vermified | [Action / Voice]

[Waking up in a patch of grass in the middle of the woods is more of a relief than it might normally have been for Edward, or anyone else for that matter. The last memory he has of himself in his right mind is of the Malnosso, and their strange and terrifying ability to summon Lunar Rain seemingly out of nowhere. After that, he'd...

...He'd done terrible, shameful things, and he had far too much to apologize for. Which he should get right on doing.

Except he's completely lacking the level of courage needed to do that, so for a while he just sits in the grass, legs tucked against his chest, and watches the sun rise through the trees. It's... the east, right? So that means he's...

....

He has no idea where he is. Where's that journal...?]

...I... I'm in need of assistance.

[He finally returns and all he can do is ask for directions? Pathetic.

Though it'll take him some time to get home and then find the courage to do what he knows has to be done, over the course of the day he'll be attempting to visit two spots: the smithy and Winry's house, specifically, if he can't find her in the plaza. If he happens upon anyone he attacked while he was vermified, he's definitely going to apologize, too.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

... that's the bakery Ed. [Okay, maybe he's just a little confused.]

Where's the smithy?

I-I know where the smithy is! We just walked outside it, I'm not that bad! [Though it takes him a moment to find it, turning the wrong way rather than just glancing back over his shoulder to spot it. Just what the hell is going on!?]

[... that just about confirms it. He sighs.]

... you don't have any idea where anything is now.

[Edward can't respond to that, not even to vehemently protest the way he wants to. His aimless wanderings over the course of the day is proof enough that Sokka's right.]

... I think we know what your loss is. [Sokka... can't even imagine how Ed is going to deal with this.]

...How the hell am I supposed to get around the village if I'm always getting lost!? [GODDAMMIT, THIS IS THE WORST. Why couldn't he have lost a sense or all his childhood memories or something?]

[Think Sokka, think...]

... okay, first off, we need to get you a map from the Welcome Center. And a compass to go with it. That's only if you get really lost. As for getting you to the smithy... I'll think of something.

You... need not go through the trouble, Sokka... [He's caused enough problems for you as it is.]

[Sokka merely shakes his head.] It's way more trouble to replace you. I already have a few ideas in mind to help work around this. But for now... just get someone to guide you places.

...This is going to be humiliating. [He's already feeling kind of pathetic. Is this his punishment for vermifying?]

Only for a few days! Believe me, once I'm done, you won't have to worry about knowing where things are anymore. [In a small, sort of horrible way, Sokka is actually excited at the prospect of having a project again. He hasn't had a real one since he finished his canoes. It's all just a matter of manpower...]

Do you really have to look so excited about it? [Oh god what if he gets lost inside buildings, too? God help him if he ends up in a community building, he'd spend an hour trying to get to the main level, at least!]

[... oh, wow. He made that too obvious.]

Sorry, sorry. I'm just glad to help, really. [They'd need so many signs... all over the village... inside the buildings. Where do you get a whole bunch of free, efficient labor in this place without having to taskmaster it yourself?

... no. Not the SOS Brigade.]

[Well maybe if you weren't always so happy D| Or maybe just smiling like you found a new hobby.]

...Just don't go around publicizing it or anything.

[But he did find a new hobby.]

Don't worry. I won't need to. [After all... New Feathers get lost all the time. So this is beneficial to all of Luceti. There's a pause though before he continues.] Can you get back home from here? [... across the street.]

[....Uh.] As much as I'd like to say yes, I'm not sure if I can be certain of anything right now.

[Yeah, he thought so.] Wait here.

[He wants to test something. It's a vague sort of something, but it needs doing. Sokka walks that LONG DISTANCE to his house.] Okay. Now... just come over where I am. [Ed can't get lost if he's focusing on something distinct like Sokka, right? That's what he hopes.]

[If Sokka were to move out of Edward's sight, then they'd be in trouble; fortunately, his sense of direction isn't so bad that he can't get lost when he has recognizable help available. He shuffles his feet a bit and follows Sokka across the street, reaching the house with no difficulty.]

It seems that I can follow line of sight well enough.

[Sokka nods at that.]</small. That might be all we need.

[Well, it's not exactly a good thing, but it's comforting that he's not hopeless. He eyes the house for a moment, then ducks his head at Sokka.] Thank you for helping me get home. [He'd have been out all night if you hadn't.]

[Sigmund can see that he's going to get nowhere with this conversation. Whether Edward honestly feels that way, or is just saying it because he's speaking to Lord Sigmund, he may never know. Finally, he turns around and holds his hands out, open and palms up.]

Show me your glyphs.

[Edward hesitates, but doesn't protest; he steps over and crouches in front of Sigmund, removing his gloves and offers out his hands, the glyphs now in plain sight.]

[Sigmund takes each of Edward's hands in one of his own. He's not sure what he thinks he'll find. He has no sense for these things like Svala does, no means of feeling out another's state of mind. But... after life as an aristo, a meage, and an unblessed, perhaps he understands the nature of lunaglyphs better than anyone. Not a studied, intellectual knowledge, but a visceral one.]

You brewed a medicine to suppress the moon's power. What became of it?

[He holds Edward's hands while he speaks, staring down at them. He isn't searching for the answer so much as he is waiting for the answer to come.]

[Edward isn't sure what kind of answer he's going to find, but his understanding of lunaglyphs is paltry at best, so having someone with the sort of knowledge Sigmund must have is definitely beneficial. He doesn't really feel that different, aside from being slightly less stressed in regards to the glyphs themselves. The benefit of vermifying - if such a thing could ever be considered - is that finally releasing all of that energy was like letting all the air out of a pressurized tin or something. He waits patiently while Sigmund examines him, though the question requires a moment of thought.]

I forged it into a pendant, my lord- it was supposed to help prevent this from happening. I'm... not sure where it is now, though. I'll have to look for it- perhaps it broke or came loose. [...During that big fight where he died. Yeah, he's not looking forward to revisiting that scene.]

[Hm. Sigmund can't really say for certain whether it worked or not without the chance to examine the pendant. It's possible that it didn't work. It's just as likely that it did and Edward simply invested too much hope in it and had unrealistic expectations. ...Not unlike other matters Sigmund could name.]

How much do you remember? [Sigmund concentrates on the glyphs, looking - no, feeling - for any sign that something is abnormal. A pulse of energy, perhaps? Infuriatingly, he thinks he was far more sensitive to the moon's power when he had no glyph at all. It was problematic then, but now that he could use that to his advantage, it's gone. Typical.]

Page 8 of 12

[Action / Voice]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action] BLOCKIN UR HTML FAIL

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]

[action]