duskofthegods_logs | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who: Edward Elric and YOU~
What: Ed's arrived to Vernos Bay and he's confused. He's also a bit frustrated. Please help him.
When: All day
Where: Out and about as he gets his bearings
Warnings: Well, it's a loud-mouthed alchemist tossed into where he's going to have to accept that gods exist. Mild swearing and yelling are inevitable. Will update if anything else develops.

The past couple of weeks had been pretty hard on Ed. First, he was stuck in Briggs, and wouldn't you know it, Kimbley finds a way to dangle Winry in front of his face as a hostage. When they finally find a way to get her out of that, he and Al are forced to separate and he ends up with a steel rod through his gut. Then he has to lay low while healing up and is forced into hiding. No matter where he goes he can't seem to find Alphonse, and when he does run into someone he knows and trusts, she greets him with a wrench to his face. Now, to top it all off, he's not even in Resembool anymore, despite being there a moment ago. Hell, with the architecture here, he was pretty sure he wasn't even in Amestris! Winry, Greed (Ling? GreedLing? Gring?), Gorilla and Lion man are no where to found. Frustrated, Ed does the only thing he can do. Walk around to try to get his bearings and try to find out what the hell just happened.

The locals don't seem to be very helpful. He tries to ask a few people where he is, but they seem strangely unable to answer his questions. Whether it's because he's speaking a language they don't understand or if they're just too xenophobic to respond, he's not entirely sure. At the same time, it's evident that the town has some kind of pollution problem as the air is chocked with smog. It seems to get thicker in areas where the breeze is more stagnant, but regardless of where he goes it's thick and difficult to breath. He walks with his hand over his mouth, covered int he sleeve of his shirt to help filter the air, but it doesn't help all that much.

Getting increasingly frustrated, Ed continues to try to find someone who will at least try to communicate with him. By this point though, his attitude alone might be pushing people away.

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Kara sighs, relieved that he isn't going to try to fight her on this. She even smiles a little, though she has no idea what he's saying.

"It's alright. Just leave the poor people alone."

Really, it's just kind of comforting to hear her own voice in the quiet.

Well, that was most certainly a 'no.' Ed felt a pang of guilt. He had been harassing these poor people and they likely had no idea what the hell he was even saying.

At the very least, he had found someone who was trying to communicate with him. While he didn't think he could get much out of her, surely he could get something to work with. He pointed to himself. "Ed." Then he pointed to the young woman, taking the time to notice her style of dress. It was a lot different from what everyone else seemed to be wearing.

That message, at least, is perfectly clear. Kara can't help but be a little excited by the one bit of communication she's been able to manage in this place.

"Kara," she says, a hand on her chest.

Hey, progress! The frustration Ed had felt up until now was subsiding, though now he realized that he wasn't sure how to move on from here.

He tried spreading his arms out, hoping that she would catch that he was indicating the town they were in. "This place." Then he shrugs. "Where are we?"

Was shrugging a universal sign? He had no idea. Time to find out.

Edited 2018-03-03 04:23 (UTC)

Ah, the town. Shrugging is a universal sign, and it's easy enough from her own experience to guess that he wants to know where they are. She shakes her head apologetically.

"No," she adds, in case that's his language. She can't honestly tell, but at least she knows the gesture and the word go together. Then she shrugs as well, for good measure. She has no idea where they are. Although-

"Earth?" She frowns as she says the word. That was what Kal-El called it, didn't he? Is she still on the same planet?

Ed raises a brow. She knew the word 'no,' but it certainly wasn't from him. Then she said 'Earth,' but with a clear questioning intonation. Ed glanced around. Everything looked like it was a part of Earth. Why would she think they were on an alien planet? That was ridiculous, wasn't it?

Ed nods. "Yes." It's a curt answer, as if it's something she shouldn't have questioned in the first place. He crosses his arms, his automail hand flashing from the movement before it's hidden away again but his other arm. There were so many questions he needed answers to right now, but the only person he had to work with wouldn't be able to understand any of them! His frustration was starting to well back up again as he thought of what he should try to find out next.

