FULL METAL OUTCASTS

[Raron]

He was out of his element again. How many times had this happened. How many times had he taken a plunge into a place that he had no right being in, into a place where he would have avoided like the plague if given a choice, jumped where he didn't even want to take a step into? He had to admit to himself he had long since lost count. He lifted a hand and rubbed it over his smoothly shaved but bumpy face. His fingertips traced the lines of his many scars as they trailed across his face. He kept clean shaven only because it looked really dumb to have bald lines cris-crossing through his beard. He silently thanked his dad for that 'favor' and his mind returned to the situation. His hand ran down the fabric of his suit. Rather then his usual 'old man' suit (He just liked the color brown. It was nice, durable and harder to see stains in. Nothing odd about that) he was wearing a bright red tux. The measurements must have been off because his collar felt too tight. He hated events like this. He had hated them back in the day when he had to go to them and he hated them even more now that he no longer had to. He brought his hand down from his face before it started to pull at his dark dark brown hair. It was almost black except for a inexplicable streak of red coming from a hanging bang. His hair was a bit longer then the current fashion in front, his bangs just threatening to hang into his eyes, the back of his hair however was cropped fairly short to the skull.
He brought the hand down to the long, thin wooden carrying case, his hand running over it providing comfort to him. He nodded as he felt more peaceful. He might be out of his element but he knew why he was here. As he thought this the doors in the lobby opened up, the massive ornately carved slabs of wood moving before the ticket takes who awaited the lovers of the art. The man reached into his pocket and pulled three tickets out of his pocket and walked over to the ticket taker who peered up at him.
The taker had been worried at first. The man before him was average size and a thin man but the angry red scars that cris-crossed his face professed to him having done some dangerous things in the past, and then their was the way the man walked. The taker had seen men walk like that, soldiers as they walked through town. So used to walking as they were trained they no longer knew they were doing it, but as the taker looked at the man he couldn't help smiling as he saw the two younger ladies with him and the slight smile on the man's face and his apparent discomfort in his tux. The taker looked at the age on the man's face and smiled bigger as he took the three tickets from the man.
"Thank you see. I hope you and your grand daughters enjoy the play. I think it is nice of you to spend time with them like this."
The man's expression went from smiling to pure exasperated and much put upon with a more tinge of angry.
"I AM THIRTY FIVE!"
The ticket taker blinked at this sudden outburst and looked the man up and down while raising an eyebrow.
"Really?"
The man winced and held his forehead in one hand. He sighed and a dust cloud seemed to emerge.
"Yes... 'Really'"
"... um.. sorry then. But I hope you enjoy the play."
The man sighed and walked in through the doors.

[kitsuneflare88]

Mai hurvell was a small girl she had long green colored hair that was cut a decent length about shoulder length, tied back into a bun. She had blue green eyes and wore a simple dress that seemed to fit more like a robe on her, with a black coat that was tied like a cloak around her neck. She also had a few flowers tied into her hair, one was a glass flower in the shape of a lily, another was a small rose that seemed to be preserved. She also had a pendant holding her coat together made out of a glass flower and some twine or plant material preserved.

She ignored the ticket keeper and kept walking her nose as always buried deep with in a book. The contents of the book were unknown as mai very seldom ever took her nose out of one except for lessons.

The only hint at her past was an auto-mail glove that was on her left hand, She smiled to herself when the Ticketmaster had said grandchildren. No matter how many times she heard that response she found it funny. "Sensei you look old enough..." She muttered in a her low and almost barely audible voice.

"With your scars..." She added as she kept reading the book turning the page as she walked. She kept her eyes in the book though every once in a wile looked over it to see where she was going. She liked looking at theaters, all the fine cloth, and wood architecture, it was truly something to behold sometimes.

She then drew her attention back to the book as she followed him into the theater her mind back on whatever the book contained. It seemed to be some sort of story book, or a cookbook, with Mai you never could tell because of how she seemed to read virtually anything under her nose, with only a few exceptions. She had no expression on her face but then again its hard to see what someone looks like when they have their nose buried in books 90% of the time.

Something was bothering Mai she thought about it for a few more minutes before she realized what it was. "Sensei....Where is run?" She asked her nose not even leaving the book as she walked with him. She just turned a page and kept on reading her book.

