014 Things Acquried [action; FOURTH WALL]

[ossifragant]

[He's had this song and dance happen before, several times now. It's the same thing every time-- a few days of normalcy before he goes back to being human, and then he's back to no access to his abilities for another six months. It's irritating; he's not sure how to handle it, but Greed's been here for long enough it doesn't really matter, not exactly.

At least he's having a fun time.

Greed's not interested in causing chaos where people can get hurt, but that hasn't stopped him from deciding to play a game of punch-the-tree with a powerfully clawed hand.

Look, he's just really missed his Ultimate Shield. It doesn't actually hurt him, but all of the Pidgeys nearby have flown away from the wild man with the fist made out of iron.]

Comments

[deaftly]

[Naki's really not sure how he ended up in the woods. This is the last place he wants to be, and it's not just because he hates being away from the city. It's one of those weird weekends and he can feel it - he's a ghoul again. This isn't a problem; he prefers being a ghoul, of course. The issue is that he doesn't want to be seen like this. He's never been very good at controlling himself and trying to keep his eyes from doing that thing is going to be nearly impossible.

Unfortunately for Naki, his sense of direction is awful and he's never been in Ilex Forest. He has no idea where he's going. A strange sound catches his attention and Naki approaches.]

...Greed?

[He watches for a moment in silence, head tipped slightly to the side. His friend is... certainly punching a tree. It kind of looks like he's wearing a really weird black glove. Naki's curious, but he knows he shouldn't stick around.

So he'll just pretend he didn't just say the other man's name and he'll be trying to sneak away before Greed can notice him!!!

...No one said Naki was bright.]

[ossifragant]

[That gets Greed to stop, shifting his hand back to normal as he stares at Naki's retreating form for a long moment. That's odd, he doesn't think punching trees is worth running away from.

...Sure, if you're a tiny Pokemon it might be alarming, but it's not like Greed is intentionally terrorizing the poor little forest dwelling animals.]

Naki? Where are you going?

[Despite the whole tree-punching stupidity, he doesn't look the least bit tense or aggressive; his hands are loosely at his sides.]

[deaftly]

[Naki freezes, his shoulders twitching as he slowly and carefully turns to face Greed. He's kind of smiling, but it's obviously a plastered-on expression because he has no idea what to do with his face to make himself seem less suspicious.]

J-Just heading back to town! Yep, gotta go check up on my squids. They're gonna be lonely without me.

[He laughs awkwardly. He's being literally the most suspicious thing right now and he knows it.]

[ossifragant]

[Greed's brows raise. He doesn't look convinced, but he's not sure if he should press. Naki's acted strange before a couple of times-- back during that whole dream... thing, too. But this strikes him as something he should ask about.

Or, he could deflect it by bragging about himself.]

You want to see a cool trick I can do?

[deaftly]

A cool trick?

[Well, that does get Naki's attention and he relaxes a little. It's not much, but at the very least he's interested.]

What kind of cool trick?

[ossifragant]

This kind.

[So he's going to shift his hand back into the iron-black claw like it's not a big deal at all.

Well, to Greed, it isn't a big deal.]

It's kind of ugly, but I can do this to my entire body.

[deaftly]

[Naki jolts a bit at that, but he doesn't seem terrified.]

Whoa, how did you...?

[He approaches, eyes wide and fear momentarily forgotten. He reaches out to touch Greed's arm without waiting for permission.]

[edingly]

[...so that's not weird or anything.]

[Luckily for them both Ed's already met up with Al and been told about the others here, so this isn't as horrible of a shock as it would be otherwise. But of all the ways to find Greed, seeing him try to turn a tree into toothpicks with his fists isn't exactly the way he expected.]

...is...there a problem here, or should I just go?

[ossifragant]

Ah...?

[Greed looks up at that voice, as a Rattata approaches him and starts chattering angrily. Greed ignores it, causing the creature to bite down on his shoe.]

Ow-! Damn thing!

[The Pokemon scampers off as Greed turns to face Ed, acting like he wasn't doing anything unusual, or like he wasn't just bitten by an over-sized mouse.]

There's no problem. It's been a while, Edward Elric.

[edingly]

[...no, Edward is not trying to hold in a laugh from the rat-thing biting Greed's ankle, and he would appreciate you not spreading horrible lies about his composure.]

