Alphonse Elric is (not_fullmetal) wrote in knowhereic, @ 2017-09-30 03:11:00 |
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Was Alphonse stranded? No, he wasn’t. Was he a little freaked out? Yeah, he was. Wouldn’t you be if you had tribbles trying to eat your metal legs? He had bite marks in his pants, but he’d made it to the roof of his apartment building, having finally abandoned his brother’s beloved books to be eaten by hungry tribbles, lest he be partially eaten along with them. The furry beasts hadn’t made it to the roof yet and Al knew he needed to get off, but he wasn’t worried. He commanded air and wind, after all, and could easily use it to throw him to another rooftop, and he could bounce from one to another to get away. Or he could have built a bridge of currents which he’d be able to walk across, if necessary. He’d done cooler things in the past, after all. But.. did Alphonse want to go flying with Mr. Bill? More than anything! So he waited atop that building, sitting down with his legs drawn up a little and his arms lazily draped over them, watching the sky for the caped man who’d soon come for him. He certainly wouldn’t be expecting the man who came, though. And perhaps Bill wouldn’t be expecting such a small boy, who looked closer to thirteen than sixteen. He looked like a child, he always had, draped in pale clothing, with that bright red jacket, his brother’s symbol scrawled in black across the back. He looked just like Ed. --- Bill never liked the phrase ‘to be above it all’ - it sounded too condescending, and however proud a warrior he was, he was too humble a creature. Still, there was no other way to describe it. With gusts of wind swirling about him, he had kept himself high and away from the tribbles as much as possible, aloft and safe from their tiny teeth and terrible appetites. It was with this sort of flair that he approached young Alphonse, his arrival heralded by the hint of a metallic, copper scent in the air: it was lightning, and by its power Bill was able to take to the skies. For a moment, it looked as if Bill was about to overshoot Al’s rooftop. The speed at which he flew was stunning, like a shot from a cannon, until he seemed to throw on the brakes at the very last second. Then, as he carefully descended, Alphonse could see him twirling the golden body of his war hammer around and around, his grip attached to the small leather strap at the end while his wrist twisted it swiftly. Gently then, his feet touched the floor, and he turned his full attention to the blonde lad. “I hope I have not kept you waiting long, young friend,” he said softly. While Bill was indeed far larger, his frame wide and his stature tall, there was an unmistakable gentleness in his eyes. --- Al didn’t have words. The man came flying towards him like some sort of meteor, only to stop and land gracefully, his hammer twirling like.. Like some sort of fan. There were no propellers where he came from so he couldn’t compare it to that-- but they had fans. His cape was impressive, his landing was impressive, his size was impressive, and-- he was clearly some sort of alien. It excited and scared the boy, but it all manifested as a wide, pleased smile as he pushed up to his feet. “Mr. Bill.” He greeted with a smile and a hand lifting for a wave. Scary as he looked, he also came across as kindly and gentle, it was reassuring to the blonde boy with the wide, bronze eyes. “No, it was quite comfortable up here. I wanted to thank you for agreeing to come pick me up at all, it was very nice of you. Thank you.” Stepping forward boldly, his hand came up, gloved fingers (an array stitched into the palm) came out for a handshake. Bill’s hand would surely engulf his own, but it took a lot to intimidate Al, and he didn’t even find his new friend intimidating.. Just impressive. --- Bill loomed over Al, casting a shadow across the human teen for as long as he leaned in to accept the handshake. And accept it he did - a firm grip and a very hearty arm motion was involved, as was his usual custom. He was more used to doing this with burly, semi-immortal Asgardians than he was humans, at least. Bill even smiled, though he was careful in doing so, as he found this somehow made his appearance even more unsettling to Earthlings unaccustomed to aliens. “It is no trouble, of course. While you are no doubt capable of protecting yourself, I shudder to think of the consequences if those blasted creatures somehow surrounded you,” Bill replied, briefly looking aside as he reflected on that grim possibility. “Let us depart before there is even a shade of that chance.” Bill almost - dangerously close - picked up Alphonse entirely. He was used to scooping people up and simply carrying them, but no. Entirely too demeaning here, and heaven forbid that Alphonse was anywhere as sensitive as his brother. Instead, Bill simply knelt down beside him, then gently hooked one of his arms underneath Al’s so that they might instead hold together, shoulder to shoulder. “Brace yourself,” he simply said. Then, he began to spin that lethal hammer around again, spinning it faster and faster until he had built up enough momentum, and then threw it upward. The blunt weapon screamed straight into the air, and with Bill’s grip locked tight, the both of them were carried along behind it. They rocketed skyward, and once they had climbed enough, another flick of the hammer sent them actually moving forward. --- Alphonse Elric was not Edward Elric. He didn’t have an issue with being short-- he was sixteen!-- he didn’t have an issue with making friends, or talking to people, or being nice, or being called a child, or treated like a child-- he was a child!