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 Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:17 pm
Winry let out a little mumble of incoherency at the soft nudge at her elbow....Okay, so this wasn't a dream. But what did 'And Winry's here too' mean, exactly? If anything, they had come back to her.
Daring to open one eye, the girl peeked out and glanced around. It was shady and a bit cool...when had she walked out into the woods? Yep...this was getting just a little bit weird. The last thing she needed to do was start sleep-walking. Especially while carrying her tools, by the feel of something hard a wrench-like pinned underneath her body.
Slowly, she opened her other eye and dared to sit up, looking in the direction that Al's voice had come from. She suddenly realized that there were some very weird-looking creatures around. They looked a bit like foxes, but had big ears and three tails...and for some reason, three of them had wings, and the one laying next to her and that other one had red coats on...
Wait. She recognized..."Al...?" she whispered in disbelief. What the...he was fuzzy! She lifted a paw to point and- wait a paw?! Startled, Winry gave a small, squeaking yelp and attempted to jump up, only to find that standing on two legs was difficult...because she now had to use four.
Collapsing back onto her rump and bumping into something hard behind her in the process, she noted the three fluffy tails that were seemingly connected to her, and...just sat there. Confusion raced through her mind. This was probably...definitely a dream still. Yeah, this really wasn't real. Right?
It occurred to the kitsu-in-denial that the thing she was sitting against appeared to be twitching, and turning around, came face-to-face with a green, snake-like...thing. Squeaking again, she scurried back from it and towards the other kitsu...and promptly fainted, unknowingly flopped backward onto Edward. Too much to take in, and the stress from her dimensional travel, was certainly enough to overwhelm.
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:54 pm
He felt something hugging him, and Edward seemed to come to. Blinking his golden eyes open in a groggy fashion. "Al?" he muttered, pushing himself up a bit. "What happened?" he asked, looking up and around as he started to regain his senses. He was back... for there was Alphonse and Lilianna. He managed a weak smile, seeing all the emotion in his mate's eyes. He didn't know what Kitsyn had done.. that she had been responcible for saving him.
Winry's squeal then got his attention and she fainted... ontop of him. Somehow he managed to twist around in time to catch her. Now practicly fully awake and holding onto a fainted Winry. Blink blink. Ears pinned back and he looked at his brother with a slightly grim expression. She was here... but it shouldn't have been this way. Sighing, he set Winry down before pulling his brother back into a hug. He was surrounded by those that were most important to him, and for that he was glad.
Envy was still alive at the very least... his sides rising and falling as he breathed. There was a sort of gurgling growl sound, the homunculus having become conscious at some point, yet he was too weak to really do much of anything. "Cheated death again, eh pipsqueak? Always.... getting into trouble..." he snorted a bit. Lust was right.. those alchemist never did learn, did they? Never knew when to quit either.
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 6:10 pm
Liliana's eyes glimmered as Edward smiled, Letting his brother be the one to hold him. Wait... Kitsyn... going into the gate? Zell had told her very little the time she had caught him thoughtful in training after she returned. Just that she was 'very special' and 'new things about other places' or something. She turned at the familiar touch of End's nose in her shoulder, a double ache in her eyes. Kitsyn was like his family... "Oh Endless... I'm sorry... She'll be all right though, won't she? I mean..." Blink. "A-a-apparate? Not all of us. Really only one at a time. But Cedrella should have the other's alerted by now..." She put her paw to her ear, talking both to Endless and to Myranda on the other end. Liliana seemed to be operating in kind of a trance automatic mode. The cait Locke if he were there would have recognized something familiar about it no one else would. A particular calm after the storm. "So we need to get out. Edward, Endless, Alphonse, Winry. Daddy, Hemi & Aunt Ginny can come for us. Not to our place though. I don't think Alphonse would like to go there again. Not just yet. To headquarters. But what about Kitsyn?"
Her voice cracked a little at the end. Part of her registered that Winry fell on Ed. It was okay though, she simply worried at the femme's fainting a little. More she was angry at Mustang for leaving. Her paw came down from her ear.