[Nemo]

Click, Tak! Click, Tak! Click, Tak!

A dress and one leg with a pair of crutches couldn't keep Run from being curious. She was naturally a little curious like how a sunny day in july is a little warm. Her crutches bore her weight easily - Run, even a couple months or so after... well, whatever let her come to the pair barely more than an emaciated skeleton of a girl, her weight was not much to consider.

Bright violet eyes, as unusual a color as that was, seemed to fit in her head, to make sense as they darted around, taking in the sights of the theater - the tall, running archways, the beautiful angels and gargoyles in motif on the ceilings, the red carpets and just off-white ceilings of old plasterwork.

Run's nose devoured the scents of condiments, of perfumes, of gentlemanly airs and of old theaters - and therein lied her interest. She couldn't help it... when she got to the theater, she'd been nailed to the window of their car, staring at it. When she got inside, she went quiet and couldn't stop smiling.

She'd been here before, despite all evidence to the contrary.

"Waaah!" she amazed, blushing despite herself. For some reason, she didn't think that was appropriate a thing to say. A confused look crossed her face. She was here! She didn't remember much of where here was, but she loved it here, even though it was something from some crazy dream she'd had once, she was sure, and probably just ghosts of things she'd dreamed when in The House, which didn't bid her respect it much at all... but scents... scents The House couldn't make up.

This accounted for her confusion. Something was missing. Something... that Run felt to be critically important.

[Raron]

Micheal looked around and noticed that indeed Run was gone, she was good at the, vanishing the moment you took her eyes off her... it seemed a strong reason to put her on a leash or something and the heavens knew he considered it on a daily bases but seeing how...wrong it would look...
He shrugged what was the worse she could do for a moment without supervision... He stopped in misstep as the images assaulted his mind. The playhouse in flames, the crowd fleeing screaming and also in flames, Run standing on a piece of naked screaming and naked and punching some poor doorman repeatedly in the face while screaming "BOX BOX BOX BOX BOX BOX". A single drop of sweat slowly streaked down Micheal's face.
"Yeah... we better find her and fast. Mai, be a good girl and put down the book while we look k'? You go check the restrooms and in between them I will check side hallways and anything that contains anything flammable... don't look at me like that you know how she is as well as I do."
Micheal turned around before she could object and came back the way they came he briefly considered that maybe she just fell behind because she had crutches... but considering she was in a tree the first time they met he did not think that would slow her down much. He almost started to scream her name but as he began to open his mouth he thought of what screaming "RUN!" in a crowded place would do... he shut his mouth and instead tapped the next person on the shoulder and asked them ... well not much because the first words out of the young man's mouth were "What do YOU want old man."... Micheal responded as per the usual.
"I AM THIRTY-FIVE!"
Having a screaming scarred up old man in your face tends to get peoples attention so several people turned to look at the outburst. Micheal looked around at the people starring at his scars, his tux, the case in his hand, and the young man before him. He looked around and then coughed discretely letting go the man's shirt collar which he had grabbed onto in his rage. He raised a finger politely.
"Ahem, has anyone perchance seen a young woman, short, dark hair, on crutches wobble through here?"
A couple of people soundlessly pointed the way he had been almost running in.
"Thank you, have a good evening."
He bowed briefly and ran down the hallway in the direction indicated. His eyebrows furrowed in what he imagined Run would call "One Fifth a Forbidden Box"

[kitsuneflare88]

Mai sighed to herself and slammed the book shut between her hands. A usually obvious sign she was annoyed or irritated at the very least. She pocketed the book into a pocket of her jacket and walked about looking around for run.

She decided to start in the bathrooms, she Opened the empty ones and did what she was supposed to but she knew what run looked like and hardly bothered anybody about it. She then walked around the theater several times as she looked.

She saw many many people walking around the theater, she made note of the once who weren't like run. She also strained her ears for the sound of click clop. Part of her wished she could use alchemy but that was a bad idea, the transmutation would be pretty blatantly obvious and that would be frustrating to say the least.

She sighed and lowered her head in annoyance, but kept on looking around the crowd. "this is why i hate cities..and theaters." She muttered in her low voice wishing this was just a nice library, but she understood that run wouldn't find that interesting at all.

