trans_9 | Two people in one body gets so complicated... [OPEN]

Entry tags:

Two people in one body gets so complicated... [OPEN]

Greed had taken in what he could of the planet yesterday. He had even located an outfit similar to the one he last was wearing and, deciding that covering up this suit was more important, begrudgingly bought it. If only there had been time for him to make more connections before they stopped here...

Now he leaned against a building in the shopping district, frowning as he looked at the stores and the people visiting. He wanted everything here (or, well, most of it. Some of it looked like crap to him.), but there was no way he was letting go of any more of this money. The only minion he still had here was Elric, but he was nowhere in sight. He needed to have a discussion with him about this next time they met...

There had to be something he could do, something to fill this need, this constant emptiness he felt inside him. What he hated the most right now was that he was at a complete loss. He had always had a plan back home. He growled. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"I did say I'm here to help!" Ling replied from within his soul.

"Yeah, and you've done squat," Greed retorted in annoyance. "This isn't any of your business anyway."

"Ah, but getting things for free is one of my specialties, Greed. Let me have control while we're here and you'll come back with more possessions and your money!"

Greed couldn't help but grin a bit. "Really? Maybe you're not so useless outside of a battle after all, kid. You'd better show me this skill of yours pretty fast or we're back to doing things my way, got it?"

"Well, it could take a little while..."

"Heh, right. I'll be watching you so don't try to pull anything stupid."

"Of course not!"

You may notice a shape lying in one of the alleys in the shopping district. He appears to be human and is wearing a long, black coat, but on his extended arms you can see the edge of a plant suit on his wrists. About the only other thing you can glean from looking at him is that he collapsed here for some reason.

If you're there for long enough, you might hear his stomach growl...

[ooc: It's mooching time! TL;DR for the cut, Greed's letting Ling take control for a while to see how much he can get without having to pay for it himself, but Ling is totally willing to take advantage of this opening. If things go too far you might run into Greed again, of course.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Luna does, in fact, notice the shape lying in one of the alleys and, intrigued by its lack of movement, she wanders over. A few crumbles of pavement crack under her shoe as she bends at the waist, her hair falling past her face to touch the pavement. She peers at the man, wondering idly if he's been accosted by a Wrackspurt.

"Are you alright? If there's a Wrackspurt in your brain, just close your ears--it'll starve it out."

He doesn't move any at her approach.

"I'm... starving..." he replies weakly.

She nods sagely, head tilting.

"You should eat something. Food does wonders to stave off death by starvation, and I don't suppose that would be a very nice way to die."

He's still motionless.

"N-no... Food...?"

Ran Fan had been following Greed, never letting him out of her sight. It still troubled her that she had seen no sign of her young master, but that was still his body, and even though she didn't like Greed, she would continue to do her job for as long as she was able to.

So imagine her shock when she felt that shift in his ki, the change from the foul, disgusting soul of the homunculus to a presence that was much more familiar. A presence she hadn't felt in months...

... And then he collapsed, and Ran Fan was by his side in an instant.

"Young Master...?"

Ling had noticed her presence before she even arrived, though he was a bit busy with his face in the pavement to react at first. Maybe he wasn't quite that hungry just yet...

He pulls one of his arms under his torso and pushes his shoulders off the ground, lifting his head at the same time. He immediately gives her a smile.

"I'm glad to see you again, Ran Fan."

"You... you are okay..." The relief was quite clear in Ran Fan's voice as she spoke. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and while there were still many things wrong with their situation, the fact that Ling was alive and could still take control of his body was enough to comfort her for the moment.

"Thank goodness..."

"Ha ha, of course!"

He keeps smiling, though as his eyes fall on her automail arm it weakens just in the slightest. At least she had found a way to continue fighting... Speaking of which, he really hadn't had a chance to speak with her the last time they met.

"Have you been well?"

"Yes, I've been fine. Please don't worry about me, Young Master." It wasn't a total lie. She was physically fine, and now that she knew Ling was alive, she was emotionally okay now, but still...