-- Hell, he liked it when people remembered he was only 16! And while once upon a time he’d been very touchy about being carried (he’d lost both his legs at 14 and had been an invalid for far too long), he’d gotten over it and didn’t mind being picked up anymore. In fact, he found it to be fun. All that to say, he wouldn’t have minded being scooped up and would have found it funny and appealing. Bill, however, didn’t scoop him up but instead knelt down and let him wrap a surprisingly small (gosh, he was short) arm around his own massive shoulders. It was sweet and Alphonse found Bill to be very endearing. “I’m ready.” He assured with a smile-- then they were up and moving and (sorry, Bill), Al was shouting his excitement as he looked down at the ground. Until he realized how high they were and he immediately threw his other arm around Bill, too. “Don’t drop me--!” Yes, because he was so heavy. He had, in fact, gotten an entirely different type of automail from his brother, so that he would weigh far less. It wasn’t as strong, but it was lighter. He weighed what a boy his size should, and for some reason that was very important to him. Of course, after a few moments of flying, he’d relaxed enough again to be thoroughly enjoying it, even if he continued to hold on with two arms. “This is incredible!” He called out over the wind, staring down over Bill’s shoulder at the ground below. He’d never seen anything like it before-- never felt anything like it before. He felt like he was dreaming. --- There were shorter, more direct routes to their destination, but upon hearing Al’s exuberant reaction, Bill grew a very small smile and instead directed their flight path back towards the marketplace instead. Knowhere rushed by them below. Streets and alleyways crossed and weaved almost hypnotically as they passed by, and the countless lights along their winding paths, leaving streaks of color, dotted the landscape like a sea of stars. The voices of the people all seemed to mingle together - they were traveling too fast to pick out any one word, and with so many conversations blending together, it sounded more like the rising roar of an ocean tide. Bill was very careful, keeping their trajectory nice and level, and even placing his large palm beneath Alphonse to steady him. He would hate for their first flight to be an unpleasant memory. Quite the opposite, in fact - Bill was glad to stop by and take the lad to a more safe position, but more than that, he wanted to grant him a momentary reprieve from the stress and the strain of what had been a very trying time for everyone. “Drop you? Never.” Bill did not turn to look at Al - too occupied with dodging any obstacles in Knowhere’s odd, jagged skyline - but his soft smile was still present, still reassuring. “Now, where is it that we should travel to? I would have you in a safer haven, one where you might find some rest.” --- Bill’s hand felt nice against Al’s back. It was large, warm, and secure. It was a good feeling and oddly, the boy felt like he was perfectly safe there in that moment, all concern of being dropped forgotten. His arms even loosened some but didn’t release entirely-- but it was no longer a painfully tight hold, either. He stared in wonder as they flew-- until that question came and his cheeks flushed up darker than they already were, for all that excitement. “Harry’s home, it’s not that far, just half a mile from our apartments. It’s big, a stand-alone building with a large patio you can see from the sky, on the second story.” Harry’s place was impossible to miss. It was the only place with (fake) grass and (fake) trees, even a little (fake) pond for his dog to romp around in. It looked lush and green on that large patio that spanned half the roof of the six thousand square foot lab on the first story. Poor Bill, Al was going to want to go flying all the time now. Hopefully he was alright with giving rides to eager sixteen year old boys-- and not in a dirty way, either, so you can all just pull your minds right out of the gutter. It was an entirely friendly thing! For shame. Ahem. The youngest Elric loved flying, and this was his very first experience with it. --- Reduced to a provider of pony rides. What a terrible fate. Thankfully, Bill was in no hurry, and did not veer off from their course just yet. Instead, with the smallest of wrist movements, he turned the furious momentum of his hammer towards the Observatory. Even without entering the facility proper, one could see the eyes of the deceased Celestial from anywhere on the station, and even catch a small glimpse of the endless expanse beyond. From the air, though, the full view of space was front and center, giving a breathtaking view to anyone lucky enough. Before they grew too close, Bill pulled sharply back on his weapon, and their forward movement stopped. He began to spin Stormbreaker about again, keeping them suspended right there. “I sense that a great burden has been placed upon you, my friend,” Bill began, directing his gaze out towards the stars. “You are so young, yet so...composed - battle has been a constant companion, I have no doubt.” As he spoke, his voice was deep and rigid, almost as if it were a bed of soft, smoothed stones. Without getting too personal, for fear of dredging up bad memories or buried guilt, Bill still wished to address something, having looked in the boy’s eyes and been greeted by the all-too-familiar sight of a soul adrift in a troubled sea. “I mean no offense, but you are too young to be so weighed down. Call on me, should you ever be in need. For anything.” --- Stormbreaker. If Al knew the name of that hammer, he’d be so excited. He himself was named Windstorm, and would have very much liked the similar name of the golden weapon. It would have been thrilling to know. But as of yet, he didn’t. A surprise for another