Day 21 - Sun Room

[soul_defender]

Ichigo was only too eager to leave the cafeteria and its fresh memories behind when the softened chime of the intercome rang clear. What had begun as another ordinary meal, a rather agreeable one despite the lack of the proper utensils, quickly became somewhat unnerving. His conversation with...what was his name again?...took so many sharp turns,

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[1imited_edition]

Reinforce had opted for the Sun Room over music. Though she'd finished her conversation with Nowe over lunch she thought it prudent to keep an eye on him and Schuldig for a bit longer, and the option to deviate from the thusfar rigidly-structured schedule had piqued her interest. She wanted to see if there was any real freedom to be had here... and, well, she'd never had any taste for the music she'd been exposed to on Earth.

Aside from a few quiet conversations, though, most of the patients just seemed to be resting. The two she was interested in were quickly occupied, and no rebel leaders leaped onto furniture to make inspiring speeches, or whatever she’d been hoping would happen.

Neither tired nor inclined to give the music room a chance, Reinforce spent a few minutes inspecting the bulletin board, then simply looking around the room, and finally ended up sitting on the armrest of Ed's couch watching him in a way that somehow managed to combine idle curiosity with a creepy level of intensity. Everyone she'd talked to here had been fairly young, but he looked to be the youngest by far- around the same age as that Admin Bureau boy, Officer Chrono, perhaps a little older. And... what magical senses she had retained on appearing here had been confused since, constantly returning weak, incoherent responses, but she thought she could feel something tangible from him; that knowledge of how to change the world through will that had been food to her.

[lost_metal]

Ed had managed to doze off a little. Not quite asleep, but drifting along the hazy edge comfortably, lulled by the soft buzz of conversation. Normally he wouldn't have felt so comfortable sleeping on his own surrounded by people he didn't know without Al to watch over him, but one thing to be said for the day shift was that the nurses could definitely maintain order.

Of course, several years of travelling through danger had made him able to sense when he became the object of unusual attention (or being called short, shame thing really). The odd prickle along his spine brought him sharply awake, pushing himself into a less vulnerable position and coming face to face with the white haired girl currently staring at him. He blinked and pushed his hair out of his face, narrowing his eyes at her. "Can I help you?"

[1imited_edition]

A sharp reaction for a child, but still polite. Reinforce was pleased. Those collected here certainly weren't ordinary. But what distinguished these... hundred? from the teeming multitudes of humanity? "If you don't mind, I'd like to know a little about you. Where you came from, what kind of magic you use."

His youth and the power she sensed in him made him an anomaly, and it was in those members who were otherwise unusual that the commonalities that defined the group could be most easily apprehended.

And she did like children. Those years with Hayate had been the best in her memory.

[lost_metal]

A flash of surprise showed on Ed's face at being asked so openly about his world. Everyone else seemed to be more taciturn, only explaining when they absolutely needed to.

And then the girl said the 'M' word and Ed scowled darkly. "It's alchemy. Not magic!" He practically spat the word. Magic, at least in his world was only believed by fools and primitive people to explain things that they couldn't understand. "It's science."

[1imited_edition]

Reinforce blinked at his vehement protest. He used the word, 'magic,' as an Earth-native would: as though it were antithetical to science. He was no Midchildan, that was for sure. It seemed odd, now that she thought about it- she hadn't met or even sensed one, when their culture was the most far-flung in known D-space. How could she be here but not a single Midchildan mage? All these strange children from primitive worlds.

"Where I come from, magic is practiced scientifically and 'alchemy' describes primitive occult practices." Well, that wasn't strictly true. Some battlemages became quite powerful without ever fully understanding the abilities they used thanks to their devices. But she was a device herself; the only magic she did not understand with rigorous mathematical precision was, ironically, that of which she was herself composed.

After a pause: "I'm sorry." She couldn't have known he'd have that objection, of course, but the distinction obviously mattered to him.

[lost_metal]

He explanation mollified Ed a little, even intriuged him. "Scientific magic, huh?" Maybe that was something like alchemy but with a different name. That was a little more promising, definitely something closer to what he found acceptable.

He nodded to her and shook his head at her apology, a feeling a little bad for snapping. "It's fine. Magic is a term used for made up stuff where I come from. Alchemy is a scientific practice. It's a touchy subject." At least it was for him. Other alchemists took it with good humour for the most part but he thought a lot of them were idiots anyway.