Ran Fan was a very perceptive person. She noticed how Ling's smile faltered for just a second, and it was like a jab to the gut, seeing how her young master seemed to worry about her.

He looks noticeably relieved. From what he understood about automail, he knew the last six months couldn't have been easy. At least she was all right now.

"That's good to hear."

He finally pushes himself into a sitting position, though it's clear that he is feeling weaker than usual.

"Can you tell me anything about what's going on here? I haven't been able to hear much."

"..."

Ran Fan was silent for a few moments, keeping her gaze firmly on the ground in front of her. It had been hard to accept what she had been told, but the longer she stayed here, the more she believed it... even though she really, really didn't want to.

"Everything is gone. They say our home has been destroyed. And now we are expected to take a vacation."

Ling's eyes went wide at this and he remained silent for several moments. It was understandably hard to take this news in.

Finally, he frowns, his gaze also turning to the ground. "...What happened?" he asked, his tone much darker than before.

"Creatures called the 'Ohm' destroyed everything. The entire planet is gone... that is all I know."

And Ran Fan had been so close to learning more. When she had heard that their memories of their homes being destroyed had been repressed, and that they could choose to get them back... she had almost done it. But the thought of seeing the destruction of Amestris, even though it wasn't her home country, and to possibly see the deaths of those she had met during the journey...

She was a strong person, but she really wasn't sure she could handle it.

All of it was gone...? It was hard to believe considering he had no memory of any such things occurring, yet he wasn't about to doubt that it was true. That meant that everything in Xing was gone. Were they the only two left? Had he really failed so many people?

He nodded a bit in recognition, followed by another heavy pause.

"What is left for us to do now?" he replied quietly. "Why were we not destroyed as well?"

"Whoever created the ship we were on saved us. So we can fight." Ran Fan said. There was a hint of irritation in her voice as she spoke; after all, if all the people gathered were supposed to be able to fight those strange beings, why could they not fight them before all these homes have been destroyed?

"You mean fight the ones responsible?"

He falls silent after this, once again ruminating over this information. Even though he didn't know much about his rescuers or the attacks, his initial instinct was to make whoever had dared to destroy his country pay.

"It's a bit odd for them to give us a vacation if that is their intent."

You've been spotted, Ling. A small puppy on a leash yipped at the smell of a homunculus. Growling some defensively at first as his master gave him an odd look at his battle ready posture. Riza blinked. "Black Hayate?" she questioned as she had before in his random spouts of acts like this. She'd come accustomed to them in central... since the only time he ever had was when it was a homunculus or Barry, of all things.

"What is it?"

The pup still stood on edge, but moved forward, sniffing out the object that was throwing him off. And soon Riza and Hayate were standing behind Ling. Riza rose a brow while she crossed her arms and Hayate moved forward to try and get a better sniff.

Sighing, Riza closed her eyes a moment. She doubted Greed would act like this, so it could only be one thing...

"...Ling?"

Edited 2010-06-14 04:14 (UTC)

Despite the possible dangers of an uneasy puppy, Ling doesn't move an inch. After a few moments, he weakly gives a response.

"Hungry..."

"Hayate," Riza said, pulling back the sniffing and uneasy pup.

The barest of smiles took form at the boy's words. Well that had to make everything evident. "I can't say I'm too surprised to hear that," she said simply. She didn't move from her stance as she looked around.

"You do have some money, why not go buy food? It probably will be a little pricey," the thin smile didn't waver as she was almost reminded of how she spoke with Edward.

"But at the very least you won't faint on another street."

She knows better than to think you'll die, but she is a little worried. Hey, at least Ling's out though.

She didn't miss anything, did she? A few beads of sweat form on his forehead. If he spent any of that money he'd lose his chance to be in control of his body, not that he could tell her that. And he really was in need of a good meal...

After a beat, he answers. "Can't... move..."

A small smirk, as Riza bent to kneel and be more level with the boy. This was going to be one of those moments where even she could be a little lighter.