Well, he had no idea how long he'd be here. Might as well ask about the necessities. He mimicked holding a bowl and eating. "Food?" Then he mimicked drinking from a cup. "Drink?" If worse came to worse, Ed could transmute some clean water from the filth he had seen in some fountains, but he would still be stuck about something to eat.

She nods, somewhat comforted by the reassurance. It would be a little too insane if somebody told her she had been sent here from Earth, which had also been destroyed. Still, it had been a nagging thought.

Then she frowns. The miming is pretty effective, actually. "Food," she repeats, and "drink." But is he asking where to find such a thing? She scans the nearby buildings, but there aren't any convenient pictures on windows or doors that she can see from here.

Putting a hand to her temple she focuses on x-ray-y thoughts. That does seem to do the trick, and depending on how hard she squints she can look through all the different buildings. She finds what she's looking for in the form of several people all eating in the same building.

She blinks and her vision goes back to normal.

"Food, drink!" She points.

The more Ed tried to converse with Kara, the weirder she got. It wasn't the fact that she didn't understand him, but the rest of her behavior. He had no idea what she was doing by putting her hand up to her head, nor did he know what they hell she was looking at when she scanned the area. Ed tried to follow her gaze, but couldn't see what made her think there was food or drink in the direction she pointed at. Still, he started walking that way, curious as to what made her so excitable. He waves at her, indicating that he wanted her to follow.

It turns out that the place she pointed to was some kind of restaurant. People were seated here and there, quietly enjoying their food. Well, that answered that question, but...

Ed glanced back to Kara. How did she know? It couldn't have been a lucky guess. She knew, even though all of the customers were inside the building and it wasn't possible to know what it was without being able to read the sign. He looked at her suspiciously, wanting more than ever to just ask how she knew but also knowing that she wouldn't be able to answer.

Kara, on the other hand, is not particularly interested in Ed's reaction. The food here smells so good. When was the last time she ate? She's not hungry at all. Does she even need to eat anymore?

Also, how does she get food here? Everybody's already eating, she doesn't see a place to pick anything up. Maybe if she just... asks someone?

The only person not eating is standing at a podium, watching the two of them expectantly.

"Food?" Kara asks the stranger. The hostess holds up two fingers. Table for two? Kara looks to Ed, deeply confused by this response.

Ed couldn't say he was too hungry at the moment. Suddenly finding yourself in a strange city without knowing how you got there seemed to dampen any appetite he might have had otherwise. Money might also be an issue. While he wasn't completely broke, most of the money he had the Gorilla guy get out from his account was used to pay the doctors that had treated him in the north, and a lot of what was left was used to help get around to try to find Al.

Ed started to shake his head at the hostess, but realized that Kara didn't seem to be able to communicate to the people here either. His experience with treating people wasn't very good, but he didn't think it would be good to leave if Kara was hungry. He pointed over to the people eating, a questioning look on his face. Hopefully she would catch on that he was asking if she wanted something to eat.

She isn't remotely hungry, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to eat. She nods excitedly at Ed. It doesn't occur to her to worry about money. On Krypton food is free. It's a basic necessity, after all. Certain delicacies may cost, but they aren't sold in open places like this.

"Drink," she enthuses, not realizing she's mixed the words up.

"Right, ok." He gives the hostess a nod and she grabs a menu and two sets of silverware before leading them to a table next to a window. Ed takes a seat and looks at the menu, wondering how the hell he's going to order anything for them when he sees that instead of words, there are pictures of the dishes that were offered. That certainly made things easier.

He looked up at Kara. She had a menu of her own which the hostess had laid on the table in front of her seat. He just hoped that she wasn't going to be a repeat of Ling Yao ordering anything and everything off the menu.

