➤ 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

[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.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

All right. Shall I attempt it now, unless if you're going to go somewhere soon?

[ She flips to a clean sheet of paper and sketches the transmutation circle while leaving some room to write out her explanation, humming a classical piece to herself. It's to help herself think while she's working. ]

[unexculpable]

If you want to, sure. I don't plan on going to any of my other classes today so, take your time.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

All right.

[ And so, this shall be a thing! She spends some time figuring out what the transmutation circle means before writing down her answer. It comes out to be a basic way of dealing with stone and rock. Then, she hands the paper to Ed with a slight smile. ]

[unexculpable]

[Ed flips through his notebook as he waits, twirling the pen between his fingers idly. When she hands the paper back he seems a little surprised, but there's a bit of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

As he looks over it that smile only widens until it's a full-fledged grin.]

Perfect.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ Diana can't help but grin back, actually letting out a slight laugh. ]

Well, it's definitely a challenge, but I'm glad.

[unexculpable]

Nah, I think I went too easy on you. Next time it'll be a real challenge.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

Oh, is that so? I can take any challenge you give me, Mr. Elric. [ To replace her grin is now a competitive smirk. She's eager to try more. ]

[unexculpable]

[he meets that smirk with one of his own. if it's a challenge she wants, it's a challenge she'll get. well, this'll be fun.]

We'll see about that.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

[ And Diana chuckles, merely shaking her head. ]

Go ahead - do try me. I can attest that it'll be fun all around.

[unexculpable]

I'm sure it will be.

All right, I'll get some notes together to give to you tomorrow.

[notalwystrthful.livejournal.com]

That sounds like [...] fun. [ Honestly, she's never really done much of anything for fun. Everything has been work, work, work and no fun. So, to have this moment makes her happy inside and she's still smiling. It's been a long time since she's smiled this long. ]

Now, for my end of the bargain, what do you wish to know from me?