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 Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 1:53 pm
Humming to himself, Edward (for once in his life!) was in fact not studying! Or even reading a book, for that matter! In fact, he'd somehow arrived to the conclusion he should actually somehow show those he cared for... how much he cared (The idea had been Mansi's; she'd suggested the small pala make an alcoholic drink with lots of sugar and a few other things... but Edward had decided against that particular train of thought). Thus was why he was enduring the hard, HARD work of actually MAKING something, instead of receiving, like he always was.
He took extra care not to have the oven burn the content of his work, or explode on him (Technology was prone to explosions when the small pala touch it, for some odd reason beyond him). Since Alphonse, Yin and... that other one did really expect him to be in the kitchen, he knew it'd be the last place in the world they'd go to in order to find him. Edward had calculate he had a couple of hours before his brother decided to attempt the kitchen, and thus time enough to make whatever it was he'd decided to make.
Having won the battle, he couldn't keep himself from smirking, even despite how foolish he looked; he was clad with a pink, overgrown apron, and had somehow managed to get more flour on himself than on the pink kitty shaped cake he'd (more or less) baked, however, nothing seemed to matter! Because he'd won the battle! HA! Take that!
Technology = 100, Edward = 1!!
... somehow, that thought made him pause and reconsider his happiness, but he soon enough shrugged and pulled the cake out of the oven, setting it on the table as he smirked at it crossed armed. It'd be a matter of moments before the others found him. Mansi too, probably (despite the fact she terryfied the small pala, and he wouldn't admit as much, she'd given him a nice talking to. It seems some of it had stuck inside Edward's mind).
In fact... 1.... 2.... 3.... any moment now!
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Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 11:06 pm
"HEY NII-SAN!!"
The voice that called out was odd, a bit girlier than Alphonse's, and containing much more energy than the Pala usually had. Edward wouldn't have had time to puzzle over these discrepancies, however, because a blindingly neon Kyunru barreled into the kitchen so soon afterward it was as though she'd been riding the very sound waves that preceded her. "Haha, I bet I fooled you good, little man! I should have been a voice actor, don't you think!? Wow, it's really shocking to see you without that adorable shadow of yours, but frankly I think it's good for the both you to-- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING!? OH MY GOD, kid, you look so cute I could ********' kidnap you right here and now!" Totally forgetting the direction of her initial conversation, she skipped over to Edward and, as she moved to eye his cake, came within a mere centimeter of shoving her nose directly into it. "Tryin' to impress your man with confectionery goodies, are ya? That is SO hardcore, my friend. I daresay, though, as fetching as that apron looks on ya'... pink isn't really your color." She took a step backward, sat down on her hind legs, and inspected him. "Mmm... yes. You're definitely more of a 'Purple Mountain's Majesty', if I do say so myself. You also may want to try a few sizes smaller."
Somewhere in between Mansi's topic-hopping tangents, the real Alphonse had snuck into the kitchen, and he'd heard just enough of her comments to feel vaguely self-conscious. Al hardly considered himself to be Ed's shadow... his company was always appreciated by the elder Pala, after all! And yet, the point was fair, and at least for the moment Ed seemed to be enjoying the company of someone else-- for a change, hallelujah!-- so he figured it would probably be best to sneak right back out...
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 8:57 am
Indeed, ears twitched at the familiar call, however, the ring of the tone wasn't exactly the one Edward had been expecting. No sooner had he turned around that he found himself face to face with Mansi, of all creatures. The kyunru was hell bent on acting like a tutor for the small pala; or perhaps a mother (even if the word was perhaps a bit too sappy for either of them). He had little time to do much but 'erk' loudly, twitching while taking a step back. There were no means to escape the kitchen, as the female kyun was blocking the door; not only that, but he was 100% sure she'd eat his brother's cake if he left it there.
Thus there was nothing else Edward could do but to flop his ears shamefully to the side and endure the female's banter (after all, he'd attempted to fight back against this one, and she'd proved to be the only one able and capable of actually beating him, both in verbal battle and physical battle. Aside Alphonse anyhow). As the mention of kidnapping was passed by, his eyes widened, looking rather hysterical for a moment, "Good to see you too?" he tried to appease the large neon beast, looking half torn between leaving the cake there or merely enduring the situation. A pause, "And hey! This was the only one available!" and by available this didn't mean he'd stolen it from Alphonse's closet either. Really. Honest to god.
