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[bloodseal_soul]

[A boy, tall, familiar, long and loose blond hair blowing in the wind, tossing around his face and wide, bright but steely eyes. His lips and jaw are set, determined, as if he's been through something similar before and couldn't be less guarded or unhappy with his predicament

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[ambergoldeyes]

*turns a corner around a building and... blinks*

...Al?

[bloodseal_soul]

[For a moment, dead silence, but then he stands his ground, drawing himself up to his full height. His fingers clutch the stuffed cat hard enough to leave his knuckles white.]

... before you come any closer. What's my favorite flavor of pie?

[ambergoldeyes]

*blinks again at the question* What...? Been kind of a long while since either of us had any kind of pie, but... You did always say you wanted some of Winry's apple pie...

*quirks an eyebrow at him, taking a step closer* You feeling okay?

[bloodseal_soul]

[As soon as Ed answers the question correctly, Al's stoic expression crumbles -- running the gamut of emotions, everything from fear to crushing sadness, confusion and worry, before finally settling on what he seems to be feeling most strongly -- relief. Before he says anything else, he closes the distance between them and pulls Ed into a strong hug. He'll be able to feel him shaking, a little.

But he's holding it together.]

...

I-I've had better days.

[ambergoldeyes]

*eyes widen, still a little confused, but he returns the hug, albeit a bit awkwardly. he pats him lightly on the back, trying to be as comforting as possible. and of course, as Al had moved to close the distance between them, he notices at least a few of those scars and his brow furrows, a deep frown settling over his features. he's sure those weren't there the last time they saw each other, which wasn't long ago*

...Al, what happened?

[bloodseal_soul]

[As little as the pats are, they calm him down. Facing this without his brother would be hell. With him, it would be fine. He had his foundation on which to build.]

I don't... exactly know. One minute, I was working at my desk, and the next, I-I just... showed up here through something that looked like the Gate. These people gave me something to wear, but I couldn't understand most of what they were saying, and... they gave me this.

[He holds out his wrist, dangling from it is a freshly minted ID bracelet.]

[ambergoldeyes]

... *pulls back a bit to look him over properly, eyes going from the brand spanking new ID bracelet, to each individual scar he can spot, then back to Al's face to study it. and... ever so slowly, he frowns*

... You don't know where you are, do you. *it's a statement, not a question* You don't remember any of this.

[bloodseal_soul]

[Frankly, he's glad that Ed is reacting to this without flipping out. Small blessings. Another deep breath, and he slowly shakes his head.]

I don't. I'm sorry, but I don't... but if it helps, I have a little bit of an idea.

[Although, right now, he doesn't want to think about that. Logical course of actions, gather more information, REMAIN CALM.]

Can you tell me where we are, Brother?

[ambergoldeyes]

... *drops his hands and lets out a little sigh, running his good hand through his hair- and Al just might notice the glint of something shiny on his left ring finger*

Well, I can give you the short version... This place is called Veles. It's one of the last surviving human colonies in this world. Beyond the city walls and just about everywhere else there are zombies. And within the city walls, there are people like us who arbitrarily got sucked out of our different worlds by that damn gate and brought here, trying to live off the meager supplies while dealing with the locals who aren't all that fond of us.

*stops there with a frown. he's not sure if this Al being here means there are now two Als with different memories, or if his old Al has been replaced... he shakes it off* At any rate, we'd better get you inside somewhere... Where'd they assign you?

[bloodseal_soul]

Zombies?! As in... re-animated dead people?

[A bit of a flail now that he's free. Oh. Oh dear.]

E-Even Adstring never had zombies. There were bunnies and kittens that could kill you, especially in packs, but never zombies...!

[That last question, though, seems to fly right over his head. He's spotted that shiny thing on Ed's hand, and taken it upon himself to take his hand and lift it up for a better look, eyes widening. Standing in the middle of a snowstorm be damned.]

... Ed, is this what I think it is...?

[ambergoldeyes]

*gives Al a funny look* Yeah, what else would I mean? There's a virus here, and if you get infected it basically kills and reanimates your body- ...Wha- Adstring? What's-

*his question is cut off by the hand grabbing, and his eyes widen bit, all the color suddenly rushing right up into his face* Well, if you think- it's a wedding ring, then... Yeah.

[bloodseal_soul]

[He doesn't know which to go into first, the concept of that horrible virus, or the fact that there's a girl in his brother's life that he stopped being horribly emotionally stupid about long enough to actually pop the question. Guess which wins.]

You're married?!

Who? When? H-How did-

[A deeeeeeep breath.]

Brother. It wasn't because you were... irresponsible in that way, was it...?

[Imagining a shotgun wedding with literal shotguns.]

[ambergoldeyes]

Y-You don't know her, but-

I- Wh-WHAT?! NO!! That's not- Well, she's pregnant now, but- Just what kinda guy do you think I am, Al?!

[bloodseal_soul]

She's --

She's pre --

You're going to be a TEEN FATHER?!

[ambergoldeyes]

*oaiucsna* Hey, it's not as bad as you think it is! Just- keep your voice down about that!

[bloodseal_soul]

Wh-What?! You want me to be quiet about the fact that you can't even keep it in your pants long enough to be a legal adult?

[If he didn't need all of his braincells to be an effective father, Al would be applying fist to head right about now.]