Day 22: Shift 3, Library

[rage8]

Saïx had been known to keep to himself, limiting his interaction with even his own peers in the Organization to the Superior as much as possible. Of course, he gladly took up the task of chasing a few, random traitors here and there, but solitude and the company of those whom could be considered competent was something Number VII almost took

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[muted_flame]

Glad to hear that he was not going to be subjected to any visitors (who would it have been, anyway?), it wasn't difficult for Roy to decide where he wanted to go, given a choice. The library would be quiet, and there was something very relaxing about being surrounded by books. He also liked the smell.

It was good place to calm down after that disaster at brunch, and he might be allotted some time to think. So the alchemist spent a good few minutes simply walking down the different corridors surrounded on either side by shelves, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.

There were a number of ways he could deal with the situation. He could do what he'd done before, and avoid Envy at all costs. Or he could try and do something to him at night - and it seemed like he had more than a few people who would be willing to help him in that endeavor.

He knew there was no point in getting caught up in the past, but this wasn't something he could just brush off. Not when that bastard had killed Hughes...

Eventually, the colonel came to a halt, opened his eyes, and was surprised to see that Lust was engaged in reading something. He tilted his head to try and see what the book was, but he wasn't able to tell from where he was standing.

He sighed. "A friend of yours is here."

[lustful_thing]

"I don't have any friends, colonel," Lust said, smoothly, glancing up from her book. It was a ridiculous thing, really, and she hardly understood any of it. There was some hint of political intrigue, but it made no sense. And the man and woman did nothing but fight! If that was truly how human relationships worked, she and Scar seemed to be progressing wonderfully.

But she was being spoken to, and she supposed she could give Mustang her attention. She did like the man well enough, after all. If things had been different, she certainly would have made a play for him. He was probably a spectacular lover.

"Other than those I've made me here, I suppose. And the closest things I had to friends back home aren't anyone you'd be too pleased to see."

[muted_flame]

"I wasn't being entirely serious," Roy replied with a small smirk, taking a hold of the nearest bookshelf and slowly lowering himself into a sitting position next to Lust. It was strange how he could seem composed and almost graceful, even in the Landel's uniform.

At her final comment, he let out a small, stinging laugh. "I'm not pleased, believe me." He glanced over at her, his hair out of his face now that he was no longer around Envy, who wasn't aware of his eye and what it meant. (Hopefully it would stay that way, though he wasn't certain how long he could hide it.)

"Envy," he said, seeing no point in keeping the woman in the dark for any longer.

[lustful_thing]

"Envy?" Lust's eyebrows shot up, and her expression wasn't exactly one of upset or dismay. How odd, as Envy was one of the closest things she'd had to a friend.

"I haven't seen him yet. Is he... oh, nevermind. I doubt you'd be able to answer any of my questions anyway. I'll speak to him myself when I see him." She set down her book now - the cover of which depicted a muscular man and a scantily clad woman in some torrid embrace - and shifted awkwardly.

"Whatever you may feel personally towards Envy, he's very intelligent and very useful. Though while we're on the subject, I had brunch with the younger Elric."

[muted_flame]

Roy didn't have much of an idea as to how the interrelationships between the homunculi went. All he really knew was that Greed didn't seem to like any of the others, which served to endear him to Roy to a certain extent. From what he remembered of Fullmetal's reports, Lust had always been with Gluttony... Not that the vapid creature had ever been present in this place.

The alchemist was distracted for a moment by the book, raising an eyebrow as he realized what it was. He turned his attention to the woman and looked faintly amused. "I knew you were Lust, but isn't that getting a bit ridiculous?" The fact that Roy was even comfortable with teasing her was a testament to how he'd become used to being in her presence.

"I don't care what he is. If I could have it my way, he'd be dead." He leaned back against the shelf, making a face when the hard wood edges pressed into his back. They could do to put some better furniture in this room...

[lustful_thing]

Lust rolled her eyes at the book. "I'm Lust," she said. "I know very little of the etiquette or customs of human relationships. I only know seduction and manipulation, not... whatever two people do under normal circumstances." And it wasn't as though she had anyone she could ask. The only females she knew in the place were River and the lieutenant. Neither of which she was going to go to for advice. Oh, and Haruhi, whom Lust considered a boy anyway.

She was comfortable enough with Mustang to partially explain her choice in reading material, at least.

Her lips tightened when Mustang expressed just how deeply his dislike of Envy went. She may have allied herself with the alchemist - and the Elric brothers, certainly - but she had ties with Envy that went back far.