She wandered for about 10 minutes or so till she saw run staring at something, that might be a poster or something. She only came up to the girl's shoulder or so. She tugged on run's top a few times before saying in her low voice. "run...lets go."

She shook her head and held onto run as she lifted her stick into the air and began waving it towards her sensei. It was a normal way she signaled that that's where she was if she got lost or something. She looked about at the curtains and stuff, her automail left hand staying on run's dress as she observed everything about her. It was a very fascinating place to say the very least, and definitely a fancy one at that.

why can't things in life be simple? she thought idly to herself as she continued to observe the room around her, she hated to think how much life was wasted making such an elegant structure for so simple a purpose. then however she remembered her lessons and sighed, we're all connected.. was the only thought that went through her head as she gave a weak grin as she looked about the theater.

[Nemo]

... But what was that something?

That something that was missing, what was it? She knew it to be important enough that she wanted to scour the playhouse to find it, tear up every tapestry and ask everyone...

...
But that would be insane.

Run had almost started off again when she felt a familiar weight grip the hem of her skirt, (the uncomfortable thing it was) and blinked, snapping out of her about-to-search-high-and-low mindset just as she was on the verge of immenent breakthrough.

She turned her amethysts to Mai, and mewled despite herself, a soft little squeak sound that was not-too-strange coming from her lips. Her eyes grew big to see the distracted young woman gripping her, and chewed her lip a little, with a look like a puppy that knew it was doing something wrong.

"B-but..." she began, then formulated an image in her head of what it would probably mean of Mai was the one who found her. She scarce recognized that she'd left them behind. There were Forbidden Boxes involved. Run was certain of this, if nothing else.

"Oh-kay." she said, with a strong tinge of dissapointment, and followed the slightly smaller Mai like she were on a leash, even if such a thing was something the Keeper of the Box often fantasized about but never acted on. As Run followed, She searched one last time. One last time for that... that something.

Then she caught a glimpse of something. More accurately, a someone. It was a little thing to a passerby. Her heart leaped into her throat, her eyes widened, her blood raced like fire through her veins as adrenaline hit. But however-long-it-was she lived in the House taught her one thing: Don't scream. She did, however lock up a bit, and tore her eyes away. She picked up the pace behind Mai, dragging her feet no longer.

[Raron]

Micheal was nigh frantic. The longer Run was out of sight the worse the odds might be. She might get hurt, she might hurt others... or... they might find her... He quickly mentally checked to see that indeed he had put his Box in the car before they had left the hotel and then nodded. He had indeed. He never wanted to open that thing but he didn't want it falling into the wrong hands either. He slowed his walk for a moment as he realized the wrong hands had been closer then anyone could have expected... He shook his head and kept the stomping through the hallways before his gaze finally landed upon a familiar couple of figures approaching. He looked over run and noticed she was unhurt and there was no blood on her... her own or anyone elses. For a brief moment he almost smiled with relief... then realization hit.

He frowned as he marched down to the pair. His heels almost grinding the carpet beneath his feet as he glared down at Run. He could feel the lines on his face deepening as he looked down on her. He stopped before them and tapped his foot. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shake his arms and rant, he wanted to hug her to him and tell her never to scare him like that... he couldn't do anything like that at the time. Not here, not at the moment.

He settled for reaching into the back of his coat, taking a moment to pull a small hip flask out from behind him. He had filled it from some random bottle from the hotel and taking a gulp as he gasped. His eyes watered and his throat burned. He looked down at the flask impressed despite himself.
"Good stuff..."
He looked at the two girls and nodded at his apprentice.
"Good job finding her. You done good today... on the other hand..."
His gaze swiveled to land on Run. He knew he was making her uncomfortable. For a moment he he just looked at her. Disappointed and then he took a deep breath and reached out with one hand... and flicked her in the the middle of the forehead.
"Don't do that..."
He looked at her. His rage and disappointment submerged for a moment with left over concern he practically whispered knowing she would easily hear him.
"Listen. You can't just separate from us like that. You have to pay attention. There are some bad people out there looking for you, for us. Together we can do this... but alone..."
He bent so they were eye to eye.
"I think you understand."
He locked eyes with her then straightened up and put the flask away. He smiled and nodded at the two.
"Now come on. We have a play to watch. Mai. You need to keep the book down for this, one it is educational. You need more then book learning you need emotional growth... and two as soon as that play starts I am gonna fall asleep. I don't mean to it just happens."
He started walking to the theater before looking over his shoulder.
"Oh and Run... this is not over... we will have a Loong talk about this after the play."

