There were benefits to living in a suit of armor; one of them was not having to feel the heat.
However, metal didn't really help with alleviating heat, and with the air conditioning broken, he'd been making his small apartment quite a few degrees hotter than it should've been. It wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that his cats were beginning to hate him. (And little cat!Ed did look surprisingly - and frighteningly - like a certain blond-haired alchemist when he was cranky...)
So Al had decided it would be best to just take a walk outside, and allow the apartment to cool off by itself.
He was just about to turn around and head toward the library when he noticed a figure sitting nearby. First his father, and now... the major? At first, he just stood and stared. (A little unsure if he should approach or flee before the overenthusiastic major took notice of him...)
His first plan of staying put and trying to sleep didn't really quite 'work'. That heat was far from comfortable and he wasn't feeling sleepy - which was weird considering how tired he was just a couple of minutes ago. Maybe he was really dreaming.
With a shrug, Armstrong got up from the bench where he was sitting. No use hanging around that fountain. As he turned around to leave, he spotted the younger Elric brother from the corner of his eyes.
"Hm? Alphonse, is that you?" He called out loud, getting closer to the boy. For all he knew, that could be a mirage or illusion of sorts. After all, he was dreaming, wasn't he?
It looked like the Major had made Alphonse's decision on whether or not to stay and say hello very easy.
"M-major!" It wasn't that the boy didn't like the large state alchemist... it was just that... well... sometimes, he could be a bit much. And Alphonse wasn't quite sure yet where in their original timeline the Major had come from.
"Have you been here long?" He felt like he would've noticed if the Major had been a resident of Somarium for any period of time.
Alphonse really shouldn't worry (much). Armstrong wasn't exactly in the most enthusiastic mood at the moment and being in an unknown location made him a tad bit weary.
"Hm? What you mean here?" He crossed his arms, standing in front of Al.
"This is a dream, isn't it? I mean, it's all in my head." Because... it's just normal to actually acknowledge that you are in a dream and state that out loud. Totally normal.
Alphonse was a little taken aback; this was the first time he'd heard any first arrival actually admit to dreaming.
"Er... yes... kind of..." He should just explain it to the Major just like he would anyone else, right? "This is a dream world, actually. I've heard that our real bodies are back in our worlds, sleeping."
Somehow, it seemed like Armstrong would take all this information far better than Edward ever could have (perhaps it was simply because Armstrong was far more mature than Edward...)
Blame that on the fact he ended up in that place after falling asleep. Otherwise, he would be far more confused.
"Hmm... So this is a kind of collective dream then." That was certainly fascinating. He never heard of or experienced anything like that. He was sure to write about that when he was finally back home and...
Armstrong was taking the news particularly well, for someone who'd just been dropped into a world he'd never seen before.
"I seem to be able to sleep in this world." Actually, that was a bit of an understatement; Alphonse wasn't planning on going into the details of him falling asleep for months at a time. "But it's usually not... planned."
Narcolepsy? Where had he heard that term before...?
Narcolepsy! Draco had mentioned it once. It was supposed to be some sort of illness. And Alphonse certainly didn't want any illnesses.
"I-I hope not!" He squeaked. But wait a minute, people here kept telling him that it was natural. That these 'sleep comas' happened to others here as well. "Others here suffer from it too!"
As if that somehow made it a little better... if other people did it too...
It wasn't on purpose, really. He just got really worried about everyone's safety.
"Hmm... Even if it's not harmful, this needs to be investigated further." Because this doesn't seem like something that would normally happen, even in a dream world.
It took Al a moment, but he suddenly realized that they'd strayed quite far from the original topic. He took this pause in the conversation to steer the conversation back to something perhaps a little less alarming than his possible malady.
"Er... Major... if you have any questions about this world, I'd be happy to answer them..."
Good thing Al had that idea. Armstrong was pretty much ready to pull out a notebook and bore people with questions about that 'disease' and take notes...
"Hmm..." He pondered for a moment. Honestly, he didn't have much to ask, because he hadn't seen much either. He then suddenly realizes that there's something in one of his pockets.
Reaching inside of it, he pulls out his Dreamberry. OK, now he has a question.
"What is this?" And more importantly: where did he get that?
Now this question, Al could answer. He'd been here long enough to get the relative hang of how a Dreamberry worked.
"It's like a telephone... that you can carry around in your pocket." Honestly, he had no idea why they didn't have this sort of technology back home, because it could have come in handy so many times before.
He reached for his, and flipped it open for Armstrong to see. "It has a list of all the residents here. You can call pretty much anyone on the list, or you can just send a broadcast out to everyone. It even lets you see the face of the person you're talking to!"
He paused, wondering if he should jump right into the dream broadcasting bit of a Dreamberry, or if he should let Armstrong process the information that had already been given to him.
No, it was better that he gave Armstrong some time...
Armstrong would be better off with an iPad...hates_shirtsJune 16 2011, 20:21:41 UTC
That certainly sounded like something that could have been awfully useful back home. If only they had such technology maybe...
Armstrong shrugged off the not so pleasant feelings he had on his mind and decided to focus on that new gadget he had with him now.
