[Al's voice is quiet, a touch sad, like he's holding out hope he knows he shouldn't have.]

... has anyone seen Ion...?

... other than the few I know of, does anyone else have some affinity with making plants grow? We lost a lot of the wild-growing crops and herbs in the floods.

If you don't have a green thumb, I could use some help with transplanting herbs- in return I'll give you cuttings of the ones you want. They're really good for cooking and tea.

[For anyone listening who knows, that's the familiar roar of the Zoomer -- Al's bike-like hovering contraption. The one he's had for the past few years. But something sounds a bit off about the engine, even to the untrained ear. It keeps fading in and out, sputtering.]

Oh no, nonono-, come on-

[The engine roars back to life, but then sputters ( Read more... )

She's...

[Al's voice is soft, but thick. Not with tears, but with pain that somehow is beyond that. A numbness, a helplessness. He normally sounds so together, like he has everything under control, but right now he's small again. Small and utterly lost.]

Mom's gone.

[Click.]

[Be treated to another scene from a buildingtop. The snow clinging to the ground makes it sparkle, and from so high up -- at least a dizzying twenty stories -- the rearrangement of the Safezone is apparent.]There sure are a lot of new buildings... and they all seem to have a lot of care in their architecture. It's almost like the Scientists picked ( Read more... )

Brother, are you coming up for dinner? You can't hide yourself away forever -- gosh I need to clean this room --

[Silence, followed by a shattering sound.]

Brother...?

...

... E-Ed...?

[A soft, breathless, painful-sounding sob.]

I-I couldn't... no...

Y-YOU JERK, YOU SAID YOU'D NEVER LET US GET SEPARATED! YOU SAID WE'D LEAVE TOGETHER, WE'D ( Read more... )

[Al's laying on his back, in his bed in the Elric household, and though his expression is hard to read, his fingers are trembling just slightly, and his voice is a soft, scratchy whisper.]... how do we know what's real and what isn't ( Read more... )

[... two days later and Al's only just managed to get all the braids out. His hair is fuzzy and crimped beyond reason, sticking out in all directions, and he's rubbing his scalp and making faces here and there, and talking to himself. He doesn't really realized the feed's on.]Ms. Tia looks very good with braids, but... I-I just can't pull them off ( Read more... )