damned_institute | Day 27: Library

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Day 27: Library

Libraries, he'd found, were rarely as dull as people made them out to be. Though he felt no magic in these tomes, they were still full of useful information. Maybe some of them could tell him a little bit more about this world he'd landed himself in.

For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet? They'd all been fairly close together when they'd left Rekord, but he hadn't seen a trace of any of them. He was able to communicate easily with the people here though, which led him to believe Mokona was within a mile or so. Unless the ones running this little game had some other way to let all these other-worldly people communicate amongst themselves. In which case, the others could be very far away indeed.

The library had that wonderful smell of old books, and Fai traced his fingers along the shelves, skimming titles and pulling books that struck his fancy. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The War of the Worlds, and with a smile, he found Bram Stoker's Dracula as well. Raven had been telling the truth then, in spite of his own lies. Ought to be a good start. He sat leisurely at one of the tables and began flipping through his selections.

[waiting for Tamaki~]

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Ed shrugged. "I don't know exactly. He didn't look good when we found him though." And even if he had a clear idea of what had happened to Adel, he wouldn't have been going around telling anyone about it without his permission. It was Adel's secret and Ed would keep it.

"But it made him think he'd been compromised by this place, that he was a liability because of it. Like they could read his mind or something. So he wants to make weapons, but not know who they're for."

"I... suppose that makes sense," he said slowly, though he had to wonder what he had been put through to make him think the institute could read his mind. Fullmetal didn't seem to know about it, though (and if he did, he wasn't going to talk about it), so there was no point in questioning it further.

"I do think the three of us should get better at organizing who is making what for who. Are there certain people you're planning to make weapons for soon, and have you made any for people recently?" There was a chance that some of the people on the list Adelheid had given him were already taken care of, so it was best to eliminate confusion.

"If it does then what's the point of bothering? They could ake any of us at any time," Ed replied, frustration evident in his tone. This place was seriously grating on him. He liked to be active! Would give nearly anything to just be able to take on the people behind this in a good fight.

He shrugged in response to the question, not so keen about making weapons for just anyone who asked for it. He wanted his friends to be armed first and foremost. "Making something for Axel tonight. And a sword for Hitsugaya and something for Artermis. I still haven't got anything for myself though, and I said I'd make Hughes some knives and just... haven't managed it yet." Things were so damn hectic they kept slipping his mind.

"If he has reason to think that his mind can be read, then I can understand his wariness. Considering I don't know what they did to him, I can only assume," he said with a shrug. Edward was getting carried away by emotions again, but by now, Roy was sort of used to dealing with it. He knew the boy was going to feel the way he felt no matter what, but he could at least give his viewpoint on the matter.

Judging from Fullmetal's response, it didn't sound like he wanted to volunteer in helping with the rest of the load. Roy couldn't be sure why that was, but he wasn't going to force it. He opened his journal and glanced down at his lists, but it didn't look like anything overlapped, which meant he had just as much work ahead of him as he thought he did. "I see. Well, there are a lot of people who need to be armed. Don't overdo it," he said seriously, hoping the Fullmetal would take the warning to heart (even though he knew he wouldn't).

But... Ed was starting to think that maybe it didn't matter what they did or thought because it was like the Head Doctor and the radio guy always knew exactly what was going on, even when they kept it deadly secret. What difference did one more thing make? He didn't want to think that way, but he just couldn't help it and it was driving him crazy!

He rolled his eyes at the warning. "Yeah, I know," he muttered darkly. He wasn't some stupid kid! He knew what he was doing. "But I'm not gonna' leave my friends unarmed to get hurt. Not if I can help it."

He took a breath after his outburst and then frowned as he thought of something. He glanced around surrepticiously and then back at Mustang. He might not have got on with Roy, but he could trust him for the most part. The important stuff anyway. "I found something last night."

Despite the urge to explore the collection of books in the large library, Ami headed straight towards a table after being pointed in that direction by her nurse.

Approaching the two men nervously and blushing slightly, Ami addressed the older one. "Excuse me for interrupting. My name is Mizuno Ami. Are you Roy Mustang?"

"I didn't say that," he responded with a frown. He didn't like it when Fullmetal tried to twist his words around, especially if he was just making some small attempt to help. He wasn't the type to be overt about it, so he wished that the boy would listen to what he did choose to say.

Though that was forgotten when Fullmetal mentioned something that certainly sounded of interest. Just as he was leaning forward to inquire further, however, a girl who looked about Edward's age decided to approach them - or more specifically, him.

What was this about? He squashed the urge to sigh or roll his eyes. "Yes, I am."

He might not have said it outright, but he'd definitely implied it, at least in Ed's mind which was all that counted after all. Telling him not to overdo things when he was perfectly capable of deciding how much was too much on his own. "I've been limiting myself to just doing one thing a night," he said grumpily. "That takes enough as it is." And he hadn't passed out since that time with the soul bond armour. And he'd been tired for ages after that.

He opened his mouth to speak when some girl came up to them and Ed bit back what he'd been going to say. He wasn't about to tell everyone about what he had, especially people he didn't know. He just sat back on his chair and folded his arms over his chest.

From the expressions on both men's faces, it was obvious Ami had interrupted an important conversation. Her face turned a deeper shade of red.

