star_kingdom | [Video] 001 * Intro & Traverse Town

[There's a bit of static. The device is recording, but its user has no idea how to use it and for a moment, all you can see is the white blur of a young teenager's hand. The sound of heavy breathing and a heavy footfall on cobblestones can be heard. Between the cracks in the hand, small flashes of red.

The image is suddenly free, looking at the sky of Traverse Town, and with a clatter, a glimpse of a golden braid and then a skidding sound as more of the child comes into view. Edward Elric has tripped and fallen, white gloved hand outstretched, the other hand beneath him.]

Son of a bitch.

[He rolls flat on his back and pushes himself up onto his elbows, eyeing the innocent stuffed animal with a red puff ball that has been chasing after him. Nothing that innocent looking is good in his experience. His chest heaves with the heavy breathing and he reaches for the device again, grumbling.]

Turn it off, turn it off.

[His face comes into view, strikingly golden eyes are focused on the device as though the moogle were remote controlled...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't know how fast the train goes. I just know how long it takes to get from place to place. Geography was never my interest.

You could cross the country in a few hours.

Would my brother fit on an airplane? He...wears a full suit of armor.

I suppose it would depend on the type. He might have to wear normal clothes instead.

He...can't. It's a thing. Anyway...thanks I guess. I'll stick to trains.

[Ed sighs and slouches further, fiddling with the end of his braid idly. What he wanted was a book and Al.]

I see. [She could provide the books, if she knew he'd want them.]

But you know, some day you might be able to fly still.

Maybe. For now I am stuck here. Well except I'm supposed to find and inn and an island. [He shrugs. He can't really be bothered.] But maybe I should wait here. See if Al comes.

Do you mean the hotel? I can direct you there.

No this bench here. Because if I was saved, Al must have been! [He looks almost hopeful.]

I mean, were you trying to find the hotel. You said you were meant to find an inn.

I'm supposed to but if I go there, how will Al find me?

[And Ed, despite all of his grandstanding, looks like a child in that moment.]

[Ami does not seem troubled by this difficulty. She nods to indicate the screen, or something beyond it.]

We're speaking right now, aren't we? He'll have a communicator, too, when he arrives. You can know he's here right away.

I...I guess so...

[Ed trails off, looking around before standing up.] Okay...tell me where the hotel is?

[She provides clear directions, using notable landmarks rather than names.]

That should bring you to the correct street. It should be just across the way from there.

Okay, here I go then. Thanks.

[Although Ami can't see much but flashes of red, because Ed put the communicator in his pocket, she can still hear his footsteps as he wanders around.]

[She gives a small - quiet - sigh, then raises her voice to be heard.]

You can also turn the communicator off when it's in your pocket like that.

[When Ed answers her, it's back out of his pocket into his clumsy hands. He's sitting in a hotel room, on a bed, looking around at the extravagance of the room, he remembered the device afterwards. He looks at Ami curiously, before he toes off his boots and brings his knees up to his chest, socked feet hanging off the edge of the bed.]

What now?

[She seems to treat this question thoughtfully, looking back through the video feed almost appraisingly.]

If it's alright to ask, how old are you? [He seems about her own age, in which case she'll suggest the school of course.]

[Edward pokes the device and rocks back a bit, looking thoughtful.] I'm not a kid...

[He huffs.] I'm a soldier and everything. I'm...thirteen.

[Young. But she smiles and shakes her head.]

I wasn't think of you as being young. I was just wondering if you were the right age for school.

I don't have to go to school, I'm a genius.

Excuse me. Everyone is required to go until a certain age. Besides, it's too arrogant to assume you know what you need to yet. Your teachers can help you focus your own studies.

[Ed snorts and leans back against the wall.]

I quit school already in third grade. I don't need it. It's never served any purpose whatsoever. Kids are stupid. I can learn much faster and more accurately on my own.

[For a moment she's tempted to avoid the confrontation, to make a polite excuse to say goodbye instead.

But something in her just can't sit still when he's making light of and trampling things so important to her. Her mouth sets in a firm line.]

Don't belittle the dreams teachers and students bring to school and what they can accomplish there!

Teachers and students? [Ed stares.]

Our teacher was mean and I was always in trouble. She treated us like we were idiots, which I am not. We were working on multiplication. Multiplication! As if I couldn't do complex algebraic equations already, due to my trade! I mean really and then it's my fault her classes were boring? I hated it school, I hated the strap which I got all the damn time, and I never met a student that liked it. They all had farms to tend to. I don't really know what is so great about school!

[Video]

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[Video] 001 * Intro & Traverse Town

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