Alright, tonight was the big night. Hughes gathered all of his knives, glad he had enough for everyone. At least everyone who'd expressed interest in learning how to use a knife.
Honestly, he didn't even know how many people were going to show up. He'd just have to see, and hope that everyone he'd sent out tonight did alright. He'd know in the morning.
And Ed! Ed was coming to make Claude's weapon, and Claude would be by for it...
It was almost like being back at the head of Internal Affairs again.
Claude kept his beam on the room numbers as he made his way down the hall. M8, M7... And then there was M6. Well, that had been easy enough! Smiling to himself, Claude stopped at the door, then set down his pillowcase of metal long enough to give a light knock.
"It's Claude," the blond spoke up, though it was only then he realized that he wasn't entirely sure who he was supposed to be meeting with. Only one way to find out, though, right? He had to admit he was curious to know a little more about the folks who ran the Cooking Club. Ashton, Dias, Leon and Anise were all members, after all.
If he looked a little miserable when he arrived at Hughes' room, then it was just a trick of the light. Anyone else who said differently was obviously mistaken or lying or stupid. Possibly all three at once.
He knocked lightly at the door, calling out who it was before he stepped inside the room. "Oh..." he said, looking at the blond man already there before glancing at Hughes. "I didn't realise anyone was here."
"Ed!" Leon caught sight of the blond right as he turned into the hall. Ha! So coming back to this room had been a good idea. (Though he was sure Hughes would have been able to point him in the right direction even if he'd missed him.)
He waved at him, hurrying to reach the door as well. "Hey! I forgot to get your room number, so I'm lucky to have caught you!" Unless Ed had come here specifically for this reason, in which case this was a little embarrassing. Still, Ed was just as much at fault for not offering the room number as he was for not asking, right? Except that technically the young mage was the one that wanted the lessons...
"Geeze, I'm gonna have to ask for a bigger room," Hughes joked, smiling at the already assembled group of people. "Claude, you're here for a weapon. Ed here is here to make you that weapon. And Leon...." Hughes honestly wasn't sure what Leon was doing here, other than coming to see Ed.
"It's good to see you again," he said, simply. "Ed, Claude's here to pick up an order." He glanced at the other two. "You can hang around afterward, if you want." It looked as though maybe Ed needed to talk to him about something.
As soon as the blond boy and Leon suddenly showed up, Claude raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected to run into his Fellpool friend! But, then, if he was a member of the Cooking Club, it'd make sense for him to come by, wouldn't it? "Hey!" he called brightly. "It's good to see you!" In one piece and alive, no less, but that went without saying.
"Hahah, sorry for crowding things," Claude said to the older man as he rubbed the back of his head a little. "I can get out of your hair whenever you need me to. I've never done this before, so I'm not sure what the procedure is, but..." He looked towards the boy, Ed, and flashed him a quick smile. "Uh, hi there. You're the one helping me, right? I really appreciate it."
Ed looked a little startled when Leon burst into the room as well, but he smiled at the younger boy. Their conversation had been broken off too early because of the nurses, but now seemed as good a time as any to teach him some alchemy. "Hey, Leon," he said amiably. he nodded at Claude then.
"I'm the alchemist," he said, looking curiously between the two of them. he guessed they knew each other then. "Um, what was it you wanted me to make? Things are a bit confused at the moment, otherwise I'd have had it ready by now," he explained. "But I can show Leon alchemy now at least!"
Leon blinked at his friend, having only just now realized he was there was well. "Oh! Big Brother Claude!" He grinned. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Then he caught the rest of what was going on and his grin faded slightly. Claude was having a weapon made? It made since, really. He'd want something better to fight with as soon as possible. The young mage had wanted to be the one to craft it for him, but watching it done as a means of his first real alchemy lesson was almost as good.
"Ed's showing me his form of alchemy, so hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to do similar things with the form I'm familiar with."
"I'm just teasing," Hughes said, holding up a hand. "It's bound to get crowded in these little rooms, don't worry about it."
