Sometimes people leave you, halfway through the wood.

[garbagechild]

Who: Alphonse Elric, Envy, Greed, and Wrath.
Where: An ill-fated bakery. All around Goldenrod. The freakin' basement.
When: August 11th onwards! This is a catch-all.
Summary: The world has been pretty good to the various monsters and serial killers hailing from Amestris, but one particular villainous wild child has yet to be rehabilitated.
Rating: PG-13 for talk of abuse, manipulation, brainwashing, all that good stuff.
Log:

Continued from here.

Comments

[a_sin_for_him]

If you take the chocolate syrup used for ice cream in a glass of milk and stir it, it makes the milk chocolate.

[While Wrath is busy with Guttle, Lust gets out the milk and two glasses and sticks the bag of popcorn in the microwave.]

Ralph's a very good friend. If you two can roll yourselves over here for a few minutes, you can watch it all happen.

Does everyone understand where you've been and what's happened?

[She knows Wrath's perceptions are...unique, but he's a smart child.]

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Chocolate syrup? Ice cream? These are all things that Wrath is unfamiliar with.]

[But he definitely wants to see what this popcorn business is all about, so he ambles over, keeping one hand on Guttle.]</sub>

Um... I didn't tell them everything.

But I said I was sorry a lot.

[a_sin_for_him]

Wrath, you don't have to be sorry for anything. None of what's happened - here or back home - is your fault.

[If anyone needs to be apologizing, it's the trio of stooges that orchestrated a kidnapping in the first place. But it's all understandable, and Lust assumes anyone who knows Wrath enough to have worried will understand. Especially now that it's clear he's come to no harm in the least.]

We're the ones who owe you a sorry. Here, pull over that stool and get up on it for a better view.

[Lust pushes the popcorn button and stands aside for Wrath to watch.]

[garbagechild]

They were all worried. I didn't know that would happen. I felt bad, so I said sorry. Isn't that what you're supposed to do? I guess I'm still learning.

<sub>[He solemnly pulls a stool over to watch as the bag rotates slowly.]

[Until the first POP sounds out. Then he JUMPS.]</sub>

[a_sin_for_him]

I suppose your right, empathetic apology rather than taking personal responsibility. It's all very confusing, don't worry, you did fine.

[Lust laughs when Wrath jumps, pleasantly.]

That's why it's called 'pop' corn. It pops. And when it's finished, you can put all kinds of flavor on it. I like butter and salt.

[She sets a glass of chocolate milk down for him.]

[garbagechild]

_{[Eyes wide, he continues to twitch at every pop, but he at least seems more curious than afraid. Curious enough to temporarily ignore the glass of chocolate goodness in favor of watching the bag slowly inflate.]}

It's popping a lot. Will it explode if it stays in there too long?

_{[He's practically got his face against the little window, so clearly he's not... CONCERNED about it exploding.]}

[a_sin_for_him]

No, it will just burn and maybe catch on fire. Lots of smoke and stink, no explosion. Don't put your face against the microwave like that, Wrath, I don't think it's good for your eyes.

[She sips her own milk and just watches him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Despite his not inconsiderate emotional damage, he' a fresh young mind with so much to learn and experience. There's something powerful in that.]

Popcorn is the best snack for watching movies.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[He withdraws from the microwave obediently enough-- in the wake of his captivity and the looming threat of punishment from Team Rocket, he's extra invested in being good. It doesn't matter that his fears amounted to nothing-- it was still a chilling wake-up call to remember what COULD happen.]

[After taking a few steps back from the microwave, he looks back over at her.]</sub>

A movie is like what's in the picture box, right?

[a_sin_for_him]

Mmhmm. It's like a play, but the sound and picture are broadcast like music on a radio. Would you like to watch one?

[They have more than enough child appropriate movies on hand. She tends to prefer those, overall, having little taste for foul language and gratuitous visuals.]

[The popcorn is at full pop now, and Lust gets down a bowl to dump it into when it's done.]

[garbagechild]

Okay.

Sometimes I watch picture boxes, but they're usually boring. <sub>[He'd seen people trying to eat each others' faces on one once. He'd arrived at the conclusion that they weren't very good at it. It took a really long time and none of them were even using their teeth to rend the flesh. So he'd wandered away, thinking that it would take far too long for things to get interesting.]

[Then later someone had told him what 'kissing' was.]

[He watches Lust take the popcorn out, then ambles over to the table to tentatively investigate the glass of chocolate milk. He grasps the cup with both hands like a raccoon. Actually he holds a lot of things like a raccoon when he's unfamiliar with them. It's like his hands forget to be human for a moment.]</sub>

[a_sin_for_him]

Those picture boxes are called televisions. And you're right, a lot of what's on is boring. But I think I have something you might like.

[She had a small collection of movies that were based on fairy tales - or at least the Pokemon equivalents. One of those might hold Wrath's attention. Maybe the one about the thief and his chimchar and the magic pot. Lots of adventure in that one, and a fiery monkey.]

[She dumps the popcorn into a big bowl and tosses it with salt and butter syrup.]

Would you like a straw?

[garbagechild]

_{{He nods, holding out the cup. STRAWS ARE VERY USEFUL.]}

Usually when I drink out of these, there's a cover. And it's bendier.

_{[Team Rocket didn't trust its grunts with actual glass cups in the cafeteria. So flimsy plastic disposables it was!]}

[a_sin_for_him]

Well, I don't have any bendy cups with covers, so be careful with the glass. Here.

[She plops a looping purple straw into Wrath's glass for him.]

Come on, let's settle in in the living room.

[garbagechild]

Okay.

<sub>[He will try! Because while he will never NOT be a rambunctious ball of energy, right now he is actually very invested in Being Good. He had promised to come back here, and he really didn't want keeping that promise to involve him having to get locked back into the basement.]

[Sure, they all said he wouldn't have to, but well, that's what happens to Bad things. It happened to Greed! Clearly it was the norm.]

[He follows her into the living room, holding the cup very carefully. He will wait to take a sip until he's sat down.]</sub>

[a_sin_for_him]

Make yourself comfortable, I'll set up the movie.

[She sets the popcorn on the coffee table, easily within Qrath's reach. Guttle wastes no time in rolling up to the edge of the table, just in case. Small Friend often feeds him.]

Would you like to see if anyone else wants to join us?

[garbagechild]

_{[He thinks on it as he hops up on the couch, tucking his feet underneath him like a cat.]}

... Do you all lie down at night like humans now?

I've noticed humans really don't like being bothered at night, even when it looks like they're dead.

[a_sin_for_him]

Sleeping. That's sleeping. Human bodies need to sleep every night, to recharge energy. And no, people don't like to be bothered if they're asleep. But if anyone else is awake, I could ask them to join us. We keep odd hours.

[And perhaps Wrath would be more comfortable. They've made a great deal of progress, of course, but he isn't used to spending time alone with her.]

But we don't have to.

[garbagechild]

Oh yeah. I always forget that's what it's called.

<sub>[He sleeps a lot more than he actually realizes-- half the time he pays quite literally no attention at all to the passage of time, and therefore usually doesn't have any awareness that he's actually been out for four or five hours rather than just spending a few minutes somewhere comfortable.]

[After considering the offer a little more, he shrugs his shoulders.]</sub>

This is okay.

_{[It's partly strategic thinking. If, for some reason, the tables abruptly turn again and Lust decides to be his enemy once more (OR just decides to put him in the basement again), one ex-homunculus will be much easier for him to escape from than three-and-an-Elric.]}