Her words made him feel self conscious though and he spread his arms to look down, frowning, scowling at the offensive colors just as another creature walked down the hallway.
Lamia had heard enough of what was going on to warrant a small smirk, all of her own; this could be rather interesting indeed, she figured, and just as Alphonse was about ready to sneak by, the dark kyun cooed, "Awwwww are you trying to sneak on by? Isn't that just adorable..." her maw lowered down to coax the pala into the kitchen, allowing herself to step in elegantly, "Well, doesn't it look like we have a problem here, hmmmm?" a brow arched as she regarded the room, and suddenly came to a determination and a plan of action; oh, this would be fun.
Sitting herself so that she was blocking the doorway with her frame and pooling hair, the vampiress batted her lashed, "The gift of love is not to be underestimated, but I here say .... perhaps a day out with different partners of choice is in order? Because we all deserve to meet and get along with new people, now don't we? Why doesn't little Alphonse spend the day with me, while Mansi teaches Edward to have some fashion sense?"
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 9:23 am
Mansi more-or-less continued to chatter over Edward's attempts at return conversation, but nonetheless, she seemed quite pleased with how he submitted to her presence, as opposed to attempting to provoke a fight or escape. (Frankly, this wasn't uncommon for strangers, although Mansi hardly knew why everyone seemed to fear respect her upon first glance.)
Upon Lamia's entrance, the joy-filled Kyunru neared maximum capacity. She clapped her paws together, much like a child, the blindingly happy expression far from out of place on the neon monster. "Lamia, you. are. a. GENIUS!! I've been telling this little man for CENTURIES that he and I need some quality time to get to know one another, preferably under the influence of alcohol, and you're right, TODAY IS THE DAY!!! I mean," she smirked, missing the fact that now that Alphonse was in the room, certain comments would perhaps embarrass her sorta-kinda-friend, "If someone who HATES BAKING can spend FOUR HOURS fighting to make a simple little cake just to impress their special friend (if you know what I mean!!)," she winked at Edward, "you'd better BELIEVE they can spend the rest of their day with ME! Isn't that so, little man?" She moved to drop a heavy paw on Edward's shoulder in what would be a pat, were she not incapable of calculating her own strength. "It's TOTALLY a date! I'm not accepting no for an answer!!"
Alphonse was so lost in the conversation he vaguely felt as though he were lost in the kitchen itself. He had trouble understanding Mansi; looking at her proved to be extremely distracting (and kinda painful, frankly), and on top of that, what with the speed at which she spoke, and the way she couldn't decide on a single volume or pitch... figuring her out was like... figuring out... people who hated baby animals! Or something. Anyway, it was nearly impossible, so he mostly stayed out of it.
That was, until he found himself trapped in the kitchen, blocked by a Kyunru who looked like she flew directly out of an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Alphonse felt bad for judging her, and he certainly would never voice this allowed, but... she was not someone he'd like to see standing in his room in the dead of night. At least, he reasoned, he could understand her when she spoke, and his head didn't feel any pain when he stared at her for long periods of time. Perhaps he was unfair to even think less-than-perfect things about a near-stranger, and for that reason, her idea seemed additionally appealing to him.
"...I'd like that." His voice started out small; he still felt a little lost, and anyway, he wasn't even sure the other two had noticed him yet, "I mean," he quickly amended, with much more enthusiasm, "I think that sounds like a lot of fun!! It's always nice to meet new people!!"
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 9:48 am
Oh, for the love of...
Edward facepalmed.
It was the only thing he could do; or rather, it was the only thing his poor, poor brain could endue right now. For once, he was quite relieved to have two inches of fur over his skin; it hid his blush rather well after all, "Mansi!" no other words came out of his maw; it was the only thing he could say to the female's small speech; he was too busy hoping the ground would simply OPEN UP and swallow him whole, really. Or perhaps the lights would go out and they'd plunge into darkness. Or perhaps a meteorite would hit the earth and kill them all; anything and everything was better than having to endure this. Sadly there was no way out; if before it had been difficult to escape, right now it was near impossible, what with the fact Lamia was standing guard and the windows were too god damned high up for him to reach.
