damned_institute | Day 21

Ichigo was only too eager to leave the cafeteria and its fresh memories behind when the softened chime of the intercome rang clear. What had begun as another ordinary meal, a rather agreeable one despite the lack of the proper utensils, quickly became somewhat unnerving. His conversation with...what was his name again?...took so many sharp turns, he should've felt dizzy. It was easy to feel a little sorry for the guy, though; surrounded by stangers in a very strange place, it was hard to blame him for being so alarmed.

The Sun Room occurred as a more enjoyable choice to spend the time; he had nothing against music, but something about being surrounded by some of the most unruly characters he'd ever met, each of them armed with cacophonous weaponry, didn't sound smart. Once his nurse departed, the young man picked out a cozy little spot near a flood of sunshine and settled in, cradling his head in the palms of his hands. There, he stared up almost bitterly at the ceiling with sharply focused eyes, still exuding the same unapproachable sense of being as ever.

The room was warm, even a little comforting, for any of the tired, weary masses found in Landel's halls, or even those who just craved a little peace and quiet. All he could hear, from end of the room, were soft footfalls and hushed voices. That sounded just fine to the 'berry head.

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He explanation mollified Ed a little, even intriuged him. "Scientific magic, huh?" Maybe that was something like alchemy but with a different name. That was a little more promising, definitely something closer to what he found acceptable.

He nodded to her and shook his head at her apology, a feeling a little bad for snapping. "It's fine. Magic is a term used for made up stuff where I come from. Alchemy is a scientific practice. It's a touchy subject." At least it was for him. Other alchemists took it with good humour for the most part but he thought a lot of them were idiots anyway.

Reinforce nodded. "So it's just a reversal of terms."

Nowe had said he had a unique weapon, like a Knight, but was not a Belkan. This one had the Midchildan attitude towards magic, but obviously came from a different tradition. She was unique as an autonomous device, and knew many lost Belkan spells. Was it that simple? The patients were those with esoteric powers from lost or unknown cultures?

"Is this alchemy common on your world?" She thought for a second, then added by way of explanation: "I want to understand more about the origins of the patients so I might determine why we've been brought here." If he had skill in his 'alchemy' he probably had a strong analytical mind, and for all she knew he already had extensive knowledge of the place. Telling him her purpose could be helpful.

Ed couldn't fault the logic of that. He dropped his voice slightly to reply, unwilling to let the nurses hear what he was saying. "That's not a bad idea. Might help us figure something out about how to leave too."

He turned so he could sit back on the sofa, legs stretched out in front of him. "It's... fairly common I guess. Takes a lot of study for most people and only those with a certain aptitude tend to be able to make it work well enough to bother." It was possible to perform alchemy without that aptitude by using the correct arrays, but really, the effort it took to do even small things made it rather pointless.

Reinforce nodded. To her, though, the question of motive was the more important; she could tolerate being held, but any who tried to usurp her power she would destroy without hesitation. "But those with low aptitude can still make it work?" That was unusual, served to distinguish the system. "Are you especially skilled?"

Ed nodded slowly. "Yeah, if they have exactly the right materials and arrays. It'd take a lot more energy than it was worth though. Kinda' pointless."

He flashed the girl a slightly smug grin. "And yeah, I'm very skilled." Modesty about his alchemy had never been a factor. "I don't have to use an array to perform it, for one thing."

"So your diagrams are such that even one with little skill can make them work with enough precision, but with enough skill they can be abandoned completely. And you have no devices to assist you?" Reinforce was impressed. It sounded revolutionary, frankly. "That's impossible with our techniques. How powerful are the effects?"

An understanding of magic that produced techniques that scaled so wonderfully to the abilities of the user... even if it could not add the her power, she would be interested in learning the principles. That had been her original purpose, after all.

Ed shook his head, wondering how to explain it better. "They can be used by anyone, but not well, and they can't be abandoned, not by most people." He sighed rubbing absently at his automail arm. "As far as I know, there's only me and two others who can perform it without an array. It takes special circumstances." Ones which most people would probably be happy to not bother with.

He shifted so his legs were curled beneath him, trying to make himself more comfortable. "The effects can be incredibly powerful. Depends what you want to do."

Reinforce by contrast remained motionless, still perched on the end of the sofa. Whether this was by habit or the product of her fascination with the current conversation, though, was impossible to say. "What are those special circumstances?" She was a little disappointed to hear that his skills were not as she had first thought from the description, but unique powers did fit with her immediate suspicions about the methodology of their captors. And... "I also have such an ability."

Ed's face went blank at that question and he shook his head, unwilling to answer that question. "It's nothing," he said firmly, clenching his hands for a moment. Like hell he'd explain the Gate, the Truth and how he had come to see it to a complete stranger. Hell, even Mustang and Hughes hadn;t been told about it. Even Al...

He blinked at her in shock for a second when she said she had that ability. "You're an alchemist?"

"A user of magic in the Belkan tradition, though there are some differences between myself and most mages." Reinforce smiled the pleasant smile of one who is glossing over a very large truth. "My circumstances are unusual as well."

She had other reasons to be pleasant, though. "I'd like to learn of your alchemy if you have the time." It was in her nature to love learning, especially rare forms of magic, and to her that's what this 'alchemy' was.

"Belkan tradition?" Ed said, looking puzzled. He'd never heard of that. There were different traditions of alchemy of course. Xing called it pharmacy and tended towards healing with it, while other alchemists kept to small unobtrusive things; hedgewitches they were sometimes called. But this 'Belkan' tradition...

"Well," he began, with slight trepidaiton. "I have someone coming to my room tonight so I can teach him. You could always come too? I can at least show you how it works, although this place blocks powers."

"The lost arts of a dead civilization. Very mysterious." Reinforce wiggled her fingers very nondemonstratively. She actually wasn't opposed to teaching him something back in principle- though it would be strange to do so without unison- but she remained wary of giving anyone information that might allow them to manipulate her/the Book.

"I'll try to make it." If she ran into a skirmish like last night, she might end up otherwise occupied. To her this was mostly to satisfy curiosity... a very strong curiosity, but not so strong as to supercede her responsibilities.

Ed's eyes widened before he grinned enthusiastically. "That sound fantastic! I've looked a little into older civilisations myself, trying to find out certain things about alchemy." He'd always loved reading, and his tory was no exception. He found it fascinating to discover how alchemy had changed over the centuries.

He nodded. "My room is M28 if you do come."

Day 21 - Sun Room

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