Fandom Forever Something New: An FMA Story

[PerilousAbyss]

Though it had been an agonizing, often sleepless two weeks, Claudio had managed to complete his research efforts the day of the deadline. He hoped that the Alchemists' Society would be satisfied with his completed project, especially given how long it took for him to figure out how to 'store' an alchemic reaction within a pair of incomplete transmutation circles. While he didn't expect his research to be groundbreaking, it would hopefully make general purpose alchemy more accessible, albeit only in a disposable form.

He looked absolutely ragged as he slumped down in his chair, his long, black curls looking disheveled and messy despite being undercut, and his thin, wire-rimmed spectacles laid haphazardly on the bridge of his nose. His laboratory was incredibly cluttered with ajar books, scattered documents, and all manner of metallic materials, be they bundled wires, or stray chunks of metal. Though he technically wasn't supposed to smoke indoors, he felt as though he'd earned it. He flicked his lighter, ignited a cigarette, and took a long drag of it.

He heard some footsteps coming down the nearby hallway and then, a knock on his door. He turned to face the source of the sound and addressed whoever was on the other side. "Come in..." He said with a tone of exhaustion, his voice somewhat raspy on account of his smoking (a little bit, at any rate) but mostly the fact that he hadn't had much water at all the past twenty-four hours.

 

[CeriseFern]

A young woman stepped into the room closing the door behind her. Tall and sturdy built. Deeply tanned from her years spent travelling on the open road. Hair a rich brown almost red tied into long and tight braids. A far cry from the child he knew all those years ago and yet still instantly recognizable as Almeda. She seemed almost confused for just a moment inspecting Claudio, though before he could say anything else her eyes light up.

"Ah! It really is you! When your name was mentioned I thought perhaps it was a coincidence, but I had to make sure," she spoke surprisingly fast and it was almost hard to understand, but she slowed down seeing his somewhat tired expression, "Ah, I hope you don't mind, Corina told me to come down here. She said it should be fine, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Needless to say, Claudio was absolutely stunned by the woman's visit. His cigarette almost fell from his mouth, but he managed to snag it with his teeth at the last possible second. "No, I definitely don't mind! It's good to see you again! What are you doing in town?" He asked curiously, a warm, if subdued smile on his face and a soft chuckle accompanying his words. He wished he looked a bit more put together in that moment, but she'd seen him run himself ragged time and time again when they were younger, so he imagined she would expect nothing less.

"And sorry for the mess, also... Just got done with a really big project..." He said as he slowly rose to his feet from his chair, the tall and lithe man's posture decently slouched thanks to his being affixed to his desk for days on end. His long sleeved shirt was wrinkled, had the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and had a coffee stain or two on the collar. He looked like someone who could really use a break.

 

[CeriseFern]

"Big project?" she didn't ignore his question so much as she managed to become instantly distracted, walking over to the desk. Setting her hand on his should and immediately looking over him and at the desk. Most of the text was too far to away for her to read, but at least she could see the diagrams. She let go of him and picked up one of the books seemingly at random.

"So what are you some big shot alchemist now?" she teased. Looking over the page the book had been left open on.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

He laughed softly and leaned back against his chair, his hands gripping the top of the seat back as he chatted with her. "I'm certainly not completely unknown... But as far as being some kind of celebrity alchemist, I'd have to work for the State for that kind of prestige..." He said as he adjusted his glasses, the man's distaste for the military seemingly unchanged from when he was younger.

The book she was reading from, bizarrely enough, wasn't a book about alchemical science and formulas at all. It read like a philosophy text which discussed the ethics of being an alchemist as well as the practice of alchemy as a whole. Its title was Alchemy and Class Conflict.

 

[CeriseFern]

"The State has all the money," she shrugged as if that explained everything. Which, it did. She read about half a page before flipping to the books cover, then returning the book to where it was still open to the page he was on. She almost said something about the book itself but opted to keep quiet. Surprisingly.

"So what, you've been spending all your time in here just reading books? You're as pale as these pages," she paused and then noted, "and you still haven't told me what you were working on." Not as if she too ignored his question, but she was already way past that.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

He laughed again as he finished his cigarette off, which he proceeded to snuff out in a desktop ashtray. "I'm not a recluse, just for the record... I go outside plenty, just not in the past few weeks." He feigned offense before cracking a soft grin and going over to a crate by his desk in order to retrieve something. "As for what I've been working on, check this out..." He said with quiet confidence as he crouched down before standing back up with a thin metal disc in each palm.