Peeking from in between his fingers, the pala scowled openly, however, the gesture was widely ignored; after all, it was much like his default expression. The paw dropping on his shoulder nearly made him lose his balance, and he was in fact, forced to grab onto it as a means of keeping from smacking himself face first into the floor, "Date?" the word was coughed due to the fact he'd had the wind knocked out of his lungs.
Either way, Lamia took advantage of the situation instantly and smirked, "Oh yes; a date sounds marvellous, doesn't it?" her smirk grew about an inch when Alphonse voiced his approval, "Of course it's fun, honey," her voice had dropped to a soft purring noise before she lifted her head up to glance at Edward, "And as Edward seems to be hanging onto you, Mansi, for dear life, we can take it as an approval too."
"What?!"
"So Where should we start?" Her voice had raised in volume to block out the small pala's rather unmanly squeak as she nosed Alphonse out of the kitchen "Now then, little one, where should we go first?" her mind was already plotting things out; should they go visit the sick terminal children at the hospital? Or perhaps take a stroll downtown where all the less fortunate people lived out on the streets? Or perhaps they should visit the cemetery? After all, it had such lovely use of architecture....
Edward could do nothing as the dark kyun gently pushed Al out of the kitchen and both vanished, however he did make small grabby paw motions with his hands before turning to glance up at Mansi and wincing. Oh dear lord, someone please help him. That was around the time Edward Elric actually whimpered slightly for all to hear.
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:21 am
Al's smile came more and more naturally as the moments passed, and by the time he was exiting the kitchen with Lamia, he was downright excited. Alphonse wasn't sure precisely where the Kyunru would lead him, but considering how nice she seemed, and not to mention knowledgeable, he was sure it'd be someplace he'd never been before... something to never forget! "Oh, I think I'll be fine with wherever you want to go!" Except, there was one place he usually visited whenever he ventured outside, "...kittens." He hadn't realized he'd said this out loud until he noticed the odd stare he was getting, and upon realizing this, ducked his head a little and clarified, "Uh, there's this pet store, and there's always kittens up for adoption there. Nii-san takes me, and I pet them. And stuff." Al tried to puzzle out her expression, to gauge what she was thinking, but came up empty. "...but uh, that's not very important. We can do anything you want! I promise I'll have fun." He smiled, again, certain today would be great with or without kittens.
Mansi was either oblivious, or uncaring, toward Edward's distress. This was a golden opportunity for her, a chance to fill this little Pala with a full liter of... of LIFE! Now, of course he wouldn't like to go... he'd pout, mourn the loss of his safety blanket, his house, his books, but SHE had the one-up on him because SHE was expecting it and could defeat it! "Come on, little man!" Mansi snatched Edward right off the ground, tossed him up onto her back, and dashed out three sets of doors in a flash of colors, passing Lamia and Alphonse. "I know if I ask you where you'd like to go, you'll say home, and I know if I tell you where you're going, you'll throw a temper tantrum, so TO AVOID ALL OF THAT SILLY NONSENSE, you get to be SURPRISED, mmkay!?"
She ran some of the way and flew some of the way, chattering the whole time about everything from the people they passed (now see, THAT woman needs to put that down that disgusting coffee and get herself a TROPICAL PUNCH SMOOTHIE if she wants to prevent that NASTY SCOWL from becoming permanent!!) to the rock she tripped over at one point (rocks, LET ME TELL YOU about THOSE sons of bitches, they're BITTER is what they are...) only shutting up upon their arrival to destination uno: a deserted beach!
It was early afternoon at this point, warm, but not too hot; sunny, but not too bright. She leaned back, dumping Edward off of her back and into the sand, then turned to face him. "This is our transitional stop. The beach is a lovely place, and it can be DAMN FUN let me tell YOU, but today, you're simply going to learn that peace, quality time with SPECIAL PALAS WE BOTH DARE NOT NAME, and an opportune atmosphere for reading and study can be obtained outside of dusty, closed-in houses! Observe."
She reached into Ed's coat, pulled out the book she just knew he'd been smuggling along, and slammed it down in his lap. "You have one hour, and you better read for every moment of it!! I daresay you'll find yourself more calm and undistracted than you ever were at home!"
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Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 11:30 am
Kitten, huh? Right.
Lamia attempted ti think where she could take the pala that would have hurt, dieing kittens crawling around, but truthfully, she couldn't think of any place where they'd be able to see such a thing; expect a cosmetic institute where they tried their products on animals. And truthfully, were they to go to such a place, she'd have probably been angry herself and lashed out at the people. There was a fine line between what she did, and that, after all.
