➤ 3rd Transmutation [backdated to 10/3]

[unexculpable]

A. » Action「Mayfield High School Classrooms ☼ Morning - Lunch」

[In hindsight, Ed should have planned for this in advance,.he last place he wanted to be today was here. Out of all the days, it had to be this one., but if he didn't show up today he'd get droned and he is never letting that happen again. Ever.

3. October. 11. Never Forget.

What does this mean for Mayfield? Ed is grumpy as hell. Are you a teacher? Is he in your class? You'll find that he's more snappy, argumentative, and disruptive than normal. You might find a ball of paper getting tossed at you (especially if you're Eddie) when you're not paying attention. He might not even be in his desk, he could be wandering around the classroom. Perhaps pulling books off the shelves and flipping through them for lack of anything else to do, not bothering to hide his disgust at the poor quality of the textbooks -- this math was way too easy, he was reading books like this when he was three, why the hell should he care about American history when he's not from the same world?

This will not be an easy day for anyone.]


B. » Action「Mayfield High School Chem Lab ☼ Lunch - End of school」

[As soon as the bell rings for lunch, Ed makes a beeline to the chemistry lab. He'll be there for the entire lunch period, pulling things off of shelves - beakers, chemicals, and whatever else he can get his hands on - making a nice little setup for himself near the back.

When the bell rings for the next class, Ed's still there. In fact he'll be there for the rest of the day, he's skipping everything else. After the final bell rings and everyone else is heading home, you'll still be able to find him here for about an hour or so before he leaves.]


C. » Action「Around Town ☼ Afternoon - Late Evening」

[Ed's wandering around town aimlessly. His eyes are downcast, his hands are shoved in his pockets and it seems like something is really bothering him. Approach?]

Comments

[unexculpable]

[Ed gives her a bit of a smile and nods]

Heh, yeah. If I have to be here, I'd like to actually learn something. This place is a joke.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

You can say that again. At least it's fun to one up the drones around here.

[ She puts her books down on one of the tables and goes to sit next to him. Her body tone is relaxed and she shows that she's trusting of you. ]

Though, I do have one idea. While we're in here, would you care for teaching me more about alchemy? In return, I could do the same with any topic you care for.

[unexculpable]

But even that gets boring.

[Oh? Alchemy you say? WHY YES, HE WOULD LOVE TO TEACH YOU MORE. He grins and plops a composition notebook on the table.]

Might as well. This is the chemistry lab, after all. We've got plenty of raw material to work with.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately.

[ Diana notices the grin and allows a calm expression to show. She's ready and eager to learn everything there is about this! ]

Indeed. What should the lesson be today, Mr. Elric? [ She says the last bit a tad teasingly, a grin showing next. ]

[unexculpable]

[Ed laughs a little, flipping the notebook open. Looking at it, it doesn't really seem all that extraordinary nor does it seem to pertain to alchemy. Most people would read through it and find it to be nothing more than a detailed travel log, never realizing what it really is. All alchemists write their research notes in code, some are more difficult than others. The code Ed writes in? Good luck ever figuring it out, even Al can't crack it.

He flips past everything until he finds a blank page and pulls out a pen. While he speaks he starts to sketch out a simple transmutation circle, writing some notes below it about each line and rune and how the circle worked as a whole.]

Most of what I know I taught myself, but I did have a teacher. My little brother and I both studied under her for a little over a year. The most important thing she ever taught us wasn't a formula or technique. It wasn't something a lot of people consider when they learn alchemy, but understanding it, really understanding it is critical.

[And then above the circle he sketched he writes in all caps, "ONE IS ALL, ALL IS ONE."]

One is all, all is one.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ Diana grabs one of her own notebooks, scribbling down the transmutation circle along with the notes about the different kinds of runes as well as whatever he was writing. For her, all of her notes are written down in a specific code. Sure, she may write misleading ones just to throw someone off of her trail, but she does notice his own code.

She does write down "ONE IS ALL, ALL IS ONE" in caps too. She pauses and thinks about it.

Her mind translates it as 'Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno', in Latin. The cap to her pen is tapped against her lips as she thinks about the meaning. After the gears turn, she relaxes a bit and opens her mouth to say: ]

That means the world is the "all" and you are the "one", am I correct?

[unexculpable]

[Have a smile, Diana. A genuine smile -- believe it or not, it's something you haven't seen yet. He nods.]

Yeah, that's right. The world, the entire universe is "all" and you, just you. You, a single person living alongside everything else, is the "one". It sounds simple when, but you really need to think about it. About how everything is connected, how one simple action can impact everything around it. Understanding that phrase is understanding the flow of life, the energy in every single living being, and what keeps the world itself alive.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ Diana's taken back by the genuine smile until her lips twitch and a genuine smile of her own is shown. Similarly, she's only shown Ed this and, oddly enough, she doesn't mind. ]

With that logic, it makes you really feel small, but yet important in how your decisions alone can impact a world as great as, well, yours or my own. How interesting, too - I'd love to take that knowledge back home, if I could.

[ She's keeping her true smile up as long as she can. It feels weird, but it's... fun to smile with him like this. ]

[unexculpable]

[It's definitely a nice change.]

