FMA: The Real World (Part Four)

[dante]

Dante frowned deeply when she began explaining what it was. She had never heard of it before, which made her believe it was far from a credible science. Here she thought this pathetic little whelp could actually be of use to her. Just like the Ishbalan woman who came before her, she was an utterly useless child. Such a shame, since she had been hoping for something new to study. She had finished reading all of her books, and taking notes was becoming tedious.

"Runology?" she asked, giving her an incredulous look. "Must be another one of those psuedoscience imitations of alchemy. I've seen quite a few of them in the past few centuries. I hope you didn't expect to become a state alchemist with that. You would've been laughed out of the city!"

When she heard Arden, her lips curved into a cold smile. "Oh, you haven't met Arden? She's quite the prodigy. You'll never meet a smarter child," she chuckled, then glanced at Arden. "Another newcomer, dear. I believe her name is Krystal Hikari."

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((A Kid in King Arthur's Court! XD))

Bob chuckled when he saw him watching television. "Looks like he's back to his old self," he said, obviously very relieved.

[silverviper2134]

Arden grinned at Krystal once she learned the woman's name. The smile was very creepy. Like the type of smile a serial killer had right before they killed their victim. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Hikari. And it will be an even greater pleasure to see how you tick".

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"Honestly, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing" Martel muttered slightly as she walked over to Nikolai and patting his head slightly.

The child simply kept mumbling angrily about how he wanted to see the two actresses get it on.

[velinda]

At the younger female, Hikari nodded. "Krystal Hikari..." she said to the female, but then, what the other female said made her wheel around quickly, and stared at the older female with hatred that didn't seem to befit the little girl, despite her already piercing red eyes. "My parents gave up their lives for this research. I've studied it. It works. It's alchemy, but without the need to clap or do anything like that to use it. The only tool you need is the proper rune, and the proper idea in your head. I have two- the one you see on my hand is the Fire Rune, and I have the Ice Rune on my back. I've used them. They've worked. Too bad were in this world that doesn't allow any form of alchemy, or else I'd show you how well it does indeed work." Well, now the female was worked up. She didn't like anybody insulting her parents work- especially since they gave their lives up for it. "The principle of Equivalent Exchange applies, albeit in a different way- instead of using some kind of instrument or material to transmute, the Runologist- as I call the ones who use Runology- you use your life force. That means if you used too much Runology at one time, you could die. That's not what killed my parents, though. Something else did, related to their research. I was going to join the state alchemists to find information I need. On what, I'm not going to say..." However, as she said that , her anger dissolved, and a sad look came over her face once more... Could it be related to her parents, somehow...? In her furor, she had completely forgotten about the small, creepy child...

[Zolf J Kimblee]

Sarai

Her and Barry walked out to the porch. The smell of steak was heavenly. Kimblee was no where to be seen, and she didn't ask. No need to spoil a perfect good bbq with his presence anyhow.

A youngish man was tending to the steaks and she looked about, finding some disposable plates and utensils. She piled potato salad and ears of corn on two plates for her and Barry.

"How long till the steaks are finished...ah..I'm sorry, what's your name again?" she asked the man with the bi-colored hair.

Kimblee

He noticed her rather non-telltale expression and nodded in approval. She was learning fast. She'd probably do well in Vegas. And it really had him wondering what she was holding.

"I'll pass," he said, deciding the hand was for shit and not wanting to bluff again. "Bet's up to you, sugar."

"Independence Day," he mused quietly to her, "I saw that one. Damn good movie, but hasn't been in theatres that I know of. How about I take you out to a nice dinner? Then we make a store pit stop for goodies and rent it and bring it here?"

There were a few TV's in the house, and there was bound to be one available. And if not, he'd just bully someone away from one.

[silverviper2134]

"How dare you ignore me?!" Arden growled, reaching underneath her shirt and removing the knife she'd taped to her back. She held the weapon up, apparently ready to stab Krystal, but lowered it when she heard another growl.

Bandit was making her way towards Krystal, growling as she did so. The fur on her back was bristled and her ears were flat against her head. Never a good sign.