[kitsuneflare88]

Mai sighed she really had no interest in the propaganda being spouted about the king or at least that's what she felt this play would be about. She sighe to herself but didn't say anything about it fearing that there might be other state alchemists or people who she didn't want to draw the attention of.

She sighed and shut the book with a snap. She really wished he would stop going to plays if they put him to sleep. She chewed on her tongue a moment as if to say something but she didn't.


In her own way mai felt sorry that run was going to be yelled at more she was easily distracted and curious. Mai also felt there had to be something horrible that happened to her considering what happened to her mind. She felt that run should be more than a child all the time. But she didn't express this thought either because if this happened to her she didn't want to see what did it.

She sighed to herself and looked around blankly as she waited for the lecturing to stop. Her mind lost in thought, she always had a way of seeming as if she was in a constant state of daydreaming when she wasn't reading her precious tomes of knowledge.

She looked around the theater not really taking anything in as she thought about the situation with run. She blushed and shook her hair a little bit as she waited with them. She was slightly curious what could be so important about emotional growth, and she even wondered what that could be. As for education she knew or felt that if she needed to know something she could look it up or study the problem until it presented a conclusion. Then again she wasn't really one to argue the point, and she could at least keep an eye on the wandering run.

Run that name fits so well....was one of her thoughts as she considered thier meeting and her habit of wandering off.

[Nemo]

When he saw her, Doctor Meskal could hardly believe that he had. Finely dressed, the gentleman removed his spectacles and breathed them steamed with a huff, taking the two lenses of glass to a small piece of silk to clean them before replacing and pushing them up on his face. She was well groomed, she wore a dress, she obediently followed... if it weren't for the crutches and labored gait, he'd have mistaken her for someone else.

Unacceptable. But what could he do about it? He considered his options with a detached mind. There were a lot of people around... he couldn't very well move in and just take her. Well.. he COULD but it would be a sloppy move that would do a lot of damage, to his reputation and to the reputation of others.

Ambushing her wasn't much more appealing an idea either. So he picked the last possible option he had. The gentleman doctor turned and immediately left. This was a job for the military alchemists, not a scientist. The play be damned... he'd seen it already anyhow.

Run wasn't sure what to say... with a forbidden box involved, part of her knew it was a good thing to remain silent and follow without complaint or a peep.. but she had to tell, didn't she? She shot a look over her shoulder, to make sure she'd seen what she'd thought...

Gone? Just... gone? She sighed a little and smiled in relief - maybe he'd not seen her? Maybe she was just seeing ideas again, memories from the House? That must have been it. Both, either, any of them were acceptable answers. Run turned her mind from the past into the present! The theater! Was this what she was missing before? Red curtains parted as she followed them into the warm darkness of a hushed theater.

The show was about to start.

[Raron]

Micheal scooted over to his seat and sat down putting his case directly in front of his knees, it was a tight fit and truth be told highly uncomfortable but if he knew one thing about himself that in just a few moments it wouldn't matter one bit. He would still be out like a light and there is really nothing that could hold him to consciousness that was not a threat to him or his. One part of him vaguely wished he could experience the theater with the two girls but he knew it just wasn't possible. Despite this he took them whenever possible. It was educational, cultural, and Run loved stories. He was fairly sure if he was one of the ones hunting her he would just get her alone and say "once upon a time" and drug her while she sat there.

He tilted his head back and observed the ceiling a moment while taking a brief moment to muse. He was in effect the father figure to two girls... this was definitely not where he thought his life would be at this point... well not without a woman around his own age involved somehow. True some women liked men with scars but that was more in a "ooo you might be fun for a few days" type relationship then something long term like he craved... besides which he was a romantic at heart despite his looks and desired a soul mate. He didn't think that was much to ask but the universe disagreed it seemed.