time. And when the mood turned serious and somber, the blonde boy turned a warm and kind smile onto his new friend. “You’re mistaken.” He assured him, but without any malice in his voice, with no weight to his words, and in fact with a rather pleasant tone. “My family and friends are the only thing on my mind these days.. And they’re never a burden. They also never weigh me down, they lift me up.” They were his reasons for.. Well. everything. “Sometimes things are hard, but they always get better, and that’s because of them.” There was no one in the world like Alphonse Elric, who always saw the bright side of everything, ever the optimist while his pessimistic brother liked to see the worst in everyone and everything. The two sides of the same coin. “I’ve fought plenty, though, you’re right about that, and it isn’t something I enjoy but it’s something necessary, to protect the ones I love. So I do what I have to. We all do.” Sometimes it was easy to forget he was only a boy. Sometimes, the youngest Elric was wise far beyond his years. So far, in fact, it was eerie. “Thank you so much for everything, Mr. Bill, you’re very kind.” Al was so willing to accept all of that responsibility onto his shoulders and never think a thing of it. It was just what he did. And he liked it. --- Bill paused to actually look down at Alphonse. There was a small squint to his eyes, as if he were...searching. Studying. Looking for something in that bright, indomitable gaze. But for the moment, he said not a single word on the subject. Instead, the hammer was sent flying forward again, with the pair of them soaring along. “You are quite welcome, friend. And quite right. I must say, I admire your spirit,” he said. “Then, in all your endeavors, I wish you the best of luck.” And away they flew, making something of a grand tour of Knowhere’s limits. Avoiding the occasional high-rise building and the zig-zagging patterns of the armored mining drones that carried precious cargo to and fro, Bill was sure to point out a few features that only few others knew of - tunnels and access ports that could be used as shortcuts, for instance. Bill himself was far too large for them to be of any personal use, but Al was perfectly suited. Eventually, though, their time ran short; Bill had other duties, and another run for supplies was growing increasingly urgent. So, scanning the station for Harry’s place of residence, they quickly sailed in and down, coming to the same graceful stop on the solid ground as before. Just as the two were about to say their farewells, Bill paused and raised his voice one more time. “Before you go, Alphonse, please indulge me for a moment.” On the flat ground, he bent down low and gently set down his hammer, handle sticking straight up towards the air. “Can you lift this?” he asked. --- It was no surprise he enjoyed the rest of his ride and when they finally landed, his long ponytail was a mess, but he didn’t seem to mind it at all. His cheeks were still flushed with pleasure and he had a pleasant expression on his face. Then again, Al always seemed to be in a good mood. No one in this place had seen him lose his cool-- well, just the Colonel. Just the once. When the gentle boy had punched the older, superior man directly in his jaw and had stood over him and yelled at him. Roy had looked white as a ghost. Alphonse was a gentle soul. He wasn’t anyone’s bitch. With his fingers combing through his ponytail, he’d blink back at his new friend (of course they were friends!) and the hammer he’d set on the ground. It looked heavy, but not so heavy to be impossible to lift-- maybe fifty or so pounds? Difficult, for sure (he was only a hundred himself), but not impossible. So, stepping forward he’d reach down and curl his fingers around the handle, deftly avoiding the strap, and he’d plant his feet and lift. The hammer rocked slightly. It didn’t leave the ground. Instead of being met with disappointment, or concern, or anger, Alphonse laughed and released the handle, shrugging and bringing those bright bronze eyes up. “It’s heavier than it looks.” He admitted, sounding rather sheepish. “I feel a little silly for trying.” He thought it’d be lighter-- it had to weigh as much as he did, if not more. Oddly, it had felt a little like the weight of the world. --- “Hmm.” It was all Bill said at first. He had watched Al intently, waiting - his breath secretly held - as he attempted to lift the enchanted hunk of uru from the ground. Indeed, it shifted oh-so lightly, but nothing more. It wasn’t so much a ‘hmm’ of disappointment, but perhaps more confusion than anything. Unlike others where there was literally no doubt, Bill had thought it might actually happen. Someone with such spirit, such dedication to the cause of others...he was not worthy? As he puzzled over the matter, his expressions changed visibly to reflect his internal debate. Glancing at Alphonse and his reaction, though, Bill quickly came to an answer - looking at that smile, that humility, it was plain to see that, like others, perhaps he was simply not worthy yet. Bill shook his head, casting away his look of uncertainty. He laughed as well, then stooped down to retrieve his weapon. “No, it was but a whim. Please, any feelings of foolishness are unnecessary,” he assured Al, hefting the hammer in his hands. It was heavy indeed. “I’m afraid I must be off. With the continuing onslaught of these tribbles, supplies are in high demand, and no craft on hand can retrieve them as quickly,” Bill added, already beginning to twirl Stormbreaker and prepare for flight. “Go and rest, young friend. We still have a long fight ahead.” Up the hammer flew, with the alien warrior along with it. He hovered for only a moment, then shot away with a sudden clap of thunder. |