terribly sorry, officer (baelfiery) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-01-01 09:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, edward elric, neal cassidy (baelfire) |
Who: Neal and Ed, with an appearance by NPC!Henry
What: Playing in the snow, making snow cannons and colored marshmallows
When: Early December
Where: The Cassidy-Swan residence
Rating/Warnings: Safe for the youngin's
Status: Complete
It’d taken a bit of hunting but Ed had found a decent hoodie. Of course it was a similar red to his trench coat, he was rather partial to that thing. He’d have worn it if not for the fact that his automail was open to the elements and kept freezing up on him. This at least hid the metal, but not to the point where he couldn’t use it for alchemy. He wore a pair of white gloves, the ones he often wore with the symbols of the state alchemist on them-a dragon wrapped in a sort of hexagram. Beneath that he still wore black pants and heavy black boots. He couldn’t change the shoes up much thanks to automail-that part was sort of annoying at times. He saw shoes he liked but none of them usually fit. Ed looked back at his path, noting the footprints left behind and smiled. Between sessions with Sarah and training with Lina remaining a constant-Ed almost seemed like a normal kid. The burdened soul was greatly lifted since he’d had a proper recovery time. He was more content than he could ever remember being. In spite of visitations to Neal’s being a regular thing these days, Ed still looked forward to it. He followed the now snow laden trail up to his place and knocked, but also looked around-maybe Henry was still out in the snow. If there was one thing Neal was adamant about, it was that kids should have a chance to actually be kids - and he would know, given that he’d grown up way too fast. Basically raised himself, ever since his mother left, and once he had tumbled headfirst into the criminal underworld it had very quickly turned him to steel. There were a lot of things he regretted, some he didn’t, but what he wanted now was to be there for Henry and ensure that he got to experience everything other kids his age did - both Henry and the new Cassidy that would be making an appearance in the world soon enough. He also looked at Ed like his own kin, in a way - and he wanted to be there for a youngin’ who really didn’t have much of a father figure in his life, so Neal would do what he could. Not to mention he also wished he could share the news about the baby, but Emma wasn’t at the twelve week mark yet, and they’d agreed to wait to tell most everyone except those select few. So his lips were sealed. Today would be focused on the snow, and Henry had just spent an hour or so outdoors, after school, before he ran back inside to recharge. Now he was ready for more, sprinting to the door in his winter gear, throwing it open. “Ed! Hi!” His grin was blazing. Neal appeared soon after, pulling on his jacket and stuffing gloves into his pocket. “He’s ready for round two, I think. How about you? Looks like you found a hoodie, at least.” With a young brother who’d needed him while their parents couldn’t take care of them Ed had basically lost his younger years. His mom had been a bit of a mess when she was healthy-but Ed never really spoke ill of her, she had tried her best. Their dad had left her with a broken heart, and Ed actually wondered in the end if that’s what had made her sick so fast, but he dismissed it with science in the long run. Sometimes bodies gave out. But Ed was almost a ghost of the kid who’d first arrived, not nearly so angry or worried about everything all the time. His boots kicked up a bit more snow then was entirely necessary, and it entertained him. He didn’t mind this weather change, all except for the fact that his automail kept pinching a bitm ore than usual when it got cold. When Henry approached he held up a hand with a grin “Yo.” And gave him a playful shove at a snow pile. Henry was one of the few people he was taller than, of course he had to mess with him. Even his little brother was taller. It drove him nuts. He glanced up at Neal with a bit of a snicker and shrugged. “Automail’s tempermental with clothes. Nothing fits right.” He was too impatient to let anyone tailor stuff either. As he let them join him in the snow he instantly wantd to try alchemy. Lifting a bit of snow and examining it for a moment his hand seemed to glow a certain blue hue before it rounded itself into a perfect snowball that got launched Neal. And a second at Henry. It only proved to him that he could use alchemy with snow, and caused something of a wicked grin to appear on his face. Henry laughed, a happy sound of holiday wonder, as he began packing his own snowball in retaliation - doing it the way his dad taught him, since Neal knew a thing or two about forging weapons of wintry warfare. “Oh no, Ed’s gonna cheat and make snow cannonballs,” Neal chuckled, and the crafty snowball he quickly put together, he lobbed back in the blonde’s direction. “Hey, Ed, can you make a snow sword??” Henry asked, suddenly delighted and intrigued by that idea. The glowing blue light was cool - he wanted to see more of that alchemy stuff. Snow canonballs. Now that was an idea. A wicked sort of glint appeared in those golden eyes. “You said it” A finger pointed out right at neal as a Ed put his hands together and then knelt down to the snow around him, most of it seemed to melt away as though by magic-Ed would deny and say science, but to those unknowing it certainly looked otherwise. Out of the sleet of the ground underneath them a real actual working cannon appeared. “I’ve only ever used it for real fire power but.. Oughtta be the same theory.” He grinned as he started packing a rather large round impossible looking snowball together. At Henry’s request he raised an eyebrow. “Snow sword? Ehhh