His eyebrows briefly twitched at that but then calmed as he heard the voices around him quiet to nothing, the curtain was rising it seemed. With a look of interest he tilted his head to gaze at the scenery painted on stage, on the world made of paints and wood and props. He gazed at that simple world at mumbled to his apprentice.

"Remember, eyes out of book and keep your eyes on~"

The actor who walked on stage began to speak.

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen as I tell you a tale untold~"

With that Micheal's hold on consciousness released. Before he could even finish his sentence his head slumped and his breathing became as steady as sleep.

[kitsuneflare88]

Mai sighed as she heard her master fall asleep within a few milliseconds. I can't believe that you can't even stay up for a few seconds was the first thought that went through her head. She sighed and shook her head to herself as she began staring around at the rest of the theater.

One idea had crossed her mind on several occassions when he fell asleep like this at plays. She had contemplated whacking him on the head with one of her heavy books on the head. However she felt run couldn't handle that kind of trauma and her brain might just hemorage from the shock. She sighed to herself and began looking around at the theater room.

It was the typical affair, it was red velvet wood, and theater seats. She sighed to herself and merely clicked her tongue. She closed her eyes as she sees the elegance of the theater. Her own thoughts were "What a waste of life." She couldn't understand the nature of humans to waste life. This included things like theaters, silk clothing and other things.

Just cause she thought this doesn't mean that she didn't see it and understand why. It just seemed to be a big waste of resources that could go else where. She didn't pay attention to anything that was going on in the theater because to her this was a big waste of time. She sat down quietly and began thumbing through the paper of the book.

She couldn't explain why but the city wasn't for her, this place made her uncomfortable. Large cities made her very uncomfortable, and nervous. She couldnt' stop thumbing the book it was one of the few ways she showed any type of emotion. This theater gave her a bad feeling in fact the whole city did, and she couldn't place it.

She wanted to be back home at their small peacefull cottage, in her garden tending to her beloved plants, or in the libarary reading about alchemy, poetry, fiction, anything she could think of. Here in the play house it was people standing in front of you pretending to be involved in something. She shook her head and sighed as she began chewing on her tongue trying to just relax at this bad feeling she kept getting.

[Nemo]

Something was wrong. Try as hard as she might, Run just couldn't shake her instincts off, reassure herself that all was well. She kept sniffing, though, she kept looking around in the warm darkness of the theater, kept listening in the hushed whispers of a crowd anticipating a show, but she couldn't hear or see anything that particularly set her senses off...

Nothing! Nothing nothing nothing - Didn't see Greyface, not here! See? Smell? Hear? No! This is a special place - with people! Greyface is in the House poking people with a stick - not here to take you away...
no matter how hard she tried to make herself believe, she wasn't buying it. The truth loomed in her mind like an angry cloud. She HAD ((RUN!)) seen him. She'd seen him! Chains ((PANIC!)) was here too and she would go back to the HOUSE in her grasp again! Just like before! ((PAIN!))

The monster Greyface put inside her howled out silently in her mind, part of her, body and mind, its fear, it pain, its anguish rising like vomit in Run's throat, the feral cry only barely squelched in her as she buried her face into Michael's coat, shivering and shaking, tears flooding from her eyes.

[Raron]

Micheal dreamed as he always did, of sand blowing over red stained streets, of grit in his teeth and a crimson mist drifting on the wind painting the walls of the buildings in their sober hue. He stood there clothed in the blue of the alchemists, his hat low over his eyes. He gazed upon the carnage, the destruction so absolute. He looked down on the blood red stone upon his swords hilt and screamed. A primal scream, like a baby born without skin, like a soul vomited from the depths of hell. He screamed long and loud and endlessly vengeful... He screamed till his throat was raw and... he felt wet spots on his chest, we spots that did not belong in this place and time. He struggled against the pain and slowly ripped himself from the dream hurtling his way back to the waking world.

Slowly his eyes opened, the sounds of the actors and they professed love threatened his waking world but with pure determination he fought back struggling awake to look around and see Run sobbing into his coat. He looked at her surprised he knew he had not been out long enough to get to THAT much of an emotional part and she had never behaved like this, not even with the forbidden box incident. The closest he had seen her to being like this was the time she had to see a doctor for her stump. He looked around wildly trying to find a cause and seeing nothing but... Mai reading a book. He gaze her a brief glare before looking back at Run.