Three scarfed kitsu appeared, two in black robes. Liliana gave them a nod even as Hemi came bounding over to envelope her in a happy hug that she was safe. He still seemed a little tired from the healing... was that only yesterday? Or longer? Liliana had lost track of the time since Edward had left to go after his brother. "Alphonse? will you go with me? Edward, you with Hemi? Daddy'd be best for your friend Winry, since she's passed out... Endless with Aunt Ginny..." She was trying to think things through. Although she of course wanted to be the one to take Edward... but her mate was the smallest of the three therefore the vest fir her brother to take. Hopefully Alphonse would not mind, both letting Hemi take Ed & himself going with her. She missed the 'sorry, no hard feelings?' look her brother gave Al. Remus and Ginny padded towards the others. "When you all are ready then...?" The older male said softly, not bothering with other small things like greetings comprehending that the situation not only had been dire, but that it could be so again soon. His voice had a 'time is of the essence' ring to it.
((anyone can post the actual apparating if you like... and if no one says no to it... ~_^))
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 8:41 pm
Endless watched Roy walk away, feeling vaguely dissatisfied but not really in a position to try and make him stay. So he simply sighed and turned to watch the Gate. He didn't take his eyes from it even as he answered Alphonse. "Adoptive big sister... sort of... she said she knew what she was doing so I... just have to trust she'll be ok. I have maybe half a clue what's going on, honestly..."
He nodded as Lily called her house and the other wizards arrive, though when Ginny moved next to him he reached a paw up to tap his ear. "I think I'll wait here for Kitsyn, guys. I can call you... right? So I'll let you know when you need to come pick us up." He glanced toward the two homonculi. They didn't look like they were even getting up any time soon...
Kitsyn could practically feel the blank white space even though she kept her eyes closed. She could feel the figure grinning at her too. A feeling like eyes boring into the back of her skull, waiting to see if she'd object now that the trade was accepted.
Kitsyn didn't hesitate. "I made my decision. I'm here. So just do whatever it is you're going to do so I can pay my dues for Edward."
There was a long pause, and she felt almost like she was being searched. And no dark corner of her being was safe from it. Then she felt a slight pressure on her forehead and white exploded behind her eyelids as she felt a pain that went beyond pain and whited out.
The Gate opened one more time. The last time, at least for this visit. Kitsyn was deposited near the others and the black hands withdrew, slamming the doors behind them. There was a momentary pause as it stood there, silent and foreboding, making everyone wonder what was going to happen next... and then it simply faded from view.
Endless just stared for a moment before moving over to nudge Kitsyn. Her eyelids fluttered, but she didn't wake. At least she was alive... and seemed unharmed. But he wasn't going to assume she was "just fine"... there was no telling what happened to her in there. "I.. guess I'll just wait with her until someone can come back and get both of us..." He blinked once and then just sat down, looking more than a little bewildered by the sheer strangeness of all that just happened. It was one thing to hear about the Befores... another thing entirely to be personally introduced to something so utterly foreign to his little pocket of understanding.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 3:33 am
Alphonse seemed disappointed as he watched General Mustang go. A heavy sigh escaped him and he moved away, raising a paw out towards the male as if to ask him to stop.
When he heard Winry's voice, his attention was immediately drawn down to the girl. "Yes, Winry, it's me... Alphonse. Are you alright?" He pinned his ears back as she squeaked, concerned for the girl's safety and wellbeing. She was safe here though, as long as everyone was around. He offered a nervous grin - she was probably as confused and as disorientated as he himself had been when he first arrived here.
"It takes some getting used to," He offered. "But you'll soon get the hang of it. I've only been here a short time, myself." When the girl fainted on top of Edward, he loudly yelped, bounding over in order to assist them. He breathed a sigh of relief when Edward caught the girl.
"I don't know what happened, brother. Was... was this my doing?" He curled his tails around himself, feeling rather guilty now. When he was hugged, he leaned into his brother, feeling somewhat calmed by his presence. Now that he could reflect on everything he had done during the past few days, he felt a huge pang of regret sting him hard in the gut. "Did I do this? I'm sorry... I didn't mean to do that... All I wanted was to open the gate and go back where I came from, because, well..." He pinned his ears back as far as they would go. "I hadn't meant for any of this to happen!" He lowered his head, sniffling, not wanting to meet his brother's eyes any more, ashamed of himself. "I.. I'm sorry, brother... I didn't think anything through at all, did I..?"
