue?

[amouri]

((OMG DISTRICT 9 JKDGJDJKSHDJHS LUFF))

"Yeah well, you could say that. Next in line is Martel, seems its only her, Dante and Scar that can keep things under kontrol here." He smiled. "I'm sure we'll figure something out.
Barry grinned at her at the mention of the BBQ.
"I like the way you think. C'mon then, lets hope he hasn't had even more fun while we were out."

[velinda]

Roze looked at the man shyly, and put in her nickel to the pot. She smiled at his movie suggestion. "For alien movies... I'd prefer Independence Day..." She'd wonder what his response would be to her selection, but returned her gave to her hand. She had a Jack of Hearts, a Seven of Hearts, a eight of hearts, a nine of hearts, and a ten of... diamonds. She could always go for the straight AND flush... but then, she already had the straight... so what to go for? She waited for the man to give his ante, her face stoic, looking like she had the previous hand- although this time, though he might not know it, she was doing it from thinking about what to throw... or to throw at all...

[dante]

Dante took one last sip of her coffee, then set her cup down and rose from her chair. Thinking about the future put her in bad spirits, so she decided to take a little walk around her garden to get her mind off her troubles. Stepping off the porch, she slowly sauntered over to her garden and walked between two rows of bushes, smiling softly as she looked them over. They were shrubs that she used to have at her mansion, and only recently did she manage to grow them again.

She was broken from her thoughts when she heard people talking nearby. Looking over her shoulder, she frowned when she saw Denny and Jean speaking with a strange girl. Although she did never met the girl, she recalled seeing her around the house a few times.

Heading over to them, she folded her arms across her abdomen, her long sleeves drooping down over her hands. She looked at them coldly, lips curved into her usual disapproving frown. "Just what are you three doing loitering about so close to my garden?" she inquired, then rested her eyes on Hikari. "And who is this girl? I don't believe we've been acquainted."

----------------------------------------------

"Just a little worried about the kid, that's all.." Bob sighed, closing his eyes. "I guess he should be out soon."

[velinda]

Hikari heard a female come from the bushes as she was talking to the military personelle. Apparently, the female didn't hear her previous introduction, so Hikari bowed to the female and said, "Uh... N-nice to meet you..." she stuttered slightly, the woman being quite intimidating. She glanced back at the males, then turned back to the female. "I'm Krystal Hikari... and I got to this house not too long ago... before that, I was stuck in this world for a couple of days... I haven't really gotten a solid answer as to where this exactly is... but so far, I've heard its... an alternate dimension of some sort... where alchemy doesn't work as it normally does..." After she said that, she dropped her head and sighed. "Which goes my chances at being a state-recognized alchemist, if we ever get back and our powers are still gone..."

[dante]

Dante cocked her head to the side slightly, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. As she suspected, the girl was another newcomer. She had just finished dealing with that Ishbalan one not too long ago, and here she was meeting another one. This was really starting to get ridiculous. Soon they would probably need a second house to hold all of these useless freeloaders.

"What a strange name... And you heard correctly. This world is the counterpart to our own Amestris. Whereas we pursued the science of alchemy, this world developed along another path. I discovered it in my research before being transported here," she explained.

She brushed her hair back before continuing. "Oh, and I wouldn't harbor any hopes of returning home if I were you. Now that you're here, you're never going back."

[silverviper2134]

Martel nodded slightly to Bob's response. "Fuck this" she muttered slightly, going into the hallway that held the recovery rooms. It wouldn't be too difficult to find Nikolai. After all, the doctors had to tell where patients were if family asked. And, if that didn't work, she'd just have to convince them to tell her.

[velinda]

Hikari listened to the female. She chose to ignore the comment on how weird her name was. She knew that, probably compared to the others there, it was a rather odd name. However, this female seemed to know more about how this world worked, and shook her head, followed by a sigh. "Well... there goes my chances... just as I started to really understand what I was doing..." She took off her white glove rather unceremoniosly, and tossed them into the fire. "Well... now that Alchemy is useless, I guess I don't need to hide that, do I?" With the gloves off, Dante might be able to make out the symbol on the back on her right hand. "What do people my age even do here...?" she asked the female. She had gotten some rather odd looks from adult males here, and those looks made her feel rather uncomfortable... so she wanted to do something to get away from those looks...

[dante]

Dante quirked a brow when she noticed the symbol on her hand. It appeared to be an array of some sort, but it was different in a few respects. She tried to think if she had ever seen it before, but was broken when her thoughts when the girl asked her what people her age would normally do in this world. She gave her a mildly confused look, having not expected such a question.

"What makes you think I would know? People my age don't tend to focus on the lives of young people. And what is that array on your hand, may I ask? I've never seen anything like it in my years of research."

------------------------------

Bob stood up and followed after her. Normally he would have told her to wait for them to come in and get her, but he was just as impatient. They were taking an awfully long time, and he wanted to see how Nikolai was.

"I wonder where they could be...?"

[silverviper2134]

"Perhaps you should try prostitution" called a small voice from the top of the stairs. Apparently Arden had finished up her poker game. She slowly went down the stairs and walked over to Hikari. "Who do we have here?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.

------------------------

It really didn't take Martel long at all to find Nikolai. In fact, she bumped into the doctor who had gotten his nose bitten and he'd told her exactly where her son was.

The boy was wide wake, watching what appeared to be two young women about to make out. When the scene change to a kid talking to an elderly king, Nikolai frowned. "GO BACK TO THE LESBIANS" the boy shouted at the television mounted on the wall.

"Well, at least now I know you're alright" Martel muttered with a slight smirk.

[velinda]

Hikari sighed once more as the older female didn't seem to know what she was to do. However, her eyes widened slightly at the older female's question. Even though she knew that it was going to be asked, it didn't make it less... peculiar. Especially since this older lady seemed to know about arrays... which would explain why she hadn't seen it before- since it wasn't technically an array, although many called it such.

Dante could probably see that Hikari was wrestling with the thought of telling her or not, but the idea that she couldn't get back to her world finally won out. After all, what could be done with the knowledge? Nothing, if what she was hearing was true. "It's called... Runology, and the thing you called the array, is actually called a "rune". My parents developed it... before they died, that is... and when they did, I took it up myself... and I've-" she stopped short as she heard another voice call out to her.

"Prostitution...?" she asked.... but that wasn't what disturbed her.. no, it was the female's next statement- so simple, yet it somehow disturbed her, like she felt when the older female asked about her runes. "H-hello..." she said, her naturally quiet voice now sounding somewhat shaky. However, she looked at the female who voiced their sentence, and saw how young she was- younger than her... and that just served to make her even warier. A four year-old that can make sentences that well... and have that vocabulary... it wasn't natural...

[silverviper2134]

"I meant 'what is your name'" the young girl asked, smirking slightly. It was always so much fun to scare newcomers. Almost as much fun as killing people......Not that she got a chance to do that ever. So, this was the next best thing. "Or, are you unable to remember?" she questioned, her smirk widening a little.