"Colonel, I worked with Envy ever since I was fully formed. Our master may have found me, but he took me out of Ishbal and in a way I owe him my life. I'll tell you anything you wish to know about him, but I won't work against him. He's too useful an ally for me to spurn."

[muted_flame]

"I doubt those sorts of books are going to give you any realistic idea of what relationships are like," Roy responded with a small shake of his head. Not that he had ever read any such books (he had enough reading material on his hands with all of his studies in alchemy), but it was common knowledge that the stuff was trash.

He wouldn't have been able to give her any advice had she asked, anyway. Roy hadn't ever been in a long-term relationship. He knew all about what to do on a first date, and maybe even a second or third, but beyond that, he was useless.

"I'm not going to ask you to do anything," he assured her. "Just don't expect me to hold back when it comes to him." That was the good thing about Lust; she didn't tend to get too hung up on loyalty.

Getting back to what she mentioned earlier: "You saw Alphonse?" How many times had that boy been "reset"? It really wasn't fair.

[lustful_thing]

"It seems accurate enough as far as I can tell," Lust said, with a derisive little scoff. "Though the plot is rather ridiculous and the terminology laughable. But it's something to do."

She nodded when Mustang went on about Envy.

"Your best course of action," Lust said, despite Mustang not asking her opinion, "is to ignore him. Utterly and completely. Don't engage him in a physical fight - you'll lose." It was a simple fact. Lust had seen Envy fight - he could be lazy and petulant, but he had the skill.

"Yes, we had brunch. He was disoriented and confused, but I've explained this place to him before and did so again. He's just been restored, Colonel." She was quick to mention that, lest she forget. "He craves physical contact."

[muted_flame]

"I'd imagine there would be more interesting things to read here," Roy responded with a small shrug, glancing around what he could see of the room. He hadn't had much of a chance to browse through the books yet, though he doubted any of it would be helpful to the escape cause. It didn't mean he couldn't find something worth reading, however.

"I don't know about that," he responded quickly when she mentioned him losing. In fact, the way that she was so certain about it almost stung. "He's got to be weaker here, and I've killed a homunculus before." Not to mention he had some new tricks - not that he completely knew how to use them yet.

So, Alphonse was two years younger than Roy remembered him. He had to wonder why he was so far ahead of everyone else. It was becoming frustrating. "What am I supposed to do about that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not that I think you should do anything, either." He could only imagine the sort of ideas had run through her head upon learning about that so-called craving.

[lustful_thing]

"There is nothing non-fiction," Lust said, frustration clear. "I'm not entirely surprised. Why allow us to glean anything about this place?" She shook her head.

"I've seen both of you in action, Colonel. Even weakened, he has centuries of skills behind him. Not to mention centuries of tricks. He isn't worth you getting injured or worse." Lust pursed her lips. "I'm not attempting to undermine your competency. If I had my choice of companions to go out into the night with here, you would be on the head of my list. You're a skilled man, but Envy... he's something altogether different." She wouldn't fight him, even were she a full homunculus.

"Come now, you're hardly a tactile person. But if he wouldn't let go of my hand, I can only imagine how he'd be with someone he's fond of. And what in god's good name would I do?" Did he honestly think she would stoop so low as to seduce a boy?

[muted_flame]

"Believe me, there's better fiction than that. Though I do suppose women tend to enjoy those." Not that Roy could understand it. The writing was flowery, the plots were over-the-top... But he supposed there was no harm in her reading it if she really wanted to.

When she clarified that she didn't want him wasting his energy and risking injury because she valued him as a useful ally, Roy felt a little less singed. As much as he wanted to wring Envy's neck, he did know that there was no point in using up his time dealing with past grudges when there was a much more pertinent problem at hand. He sighed. "I'll try to avoid him, but I can't make any promises." Especially since he had undergone those changes, he'd had a hard time keeping a hold on his anger. "Now, if you really mean what you say, why is it that we never go out at night together?" Lust had been here longer than he had, even, and between the two of them, they probably had the most information about the institute. It would be mutually beneficial for them. He supposed it was the fact that she was usually with Scar and he was usually with Hughes that kept them apart.

"All right, I'll keep it in mind." Roy wasn't much for being touchy-feely, but he'd make an exception if it turned out Alphonse really needed it. "And I do recall your fling with that Haru boy," he murmured. It might not have been a grand idea to bring that up, seeing as Haru hadn't been around in quite a while, but Roy hadn't fully considered what he was saying.