When Liliana and Endless spoke about the strange thing... 'apparate', was it? He blinked in confusion, turning his attention towards them. The strange girl who had gone through the gate... they were speaking about her. Her name was Kitsyn? He had heard that name before!
"Ah, so that's the girl's name?" Alphonse wondered. "She was the one who knew I was coming. Strange... I hope she's going to be alright..." He loudly whimpered. "This is all my fault, so---" He never finished his sentence. He was distracted by the Gate - which had opened again. When the strange girl was deposited on the ground nearby Winry and Edward, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief, at least until the Gate faded out of existence.
"It's gone..." Alphonse mumbled, not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed by the fact. "What am I going to do now...?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 12:51 pm
[since Roy is gone, you guys don't have to wait for me to post. ^^;]
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:45 pm
Nobody was more disappointed in Mustang's departure than Edward, but then... he was somewhat use to it. After all... every father figure he's had has done the same thing. Didn't mean he still wasn't bitter though, something that just made Edward all the more sour towards the flame alchemist. He use to respect that guy.
Edward couldn't lie to his brother, "Yeah... this is what happens when we mess with forces we don't completely understand" he said softly. He tried to stop his brother... but he hadn't succeeded. "This isn't like our world... there may be alchemy, but it doesn't always react the same. We'll talk about it more later, okay?" He had a few insights into why the alchemy here was the way it was, but that discussion was better left between the two brothers. "C'mon.. lets get out of here."
A glance was given to Winry before Edward stepped over to Lilianna's brother and then waited till they apparated away. Hopefully Winry would be alright... she probably would. After the mental shock of being here, like Alphonse had.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:36 pm
Ginny gave a small sound as she was startled & at the same time relieved at Kitsyn's return. Hemi's yelp if surprise at the same was followed by a glance to his sister & her mate, one saying that someday he would like to be filled in on what happened here. Someday when there was time. Liliana gave her dear baby brother a shaky smile, in shock herself though very relieved to see the female returned. "While your words and actions are as honorable as ever, Endless, that shall not be necessary. I am able to take both girls, even unconscious as they are. Especially you might say." The experienced wizard had a thoughtful look on his face, but not about the apparating. Remus Lupin was considering the gate and what was beyond it. The white glow that had 'spit' Kitsyn back out to them. In ways it reminded him of the veil in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Only slightly. He suspected things usually did not come out of it, and knew nothing came out of the veil.
"Liliana. Put Kitsyn on my back please. Then as soon as she is settled we will be off." The robed male directed, moving to stand over the new winged female's unconscious form. "Yes, Daddy." The crimson witch said before focusing on Kitsyn & gently floating her limp form into place on Remus' back while he moved Winry so that not hair nor paw nor feather nor tail stuck out unnecessarily. It was better not to take chances when side-by-side apparating with multiples. Beneath his robes Remus' guardian shifted so as not to be caught beneath Kitsyn's size. Hemi gave a brotherly hug to Edward as he came over and Ginny went to Endless' side with a 'I've no idea what's been going on but isn't this exciting?' sheepish grin, both waiting for Remus' signal. Satisfied with Kitsyn in place the petite crimson femme flashed Alphonse a look of tender concern before enfolding him in a hug of paws and wings both to keep him safe in the apparating and to try to show how much she really cared for him.
Remus gave a nod. "Now."
A collection of small popping sounds and all of them were in the main room of the Realm HeadQuarters. "Let's get them to somewhere more comfortable. Like a room." Liliana's thoughts flickered oddly being in HQ... made her think of what Cedrella had told her about Faith being Envy's grandkit. Her eyes went wide, then flickered with uncertainty. Should they have done anything for the homunculi? But she said nothing of her thoughts as Hemi moved to help their father with Kitsyn. "This way." They would go to the room she hoped Alphonse would be most comfortable in, & therefore maybe this Winry too when she awoke. Roy Mustang's room that the witch thought of as Edward's room since that was normally where he was when here.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:58 pm
Endless closed his eyes during the apparition. In his mind it was more disorienting to have them open during the transition. Once they'd landed he flashed Ginny a shaky grin and then went over to relieve Remus of Kitsyn. He felt like it was his responsibility to carry her... they lived together, and everything... yeah. And he really wanted to feel useful. This whole situation felt so out of his depth it was deeply unnerving to him on one of the most basic levels of his personality.