maybe, but it ain’t gonna last so whack whoever you want fast.” The snowball making ceased for a moment as he attempted a sword, the first however melted right through his gloves. There wasn’t much by way of anything for the alchemy to cling to. “..Really fast apparently.” Alchemy only typically worked well with solid objects, the cannon was still standing strong. “ Play with that for a sec. It’s easy, just gonna load somethin big in it.” He directed pointing at the cannon as he chewed at his lip in thought in attempt to figure out a snow sword that wouldn’t melt right away. It was still awesome, because Henry had never seen a snow sword at all, even one that melted fast. But a snow cannon was also amazing - he let out a whoop, and ran over to see if he could load it up with the snowballs he just put together. “Dad, look!” he beamed, already busy sticking his not-as-alchemical creations into it, but it seemed to be working well. “What happens when you shoot it??” “Hopefully not a broken window,” Neal quipped, also checking out the snow cannon. “That’s pretty nifty, kiddo.” Hey, credit to Ed where credit was due - you could probably get some distance on those snowballs, shooting them from a cannon. “Could you turn the snow to ice, to make a sword structure?” Hell if he knew. But an icicle sword would be something to be reckoned with. “Dunno kid, light that sucker and fill that sucker and we’ll find out.” He smirked a bit as he watched Neal fret over his windows “My aim is perfect thank you.” Like a real parent. He really had slipped into dad mode easily it seemed. It was sort of a wonder to watch. “You know it.” He gave Neal a cocky grin before peering at the snow and stone now beneath his feet thanks to his cannon creation. “Nah, it’s gotta have something solid. Alchemy is equivalant exchange. Without it the thing would break..” He thought stone might be too heavy to wield, but metal pvc pipe on the other hand might just work with enough snow. Plus he wasn’t entirely sure how well it would go with stone anyway. He made his way toward a near by fence he saw out of the corner of his eye when he fell into a deep snow hole. “eep!” Ed was so short he’d nearly disappeared entirely in it except for his hands and the top of blonde hairs. Okay that was embarrassing. Oh, right, equivalent exchange. That was some complicated scientific stuff there (and magic, just a tinge of that as well). Then Neal saw Ed nearly get swallowed by the snow hole and was there in a second to get him out of it. While grinning crookedly as he reached down to pull him out from what looked like a wintry sinkhole, helping him get situated again and brushing off the excess powdery stuff. “You okay?” he asked with a huff of a laugh, and then boom, that’s when the cannon went off. Leaving Henry with the makeshift weapon of holiday warfare meant that he was indeed going to test out how well it worked - and it seemed to do its job. Snowballs went flying, splat, splat, splat, all along the side of the house and in the trees (no broken windows though, thankfully). Henry was experiencing Christmas come early, it seemed. “Whoa! That was so awesome!” That was freezing ontop of embarrassing, but for the moment Ed ignored the cold as he was pulled out. He weighed a bit more than your average teenager thanks to automail, but appreciated the help anyway. He found a bit more of a stable ground to stand on, testing it with a boot covered foot. “Think so. ” He grinned anyway, brushing a bit of snow away from one of the corners of his arm, some of it had seeped through his coat to the metal-he could feel it a little more now. He made a face, but the cannon explosion distracted him from it and he laughed at the sound of the thing going off in the distance. “That thing is one of my specialties, but..I’ve never gotten to use it without destroying anything.” It brought him a little peace to know that alchemy could be used for this too. “It’s different.” “I think you became his new favorite person,” Neal said, because Henry was about one-thousand steps above your typical snowball fight - he had a snow cannon, coolest thing ever. He headed back over to where Henry was gleefully basking in the glory of the most recent blast. “You want to keep that, don’t you?” Well, yeah, clearly. “We can have the best snowball fights with it!” Henry crowed excitedly. “Maybe some hot chocolate first? Before you put Ed back to work making more snow weapons for you.” It was cold out here - and Henry’s nose was turning slightly pink again too. Ed grinned at that comment. “At least some good comes of this stuff then.” Ed winced slightly as the chill from the snow that seeped through his hoodie caused the metal automail to pinch his skin. “It ain’t gonna last long kid.” He hated to inform him, but alchemy wasn’t permanent. “Better get all the use out of it you can. Once this mystery snow is gone so is it.” He hadn’t made him one from very stable components but it would be enough to last the wintery snowstorm anyway. “That thing would knock out a deer so take it easy yeah? Pack it small.” He advised, he didn’t really want anyone to actually get hurt by it. “Before I’m done here you’re gonna have enough to charge admission for I think.” He snickered. Henry would behave, sort of, and take the advice to pack it small - mostly because if he made ginormous snowballs, something would likely get stuck. And he didn’t want to ruin his amazing cannon. “I will!” he promised, and he meant it. “It’s still the most awesome snow creation ever. I think we should definitely charge admission.” Neal had to laugh. “Money-grubbing for the holidays, that’s the spirit,” he teased his son, ruffling his hair. Though he did notice Ed’s discomfort in the snow - he’d put on a brave face, naturally, but he couldn’t stay out here forever. Not like Neal or Henry wanted him to suffer through