He shifted a few documents to the side before moving a small block of metal to the middle of his desk. He then placed one palm perpendicularly on top of the other before suddenly turning one hand to align it with the other, and this gesture created the lights and sounds of an alchemical reaction. He then dropped the now-cracked discs and placed both hands on the block of metal, which transmuted it into small model of a tree.

 

[CeriseFern]

“Ah!” Almeda picked up a piece of the broken disc to inspect it, “brilliant! you’ll have to show me how you did that.”

She sat that piece down only to pick up a different one to inspect it, "I feel like I might have seen something almost like this, but not as sleek. That is if I actually properly understood what you just did," of course he was so quick about it she wasn't entierly sure.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Upon hearing her comments, he made his way over to the crate to retrieve another set of discs for a slower demonstration. "I'll walk you through the process. What I've done is created matching pairs of incomplete transmutation circles that can store the energy needed for an alchemical reaction. When the circuit is completed by lining the circles up, the stored energy is released for a one-time-use transmutation, no alchemy training needed."

He handed Almeda the two discs he had previously set on his desk before preparing another block of metal. "Feel free to give it a try for yourself." He offered with a warm smile, his eyes bright with excitement at his finalized (for now) work. This was the first time he had reconnected with an old friend without it feeling awkward or uncomfortable, thanks in no small part, he speculated, to their mutual love of alchemy.

 

[CeriseFern]

"So, it should always yield the same result? No matter who uses it?" Almeda asked a few questions, trying to clarify as she inspects the unbroken discs. Though she doesn't give him a moment to answer ask she attempts to replicate what he had just done. Perhaps a bit too excited to try it out herself.
Almeda mimicked his hand gestures, anticipating the light and sound of the reaction but still, a bit spooked the moment the pieces clicked into place and broke in her hands. Though it didn't stop her from attempting to finish the reaction as she put her hands on the metal as he did.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"Not necessarily the same result, but a similar one. It depends on what you want it to do and if the transmutation circle is compatible with that reaction." He explained, watching as Almeda placed her hands on the block and transformed it into a dog-shaped statue. Once the light and sound of the reaction dissipated, he started speaking again. "You can only do simple reactions with these discs, but I think they'll do wonders to make alchemy more accessible."

 

[CeriseFern]

Almeda seemed pleased with her little canine friend, though her face suddenly fell as a thought washed over her.
"You ought to be careful about how you go about that, academia can be a bit too political for my liking. And, I'm sure there are people out there that wouldn't be pleased with that," she didn't want to bring such an interesting experiment down, but she couldn't help but start thinking about it.

"Though I was right, I have seen something a bit similar. Though it did require some alchemy knowledge to use. Premade clay alchemy circles farm hands would use to quickly repair equipment in emergencies. I've seen them in a lot of different small towns that don't have contact with one another, but never any in larger cities. It always makes me wonder how much is out there left unwritten."

 

[PerilousAbyss]

He couldn't help but laugh a bit when she warned him about the dangers of his work, and how many academics wanted to keep alchemy firmly in the hands of the elite and only the elite. "Be that as it may, I think it's a risk I'm willing to take. Alchemy's too important to be sequestered off from the public."

He moved to clean up his desk a bit as he started speaking up again, piling documents on top of one another to at least give his workspace the illusion of order. "Quick alchemy like that was what inspired me to take this direction. Enough about me and my work though. What have you been up to lately?" He asked as he retrieved his long, olive green coat from the rack by his desk and put it on. "And do you want to grab a bite somewhere?"

 

[CeriseFern]

"Up to? Why absolutely nothing of course! It's positively wonderful," she clasped her hands in punctuation, it was, of course, an obvious exaggeration. Almeda laughed at her own stupid dramatization and now leaned on the chair Claudio once had as he cleaned his off desk. Nothing is what her family said she did, and Almeda looked past their rudeness and could only see the humour in it.
"I would very much enjoy telling you my tales of nothings over some food," she answered, "actually, I've only just come to this town today, you could show me around," she suggested, "if it's not a bother."

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"I'd be more than happy to... But could we eat something while we walk? I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday..." He said with a sheepish grin, gently scratching the back of his head as he finished placing the two transmuted sculptures back into his materials crate. Seemed he hadn't yet broken his habits of neglecting his health as he pursued his research.

"So what's been your favorite nothing that you've done since I last saw you?" He asked as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder before making his way out of his lab. The contents of his bag no doubt consisted of alchemy notes, reaction materials, and a book of scientific theory or two. He always liked to be prepared for anything, be it public service, combat, or tackling boredom.

