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WHO: Edward Elric, OPEN
WHAT: Ed finds a way to make a quick buck; cosmetic surgery.
WHERE: Zone 7
WHEN: Now's as good as any!
WARNINGS/NOTES: --

Comments

[death_to_the]

Putress had taken to walking the streets of the lower levels in order to assess the progress of his plague. It seemed to have entered a dormant stage; one in five samples he had taken were carriers. He quite looked forward to its second outbreak...

...but that was neither here nor there.

"I imagine I am beyond your skill, Edward Elric," the Forsaken commented. The harsh reek of chemicals, as always, preceded him, and the vision of ragged bone and decay left no mistake about what he meant.

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     It took him no more than a moment to put name to voice and...face, but seeing all these beings over a little screen was one thing, and meeting them in person was more often than not as he had come to find out around here, quite different.

"-Putress..." the boy blinked, then nodded towards the apothecary. He couldn't help but stare, the Forsaken's appearance more disturbing than frightening, stirring unwanted memories in his mind. Edward shook his head. "...sorry." That wasn't the best way to greet a person.

"I'll admit, I'm not really an expert for biologically-based alchemy anyway," he said, folding his arms. He'd studied it, certainly, but that too, brought up a sour memory. He pushed it away. "So, we finally meet."

[death_to_the]

"Indeed. You are providing demonstrations of your craft, I presume?" Putress didn't seem particularly offended by the stare; it was hardly unusual in this place. Still, the half-recognition there was something the apothecary noted for later.

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     "I guess you could call it that. Figured I should make use of it somehow, but I thought it would be better to do that somewhere that wasn't as conspicuous." Not that he had any doubts someone would find out sooner or later, but the young alchemist was one who knew well that risks had to be taken now and then, and his use of alchemy here wasn't all for show. He was learning too, the make-up of materials here, the subtle differences with things he'd easily identify back home.

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Putress chuckled, the sound dark and surprisingly rich coming from such a tattered body. "My congratulations. I had little success as a peddlar of Azerothian alchemy. Your own seems rather different, however..." It was an invitation to continue.

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     "Oh yeah? Well, what sort of alchemy do you do?"

Edward shrugged, stroking his chin in thought. "-but yeah, I hear that a lot. I guess it really depends on how other worlds practice alchemy, because this method would be the one I'm most familiar with, so it really doesn't come off as unusual to me, you know?"

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"Of course. Alchemy as practiced on my own world ranges from potions - curing wounds and temporarily increasing one's capabilities - to the transmutation of metals and elements. Oftentimes it is paired with the knowledge of making constructs, but this is merely out of convenience, and not part of the field itself." Putress gestured. "I myself specialize in the making of cures and other potions."

"From one such as I," the Forsaken added drily, "such a thing may be difficult to believe." It was no longer true, for that matter, but it would serve for now.

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     He listened, nodding slowly as Putress spoke. "Hm," he mused. "Yeah, ours focuses more on transmutation of materials and working with elements to some degree." The boy raised a brow. "...what do you mean by constructs, though...?"

He only nodded a little at the latter said. "...well, maybe not entirely hard to believe."

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"Necromancy combined with stitchery," the undead apothecary said dismissively. "They are made by cobbling together bodies and re-animating the remains. It is a skill learned from our enemy, but we - the Forsaken - did not forget it when we broke free of him. I do not count it among the alchemical arts."

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     The boy pales visibly at that. He'd had his hunches, but that someone would so casually describe such a thing just made his stomach turn. "....."

He looked away, leaning against the wall. "...wouldn't call it alchemy either..." It sounded close to the taboo practices of alchemy, but Edward couldn't even begin to think of who would actively practice something like that, taboo or not.

...but then when you think about it, is using prisoners as fodder for creating Philosopher's Stones any better...?

He frowned. Neither sounded very pleasant, and the reminder of the latter only served to agitate him for his current predicament. He and Alphonse were about to get to the bottom of something really big, he knew it! -but then this untimely trip to Axiom Nexus... It was a little more than frustrating.

[death_to_the]

Perhaps it was best that Putress did not mention the common use of such things among Forsaken. It was difficult to remember pesky things like human squeamishness or respect for the dead when one was the unquiet dead. Still, Putress was nothing if not observant, and besides, he wasn't interested in discussing ghouls and abominations.

"But let us not speak of such crudities," he said smoothly. "The alchemy of your world deals primarily with transmutation, yes? It is not my specialty, and yet I notice that you deal with complex objects, rather than pure materials."

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     He was thankful for the subject change. "It might seem that way, but then I guess even that encompasses a pretty broad range of categories. It's still all science in the end."

Edward bent down to pick up a piece of metal, turning it over in hand. "To do anything you have to have at least some sort of understanding about the construction of something. It's easier manipulating pure materials, yeah, but compounds aren't too complicated if you know what you're doing."

He held up the metal. "I've been told that most of the metals here are made up of the same sort of elements you'd find in the world I'm from. But then I haven't been to other worlds aside from this and home to know if it's just some standard thing." He shrugged. He'd never really thought about the possibility of other worlds aside from his own, anyway. "Anyway." He tapped the piece with a finger, the sound ringing strangely for a hand that was presumably flesh beneath that glove.

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"Yes, many of the metals here correspond to those of Azeroth as well. Saronite seems to be the exception, I have found," the apothecary offered. "I would be interested in seeing what a transmutation specialist could do with such a material." Putress didn't seem to give the noise any heed, but it was hard to tell under that bone mask.

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     "Maybe base elements are the same no matter where you go."

Edward looked at the piece in his hand, considering what to create from it. Well, a simple demonstration didn't have to be too complicated, right? He knelt down, placing the metal on the ground. Then he brought his hands together, an almost prayerful pose before he placed his palms over the metal. There was that brilliant flash of light again, dancing across the surface of the chunk. The immediate area around it seemed to warp, contracting and expanding in the blink of an eye.

When the light had died down, there was a miniature of the great metal locals, save of course, it was only a statue. Edward had a great eye for detail though.

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Putress watched this procedure intently, the resemblance to a focused bird of prey only made stronger by his clothing. "That is a thing our transmutationists cannot do: shape the material in question. For a result such as this, we would have to contact a jewelcrafter."

He knelt to inspect the statuette, an unpleasant knocking sound resulting from the contact between pavement and a kneecap only covered by cloth. The undead paid it no attention whatsoever. "But then, this is not a healing statue. Unless I am mistaken?" Something glowed greenish-yellow from the eyes of the mask as Putress cocked his head at his fellow alchemist.

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     Edward remained on one knee, glancing at Putress as he knelt down as well to better look at the figure. "They can't? More chemical than physical, then?"

His eyes flicked briefly towards the ground where the other had settled, saying nothing as he tilted his head then at the apothecary's following observations. "Healing...? Oh, no- it's just a statue. This is basic alchemy; analysis, deconstruction, and reconstruction."