[lustful_thing]

"I don't enjoy this drivel," Lust said, rolling her eyes. "And I can't imagine anyone with two thoughts in their head finding it entertaining." But she'd never paid any attention to human relationships and now she found herself in one.

"Avoiding him is probably best. I'm more worried about him bothering the Elrics." He wanted Edward dead, she knew that. What had possessed him to take such a dislike to the boy, she had no idea. But there it was. "And I don't go with you because your friend doesn't like me and at this point, I imagine Scar would kill you if you and I were together after dark."

Lust's eyes narrowed and her lips twitched into a thin line. "Haru was older than Alphonse and the situation was quite different. If I wanted the younger Elric, I could have had him long ago. But I don't. My intentions towards Alphonse are... difficult to explain, but they certainly don't venture into that realm." She wet her lips and fixed the colonel with a rather peircing stare.

"I am aware of my name and my nature, but that doesn't mean I bewitch every person I come into contact with to my bed. I am... involved, and have no reason to bed other men." How strange it was, to even say such a thing. And honestly mean it.

[muted_flame]

"Good," Roy responded with a small smirk. If Lust had actually enjoyed the reading material, he might have had to rethink how smart of an individual she was.

"It would be best to let them know of his presence as soon as possible," Roy agreed. There had been hints that Envy had a personal grudge against the two boys, but he wasn't sure why he would have any reason to hate them any more than he hated anyone else. He laughed when what she said mirrored what he had been thinking. "I'd have to agree there, but it would be amusing to test Scar's reaction nonetheless." He wasn't sure if he wanted to actually go through with that idea - he'd like to live a good deal longer if possible.

"That's good to hear." If Lust had set her eyes on the boy, Roy might have felt obligated to interfere. Alphonse was just too innocent for something like that, and would be completely unprepared for her advances. It would result in a complete disaster and he didn't want to be the one that had to fix everything.

"Involved," he echoed. "So that's how it is now, then?" He tilted his head and sent her a mischievous look. "That's a pity."

[lustful_thing]

"If I speak to either of them again before you do, I'll warn them. I have no desire to choose sides, but I have no intention of simply sitting back and allowing harm to come to those I've allied myself with." It was as simple as that. And Lust felt a kinship with Alphonse she couldn't quite explain, and she owed Edward a great deal.

"Test Scar's reaction?" Lust let out a laugh. "I'd rather not. As entertaining as it well may be. I'd prefer not to give him any reason to be cross right now." She wasn't foolish enough to test the bonds of their agreement this soon. "Though I do agree that it would be advantageous for us to strike out together." And Lust was itching to make some progress.

"I'm afraid so, Colonel. A pity I never made a true advance on you. You're quite a handsome man, and I truly would have liked to know if your prowess was rumor or truth." She wasn't going to stop her flirtations. They didn't mean anything, after all.

[muted_flame]

"Sounds like a plan." When all was said and done, Lust was a reasonable woman with a good head on her shoulders, and that was the sort of attitude Roy respected. In a way, he was glad they had gotten over their differences. He tried not to think about how he had been the only one to have problems in the first place.

It didn't really matter. They were more similar than ever now.

"Well, if we do ever do it, it will probably have to be in secret. I think that Hughes might allow it if I gave him a good enough reason, but..." He'd feel bad continuing to hide things from his friend, since he always ended up being accepting, but... Well, he'd cross that bridge if he came to it.

It was nice to see that Lust was still up to flirting, not that he'd been expecting anything else. That was definitely one thing they had in common, since he also didn't mean anything by it. "You may have had a chance of ensnaring me, if you made a determined effort. I'll assure you there were no rumors, though I'm not sure if it means much coming from me."

[lustful_thing]

"It wouldn't be difficult to sneak off without letting our respective companions know." Lust shrugged. She'd done it before, many times. Though more often than not she'd lied when she was with Scar, not to him. "We choose a meeting place, make our excuses and get to it. Really, I don't see what your friend has against me. He's the one who put a knife through my skull, after all. Or does he simply fear I'll turn your head from important matters with my charms?" It was ridiculous how protective the man seemed of Mustang.

Of course, she supposed those fears did have a foot in truth. She had made no attempts to hide her flirtations with the colonel, after all. But she doubted the man would have lost any determination for escaping, even had she taken him to bed. He wasn't a fool.

"If only I'd known that before today." Lust chuckled. "And I'm afraid I never trust a man who boasts of his own skills. All men think they're gods in the bedroom. And very few actually are."