So punching trees like that is a normal past time for you, then? [Ed grins faintly and walks over, stopping a little ways away from the homunculus.] Yeah, it has.

[It feels like there should be an apology here, but Ed doesn't even know how to begin phrasing it. Nevermind the weirdness of this in general.] ...I, uh. I ran into Al a while ago. He told me a little of how you've been doing here.

[ossifragant]

[And the damn thing ran away before Greed could capture it in a Pokeball, too. How annoying.]

Nah, it's not a usual pass-time. I don't get to do this very often.

[To be honest, Greed isn't expecting an apology. If anything, he should be the one apologizing-- though it hasn't happened to him, he tricked Ed into killing him. It had been a suicide, not a murder.]

Your brother's a good kid.

[No sarcasm there; it's an honest statement.]

[edingly]

Just taking advantage while you can? I can understand that. [Considering he spent his first half hour in Johto transmuting random statues just because he could...]

[Suicide or not, Ed had gone into that of his own free will. Even if he hadn't known Greed would truly die, he'd still gone for the throat. Looking back, he's still not really sure what he expected to happen there.]

[He huffs out a laugh and nods.] Yeah, he's always been the better half of us. I'm glad he's been doing okay here.

[ossifragant]

Yeah, that's right. Three days at a time, six days in a year... it's not long at all.

[He misses being a homunculus every day he isn't one, but having to wait a little while isn't so bad.]

Your bro's been on all sorts of adventures, from what I hear.

[...]

Didn't think I'd be seeing you around here again, kid.

[The name's obviously meant to be affectionate and not mocking.]

Action

[red_roses]

[Guess who just rounded the corner?] !!!!

[ossifragant]

[Well, that's a good way to get him to go from being a destructive asshole to feeling like an asshole. He stops what he's doing immediately, giving the most alarmed look possible at Ib.

He's so sorry!!]

[red_roses]

Wh-what happened to your arm?!

[ossifragant]

[Oh, crap. He can't tell the truth about that, that would scare the hell out of Ib.]

Ah.... er, don't worry about it. My hand can do that.

[...Smooth, Greed. Real smooth.]

[red_roses]

[Processing!]

!!! Like a super hero????

[ossifragant]

[....]

Yeah, sure. Like that. But I don't have a secret identity or anything.

[exeggutorhead]

[You know who's been wanting to punch down trees for WEEKS?]

[THIS GUY. HOPE YOU DON'T MIND IF HE WALKS ON OVER.]

Bet I can knock down more than you.

[Well something's happened this weekend because Envy's acting much more his normal self than he has been.]

[ossifragant]

[Upon seeing Envy, Greed smirks broadly, stepping away from the tree, smugly folding his hands across his chest.]

Oh yeah? You gonna kick it over?

[He'd ask what's gotten Envy in such a good mood, but that can wait until after they've beaten up the poor tree.]

[exeggutorhead]

Damn straight I am.

[Good, because he'd much rather just accept the challenge without having to talk about it, at least not until they've had their fill of nature destruction. This is much easier than talking!]

[With a cocky smirk of his own, he falls into stance and then sends all his strength into a kick at the spot Greed already punched. It's a full-grown tree, so it doesn't go all the way down, but splinters fly and it starts to list over and creak. Envy may not have a shield, but the brief pain from hitting the thing has never stopped him before.]

[ossifragant]

[It's almost just like old times. This kind of destruction is something Greed will always love, and by his laugh when Envy kicks the tree and splinters fly in every direction, he's having a good time.]

We used to do this all the time, remember?

[Like destructive monster teenagers.

Greed gives the tree another punch, though he angles it in such a way so the tree doesn't immediately topple over.]

[exeggutorhead]

Yeah, I remember.

[Of course, back then it had been more than just trees.]

[One more kick ought to bring the tree down, and it's a kick Envy's happy to deliver. The tree finally gives at the impact, falling down away from them and hitting the ground with a crash.]

Ha! If only we could do this all the time instead of just six days a year.

C'mon, let's find another one.

[ossifragant]

[Back then, it had usually been people or entire cities.]

Wouldn't that be something, having out real powers here, all the time? It would certainly be fun.

[But then again, there's something to be said about being human. He knows Envy feels the same way, how ambivalent both of them must feel, but Greed keeps it to himself.]

Be careful, you wouldn't want to stir up a horde of Beedrills.

[He'll just keep acting carefree.]