A little confused. Yeah, things were getting a little confused, weren't they? Hughes moved out of the way, to give Leon and Ed whatever room they'd need for this. He was just happy they could still provide people with weapons at this point.
"It's nice to meet you in person," he said. The concept of alchemy wasn't unfamiliar to him, though he had to admit he'd never seen it used as a technique to forge weapons. Still, it was a lucky thing there were people who knew how to do that kind of thing
( ... )
Ed smiled at Claude and nodded. "I only just took over as the alchemist," he admitted. "I didn't do very much before that." Only for his friends really and he felt a bit guilty about that now when Mustang and Adel had been working, but there was no point lingering over that now.
"I can make a longsword," he agreed, pulling out his journal and turning to an empty page. "Better than another katana at least." Why did everyone seem to want them? He turned to Leon and started to draw out the array, explaining each bit of it as he did so. "They're nearly always closed in with a circle. It keeps the energy inside the area of the reaction."
The young mage got closer as Ed got to work, eyes closely following everything the blond did. He nodded at the explanation, trying to memorize the form even though that would be difficult. "That makes sense," he said quietly, as though speaking too loudly would disturb the man's work.
It reminded him of some forms of summoning spells, but only just. Otherwise it was more item creation than anything. He was excited. It had been a while since he'd really learned anything new and he craved knowledge like this.
And they were damn lucky to have him, Hughes thought to himself, as he busied himself with what little preparation there was. Ed had been a lifesaver, stepping up like he had, no questions asked. And Celes was much the same. Hughes didn't know who or what was looking out for him right now, but he was damn thankful it was.
He kept half an eye on proceedings, having witnessed alchemy here more times than he could count.
Claude was glad to know his request wasn't too out there, otherwise it probably would have caused more difficulties. He didn't want to further impose on Ed and Mr. Hughes if he could help it, after all.
As Ed explained what he was doing, someone Claude had only ever seen in passing stepped in, and Hughes went over to speak with him. The blond briefly glanced over at them before focusing on what the young alchemist was doing. Unlike Leon, Claude had always been unable to perform any sort of alchemy, but he was still very interested just the same.
Ed looked up briefly when the knock sounded on the door, watching as Hughes opened it and a spiky haired man came in. Teaching huh? He nodded in greeting and turned his attention back to the array, explaining what each symbol meant to Leon. Earth and metal, guides for the energy, symbols for what he wanted the metal to become.
Finally it was finished and he reached for the metal. Now this was the difficult part to explain. He laid out the metal over the array carefully and then looked at Leon awkwardly. "I don't really know how to explain the actual making. You just sort of picture the outcome and nudge the energy into it," he said, dissatisfied with his explanation. "But I can show you."
He pressed his hands to the edge of the array and soon blue light flared, making the metal twist into the form of a sword. Finally he sat back, breathing heavily and ran a hand across his eyes.
Leon nodded as Ed explained the various symbology, paying rapt attention to every little thing the Alchemist did. He kept his fists balled in his lap, as otherwise his hands would be shaking from excitement.
The last bit of the explanation was worrisome. He had some idea of what Ed meant, but if he didn't do it the same way it might not work. He could attempt it the way he created some things back on Expel and Nede. He had enough ability to visualize things in his mind.
"Will you be all right?" he asked the blond as he finished. Of course it was expected that the process wouldn't be easy. None of his magic here worked without a physical price.
Honestly, he didn't even know how many people were going to show up. He'd just have to see, and hope that everyone he'd sent out tonight did alright. He'd know in the morning.
And Ed! Ed was coming to make Claude's weapon, and Claude would be by for it...
It was almost like being back at the head of Internal Affairs again.
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Claude kept his beam on the room numbers as he made his way down the hall. M8, M7... And then there was M6. Well, that had been easy enough! Smiling to himself, Claude stopped at the door, then set down his pillowcase of metal long enough to give a light knock.