"Um, well, I'm so sorry disturb you both, but I wanted to ask you about the possibility of making something for me," she said, eyes turned down and hands clasped in front of her. "I'll be very quick. I was wondering about the possibility of creating a medical kit so that I could help treat people who are injured at night."

In truth, she wasn't sure exactly what the alchemist could create - all she had been told was that he could make weapons, which meant he could obviously work with metal. Ami kept her eyes on the floor in front of her, anxiously awaiting Roy's response.

Making one weapon a night was about the limit, as far as Roy was concerned, so he was glad that Fullmetal was sticking to that. There was no point in vocalizing that, though, since knowing Edward, he would want to switch around what he was doing just to spite him.

Roy certainly hadn't meant to make the girl feel like she was doing a huge offense to them by asking her questions, and yet that was certainly how she was acting. He considered reassuring her, but she would probably feel better just getting some answers. "A medical kit?" He raised an eyebrow and then exhaled. "I don't know how feasible it would be to make something like that. It's made up of many different components. I would suggest you look for one - I'm almost certain there are medical supplies in the institute that can be located during the night." He was set on finding them himself, since if there was something they couldn't have enough of, it was medical supplies.

Ed listened to the girl's request curiously and then frowned at the thought. It seemed a kinda' dumb idea. They got fixed up after the night was done anyway, and other people had drugs and medical kits and the like. He nodded in agreement with Roy.

"There's a group with supplies and stuff doing healing and medical type things too," he said. He had to promote Tamaki too! It was only fair and it made his friend feel useful. It wasn't a bad idea either.

Ami mused over what Roy-san had said. "That's true, it's just getting a hold of them could be difficult...if the stories I've heard of the nurses at night are anything to go by," she murmured, mostly to herself.

She started slightly as the younger man spoke. "Really? Do you know who they are, or could you point them out to me?" she asked shyly. "I'd love to assist them. Despite the fact that everyone is patched up come morning, a small amount of medical attention in the meantime can make a huge difference between life or death." Believe me I know, she thought, remembering all the stories her mother had told her of patients who had arrived at the hospital too late to be saved.

It seemed like Fullmetal had the situation under control, so Roy didn't mind taking a backseat and listening in. He had just spoken with Hitsugaya about other groups being formed, so he wouldn't mind getting some information about the healer group as well.

It was definitely good to hear that there were more people who were capable of first aid and even healing "magic" around, though. Those were people they definitely couldn't have enough of.

Ed nodded eagerly and there was a touch of pride in his voice when he spoke because it was Tamaki who was organising it and there was obviously demand. "They hold it in M35 every night," he began, leaning towards the girl a little and grinning. "It's organised by Tamaki. He's kinda' tall and blond and will probably call you 'fair maiden' or something if you go talk to him." Yeah, that seemed like a pretty good description of the other boy, even if Ed didn't really understand all the hosting stuff.

"They've got a medical kit and some magical healers too, I think. And they'd be glad of the help."

"Thank you so much for your help," Ami smiled at both men. "I will definitely go and see them. Again, I'm sorry for the intrusion." She bowed slightly to both and turned to walk away. Suddenly she had an idea.

Turning back, she asked Roy, "Is is possible for you to make four chakrams, slightly smaller than dinner plates?" They would be the perfect weapon for Usagi, and I'm not such a bad aim either, although it might take a little practice...

That had gone rather well, and Roy was about to turn back to Fullmetal to continue their conversation when the girl turned back around, apparently struck by a thought.

"I can't say I know what those are," he admitted in response to her question. There was no point in acting like he knew more than he did, since that would just result in him making something inaccurate for her. "I would need to see a drawing, but yes, I could add you to the list." He did still feel some regret that he couldn't screen his clients and make sure that it would be safe to equip them, but there simply wasn't time for that. Though he doubted this girl would be much of a threat -- or have any bad intentions, especially if she wanted to join a healing group.

Ed shrugged and smiled at the girl slightly. She didn't seem like a bad type so he had no qualms about sending her to Tamaki. "They need the help," he said after a moment. Any help Tamaki could get would be of use.

He blinked at the mention of chakrams, surprised to be hearing two requests for them in one day. Pleased by a chance to show off a little in front of Roy he spoke out. "Are they sort of circular things which are bladed on the outside so you can throw them?"

Ami smiled at Ed's description of the weapons. "That's right. They can range from five to 13 inches in diametre." Ami demonstrated the sizes with her hands.

"It is a metal circular ring, as opposed to a disc, bladed on the outside. It is used as a throwing and parrying weapon. Actually, if it is possible to make them, I wouldn't mind having a handwidth of blunt space on it as an area I could hold."

"If it is easier, I can sketch it and give it to you later," Ami said to Roy. She was beginning to like these two men in front of her. They were both very polite and accommodating. Ami appreciated that.

How did Fullmetal know what they were if he didn't? Roy sent him a questioning glance before turning back to Ami when she started to explain them in more detail. He would definitely need a sketch to get a proper idea of how they should be made, but it didn't sound overly complicated. The bow and arrow requests would likely be more work.

"That sounds doable. Feel free to find me later with the sketch. I'll add your name to the list now, though," he said, reaching for his journal and a pen so he could do so.

It looked like the shift was ending soon, considering the nurses seemed to be stirring and preparing to collect their respective patients.

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Day 27: Library

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