"Run what is wrong? What is wrong. It's gonna be okay..."

He glared about, his harsh angry expression cowing those it landed on. Someone had made her cry, someone was going to pay.

[kitsuneflare88]

Mai sighed she hadn't been reading she had been stroking the corners of the book then letting the pages fall from her fingernails. It was one of the few sighns she ever gave of an emotion usually one of stress and anxiety. She didn't know why but she was bothered she hadn't noticed the whole issue with run because her mind was focused on the red tapestry curtains, the large polished wook rails and siding.

There were so many people around her it was giving her the creeps she stroked at the book worriedly. Her eyes had lost thier normal dream-like state of serinety that they usually held. She was alert, and to someone who knew her very well showing signs of fear and anxiety.

She seemed to have lost all forms of observation and awareness and gone into her mode of panic and fear. She didn't like this situation it felt as if everybody had thier eyes on them. The theater was starting to unerve her and it wasn't helping that she could to a small degree pick up on the urgent anxiety of runs emotions.

she kept a sudden tight grip on her book after a few more times of scratching the sides of the pages. She clutched the book close to her chest as if it were a valued friend about to come into danger. The normally loose demonor was tight and tense to obviously show that something wasn't right with those around her.

[Nemo]

The play went on, and nothing bad happened. At first Run was apprehensive about sitting there - she wanted to leave (RUN), she wanted to bury herself in a bush or climb a tall tree or... anything, anything to get (RUN!) away from the playhouse - a place of memories and strange feelings, tinged with the fear of Grayface and all the horrors that came with his presence (PAIN!).

But the lull of the play, the joy of the music - orchestral quality - broke the walls of her fear gradually - it was haunting, familiar to her, calming It within her, petting its ears and whispering soothing nothings to it in the dark of the velvet curtains and sweet, supple poetry. She found herself absently mouthing words along to the play - words she knew even if she didn't. She was in no state to fight the words, or to think about them - she just let them carry her to a fixated calm.

When a young man in uniform walked onto the stage, she didn't even register his presence at first. For some reason, the uniform of a state alchemist wasn't alien to her in the least - hardly alarming in and of itself. And boy was he good looking! Her mind didn't linger below the carved chin (complete with fuzzy stubble), and traveled up to meet his eyes. He was handsome, and he was looking right at her. With a smile that made her heart skip a beat, and an outstretched white-gloved hand, he addressed the crowd amid the actors - which suddenly... weren't on stage any longer.

"Ladies and gentlemen" he said in a voice that could melt ice with its gentleness alone "I regret to announce that the play is being postponed. Your tickets shall be refunded. Please leave the playhouse quickly and quietly. We appreciate your cooperation." he said plainly, like the words meant nothing. He didn't even apparently yell, and his voice boomed in the auditorium, carrying well over the acoustics.

And Run felt the bottom drop out of the world. He was looking right at her. He was watching her! He was a state alchemist! He smiled at her sweetly, and lifted his hand at the balcony upon which she sat, and she felt her body lock up. She didn't notice the glow at first - but it came through the wood beneath him, burning itself into the wood with searing heat and bright yellow light, a circle appearing around him, originating from his boots and spreading outwards. With no further warning, he said a soft something into the dark of the theater, and people made for the door. So much for calm and quiet.

"Bang <3"
Run felt the charge long before the yellow electricity arced from the handsome alchemist's fingertips, her hair frizzing out and follicles standing on end before a stroke of lighting sent her from her chair, set her dress to smolder where it struck her, and hurled her into the oddly shut balcony door, straining the hinges and doorhandle severely as her weight collided with it, knocking the air cleanly out of her lungs.

Run's vision swam with dizziness, her body wracking with searing electric discomfort and twitching in convulsions, her hearing dampened - the screams of panicking people muffled from her world by curtains of velvet unconciousness, threatening to grip her tightly and strangle away all life and light from her veins. The It inside the girl roared and shook at its cage, but she did not, would not, relinquish her grip on the keys and let it loose. A charge like that would have knocked her out if she let it.