He gave Lily a brief bump on the shoulder with his nose and motioned toward Ed and then back at Alphonse beside her. Not that he in any way though the two wouldn't insert themselves on either side of the elder Elric brother, but Lily seemed a bit uncertain about how to go about doing next what needed to be done. "I'm not sure if I know where to take her, so you guys'll have to show me..."
He glanced toward Ginny and Remus then. "Do you have any potion things... that might help?"
The voices... seemed familiar... why were they so far away?... She felt like she was floating in a void, there was no up or down or left or right... no light... no dark...
Wait... what was that spark? She kicked her "feet" as though she were swimming and found herself drifting toward it... at an infernally slow rate... but moving, at least...
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:03 am
Alphonse could only weakly nod at his brother's explanation on alchemy in this world. He gave his elder brother another nod when asked if they could talk about it later.
"Alright, brother..." He said in a meek voice. "You're right. We should get out of here. We... I, well... fate has been tempted enough times today. I don't want to be around when that homonculus dragon finally recovers enough to attack us again."
He gave Winry another glance of concern, wondering if the girl would be alright when she woke up again. He felt guilty over her being dragged into this world, but part of him had to admit that he was happy to see her again. He wanted to make sure she was going to be okay.
When Liliana hugged him, he stiffened his posture slightly - the youth still wasn't quite sure what to make of her. Oh well, he would get used to it in time, he supposed. Thinking about Liliana with her brother, everything here in general, he still had a lot to adapt to, yet. It was all still so new...
He gave a loud yelp as they were apparated to the main room of the Realm HQ Building, unprepared for it completely. Another thing to get used to. Alphonse was about to ask about the strange ability when he heard the instructions to move. He nodded and followed along with Liliana and the other Kitsusagi with her, keeping his head low as he noticed Hemi. That was the guy who had shoved him before... would he still be aggressive toward him?
"Will Winry be alright?" He frowned with concern. "I... I didn't faint when I first got here. But I was probably about as confused as she was. Then again, Winry's different to. As long as she's not hurt, though..." He sighed, ears lowering. "She's going to be mad I got her stuck here. This is all my fault..."
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 10:34 am
Edward didn't really know what had happened with Kitsyn, but he had seen her come back through the gate. Those were more questions better left for later... Lilianna might know. Either way... Edward hated apparating. He gave his brother a grin at his yelp, "I'm not even use to that, still." And his mate was a magician.. wizard.. witch.. whatever the term was. Magicly inclined female Kitsusagi. There we go. Getting to his paws, he started to move towards the room that well... he was practicly raised in. Even though his bitterness for Mustang still remained, this room had been his only home for a long time.
"There's no reason to think like that Al. What's done is done. It can't be changed." He could understand the guilt his brother felt, but it was time to push it aside and move on. Edward's pace brought him to Lily's side, hoping that she was alright as well. This was probably a rather.. disconcerting experience for her. A glance given to Endless before he lightly bumped Lily's shoulder, letting her know he was there.
When they entered the room.. Edward paused and sighed, ears drooping. There was still a mess of books all over the floor, "Oh man..." A sly look was given to one of the magicly inclined Kitsusagi. Perhaps they would be able to.. assist?
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:18 pm
The two older kitsu looked at Liliana at Endless' question. The winged witch had long since surpassed either of them in her skills with potions. "Maybe." She answered softly, her voice flecked with concern. Her step only slowed as she led the others to the room -more the other wizards & Endless since the Elrics knew the way though Liliana could not know for certain her mate's brother had been there. Although perhaps she should have, though really at this moment it was unimportant. "I'd have to know more about what happened..." There was an air of too much having happened that Liliana simply did not understand about her. Although her friend's nose to her shoulder brought a thankful, sad smile to her face. She had missed Endless so much... and yet she did not know where their friendship rested since she had been gone. More -since she had hurt him so terribly with her indecisiveness.
"In your adventuring, I presume you have seen more than Miss Rockbell." The werewolf gave no indication of where he had learned Winry's full name as he spoke to the younger Elric. Relief in his dark eyes as he saw his daughter visibly relax at her mate's touch as she stepped aside to let the others into the room before her. "My guess is that she has not seen this 'Gate' before. That would be enough shock for most."