"We can go to this lovely place then," she purred as she leaned her head slightly towards Alphonse, "It's nearby, a nice ten minute's walk. It's outside, and it's a lovely place to stroll around when you're bored; the art, and the fine architecture is simply amazing," and thus was how Lamia headed towards the city cemetery, and how they both arrived just as the clouds begun to cover up the sun. It looked gloomy, and almost as if it were about to rain.
The kyunru smiled.
"Isn't it lovely? We can even walk the cold stone corridors without the sun burning us to death," the cooed out loud as she entered. The place was silent, and only their foot steps were heard about the cawing of a random crow, "What do you think of the fine stones?" oh yes, Lamia would be enjoying her day.
Very much unlike Edward, whom was still wincing quite visibly. He was still busy making grabby paw motions when Mansi snatched him and tossed him on her back. Erking loudly, he clung to her neck for DEAR-BLOODY-LIFE as she dashed off, "NOT SO FAST!" it wasn't quite a wail of distress, but it came near, especially as they bolted past Lamia and Alphonse, "WHAT?! What do you mean surprise?! I HATE SURPRISES!!!" he couldn't quite fling himself off her back (he'd risk hurting himself, and truthfully, he wasn't a masochist) but the idea was there for a little while as he clung onto the female kyunru and mourned his (lack of a) life.
Just as Mansi talked and chatted the whole way, Edward growled and bickered the whole way till he was dumped off the kyun's back and onto the sandy beach, looking somewhat pale from the ride, "I hate flying," in fact, he was quite willing to admit he hated everything, right about now.
"Hey HEY!" he placed his arms over his chest as Mansi reached and snatched the book he'd quietly been able to smuggle, his scowl turning bitter for only just a second before he arched his brows. Quality time with other pala they dare not name. Oh. OOooOOoooH...... Oh. OH! he got it!
Ohhhh....
"You mean I can read?" narrowing his eyes, he tried to figure out just what Mansi had in mind, but being unable to, he shrugged, leaned against a rock... and did just that; he read. And thought about bring a certain other pala next time with him.
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Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 3:58 pm
"That's precisely what I'm saying." Mansi was all grins after that, wandering around the shore of the beach-- keeping mind not to stray beyond eye shot of the Pala-- as she waited for an hour or so to pass. A Pala as hopeless as Edward would be tough to socialize, she realized, but Mansi was also certain she'd succeed, at least in making some progress. It just took a little planning and forethought, that's all! Plus, were she to make any assumptions by the way he seemed to be reacting to things so far, she'd dare say everything was on the right track.
On the outside, clear as day to anyone around, Alphonse was all thinly-veiled disappointment. He had his arms wrapped tightly around himself, his coat pulled in close, as though freezing; his expression was not miserable, but certainly not joyful, either. It hardly took a prodigy to deduce he was trying to cover up morbid shock with an appreciative smile... and failing.
Alphonse, however, was internally certain of his success at veiling his true feelings. He knew this was simply a difference in tastes-- such as two friends with extremely varied music preferences-- and he was equally certain Lamia didn't realize cemeteries were among the last places on Gaia he'd ever voluntarily wish to be. The only other possible option was that she did it purposefully, knowingly, but... nobody would ever do horrible things like that!! So, since it was just a harmless mistake, Al desired very much to keep the truth hidden. After all, he wanted to insult her taste in architecture just as little as he wanted to let on that she'd failed at pleasing him in their first hour of friendship.
"Yah, it's... very... nice. The stones are also... um, nice."
The hour had passed... or was close to passing... and either way, Mansi wouldn't have been able to sit relatively still and silent for much longer, so it was damned time for a change in scenery! She glided over to Edward and landed so near she nearly landed on him, then moved to snag the book from his hands. "So, how was that? Fun?" And, without waiting for a reply, "Good. 'Cuz now we're going to our next destination!" And again she roughly handled him onto her back, ignoring any protests, and took off, this time going even further-- again with the continuous, rambling narration.
Mansi knew the things Edward enjoyed most, given the small length of the list: books, food, and Alphonse. She'd already supplied one, and she couldn't supply the other, but food she could certainly do. Likewise, considering the hours he'd spent slaving away in the kitchen, it was unlikely he'd had time for a decent meal in a while. So, now that she'd filled his mind, it was time she did the same to his stomach.