 

[CeriseFern]

"Well, my most recent endeavour was learning how to drive, and buying a car," she neglected to answer his other question, as of course, it was a yes. Who was she to deny someone food?! "After enough travelling, it seemed... Appropriate of me to at least give it a try. Bonibell is a great horse, but quite frankly I'm surprised she hasn't already died. I brought her back home a few months back and couldn't see the point in raising up a new one. I figured, cars seem to be up and coming now and... I ought to get with the times. Plus there's just some appeal to driving over taking trains to far off lands, I think I've had more than my fill of trains..."

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Claudio had almost forgotten how Almeda's long-winded ramblings about things sounded, and hearing one for the first time in years naturally made him start laughing. "Well, I guess the tour won't be taking place on foot since you've got a car now. We should probably eat in a restaurant, though; wouldn't want to get your interior all dirty with street food."

He was also surprised by the news about Bonnibelle, both that she was still alive and that Almeda had stopped raising horses. "So your folks still have that horse farm?" He asked as he walked past Corina and waved her goodbye, always feeling secure to have his research materials watched over by such a competent soldier.

 

[CeriseFern]

Almeda just smiled and waved off this comments, "we can eat wherever or however you want, I don't mind it a bit," she moved on pretty fast, "oh yes, of course, I don't think they could ever let go of it. Not that I'd want them to!" she sounded surprisingly defensive, "though I wish they'd stop sending me letters that basically just demanding I come back home and run it myself. They have plenty of help there, I don't need to take over. Doesn't matter how many times I say no though, ma probably won't ever quiet about it," she just had to shrug it off. It was what it was. Her parents were stubborn, and she even more so. It was an indefinite argument.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"Sounds like they're just as stubborn as they always were. You know, I've been thinking about heading back home to visit now that I've got a break. Would you want to come with?" He asked Almeda as he nestled his hands in his pockets, his eyes scanning the curbside in search of whatever car was his friend's. Though he was in frequent correspondence with his family, he hadn't left the city in years due to the demanding workload he was responsible for. Researching on a university's dime was certainly an advantage, but with their funding came deadlines and a need to show proof of progress, after all.

 

[CeriseFern]

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to head back again, course they're gonna think I changed my mind if I head back so early," she laughed and shrugged it off, her last visit had been short-lived it was probably a good idea to stop by again. Lord knows when she'll be back again, and it wasn't that far from here. Almeda crossed the street and walked up to a nice but not exactly brand new black car. Opening the passenger door for Claudio, "after you," she joked.
The back seats were filled with all sorts of junk, a lot of books but mostly tools of various uses. What exact uses? That was hard to say, it just seemed a mess. At least the front of the car was spotless.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"I appreciate the hospitality, Almeda." He teased back as he stepped into the vehicle, the man resting his bag in his lap as he got comfortable in the seat. He didn't mind the immense clutter occupying her back seat at all, for personal disarray was basically a universal constant for alchemists everywhere.

"So, are you in the mood for something cheap or something fancy?" He asked her as he watched her enter the car on the other side. While he certainly wasn't the type to splurge on dinners or anything like that, a reunion with a friend was a cause for celebration along with the completion of his absolute bane for the past three weeks.

 

[CeriseFern]

"How about, since apparently, you decided to starve yourself over your research, we go to what's closest, so you can get some food in you, immediately," she countered, starting up the car. Waiting before she pulled out of her parking spot for some directions. It wasn't a surprise he'd done as much, but that didn't make it any more okay. How was he supposed to work on an empty stomach? Almeda couldn't help but want to parent him about it, even if she really shouldn't.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

He laughed nervously as he looked over at her, expecting an answer like that from Almeda. "I suppose you've got me there... If you take two rights, there's a pretty excellent chip shop right by the hotel." He suggested, knowing full well that she was right in admonishing him for his self-neglect. He always just assumed that not eating for the sake of more worktime was just a hazard of the occupation, but he was certainly growing tired of running himself ragged each deadline.

 

[CeriseFern]

Almeda just gave him a nod and started up the car quickly headed out to the place he suggested. The two got there in no time and entered a nice if somewhat busy little restaurant. Though thankfully they were able to get a seat. Almeda certainly didn't mind.
"So, how's it been like living out here?" Almeda started the questions up quickly again.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

He thought on her question for a few moments, pondering as he sipped on his glass of water. "Honestly, I think the big city suits me a lot. Lots of things to do, places to go, and people tend to mind their own business here." He looked around at the dozens of people occupying the restaurant with them, each of them chatting amongst themselves about whatever. "What about you? Where have you been living?"