Glancing around the disheveled room Ginny lifted a brow and gave a small smirk. "Easily fixed. Get them to the bed soon as it's cleared." With that she flicked her wand sending books and papers back to where they belonged. Even the bed remade itself. A nod as the two unconscious females were settled on the bed.
"She's only passed out." Hemi offered weakly, a soft flickering glow coming from him as he touched the mechanic. Then a little stronger glow, but with more flickering as he touched Kitsyn. "Physically, she's fine too but..." The young healer-wizard shook his head, pale from exhaustion. "Something's off. Dunno... what..." With that Hemi collapsed beside the girls, half curled upon Kitsyn. His healing glow flickering then disappeared. "Hemi!" His sister's voice was oddly calm for all her worry. Their father though worried did not seem as surprised. "I was afraid he would push himself too hard." Stepping in after everyone Liliana's forehead crinkled in concern & thought.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:37 pm
Endless moved over near Al as the books started flying back to their original positions and the bed straightened itself. "Different, huh? ...You get used to it. Mostly." He flashed the younger Elric a half-grin and moved to settle Kitsyn on the bed. That done he looked around the room and then padded back toward the door. "I'm going to go get some water or something. I'll be back in a minute." He didn't know about anyone else but his mouth was feeling dry... and he didn't think he could handle twidling his thumbs so to speak right now.
Though relatively short time had passed in the world outside the blank space Kitsyn floated in, it seemed an eternity to her. Finally she was close enough to the spark to see something that looked like a window. A white window in the blank space, with warm yellow light spilling through. She couldn't help wanting to see what was on the other side; what she saw gave her a feeling like a spiritual whiplash.
A face. Caim...
Whump. Hemi's exhausted form landing on her seemed to bring her back to herself. Mostly, at least. "Heavy..." She felt fuzzy... disconected. She couldn't get her eyes to open, much less the rest of her body to move.
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Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:56 pm
Alphonse grinned weakly at the sight of the mess of books on the floor. Nobody had cleaned up yet... well, now that he was here, she supposed he should at least do that much. He crouched down and began to pick up some of the alchemy books, stuffing them back on the shelf. When the one he was holding flew out of his paws, he stepped back, both confused and amazed. He watched with amazement as books returned to their correct places, and found himself looking around the room as if it might help him locate the one responsible for the act. Magic sure was strange to get used to...
"Huh?" He glanced back at the unfamiliar Kitsusagi when he spoke, then slowly nodded. "Winry's no alchemist, so that would be a fair assumption. She hasn't seen the Gate, or the truth before. I didn't think it was shocking enough to make you pass out, though..."
He gave Winry another concerned glance. When Hemi moved a paw out to touch the girl, he felt strong feelings of protectiveness well up within, and Al pinned his ears back, offering the other male a slight defensive growl. He didn't advance any further this time though - he knew better this time around. That other male had shoved him before, and was physically bigger. It was liable that he might do the same thing again, or at least Alphonse thought he might. When the larger male collapsed beside Winry, the youth sighed. That seemed to be happening a lot recently...
He moved to Winry's side, nudging her with a paw, seating himself beside the girl, determined to sit there and keep guard until she woke up again.
"I know what's done is done, but... this is still all my fault." He whimpered. "Maybe I can change it, somehow..." He glanced down at his gloved paws, his attention on the alchemy arrays drawn into the palms of the gloves, thinking hard.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:33 am
Edward put a paw on his brother's shoulder when he started to growl, "He's just trying to help" he said quietly. He didn't know what happened between his brother and Alphonse, but well.. he would rather not see any tension between his family and Lily's.
Ed then watched as his brother went to Winry's side, while staying next to Lilianna. "I think the best thing to do, is just help her get use to this world. You both came here the same way." Edward had grown up in this world, so he couldn't fully understand the shock that the two of them were going through. It was better if Alphonse tried to help her with that, and it might help him cope as well.
He had hoped the three of them could be together again, but he hadn't wanted it this way. Seems that you really do have to be careful what you wish for. Edward sighed tiredly, wanting nothing more than to get some food in his stomach and settle down for a nap... and try to forget everything that had just happened.
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