They arrived at a place that, despite being a clear imitation, pulled off a fairly impressive job of appearing as though it belonged in Hawaii. There were humans dressed as though they belonged in Hawaii, playing all the right instruments and tunes; there was food, finely prepared and freshly imported, and more importantly, there were all the right plants, flowers, and atmospheric touches. For a Kyunru like Mansi, too small to travel too long a distance, this little tropical paradise was her ideal of a perfect world, almost to the point where it could have been hand-crafted just for her.
With an accomplished smirk, she dumped Edward off as unceremoniously as before and promptly seated herself. The long table before them was coated end to end with fresh fruits, shellfish, meat, and other tropical foods. Gesturing for Edward to take a seat beside her, Mansi wasted no time in snatching up a few heaping portions of tahitian po'e and haupia for herself. "Next lesson: not all meals have to be anti-social, silent and dull. In fact, food tastes a helluvalot better when there's fine music and entertainment to go along with it!"
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Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 12:35 pm
It was visible even to the less trained eye that poor Alphonse was not happy. In fact, it was easy to tell he was... miserable, actually. Very miserable by the looks of it and how he clutched his coat and tried to avoid looking anywhere but two inches in front of his feet, "But, butttt... we are only half way done, my friend!" came the kyunru's dry chuckle; of course, it was near impossible to tell if it was sarcasm, or honest to god happiness. Poor Alphonse, with his ways of thinking was probably much too deep inside his own thoughts to notice this; not to mention he was probably much too nice to figure out the female was quite enjoying his misery, "Because just as soon as we exit this lovely place," she turned to look over her shoulder, her small wings flapping once, almost trying to look excited (which mind you; she was, but not in a way the pala would have appreciated), "We'll go visit some very nice people; they need friends, and I figured it'd be just a good deed for us to drop on by."
She'd waited till she figured Alphonse was desperate enough to get out of the cemetery to say this, and nudged the pala forward, the large gates within walking distance. As soon as they were out, she motioned down the street, to a large white building that seemed to tower over the rest, "It's the hospital, honey," as if it needed explanation at all. THis said, she made sure to snatch part of Al's coat and sort of half drag him in (she figured that if she didn't, the pala would turn and run for the hills). Still nudging him forward, the went through hallways and hallways, the kyun making sure to peek through the glass panels, 'Awwwwing' and making random fruitless conversation with the pala about how happy the patients must be to see them! Even if they WERE Terminal.
Alas, by now, Lamia was testing how long the poor pala would last before he really did turn and run for the hills. She idly hoped it'd take him a good few more hours because this was hilarious, if you asked her!
Meanwhile, Edward read. He read page after page after page of his book; he even smiled, or frowned as he reached parts he agreed or disagreed with, his hand moving to his chin. He was far into his biochemistry book when suddenly, it was snatched away from him, forcing a bewildered, "HEY!" from his small body, his eyes raising up to frown at Mansi. He had no more time, and there was no way he'd have been allowed to argue anything, for no sooner had the pala opened his maw to state the obvious; he wanted his bloody book THANK YOU, that the female kyun snatched him and took off into the sky.
Once again, he was forced to whimper and cling onto the parrot-kyun's neck for dear LIFE as the soared and ran, soared and ran in turn. Edward had since decided he liked the ground VERY much, thank you, and that he never again wanted to be torn off from it, so the idea of soaring the skies once more, was more than a little displeasing. In fact, by the time they landed in Mansi's idea of heaven and she'd dropped Edward off... he looked rather green; so green he could've been mistaken for Mansi's relative, "Can we NOT fly again?" the world were grumped slightly as he lifted himself into the intended seat, his head falling on the table with a loud clunk-like sound. It took him a few moments to recover though, and by then, his nose was already sniffling at the arranged foods, his tail feathers twitching.
Food.
Food sounded like a plan!
However, as he reached for the food and drink, his ears fell; if he was to talk... he'd have hoped his brother to be here with him, "Can't we go fetch Al then? He's good at conversation," the words were half grumped, but there was no anger to them, and anyone that'd known Edward for long enough would've been able to tell quite easily. Despite the words, he'd reached for the nearest drink (It was a funny shade of blue, and it'd instantly attracted his curiosity) and poured it into a glass, sniffling at it before gulping it down.
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