[velinda]

Roze nodded. "Sounds good. I'm guessing you could get a TV, even if there wasn't one free." she said, smiling at the alchemist. She shook her head, and smiled again. Maybe she really was getting good at this. "I pass too." she said, discarding her off-suit ten. However, when she was dealt, she would get the ten of hearts, but get a dejected look on her face, looking to the male. "Your turn..." she said, her voice non-readable, even though her voice was. It was as if she were trying to cover up a bad hand and maybe bluff him like he did to her...

[dante]

Dante listened as the young woman furiously countered her accusations, not seeming the least bit surprised by her harsh tone. She had expected that she would take offense to her words, and actually hoped she would. Something about this girl annoyed her, so she thought it would be fun to have a little fun at her expense. Besides, she still had to get her mind off the depressing decision she made a few moments before.

"The fact that you still believe in Equivalent Exchange is all the proof I need. It is nothing more than the opiate of the masses; a lovely story, told to make children like yourself do their lessons. Chaos is the only absolute truth in this universe of ours."

As she spoke, she caught a glimpse of Arden raising a knife. She gave her a very cold look, signaling for her to put it away and leave the girl alone. Even though she would not mind if she hurt her, she still wanted to have some fun with the girl before she went back to her research.

She sighed, then turned back to Hikari. "If this Runology your parents created were at all credible, one of my homunculi would have informed me about it. Even if it managed to go mainstream, it would have faded into obscurity and joined your parents in their graves eventually. Your parents created a pseudoscience, and you are wasting your time studying it. And I'm speaking as an alchemic scholar with four centuries of experience under my belt, so don't be quick to brush my opinion aside."

[velinda]

Hikari looked at the younger female once more, noticing the knife that she held out. "Hey, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention..." she looked to the two military guard there, hoping they'd do something, but then, the other female spoke again. "Depends on how good your false livings are. Not even the military knew about this research; my parents deemed it something unfit for the military to know about. They knew about the other pseudo-alchemy, and it's failures. That's why they did their research in secret, away from the military. They figured someone unsavoury would have spies there, and they didn't need them getting their hands on this research. That, and the military would take it and claim it was their idea. Why? Because it actually worked, and required absolutely no material to use, much like how Mustange could apparently create sparks out of nowhere, but on a much grander scale..." She turned back to the other female, and backed away from the dog.. or what she assumed to be a dog. However, she felt no more need to speak to the female, and unless the old lady stopped her, she would storm back into the building, and sit gruffily in a chair in the living room, but she wouldn't say anything- but her face said it all- filled with rage and grief...

[Zolf J Kimblee]

He chuckled when she tossed her card, "Sorry the inside straight didn't work out, hun."

Inside straights were a bitch..and a bad bet. You could only get one card of the right number, so there was only four chances per deck. An outside straight though..you doubled your chances.

Of course...he wondered, giving her a speculative look. He grinned and tossed his own discard, the 6 of clubs. And he picked up...damn! Ace of hearts! Well that did him no good! So now he was screwed out of a flush. Well, at least he had a high pair. With only the two of them, he'd have a good chance at beating her. Well... not like he didn't want her to win a hand, but he sure loved showing off. Damned ego!

Well, let's see how she bet her new hand...

"Bet goes to you, Roze."

[silverviper2134]

"Oh, don't worry about Bandit" Arden said with a smirk. "She's very well trained". As though trying to give an example of the dog's obedience, the young girl told her to heel. Instantly, Bandit stopped growling and quickly walked to her master's side.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

She took a seat and watched quietly as Dante bandied words with a girl she hadn't seen before.

She was going to keep her mouth shut, but the words were out before she knew it, "Ignore this old fool young woman," she said indifferently, as she ate potato salad. "She goes out of her way to be as unpleasant as possible to every newcomer."

She giggled smugly, "She's all mouth and no chops."

[velinda]

Roze noticed the man's grin, which made her face- and apparently, her spirit, sink deeper. She sighed, and noticed the man passed the bet onto her, which quirked an eyebrow. What was he playing at? She shook her head, trying to make sense of him, and threw in a nickle and two pennies- seven cents. She looked at him intently, as if trying to see if he was bluffing or not... He had thrown only one card, and she had ignored his statement about inside straights. She didn't want him guessing on those things. Maybe he was trying to draw out his hand, to get more money off of her...?

[dante]

Dante laughed and shook her head. Despite having softened up a lot since her arrival, she still had a talent for toying with the emotions of useless mortals. She could tell that the science meant a lot to the girl, so she went out of her way to make her criticism as virulent as possible, despite the fact that she truly believed everything she said. She watched as she walked away, a small smile gracing her face when she noticed how upset she looked.

After she left, she glanced at Jean and Denny. "Splendid job standing up for the girl, by the way. You're both regular knights in shining armor, you know that? Really."

Chuckling, she headed back into the house, thoroughly pleased with herself.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

"I hope you're not holding a terribly good hand there, sugar. Seven cents is an awfully low bet if you are. But..since you passed on the last bet...yeah."

He tossed in a nickel and an extra dime and two pennies. "I raise you ten cents," he said with a grin. "Just keepin' you honest, darlin."

His eyes twinkled with mischief and he tipped her a wink... he couldn't help himself when it came to cards.

[Zolf J Kimblee]

She felt bad for the new girl. She'd been the victim of that old bats vitriol when she'd show up too.

"Don't pay attention to that bitch," she reassured. "Notice how she plainly ignored me? Just don't let your feelings show and she wont have a leg to stand on."

[dante]

Dante was moving through the room when she heard that Ishbalan woman start speaking about her. At first she decided to ignore her, having amused herself for the day, but stopped at the door when she called her out on her behavior. She glanced back at her, giving her the usual icy smile.

"No mouth and no chops? Quite a statement about the woman who organized the genocide of your people. Besides, my criticism was entirely justified," she answered, casting a glance at Hikari before leaving.

[amouri]

Barry smiled as Sarai loaded on the food.
He quirked his eyebrows slightly as he caught the hint of where the conversation held before them was going.
He sighed inwardly. Of course Dante had to be a hag as always.

Arden was of course unstoppable. She was a good girl though, it was impressive the amount of pain she had managed to cause in her life.
He still remembered the chipmunk from the day he had first arrived.
He hid a slight smirk from behind his mouth by wiping a trace of food away.

As Dante left the room he sighed out loud.
"Look..." He swallowed, turning to the young girl.
"That was probably the first time you've been in a conversation with Dante, amirite?" He recognized the worried slightly lost look. Another newcomer.

"Don't let her break you down, as Sarai said." He quickly checked that Dante was out of earshot before jerking his head in Sarai's direction.
"She's all mouth and all chops."

[Zolf J Kimblee]

Sarai finished chewing and swallowed the corn she was eating before turning to Dante again, "Is that so?" she asked, "how so very proud you must be to excel at wickedness. So much for a change of heart."

"Oh...and that was all mouth no chops." she added, "You live in a different world now Dante. You have powerless minions and alchemic knowledge that's useless here. Don't let your mouth write a check your butt can't cash."

If her own investigations panned out, she would have access to yet more knowledge of the alchemy that spans worlds to add to the already formidable store of well-hidden family secrets.

And it wasn't as if most people would believe in, or value such ability it gave you. Unlike the immediately visible results of Amestris alchemy, the True Grand Arcanum gave powers beyond physical results. Once one knew what the true laboratory, the true transmutation was...painstaking practice accessed you the 'Golden Wedding Garment', the True Philosopher's Stone.

[amouri]

Barry sent Sarai an impressed look. The meek hopelessness of the newcomer had dissapeared without a trace, leaving a strong confident woman who definetely would have no such shit from an old hag.

[dante]

Dante chuckled darkly as she left the room. Despite what that foolish woman had said, she was still quite a force to be reckoned with. She still had shards of the Philosopher's Stone hidden around the house, even though she told the others it had been depleted when her husband used it to save Nikolai. With its assistance she could perform her alchemy whenever she wished, but she was not going to squander it. Although she was sorely tempted to give Sarai a thrashing, she needed to save it for her next transfer.

Taking a seat on her armchair, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Even though she used the genocide to prove a point, she still considered herself a changed woman, even if Sarai thought otherwise. She was not exactly proud of doing it, but that did not mean that she could not use it against that worthless twit. She did not tolerate being disrespected by anyone, and would use anything in her arsenal to take them down, even if it hit close to home.

"These morons are beginning to get on my nerves..." she sighed deeply. "I wonder where Scar could be? Maybe I should spend some time with him."