Poison in your Tea [Traverse Town; Open]

[crimson_apathy]

Only when the sounds of life are muffled by the silence of your thoughts are you truly dead.These words were what swarmed in his mind, what he took to heart for as long as he could remember. It was because it was a constant reminder of the painful truth that all Nobodies had to suffer. And no dead person was in this much pain; no matter how hard

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[ultimate_shield]

"I didn't mind it," Greed replied easily. While most would have found it a difficult thing to discuss, he could talk about such things as if they were talking about the weather. "I didn't want to serve under that old hag." He'd paid for it dearly--with 130 years of solitude--but Greed didn't like to think what those years had been like if he'd been twisted around Dante's finger. "So if I'm branded? Too bad. I'm already marked."

Said marked hand continued to pick at his food. Greed didn't seem to notice the fact that the stranger had moved any closer--either that or he didn't care enough to acknowledge it openly. "I am."

[crimson_apathy]

"You mean with that mark on your hand?" Axel inquired when he pulled the scalding teacup from his lips to get a better look at said design. "Or are you hinting something so figurative that even I can't possibly make sense of it?"

Of course, it was all with good humor. But the redhead had been attracted to that particular insignia ever since he discovered it when this Greed decided to stroll right into the square of the First District. And as said before, Axel enjoyed knowing too much about a person.

[ultimate_shield]

Looking almost lazy or unamused, Greed finished off his hamburger before glancing down at his hand. He wasn't ashamed of it--not by any means. Perhaps some would have worn gloves, covered it--but that wasn't his style. Then again, most of the homunculi were proud enough to let their marks show. There were some that could be a bit more discreet about it--Envy, for one--but that was how it went.

"Yeah, this is the one," he said in agreement, lifting his hand for a moment before letting it flop down again. "But it has a meaning that could be a bit more figurative, depending on how much you look at it." The meaning behind a homunculus could be simple or complicated--it all depended on the interpretation.

[crimson_apathy]

Axel listened to Greed's words with a little more interest than he should've, leaning in closer to try and get a better look at it. But the angle was a little awkward for the redhead to crane his neck without it becoming obvious.

"May I have a closer look at it?" He asked as he set his teacup down away from him as not to tip it over.

[ultimate_shield]

"Hmm?" The homunculus glanced up, but responded almost immediately, thrusting his hand forward so that the stranger could get a nice, close look. It wasn't something he felt he needed to hide, especially now that he wasn't even on Amestris, so flaunting sounded like an almost pleasant endeavor.

[crimson_apathy]

Axel was prepared, and his own gloved hands shot out as Greed thrust his, grabbing the latter's arm firmly with one and traced a finger over the symbol with the other. And he kept that position for what seemed like several minutes, green eyes analyzing over what this strange mark could possibly mean.

"... It's an Ouroborus, a serpent shown swallowing its own tail. And from what I've read it's often represented as a cycle--and a continuity of few-- of life and death. Cute, but..." Axel referred his attention to the other symbol, tapping the star a few times.

"If I'm accurate with my worldly myths, they called this the Seal of Solomon. But the meaning of this doesn't match, logically at least, with that of the Ouroborus. Unless it... does in your terms." It was when he finally tore his eyes away from the design and up at Greed's face, expecting some kind of explanation with all of this.

[ultimate_shield]

How many times had he heard this speech? Greed had to stop himself from rolling his inhuman eyes or yanking his hand away. The stranger wasn't doing too much harm (just a minor annoyance, really), so he wouldn't act that rashly. Still, he was a bit tired of hearing about what he was or what that meant.

"I never paid much attention in homunculus school," the sin joked, letting his wrist dangle in the other's grip. He shook his head. "Nah, it's... We can't use alchemy, so I never listened to the alchemy stuff. It doesn't concern me if I can't do it." That stuff had always gone way over his head, anyway. It might have seemed foolish to be uneducated about the process that created you, but Greed was that type.