"Nonsense, if you couldn't move you would also not have the ability or energy to speak," she responded carefully. "I'm sure if you really wished to you could."

"Eh..."

He falls silent, still not moving in the slightest. It was of the uptmost importance that he get help from someone no matter how weak he really was.

(http://photobucket.com)

Oh, a cadaver.

...Or rather close to becoming one. Only a day or so has passed since the crew found themselves on this planet and there's already a possible casualty? Geez. Ruthless universe.

"You know, if you're going to die, you might want to drag yourself elsewhere," came a harsh, feminine voice standing above him.

If Ling's neck muscles were still working, he'd find a young barbaric girl with one hand to her hip, flatly staring down at his pathetic form, an expression showing no sign that she'd be aiding him either. Astrid had spotted Ling while aimlessly wandering about the new territory, helping herself to the various sights. And maybe unethically to a few goods in the process. Pillaging. Who's to say.

What was worse is that she thoughtlessly indulged on a strawberry flavored popsicle in the other hand.

"I'm not entirely sure the locals will appreciate you stinking up their streets," she spoke, tone nonchalant, popping the end of the cool, tasty treat in the corner of her mouth.

She spared him the pity. In her world, it was always like this - those not strong enough were left behind. She guessed the same laws applied to this tourist attraction as well. The weak simply perished.

Ling doesn't look up, still laying almost lifelessly. It didn't look like he was going to be able to move any time soon. His nose and ears were still working, however, and from that he could tell this person was eating something. That was too, too cruel.

He finally manages to speak, though it sounds more like very weak croaking than anything else. "Huuun...gryyyy..."

(http://photobucket.com)

Her head tilted, blinking and momentarily taking the popsicle from her mouth. Hungry? Ahh so that was the case.

A look around them. Then she seems to be considering something. What would Hiccup do? Then a sigh.

How troublesome, she thought briefly. The so-called hardened warrior just may be feeling a little pity for the fellow, after all - completely and naively unaware of Ling's act.

Now she digs into the pouch at her side and a familiar jingle might reach the swindler's ears and pique the interest of a greed within.

"Look, I don't have much...," Annnnd she takes out her hand, opening to reveal the currency everyone was given before their departure. To be honest, she didn't understand the system of money too well and found the concept silly and meaningless, whereas her culture typically traded material goods than coinage.

"Here. You'll probably find better use for this than I, hmm?"

Gasp! Free cash? Congratulations, Ling, she really fell for it.

He does catch the sound of shifting money, and from the small chuckle he heard inside himself his "partner" had, as well. It wasn't quite what he was looking for or expecting, so Ling still doesn't move for a moment. Still, that would be good enough for Greed, and Ling wasn't about to let him get control right now while he had this opportunity.

Very slowly and pathetically, he lifts his head and gives her a weak smile.

(http://photobucket.com)

"Don't mind me saying this, but, seriously. I am confounded as to how you could allow yourself to get to this point of starvation and exhaustion."

It was so very careless! And even a little suspicious.

"Especially when there's plenty aboard ship and throughout this 'market'. Couldn't even pilfer a single apple?"

Yep, totally lecturing instead of lending a helping hand.

Ling lets out a faint laugh at this, and she might catch just a hint of nervousness in it.

"Nope. . ."

It wouldn't do much good to just sit up now, but he did need to figure out how to get the money from her without letting on that he wasn't quite as hungry as his behavior was implying.

(http://photobucket.com)

Don't worry, Ling, she's got you covered. She'll be impatiently kneeling and shoving the dough into your hand.

A finger jabs in his face, "Take it. And don't tell anyone I was nice to you. You owe me nothing. Got it?"

Vikings don't help the needy, after all. ...Oh yeah, one last thing before she disappears.

She throws a look over her shoulder, "Get something to eat already-- you look pathetic. You're a man, aren't you?"

Wow, how nice.

And she was gone. In her mind, she did her part, now you must fend for yourself.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Two people in one body gets so complicated... [OPEN]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject