ossifragant | 011 Things Acquired - [action; FOURTH WALL]

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011 Things Acquired - [action; FOURTH WALL]

[This time, when the shift happens, Greed is prepared. It's been six months, and it's finally hit him that given how long he spent locked away in a prison with no exit, it shouldn't feel like he's been here a long time-- what that really means is it's been seven months since he broke free of Dante's grasp, and that is a big deal no matter how he looks at it. And yet it does feel like a long time, precisely because it's been half a year without Dante.

He's too proud of himself, like he had been upon first finding himself in the region.

Yesterday, the snow had bothered him because of how cold it was. Today, now that he can't quite feel the coldness of the snow, it's more entertaining than anything else. Maybe in a few days there will be enough snow for him to cause problems with. It's a little unfortunate there isn't enough snow on the ground for him to do anything with it now, but he'll deal with it.

As it is, shifting his hand (his entire body, really) into its carbon-black form is something he's missed.

Terrorizing an entire city would be pretty damn easy to do at the moment, but Greed is going to restrain himself, poorly. Prowling around and generally looking like he's up to something makes him look like the least subtle cat possible isn't something Greed is going to get away with for long. Maybe he'll be able to find someone he recognizes before one of the locals who haven't been horribly glitched some to ask him what the hell he's doing.

Or, more likely, he'll get bored halfway through whatever he's currently doing in favor of paying a visit to his favorite cafe.]

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_{[As luck would have it, Greed is NOT one of the people that Wrath is looking for today. Mostly because he was DEAD before the youngest of the Homunculi ever even had a chance to hear much about him, so, you know, when Master says 'Go find the others', he's kind of looking for.]

[You know.]

[Alive people.]

[... But even though he's got important responsibilities, that doesn't mean he can't have a little fun, right? Dante had specified no overwhelming need for secrecy, so...]}

RRRAAAAAAAWWWWWGHHHH!

_{[A young Lass sprints screaming past the cafe. People running and screaming aren't exactly uncommon on these weekends, but in this particular case it probably has something to do with what seems to be a SMALL MASS OF UNBRUSHED HAIR in a costume remarkably like Envy's chasing after her with clawed hands and a wild laugh.]

[HAHA YEAH ALL YOU HUMANS BETTER RUN, YOU DUMB... HUMANS!]}

[...Child. What on earth are you doing?

It's not like subtlety is really Greed's thing either, but he's going to put a stop to this immediately. The only person who's going to be doing massive property damage and frightening the locals today is Greed.

So he's going to very casually try and pick the kid up by the back of his collar.

You know, as you do.]

Knock it off.

_{[The last thing Wrath expects is for someone to YOINK HIM OFF THE GROUND, so Greed catches his collar and lifts him up with little more than a flail and a startled yelp in protest.]}

Wh-- let me go!

_{[Twisting around in his captor's grasp, Wrath bares his sharky teeth tries to throw a punch. ... But considering Greed has arms that are probably about as long as Wrath is TALL, it doesn't exactly connect.]}

[Getting a good look at his face, he's definitely a homunculus. And that's... interesting, because he met all of the current group save for one, which means this has to be the kid Bido mentioned.

A shame he hadn't been able to grab the kid before Dante.]

Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you.

[Says the man holding an eight year old by the back of his neck.]

What's your name?

[Yes, we're doing this. Of note is the fact that Greed currently has the telltale cat eyes.]

_{[THIS IS INDEED THE KID BIDO MENTIONED. Such a shame. Wrath probably would have been better off with Greed.]

[Now that he's actually gotten a decent LOOK at Greed... whoa yeah. Yeah. Homunculus. Definitely. But... but he knows all the Homunculi that exist. And he's NEVER seen this guy before!]

[Is he new? Or one Master didn't know about? What?]

[Rather than be lost for words, though, Wrath puffs up his scrawny chest before replying--]}

I'm Wrath, and I'm on-- _{[... what were the words. ... OH YEAH]} OFFICIAL BUSINESS, so you'd better let me go, or ELSE!

