Day 17: Lunch

[hopeless_havoc]

Havoc gave his nurse a smile before heading strait for the food. He was surprised to see he was the first one here. But that meant no line for food. And that was a good thing in Havoc's mind. He grabbed a tray, piling it with whatever he could, and took a seat facing the entrance so as to see the colonel or Hughes as soon as they came in

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[lustful_thing]

Lust was rather disappointed to be pulled away from her conversation with Scarecrow to go to lunch. The man was fascinating. He was brilliant, polite, responsive and seemed to have a loose grasp on morals. In short, he was exactly what Lust enjoyed working with. She'd have to speak to him again. Of course, she would be seeing him tonight, but that was only for a moment. She knew better than to keep Scar waiting.

Speaking of... Scar was already being pestered by the soldier. Lust scowled a bit, and debating going over anyway but decided against it. She'd be seeing Scar tonight as well. Instead, Lust took her tray and found an open seat away from anyone. There were new patients, wonderful. Perhaps some of them would be useful. This latest batch had been quite a good one, in her opinion. Smiling a bit to herself, Lust pulled out her journal and flipped it open as she began to eat.

[lustful_thing]

"I don't know," Lust admitted with a shrug. "I've wondered. If I become human, and all my human memories return, will I still be Lust? Or will those memories override these memories, the memories of my homunculus life. And if they don't, how strong an influence will the woman I was be over the woman I am? Will I be Lust, or her? She lived longer than I have, she has more memories than I do." They were questions she'd long pondered and hadn't come close to answering.

"Different is not always a bad thing. You have both eyes. You have a difference you can easily hide. Wear your eye-patch and no one would ever know."

[muted_flame]

Everything she brought up was something worth considering and wondering over, but not anything that Roy could provide a concrete answer for. It definitely made him even more interested in the subject, but he hardly had the materials to research. "I suppose the only way you'll find out is if any of that actually happens." It was hard to know if that would be good or bad--her remembering and becoming human. He supposed they'd have to wait and see.

While he understood what she was saying--that he shouldn't be upset about this, as it was in his favor--it wasn't just having two eyes again. So much more came with it, and there was definitely more he had to cover up. Not that she knew that. He sighed and leaned forward slightly, his arms resting on the tabletop. "There's no point. I have it, so I may as well use it. Still, I don't like the connotations."

[lustful_thing]

"I suppose so." Lust flicked her nails casually, as though reminding herself she was still a homunculus. Somewhat.

"Connotations?" She lifted her eyebrows and laughed. "Colonel, it's you alchemists that have given we homunculi a bad name. While I admit that some of us certainly weren't model citizens, you can hardly paint every one of us with the same brush. Do remember - those of us who trespassed against the laws of civilization were doing so on a human's orders."

[muted_flame]

Roy leaned back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. "I know," he grumbled. "I know. The ones that are truly at fault are those that made the homunculi." Alchemists. The ones that made the sins.

"But homunculi killed my friend, though I know that it was under orders. And the Fuhrer..." His teeth grit in disdain. He didn't even want to think about that man, who had wrapped his own hands around his son's throat and squeezed until the boy stopped breathing.

"I know it's close-minded, but at least I'm starting to realize that." He was getting better. Really. He had to, if he was going to accept what was happening to him.

[lustful_thing]

"Homunculi killed your friend on the order of a human," Lust flushed out his statement, as gently as she could. "An alchemist. And Pride was one of the worst of the lot. I sometimes wonder if he was ever human." She shook her head. She'd always hated that pompous creature, and he'd done nothing to endear himself to her. Teasing her, baiting her, chastising her as though she were a child...

And hauling her back to her Master when she'd worked up the courage to run.

"I do understand it's difficult to change your world view. And I... do appreciate your efforts, Colonel." It was difficult for her to say the last, and her tone attested to that, but she felt she should offer him that at least.

[muted_flame]

"I can agree to that," Roy said, eyes narrowing in utter loathing as he thought about the Fuhrer. He had acted like he'd truly cared at the funeral, but there was nothing there. It was all fake--even his feelings for his family, all of it. Roy made sure he didn't get too riled up over a man that wasn't even present. He'd killed him and ended it. That was that.

He nodded, glad to know that she could at least agree that an effort was being made. "I apologize in advance for whatever I might say," he said, rather awkwardly. He knew this wouldn't be the last time he'd let his prejudices get in the way, especially as he was trying to deal with the fact that he was half-and-half now.

[lustful_thing]

"You have no need to apologize, Colonel." Lust shrugged. "You're an alchemist. You've been taught that what I am is evil, the worst sin that could ever grace the face of the earth. It isn't easy to change that way of thinking." She paused and titled her head, watching him closely.

"Do you know why I've taken the lover that I have, Colonel? I'm sure you have your assumptions, but I wonder if you truly understand what the appeal is to me."