[1imited_edition]

Reinforce nodded. "So it's just a reversal of terms."

Nowe had said he had a unique weapon, like a Knight, but was not a Belkan. This one had the Midchildan attitude towards magic, but obviously came from a different tradition. She was unique as an autonomous device, and knew many lost Belkan spells. Was it that simple? The patients were those with esoteric powers from lost or unknown cultures?

"Is this alchemy common on your world?" She thought for a second, then added by way of explanation: "I want to understand more about the origins of the patients so I might determine why we've been brought here." If he had skill in his 'alchemy' he probably had a strong analytical mind, and for all she knew he already had extensive knowledge of the place. Telling him her purpose could be helpful.

[lost_metal]

Ed couldn't fault the logic of that. He dropped his voice slightly to reply, unwilling to let the nurses hear what he was saying. "That's not a bad idea. Might help us figure something out about how to leave too."

He turned so he could sit back on the sofa, legs stretched out in front of him. "It's... fairly common I guess. Takes a lot of study for most people and only those with a certain aptitude tend to be able to make it work well enough to bother." It was possible to perform alchemy without that aptitude by using the correct arrays, but really, the effort it took to do even small things made it rather pointless.

[1imited_edition]

Reinforce nodded. To her, though, the question of motive was the more important; she could tolerate being held, but any who tried to usurp her power she would destroy without hesitation. "But those with low aptitude can still make it work?" That was unusual, served to distinguish the system. "Are you especially skilled?"

[lost_metal]

Ed nodded slowly. "Yeah, if they have exactly the right materials and arrays. It'd take a lot more energy than it was worth though. Kinda' pointless."

He flashed the girl a slightly smug grin. "And yeah, I'm very skilled." Modesty about his alchemy had never been a factor. "I don't have to use an array to perform it, for one thing."

[1imited_edition]

"So your diagrams are such that even one with little skill can make them work with enough precision, but with enough skill they can be abandoned completely. And you have no devices to assist you?" Reinforce was impressed. It sounded revolutionary, frankly. "That's impossible with our techniques. How powerful are the effects?"

An understanding of magic that produced techniques that scaled so wonderfully to the abilities of the user... even if it could not add the her power, she would be interested in learning the principles. That had been her original purpose, after all.

[lost_metal]

Ed shook his head, wondering how to explain it better. "They can be used by anyone, but not well, and they can't be abandoned, not by most people." He sighed rubbing absently at his automail arm. "As far as I know, there's only me and two others who can perform it without an array. It takes special circumstances." Ones which most people would probably be happy to not bother with.

He shifted so his legs were curled beneath him, trying to make himself more comfortable. "The effects can be incredibly powerful. Depends what you want to do."

[1imited_edition]

Reinforce by contrast remained motionless, still perched on the end of the sofa. Whether this was by habit or the product of her fascination with the current conversation, though, was impossible to say. "What are those special circumstances?" She was a little disappointed to hear that his skills were not as she had first thought from the description, but unique powers did fit with her immediate suspicions about the methodology of their captors. And... "I also have such an ability."

[lost_metal]

Ed's face went blank at that question and he shook his head, unwilling to answer that question. "It's nothing," he said firmly, clenching his hands for a moment. Like hell he'd explain the Gate, the Truth and how he had come to see it to a complete stranger. Hell, even Mustang and Hughes hadn;t been told about it. Even Al...

He blinked at her in shock for a second when she said she had that ability. "You're an alchemist?"

[1imited_edition]

"A user of magic in the Belkan tradition, though there are some differences between myself and most mages." Reinforce smiled the pleasant smile of one who is glossing over a very large truth. "My circumstances are unusual as well."

She had other reasons to be pleasant, though. "I'd like to learn of your alchemy if you have the time." It was in her nature to love learning, especially rare forms of magic, and to her that's what this 'alchemy' was.

[lost_metal]

"Belkan tradition?" Ed said, looking puzzled. He'd never heard of that. There were different traditions of alchemy of course. Xing called it pharmacy and tended towards healing with it, while other alchemists kept to small unobtrusive things; hedgewitches they were sometimes called. But this 'Belkan' tradition...

"Well," he began, with slight trepidaiton. "I have someone coming to my room tonight so I can teach him. You could always come too? I can at least show you how it works, although this place blocks powers."