_{[YEP. That'll have him shaking in his boots. Good job, kid.]}

[That gets a quiet chuckle out of Greed. He's still not letting go of the kid, but he does watch him carefully before he speaks.]

Nice to meet you, Wrath. She's not here, you know.

[So, no. You're not on official business. Nice try, though.

Terrorizing the populace is only something Greed was allowed to do if it would directly contribute to an attempt at getting the stone. He understands why it's fun, obviously, but sometimes Greed has to be the responsible adult in the situation.

This is actually kind of a scary thought.]

_{[8( Five minutes ago he saw a FLYING MULTICOLORED SCHOOLBUS being driven straight into the ocean by a lady with frizzy red hair and a dress covered in actual fish, can you REALLY blame him for getting a little swept up in the excitement, Greed? Can you?]

[Still, Wrath actually looks startled when he says 'she' like he should know EXACTLY who he's talking about.]

[There's only one 'she' he could possibly mean. Which must mean he knows her, somehow. But then why wouldn't he be part of the group?]}

--yes she is!

She told me to find the others!

Who are you?!

[...honestly Greed would probably have followed after that because wow what the hell. This needs to be investigated immediately.]

Ahh did she really not say anything about me? I'm the bad boy she sent to his room for a century. I'm what happens when you realize she's full of shit, but a little too strong for her to do anything about.

[He's not sure what to make of the comment about Dante being here other than assume it's a lie the kid is saying to sound intimidating.]

_{[Wrath has never been particularly good at hiding his emotions. Which is why the stages of realization-- confusion, dawning comprehension, alarm, and then ANGER become immediately apparent on his face.]}

Y- ... you... you're GREED! I know about you! You were a TRAITOR!

_{[He starts to writhe like an eel in the other Homunculus' grasp, trying to pry Greed's fingers off of his collar. It doesn't exactly work. Greed's had hundreds of years to hone his strength and Wrath is still figuring out what the heck all he can even do.]}

Tch.

[The kid's young, though. Greed isn't going to be angry at that. He knows how it goes, how easy is to fall into traps, especially when the promises are so tempting.]

And did she tell you why I betrayed the group?

[It's rhetorical-- no, she wouldn't have. Envy and Lust know the whole story, but they've both figured it out on their own without Greed's help.]

Because... because you were GREEDY and you didn't think they were good enough for you!!

_{[That's not precisely what he was told-- they hadn't exactly gone into detail about it, just told him that Greed was Bad and an Example of what happened to Bad kids-- but he'd sort of assumed.]

[He continues to writhe and thrash, shoving against the table Greed's seated at to try and gain some traction, but he can't do a whole lot when he can't reach the ground.]}

Let go! Let me go!

I'm good, I'm not like you!

Ah-ah.

[He wags the index finger of his free hand, but Greed is getting a little tired of holding the kid up, so he drops him. Not hard enough that Wrath will fall on his ass, as funny as that might be for a split second, so Wrath will land on his feet, but Greed does give one of those looks that makes it clear he's ready to do something else if he needs to.]

That's not true, that's not true at all. I don't like liars, even if she is the one telling the lie.

I'm what happens when you realize her offer is no good and you want out.

[It's not said in a cruel way. Instead, Greed opts for a matter-of-fact tone.]

_{[A muffled OOF escapes him as he's unexpectedly dropped, but he catches himself and hops backwards, out of grabbing range. Those quick Homunculus reflexes are really something, although they hadn't been able to save him from getting grabbed in the first place.]

[He puffs like an angry cat, glaring at Greed with every ounce of vinegar in his pint-sized body.]}

What do you mean, no good?

She takes care of us! Nobody else would!

We're monsters and humans hate us!

That's not true.

[Alchemists like Dante, Hohenheim, and even Edward Elric can push them around, insult them, and even call them mistakes. But that doesn't make any of it true.