Exactly. To really understand alchemy you must always remember that. Remember that you are just one person and that even though alchemy is a powerful science, you can't use it to fix everything. You need to work with the flow and accept it. Don't fight against it or try to conquer it. Most importantly, understand that this doesn't make your life mean less. Everything, everyone, is just as important as everything else.

You'll be able to, I'm sure. It doesn't apply to just alchemy, after all.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ Diana has always known she'd be something more and something special while growing up, but she wasn't aware of something like this before. Her smile grows bigger at that and she nods enthusiastically. ]

So, pretty much - just be the best me I can be, go with the flow of things, and seize the day.

[unexculpable]

You've got it.

[He grins and laughs a little, rubbing the back of his head.]

You're lucky, you're learning this in a much easier way that I did.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ Well, Diana doesn't know how to react to that other than... ]

I'm...sorry? I could try to go a little slower if it helps.

[unexculpable]

[laughs]

No, no, that's not what I meant. It's the teaching method that's different.

Before our teacher would take us on as apprentices, she took us to this little island a few miles off shore and told us that if weren't able to explain what "All is one, one is all" meant she wouldn't teach us.

[Ed shakes his head a little. His eyes soften, but he's still smiling. It's a strange look -- nostalgic and sad and maybe something a little painful, but still showing that he was very fond of this particular memory.]

She told us we had one month to figure it out and that while we were there we were strictly forbidden to use alchemy. Then she left. So my brother and I were stuck on this little piece of crap island by ourselves with nothing but the clothes on our back. It was miserable.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ She listens to what Ed says, nodding along to it every so often. While she finds the teaching method to be a little barbaric, she can understand why it'd be important overall. ]

Was it meant to have you two survive and understand the principles of alchemy, as well as to learn a life lesson or two while marooned on the island?

[unexculpable]

Yeah. She wasn't trying to kill us or anything. I actually found out a couple years ago that she had her assistant running back and forth from Dublith to the island to make sure we were ok.

The two of us already had pretty decent foundation, but that didn't mean we understood anything. I was eight, I only thought I did. That month sucked, but we wouldn't have learned anything if she'd just told us. Sometimes it's better to just experience it.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

That's what life is all about - just learning how to better yourself and expand your knowledge.

But, your teacher sounds like a great woman. Stern and strict, but yet caring in her own way. As much as I'd love to meet her, I wouldn't want a woman like that subjected to what Mayfield throws at us. I do know one thing - I have her student in front of me and [...] I don't mind at all.

[ There's a bit of a sheepish smile along with a little cheek scratch. Being this honest is new and unusual, but it's definitely not unwelcome. ]

[unexculpable]

She is. I wouldn't want her to be here, but if she was I'm pretty sure she'd be able to bring this place to it's knees. But I'm not her student anymore. She expelled us both.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

Now that would be something to see. And, she did? How?

[unexculpable]

She can be... she can be pretty terrifying. [he looks away for a minute to swallow the lump in his throat.]

Yeah... we uh, we broke a very important rule of hers. We had it coming. Kind of expected it, honestly.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

Are you comfortable talking with me about it or wish to save it for another time?

[ She can tell how tense he is and doesn't want to upset him further. Which, to her, is puzzling. Normally, she wouldn't care about hurting someone or tormenting them with their past, but this is something she doesn't quite know about.

She wants to put a hand on his shoulder, but she clenches her hand slightly so that she doesn't give in. ]

[unexculpable]

... Maybe another time. Today's not a good day to talk about any of that.

[and he's not sure if he wants to. especially after everything he just told her. How important that one phrase was, to always remember it, to understand it and to never try controlling nature and the world with alchemy. He'd just sound like a hypocrite.]

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

All right.

[ She swallows down her hesitation and awkwardly places her hand on his shoulder. Then, she gulps and shakes her head a bit. It's new to her, but -- ]

When you're ready, you can tell me. For now, let's focus on something besides that. [ Her voice sounds a little older than it should be, but there's traces of warmth in it. Diana doesn't know why she's doing this, but it feels right to do and while she's not one to go with her instincts on most matters, she thinks it's appropriate to offer him some form of comfort. ]

[unexculpable]

Thanks. I appreciate it, really.

[He sits there for a moment quietly, taking a few deep, even breaths to calm his nerves.]

Right, well, here... [he sketches out another circle - it uses most of the same runes as the last one, but with slight differences. When he's done he rips the page out of his notebook and passes it to her.] Think you can break this down by tomorrow? It builds off of the first one I showed you -- that one was more of a base for earth based transmutations. This is a bit more specific, but I'm pretty sure you can handle it.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.

[ Diana doesn't remove her hand until she sees that he's okay. She moves her hand a little to help soothe him, as well. When she does see that he'll be okay, she places her hand back on to her lap. ]

Of course. What kind of details are you expecting to see me do? [ She feels confident about this, even without her library. ]

[unexculpable]

[he flips back to the first circle he drew] In the notes I wrote out, I explained the relationship between the runes and the lines that connect them all. It's a little watered down, there's more to it than this, but for what we're going over it's more than enough to work with.

Start getting familiar with the runes and what they represent. You'll see these a lot. [he points to the circle in his notebook] The circle I gave you shares some of the same runes, but you'll notice there's a couple of different variations. Figure out what they are and tell me what this circle could be used for.