the pain. “Should we take a break?” “One more cannon blast!” was Henry’s stipulation, moving to pack it full with ammo again. If he stayed out too long he’d end up with a stiff arm. That was unfun for everyone really, no more weirdo alchemy winter stuff or arm movement in general. He really wished Winry would start dreaming already and make something a little heavier duty. “I get half.” He snickered at the comment, let the kid make a little winter cash but don’t forget the little people. “Hey it’s pretty commercial anyway might as well make a buck.” Ed wasn’t a big fan of holidays, but he knew they cost most people money. Fair was fair. He moved his hand a bit to regain motion in it as it started to tense somewhat and nodded. “Sorry man, he’s probably never coming back inside after this whole thing is done.” He laughed at that and pulled the hood over his head as it had started to get a bit colder. Boom, there it went again - how you could make something so cool (literally?) was kind of beyond Henry, but he thought alchemy was some pretty great stuff. He’d have to learn more about it, since he didn’t know much about magic in general. But maybe Regina could show him or something. “Good job on not breaking a window,” Neal congratulated him. “Yeah, the kid’s gonna wanna live out here but he’s in the zone. I can understand the awe and wonder. Henry - “ Snickering, he tugged on the boy’s hoodie a little, to draw him back. “Let’s go in, we’re getting cold.” “Okay!” Henry had to admit, he was kind of cold too. “We can still have hot chocolate, right? Ed, do you want some?” Ed wasn’t even phased by the sound, but his dreams were weird. Military based dreams and loud noises came with the territory. “This stuff is pretty easy but I couldn’t explain how if I tried. Izumi might be impressed though..” Izumi had been on his mind a lot lately, his dream world alchemy teacher. The woman was downright insane, but brilliant. Kind of reminded him a lot of Lina in a few ways, but in others much much more violent.. “Last time I did anything like this I think I was eleven..” He smiled a bit before a particularly cold blast of wind brushed past him and caused him to shiver again as he headed toward the house. “Heh sure why not.” His face was a bit pale from the cold, warm things sounded good just about now. “Getting in touch with your inner child,” Neal patted Ed on the shoulder as they went inside. Well, technically Ed was still a kid, but anyway - even grownups got excited about playing in the snow. There was just something magical about it, something carefree. Until all that snow turned to grey slush - Neal wouldn’t think about that right now. Henry was already on his way to the kitchen, after taking off his coat, boots, and gloves. It’d be so much nicer, thawing off in the house. “We have marshmallows, right? And whipped cream! Ed, do you want marshmallows in yours?” If Neal knew his own kid, that mug would be stuffed with marshmallows with a liiiiiiittle bit of hot chocolate not soaked up yet. Probably a touch of cinnamon too - that was a family thing. “Heh it wasn’t even snow it was rain, but it was still fun to play in.” He shrugged as he watched Henry with the fluffy stuff. That had all been before his mom started showing signs of being sick, but it was still one of the better memories he had. “Didn’t even know I still had an inner child.” He admitted with a shrug, the dreams felt so real he’d forgotten what it was like. He was glad to follow them inside and grateful to be warm again. “Is there any hot chocolate in yours?” Ed asked the other kid with an eyebrow raised in faint amusement. “Yeah, but more chocolate than marshmallow.” He had a talisman idea, something Lina had shown him a while ago that she’d done with the marshmallows. She’d been able to change them various colors. Alchemy couldn’t do that, but maybe her talisman could. Ed waited for Henry to finish with his cup. “Lemme see that a sec.” And waved a hand over it, combined with alchemy and Lina’s touch he was able to create a few soft hued marshmallows that seemed to glow. “It ain’t alchemy but it’s all right.” He mused over the effect. He doubted he could do much more than that. Ed wasn’t a magic wielder, so he wasn’t even about to try. Whoa, what? Henry had no idea Ed could make the marshmallows change colors! That was so cool. “Now I almost don’t want to eat them,” he grinned, sitting at the table with his hands wrapped around the cup. One day he would be able to learn awesome stuff like that too. Maybe. If his parents let him. “You definitely still have an inner child.” Neal was amused too, as he gave Ed his requested hot chocolate - without an overload of marshmallows. It was a good balance, actually. “And I’d say a decent amount of Christmas spirit. So, cheers to that.” Ed gave Henry a cocky grin as his marshmallows changed. “That isn’t alchemy but it’s a fun trick I just figured I’d try. I didn’t even think it’d work if I’m honest..” He snickered as he soaked in the warmth of the house, glad for the heat it was providing. It was loosening up his stiff automail. “Heh...well I was thinking of being an Atheist but it might be kind of hard to do with a kid brother who still wants all this.” You had to be more flexible for little siblings most of the time. He gave him a sheepish sort of smile and accepted the hot chocolate. “I guess it isn’t so bad, all this Christmas junk.” “I tend to think the holiday season is more about family togetherness anyway,” Neal said. “And being grateful for having people in your life.” For him, it was kind of secular - he didn’t really preach church attendance, or a belief in a higher power; basically, whatever worked for his loved ones, worked for him. “Awesome people!” Henry chimed in, sipping on his cocoa, and getting marshmallow fluff on his face. Well, that was sort of inevitable. ‘Tis the season. |