"We don't make much sense in general, pal," he said with a not-so-sweet smirk.

[crimson_apathy]

"I can't understand anything you just said," There was definitely no possible way the redhead could be more blunt about an answer. And it wasn't the terminology; he was smart enough to link words here and there with common definitions. But it was more of how Greed actually worded everything that messed it all up.

Specifically, what did all of that have to do with his question?

"You shouldn't be so egocentric, you're forgetting I'm not from your world so a lot of things can have different meanings or be represented differently."

Axel gave a lazy smile and took another sip from his teacup, other hand still firmly grasped over Greed's arm.

"Unless you don't feel like telling me anymore."

[ultimate_shield]

"Maybe I didn't want you to understand," Greed shot back playfully. He knew he had been going on about things that would make little-to-no sense to the stranger, but he hadn't been expecting to explain it, either. For one thing, it would take too long and he'd get bored halfway through.

And besides that, he had let loose enough secrets to someone who wouldn't even provide his name.

As he'd said before--he was greedy, but he wasn't stupid.

"And I don't, really," he added flippantly, a small jerk of his muscular arm being enough to free his hand from the other's grip. He pulled it close to him, but it was casual instead of protective.

[crimson_apathy]

"How cruel," Axel released his grip on Greed's hand the moment the latter jerked it away from him, curling his own arm closer. But he could hardly call it quits, especially from what he was given already. If not now, then the redhead would get his questions answered sometime in the near future.

"What do you want for it?"

Maybe in the very near future.

[ultimate_shield]

What a question. Greed's eyes seemed to brighten some at that and he lifted his head so that he was making complete eye contact.

"What can you give?" he asked, fingers drumming against the table methodically. His demeanor seemed to change completely after being asked that, being business-like and professional instead of his previous laid-back and mellow attitude.

[crimson_apathy]

Axel had to chuckle at those words, giving Greed his own small smile knowing that they were starting to get somewhere with things. What casual conversation existed had already long since evaporated, leaving nothing more than something akin to a high risk negotiation between two businesses. The redhead leaned back and straightened himself into a more appropriate position, fingering the rim of his teacup in the meantime.

"What do you want me to give?"

[ultimate_shield]

Now that things were a bit more professional, Greed didn't appreciate the back-and-forth banter as much. He didn't betray those feelings, however, keeping a sense of cool about him. He sat up in his seat as well, giving a barely noticeable shake of his head.

"I can't exactly answer that question unless I know of your wares," he responded. There were many things he might want from the stranger, but how could he know if he actually possessed any of those things?

[crimson_apathy]

And exactly opposite of Greed's opinions, Axel saw anytime as always the ripe time to sneak in a sliver of playful banter. It never got in the way from whatever he wanted as of yet, and at most delayed the inevitable by a mere few seconds.

He grinned a little at Greed's answer, continuing to circle the rim with his finger and leaned back to stare at the ceiling that sheltered them from nothing more than the clear night sky. It took him a few moments to contemplate some kind of answer that would suit the situation.

"... I have virgins."

It was a start.

[ultimate_shield]

Greed couldn't help laughing, and could anyone really blame him? It was a full, deep laugh. He put his hand to his forehead and leaned forward slightly, so that the sound would be contained and he wouldn't get strange looks from any of the other customers in the café.

After recovering, he glanced up at the stranger, his lips pulled up to reveal a shark-toothed grin.

"Well. That's a start. I can't say no to virgins, especially those that'll pledge loyalty." Oh, people were some of the best things to own, especially if they were dedicated.

[crimson_apathy]

"They have to be loyal?" Well, that kind of dampened his plans a little. Because the virgins he were willing to give up had a bit of a spike in their attitude, and unless Greed enjoyed suffocating via estrogen it hardly seemed pleasant.

Axel almost looked distraught about that, but quickly shrugged it off as he tried to think of anything else the man would enjoy.

"What good is munny when you're just going to give it to other people?" The redhead grinned.