It's a long, long way...

[exeggutorhead]

Who: Envy exeggutorhead, Heather Mason foolishwren, and Alphonse Elric armouredsoul

Where: All over Kanto!

When: Starting March 22nd and ending...who knows!

Summary: With the return of warm weather, Envy, Heather, and Alphonse set back out on their badgequest. Surely nothing could go wrong.

Rating: Not likely to go above PG-13


Well...technically they'd planned to leave a week ago. But there'd been all the snow still on the ground, and then it was foggy, and then it was just plain chilly and every day they'd just waffled until it was too late to actually get going anywhere. But now? It's warm out, Pidgeys are chirping, flowers are blooming...it's time to get out of Goldenrod and get back to collecting badges. Someone else has already gone and beaten the Elite Four, they've got to step up their game a little.

Although this time, it's not so much a race between them (or at least, Envy and Al); the three of them have decided to all travel together instead, and after a long train ride to Saffron, they're off.

JOURNEY...RESTART.

Comments

[exeggutorhead]

Al isn't the only one feeling unusually bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Envy would generally rather stay in bed as long as possible before having to get up, but today? He's just bursting with enthusiasm and good cheer from the moment he opens his eyes.

He also doesn't think to question it, even when he gets summarily booted out of the room by a much groggier Heather and told to go downstairs and get some food or something, they were walking all day yesterday let her rest ya weirdo. Nothing can dampen his mood!

Oh, there's...Alphonse also down here, right next to all the food and impossible to avoid.

...

GREAT!

"They have Carnivine Crunch here?"

EVEN BETTER. There is absolutely no sourness whatsoever to his voice as he talks to his half-brother.

im discomfort

[armoredsoul]

Alphonse turns to Envy with a cheerful smile, nodding in lieu of waving given he's got his hands full of bagel and knife. His own bowl of cereal (milk still in the carton) sits beside him at the counter. "Yup! Still plenty left, I think we're the first two up today."

He finishes spreading on his cream cheese and takes his plates over to one of the tables while Envy helps himself. "Heather still sleeping?"

[exeggutorhead]

"Ha, yeah! She pushed me out of the bed and everything!"

Envy doesn't...sound put out or whiny about this in the slightest?

"Joke's on her, I get more cereal!"

Which he pours himself a heaping bowlful of and walks right on over to the same table Al is sitting at, in spite of the many, many other choices of table.

[armoredsoul]

Al laughs in response--why would Envy be put out by something like that? It's hardly any real sort of rejection, just a funny and grumpy reaction out of their friend. "Her loss, and more for us!"

He doesn't make any sort of protest when Envy sits down, simply taking a few spoonfuls of his own before continuing. "Hopefully she'll get up before too much of the day is gone. It's been a long time since I've come here, I can't wait to get a look around!"

[exeggutorhead]

"Exactly!"

Just two brothers sharing some cereal, nothing out of the ordinary here!

"I didn't even know you'd been over here. It's been years for me."

[armoredsoul]

Nothing strange in the slightest!

"I visited once with Winry and Brother while they were here. It's been ages, though, so I'm really excited to check everything out."

[exeggutorhead]

"Woah, that was a long time ago! They haven't been here in...I don't even remember."

Envy takes another few bites of his cereal, mulling this over.

"I always did like Winry, she was a nice kid. Kind of gullible, but nice."

[armoredsoul]

"Yeah, it's been at least two years since they left, I think." Disappearing for a while himself made it a bit hard to tell sometimes.

Al chuckles and waggles his spoon at Envy with good nature. "I think your definition of 'gullible' is a bit different from other people's."

[exeggutorhead]

"Well, it's true that I am very good at lying."

'Happy' can include 'self-satisfied'.

"But she didn't know who I was, so it's not like she would've known better anyway. But she was still nice even after she found out."

[armoredsoul]

It can also incluse 'amused', and Al snorts and rolls his eyes with a grin.

"No wonder you made a profession out of it."

And glossing right past the reasons for that--

"It's just her nature to be kind. She's always working hard to help out anyone she can. Besides, you helped her out a few times before I got here, didn't you?"

[exeggutorhead]

Glossed right over Ed, glossed right over Dante, nothing upsetting can seem to stick in Envy's head for longer than half a second.

"Sure did. Once everyone was in this big battle against nightmare monsters with our powers and weapons and everything, and she didn't know what to do. So I killed a monster chasing her and then I gave her a knife so she could fight back too."

WHAT A HAPPY STORY

[armoredsoul]

HA HA HA SURE IS JUST A GREAT AND WONDERFUL THING THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!

"Yikes! I'm sure glad you were around to help her! But see, that's exactly it! You were putting yourself out there for her, so why wouldn't she want to return the favor?"

[exeggutorhead]

"Huh, I guess you're right. Equivalent exchange and all, right?"

That's how to relate to the Elrics, right?!

[armoredsoul]

"Exactly! Or cause and effect, to take a more general term."

[exeggutorhead]

"Woah wait, hang on, you actually worked out that those are two different things? When did that happen?"

Envy laughs good-naturedly, and gives Al a clap on the shoulder.

"I guess you're not a lost cause after all!"

[armoredsoul]

Al laughs and grins with a shrug. "Brother's the one that really likes to apply the concept to everything! We really do know which one is which, honestly."