"This is quite incredible. Almost unbelievable, if I wasn't seeing it with my own two eyes." Because, that sounded like the kind of distant, almost imagined kind of technology they could only dream about. Well... that was a land of drams, so, yeah...
He rather excitedly goes to press some of the buttons on his own device, to get used to it a little bit better. Just to find out that maybe his fingers are a little bit too big for it.
"You don't suppose they make these a little bit larger, right?" Because, honestly.
However, metal didn't really help with alleviating heat, and with the air conditioning broken, he'd been making his small apartment quite a few degrees hotter than it should've been. It wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that his cats were beginning to hate him. (And little cat!Ed did look surprisingly - and frighteningly - like a certain blond-haired alchemist when he was cranky...)
So Al had decided it would be best to just take a walk outside, and allow the apartment to cool off by itself.
He was just about to turn around and head toward the library when he noticed a figure sitting nearby. First his father, and now... the major? At first, he just stood and stared. (A little unsure if he should approach or flee before the overenthusiastic major took notice of him...)
Maybe the heat was getting to him after all.
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With a shrug, Armstrong got up from the bench where he was sitting. No use hanging around that fountain. As he turned around to leave, he spotted the younger Elric brother from the corner of his eyes.
"Hm? Alphonse, is that you?" He called out loud, getting closer to the boy. For all he knew, that could be a mirage or illusion of sorts. After all, he was dreaming, wasn't he?
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"M-major!" It wasn't that the boy didn't like the large state alchemist... it was just that... well... sometimes, he could be a bit much. And Alphonse wasn't quite sure yet where in their original timeline the Major had come from.
"Have you been here long?" He felt like he would've noticed if the Major had been a resident of Somarium for any period of time.
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"Hm? What you mean here?" He crossed his arms, standing in front of Al.
"This is a dream, isn't it? I mean, it's all in my head." Because... it's just normal to actually acknowledge that you are in a dream and state that out loud. Totally normal.
Reply
"Er... yes... kind of..." He should just explain it to the Major just like he would anyone else, right? "This is a dream world, actually. I've heard that our real bodies are back in our worlds, sleeping."
Somehow, it seemed like Armstrong would take all this information far better than Edward ever could have (perhaps it was simply because Armstrong was far more mature than Edward...)
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"Hmm... So this is a kind of collective dream then." That was certainly fascinating. He never heard of or experienced anything like that. He was sure to write about that when he was finally back home and...
Wait a minute.
"Al! You don't sleep! How come you are dreaming?"
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"I seem to be able to sleep in this world." Actually, that was a bit of an understatement; Alphonse wasn't planning on going into the details of him falling asleep for months at a time. "But it's usually not... planned."
"It kind of just happens sporadically."
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"Hmm... Your sleeping pattern isn't planned." The big man pondered for a while, and suddenly his eyes snapped open, and he looked quite concerned.
"Al! I think you are suffering from narcolepsy!" Because that's the most obvious reason for one to fall asleep for no reason.
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Narcolepsy! Draco had mentioned it once. It was supposed to be some sort of illness. And Alphonse certainly didn't want any illnesses.
"I-I hope not!" He squeaked. But wait a minute, people here kept telling him that it was natural. That these 'sleep comas' happened to others here as well. "Others here suffer from it too!"
As if that somehow made it a little better... if other people did it too...
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"Wait... THAT'S CONTAGIOUS THEN?" Because... it sure sounds like it.
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However, he's going to attempt to make the best of it. Because that might make him feel just a little bit better...
"It doesn't seem to be harmful..." Just... long and disorienting.
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"Hmm... Even if it's not harmful, this needs to be investigated further." Because this doesn't seem like something that would normally happen, even in a dream world.
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"Er... Major... if you have any questions about this world, I'd be happy to answer them..."
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"Hmm..." He pondered for a moment. Honestly, he didn't have much to ask, because he hadn't seen much either. He then suddenly realizes that there's something in one of his pockets.
Reaching inside of it, he pulls out his Dreamberry. OK, now he has a question.
"What is this?" And more importantly: where did he get that?
Reply
"It's like a telephone... that you can carry around in your pocket." Honestly, he had no idea why they didn't have this sort of technology back home, because it could have come in handy so many times before.
He reached for his, and flipped it open for Armstrong to see. "It has a list of all the residents here. You can call pretty much anyone on the list, or you can just send a broadcast out to everyone. It even lets you see the face of the person you're talking to!"
He paused, wondering if he should jump right into the dream broadcasting bit of a Dreamberry, or if he should let Armstrong process the information that had already been given to him.
No, it was better that he gave Armstrong some time...
Reply
Armstrong shrugged off the not so pleasant feelings he had on his mind and decided to focus on that new gadget he had with him now.
"This is quite incredible. Almost unbelievable, if I wasn't seeing it with my own two eyes." Because, that sounded like the kind of distant, almost imagined kind of technology they could only dream about. Well... that was a land of drams, so, yeah...
He rather excitedly goes to press some of the buttons on his own device, to get used to it a little bit better. Just to find out that maybe his fingers are a little bit too big for it.
"You don't suppose they make these a little bit larger, right?" Because, honestly.
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