She was rather intent on her conversation with Roy, her attention riveted to him and not the surrounding room. Which, all things considered, was probably for the best.

[muted_flame]

It was true. Human transmutation was the greatest taboo in alchemy. Homunculi were the result of breaking that rule. Then again, he'd gotten dangerously close to performing it himself, so he wasn't as unfamiliar with the topic as most. "Just because I've been taught a certain way doesn't mean it's right, though." That was like following an order just because you were a soldier. He didn't like that mindless type of thinking, which is why he wanted to give this a try.

Her question seemed out of the blue and he had to wonder what the point of it was, but he figured he could humor her so long as he kept on his toes. "You mean that boy?" he asked. He had found it rather disturbing that she'd adopted someone so young into her arms, but it was hardly his place to speak of it. "I can't say I know why, no."

[lustful_thing]

"No, it doesn't mean it's right. But it means it's a large part of how you look at the world, and it isn't changed overnight." Lust nodded her head, acknowledging his point.

"His name is Haru. I am with him because he has no prejudices. He knows what I am, and he doesn't care. He doesn't even think twice about it. He doesn't see me as a creature or an imitation. He wants me because of who I am, not because I offered him anything or because he thinks he has something to gain from an intimate relationship with me. He wants me for me." She lowered her eyes, that sickening guilt twisting in her stomach once more.

"And he isn't a 'boy'," she added, somewhat aggravated but mostly distracted.

[muted_flame]

At least she could understand that. People don't change that easily, not when they get set in their ways. Most people wouldn't even make the effort to change, so he had that going for him.

"He isn't from Amestris," Roy replied after her explanation. "He didn't grow up hearing rumors of homunculi and human transmutation. It's much easier for someone that doesn't know much about it to accept it, mainly because they don't know the extent of what it means." Homunculi weren't human, and while they weren't as vile as they were made out to be, they weren't pure creatures, either. "It's nice that you have a chance for someone to see you as yourself and not as a homunculus, though." If he were the romantic type, he'd find it rather sweet.

"...How old is he?" he asked, not looking convinced.

[lustful_thing]

"I know that's why he accepts me," Lust said, tossing her head. "I'm well aware of the whys. He can't understand, though he tries so hard to. But it's something I only came across once before, in all of my life. He's kind and he's sweet and he cares about me. He's asked me to return to his world with him." She glanced down at her hands, and then lifted her eyes and shrugged once more.

"Sixteen, I think. Chronologically speaking, he's close to my age." She chuckled. "But, I suppose you wouldn't know that, would you?"

[lapis_inferno]

With another glance around the room, Dante's eyes fell on a small group seated at the next table; violet orbs widened in surprise as she caught sight of a delightfully-familiar face.

Unlike the others, who seemed to be little more than vague memories in the back of her mind, this woman's face was vivid and comforting. Lust. Or, so she would've been, had the Ouroboros remained on her milky flesh. She had never expected to find one of her pawns so soon, and the surprise made her lips twist up into a determined smirk.

Her escape might come even sooner than she had once expected.

Rising to her feet, she sauntered towards the seated pair, offering them a a polite nod and a slight wave of her wrist. "Nice to meet you." She didn't miss a beat, straightening her shoulders in an attempt to mask her burning interest. "My name is Ophelia."

[muted_flame]

Roy frowned, coughing and straightening before regarding the sin carefully. "Do you really think you can do that? Go to a world you don't belong in?" He doubted that would be allowed by whatever laws kept worlds separate in the first place. "I wouldn't get your hopes up." The world across the gate was one thing. A completely different dimension was another.

"Still," he said, not seeming to care how truly close they were to each other in age. "You're wrapping that teenage boy around your finger, aren't you?"

Distracted from their conversation when someone completely new approached, Roy raised an eyebrow at the young woman. It was strange, the way she stepped over and suddenly introduced herself. Most people didn't do that. "Uhm. Hello," he responded awkwardly.

[lustful_thing]

"I don't know if I can or if I can't," Lust said, honestly. "It isn't that that matters, but the offer itself." She shrugged a bit. "No, I'm not. He knows every risk there is when it comes to being with me, and knows my ways

[lapis_inferno]

Regarding the Colonel for a moment, Dante's gaze came to rest on his violet eye. Its inhuman glow begged for explanation, but she had more important matters to attend to. Pulling out a chair, she took a seat with all the grace of her former self, managing to conceal her glee behind a plastered smile.

There was no mistaking it. The woman's flustered face was all the proof Dante needed. She had found her Lust: her pawn. And her power over the Homunculus was just as strong as ever, even in such a strange, new place.

"Is something the matter, dear?" She hissed under her breath, choosing her words carefully. "You're looking a little pale." She let her hand brush Lust's arm, trying to make the touch look accidental, though she knew Lust would understand. Lust always seemed to understand when she was in trouble.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you for lunch. I'm afraid I'm feeling rather left out."