They're living beings, just like humans.]

She won't make you human. She never will.

_{[First Wrath's eyes widen... and then they narrow.]}

Why wouldn't she?

Once she's got what she wants, it'll be EASY to change us into humans! Easy like... like blinking!

Yeah, it would be easy. She could do it. She'd have the power to.

But she wouldn't.

[He's seen things. Things he won't repeat to a small child.]

... You just don't like her. You're trying to make me a traitor, just like you.

Well I won't be!

She says I'm a good boy.

_{[He squares his jaw and stands as tall as he can without going on tiptoe. >8( HE IS A BRAVE WARRIOR AND THIS IS A FOE.]}

[He should have expected something like this.

He gives Wrath a look that could almost be pity.]

Ask Envy if you don't believe me. Or Lust.

Envy's the one who told me she'd make us human! Envy wouldn't lie.

_{[... Oh. Oh you sweet summer child.]}

That's because it's what you needed to hear.

[It's a pretty cruel thing to admit. Greed is well aware of it. The other Homunculi are all mentally adults. For the most part, anyway. There's still Gluttony to consider, but even Envy had been mostly grown when he...]

If you don't trust me, stick around Envy or Lust, kid. Don't go back to her. We're a better family for you than she is.

_{[The worst part of all this is that Greed is saying all the right things. All the true things.]

[... But the kid has Dante's claws in him too deeply. A few months is hardly enough time spent existing in the world to develop the kind of defenses one needs to withstand what she does to minds. Especially when you don't even have any memories from being human to gently steer your moral compass in healthy directions.]

[So Wrath scowls, his expression darkening.]}

Homunculi don't have families. We just have Master. And each other. And they'd agree with me if they were here!

So stop-- _{[It happens quickly. He plunges his hand down at the floor and when he brings it back up, it's a fist made of asphalt. Which he slams into the underside of Greed's table, trying to flip it.]}-- LYING!

[Wrath is just a kid-- even more so than Greed ever was upon first being born, even if Greed had acted more like a child than a man when he first became aware of the world around him.

Greed isn't going to raise a hand against him for that reason. It's hypocritical, when he'd been willing to harm teenage boys for his own personal gain, but harming Wrath is just not an option.]

We do have families--

[But the kid attacks before he has a chance to say anything else, raising his Shield instinctively to keep the table from hurting him, which is a mistake, because when it connects, it shatters splinters shooting everywhere, and Greed covers his face as it happens, too used to being human to stop himself from doing it.]

Kid.

[The tone is tense, a warning, but ultimately that's all it is.]

_{[A few people at the other tables leap up with shrieks and swearing, but nobody seems willing to get in the way of this BRUTAL MONSTER FAMILY MELTDOWN, so the area vacates pretty quickly.]

[A few of the flying splinters nick Wrath's skin, but he doesn't seem to notice.]}

My family is loyal. Stop talking like you're part of it! You left them!

_{[Greed may not be willing to raise a hand to Wrath, but the kid is more than willing to strike out at his elder. He slams the asphalt fist directly into the older Homunculus' stomach-- .... where it promptly shatters. Whoops.]}

[Dammit, kid.

He was enjoying having a peaceful lunch, too.]

I never left them.

[Taking a fist to the stomach fucking hurts. Even with his Shield up, it doesn't stop it from hurting. Especially when he's taking a blow from another Homunculus.]

_{[Wrath withdraws, a normal fleshy hand reforming from the stony stump. But his glare is unchanging.]}

You tried! Then Master stopped you!

_{[He can't honestly comment on any details. Because naturally that's really all he knows. Greed tried to leave. But no one leaves Master, so she got him. She got him so good that he died.]

[It's a childish understanding of a situation that was only heard secondhand, and heavily censored (except for the gruesome bits, to really drive home the 'this is what happens to naughty children' part). But he'll cling to it as hard as he can!]}

011 Things Acquired - [action; FOURTH WALL]

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