"It's Claude," the blond spoke up, though it was only then he realized that he wasn't entirely sure who he was supposed to be meeting with. Only one way to find out, though, right? He had to admit he was curious to know a little more about the folks who ran the Cooking Club. Ashton, Dias, Leon and Anise were all members, after all.
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If he looked a little miserable when he arrived at Hughes' room, then it was just a trick of the light. Anyone else who said differently was obviously mistaken or lying or stupid. Possibly all three at once.
He knocked lightly at the door, calling out who it was before he stepped inside the room. "Oh..." he said, looking at the blond man already there before glancing at Hughes. "I didn't realise anyone was here."
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"Ed!" Leon caught sight of the blond right as he turned into the hall. Ha! So coming back to this room had been a good idea. (Though he was sure Hughes would have been able to point him in the right direction even if he'd missed him.)
He waved at him, hurrying to reach the door as well. "Hey! I forgot to get your room number, so I'm lucky to have caught you!" Unless Ed had come here specifically for this reason, in which case this was a little embarrassing. Still, Ed was just as much at fault for not offering the room number as he was for not asking, right? Except that technically the young mage was the one that wanted the lessons...
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"It's good to see you again," he said, simply. "Ed, Claude's here to pick up an order." He glanced at the other two. "You can hang around afterward, if you want." It looked as though maybe Ed needed to talk to him about something.
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"Hahah, sorry for crowding things," Claude said to the older man as he rubbed the back of his head a little. "I can get out of your hair whenever you need me to. I've never done this before, so I'm not sure what the procedure is, but..." He looked towards the boy, Ed, and flashed him a quick smile. "Uh, hi there. You're the one helping me, right? I really appreciate it."
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"I'm the alchemist," he said, looking curiously between the two of them. he guessed they knew each other then. "Um, what was it you wanted me to make? Things are a bit confused at the moment, otherwise I'd have had it ready by now," he explained. "But I can show Leon alchemy now at least!"
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Then he caught the rest of what was going on and his grin faded slightly. Claude was having a weapon made? It made since, really. He'd want something better to fight with as soon as possible. The young mage had wanted to be the one to craft it for him, but watching it done as a means of his first real alchemy lesson was almost as good.
"Ed's showing me his form of alchemy, so hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to do similar things with the form I'm familiar with."
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A little confused. Yeah, things were getting a little confused, weren't they? Hughes moved out of the way, to give Leon and Ed whatever room they'd need for this. He was just happy they could still provide people with weapons at this point.
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"I can make a longsword," he agreed, pulling out his journal and turning to an empty page. "Better than another katana at least." Why did everyone seem to want them? He turned to Leon and started to draw out the array, explaining each bit of it as he did so. "They're nearly always closed in with a circle. It keeps the energy inside the area of the reaction."
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It reminded him of some forms of summoning spells, but only just. Otherwise it was more item creation than anything. He was excited. It had been a while since he'd really learned anything new and he craved knowledge like this.
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He kept half an eye on proceedings, having witnessed alchemy here more times than he could count.
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As Ed explained what he was doing, someone Claude had only ever seen in passing stepped in, and Hughes went over to speak with him. The blond briefly glanced over at them before focusing on what the young alchemist was doing. Unlike Leon, Claude had always been unable to perform any sort of alchemy, but he was still very interested just the same.
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Finally it was finished and he reached for the metal. Now this was the difficult part to explain. He laid out the metal over the array carefully and then looked at Leon awkwardly. "I don't really know how to explain the actual making. You just sort of picture the outcome and nudge the energy into it," he said, dissatisfied with his explanation. "But I can show you."
He pressed his hands to the edge of the array and soon blue light flared, making the metal twist into the form of a sword. Finally he sat back, breathing heavily and ran a hand across his eyes.
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The last bit of the explanation was worrisome. He had some idea of what Ed meant, but if he didn't do it the same way it might not work. He could attempt it the way he created some things back on Expel and Nede. He had enough ability to visualize things in his mind.
"Will you be all right?" he asked the blond as he finished. Of course it was expected that the process wouldn't be easy. None of his magic here worked without a physical price.
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