They didn't have to wait long for a waitress to come over. She brought two glasses and filled them up both up with water. Even though he wasn't that hungry, it wouldn't hurt to get a little something, so Ed pointed to the picture of a small plate of what looked like pot stickers. The waitress then took his menu and turned to Kara.

She is terribly excited by this, even if it's a little strange to be led to a table and handed a sheet of pictures. But it's pretty self-evident, so she picks out an image at random. It's some manner of fish.

"That probably looks good, right?" It doesn't look like anything from Krypton, but with everything smelling so good there's no wrong answer.

Ed just awkwardly stares and gives Kara a shrug. Sorry, still can't understand whatever language you're trying to talk to him with.

He takes a sip of the water and grimaces. It's like someone had collected it straight from the river without filtering anything. On closer inspection, it looked a little cloudy. What kind of restaurant gave out stuff like this?! He set the glass back down with a frown plastered on his face. He immediately regrets ever setting foot inside and can only imagine how awful the rest of the menu is. He pointed to Kara's glass, then made an 'x' with his arms and shook his head. "Don't drink it."

She blinks at him, then looks down at her cup. If she really peers at it she can see the individual particulates. Some of them definitely look like microorganisms. Good to know she can see microscopically just as easily as telescopically.

"This really doesn't seem safe." He can't understand that either, she knows, but it's nice to hear someone speak a language she understands, even if it is just herself.

She sets the glass aside and spares a worried glance for the others in the restaurant. Hopefully they aren't drinking the water either.

Well, it seemed like she at least got the gist of it, no matter what she actually said. He was tempted to just get up an leave, but it wouldn't hurt to see what was brought out to them, even if they decided not to eat it. He put his elbow on the table and laid his chin in his hand, looking over the rest of the people in the restaurant with a skeptical expression. He found himself wishing for company that he could talk to. Al would be best, though right now he'd even take Gorilla-man and old-man-Lion.

Ed glanced back at Kara, looking back at her clothes. It was certainly a style he wasn't used to seeing, but he couldn't really ask about it, could he?

Thankfully, it wasn't too long before the waitress returned with two plates of food. She placed them down on the table and gave them both a smile before leaving. Ed scrutinized it. It looked good. It smelled good. He poked it with his fork and looked up at Kara, wondering if she would try hers first.

Kara occupied herself taking in the details of the city. She could hear everything happening around her, even if there weren't any conversations. Someone somewhere was grumbling to themselves? She does her best to pinpoint the sound, but there are too many other people in the way. She gives up that angle.

She hears several someones turning pages, like those of ancient paper books. One person is typing on a keyboard, from the sound of it. Why only one? Are computers so rare here?

When the food arrives it takes a second for Kara to realize it's happening here and not somewhere else.

Her mystery cooked organism smells amazing, and she wastes no time whatever digging in. If there's any impurities from the water quality she can't taste them. Luckily it can't hurt her, either.

Once Kara digs in and makes no sign of being sick, Ed joins in. It's surprisingly good despite the quality of the water. As he eats, he keeps looking around the restaurant, more to keep his mind occupied since he can't really have a conversation with Kara. Nothing of interest happens, and Ed finishes his meal in silence.

The server comes and brings a check, and Ed takes a look at it. Unfortunately, it looks like this place either has a different written language, or it's covered in nonsense. Either way, Ed looks taken aback. He gets his wallet out and digs out a few bills to lay on the table. He doesn't have a lot of cash. He was more or less on the run from the military when he wound up here, but he had enough to pay for the meals. All the same, he signals to Kara to get up and leave before the serve comes back. He doesn't want to deal with the fact that he doesn't have the currency for this place with people he can't speak with.

Krypton didn't really do paper money anymore, so Kara has to trust that Ed knows what he's doing. Which is just as well, because she would have walked out without even an attempt at paying. She leaves with him, looking as chipper and innocent as ever.

"That was nice," she declares once they're outside. It just feel weird not to talk at all, even if nobody understands her.

"What now?"

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