someone left a cake in the rain

[rewritethis]

[BANG. BANG.]

Dash! Dash!! Open up!

[Doorknocking this violent isn't an uncommon occurrence around this particular dorm, especially accompanied by that voice. What might be a bit more notable is that the sound actually seems to be coming from somewhere close to the floor. Yes, closer than usual. In fact, knocking probably isn't the right word...]

Comments

[elementofloyalty]

It doesn't count as 'thrown' if I never let go of you. Hey, I think I just figured out why you don't like dancing!

[rewritethis]

[He drapes his fallen waistcoat over one arm (she might as well not have bothered washing it, really) and straightens up.] Does it matter why I don't do it if I don't do it?

[elementofloyalty]

[It was an angry protest washing anyway, it served its purpose.]

...I guess not. It'd just be really lame if you didn't graduate because of it.

[rewritethis]

[Sigh.] If you're gonna be serious about it, I don't actually care. I've done worse. But that doesn't mean you get to sit in the peanut gallery and gawk.

[elementofloyalty]

I know how to dance.

...just not ballroom dance.

Yet.

[rewritethis]

Whoop de doo. What do you want, a medal? [He pauses, looking momentarily thoughtful.] Or a training dummy to practise with, since I don't know where the hell else you're gonna find a victim with the right number of feet?

[elementofloyalty]

I suppose I could always take the class with Twilight, but I'm pretty sure I can adjust. [She rears back up on her hind legs, proudly, then punches at the air a couple times before dropping back down.]

[rewritethis]

Uh huh. [He looks steadfastly unimpressed.] Tell whoever ends up stuck with you good luck from me.

[She thankfully seems to be past the point of doing his housework for him out of spite, so he sees no problem with starting to put his own laundry away.]

[elementofloyalty]

[Rainbow falls silent, considering Ed thoughtfully. Specifically, his leg...]

[rewritethis]

[She's never silent. Of course he's going to be suspicious.] What?

[elementofloyalty]

Don't laugh at this, but I was just thinking your leg is really amazing. Most of the time I completely forget it's fake.

[It's a compliment for him, actually, not his leg, but she refuses to phrase it as such because he'll either mock her or get all puffed up.]

[rewritethis]

[As is, it's a little too weird a compliment for him to get puffed up about, but he has to grin a tiny bit anyway.] Well, don't tell it to me. I'm not the one who builds them. [He just breaks them.

All the same, this one's lasted for a while. Since she mentions it, he looks down at it pensively and flexes his foot up and down a couple of times.]

Still haven't figured out what happened with it the day I wound up here, to be honest. It's bizarre. [He's pretty clearly talking to himself there, if his expression didn't make that obvious.]

[elementofloyalty]

[Well, the compliment is really, "you move better with metal limbs than most people do with normal ones"...]

What happened to it? What do you mean?

[rewritethis]

[But why would he pick up on that when he has the opportunity to brood about something? Or, well, reminisce, since he's actually in a relatively good mood. Must have been all the screaming at her.]

Not really to it so much as what it's doing here at all. Last thing I remember from back there, I already didn't know where it went. [He looks down at his foot one more time, then goes back to busying himself with his laundry.] But that's fights for you. They aren't all as pretty as the comic books make them out to be. And it's not like my mechanic needs any more excuses to murder me, so like hell I'm complaining.

[elementofloyalty]

Wait, you actually LOST it?! How did you LOSE it?!

[Rainbow doesn't realize they aren't permanently attached, and hasn't made the connection that one could lose a metal limb without consequence, relatively speaking.]

[rewritethis]

What's so surprising? Automail's no different to any other machine. Sometimes it breaks. [...he says, scrupulously avoiding any suggestion of agency.] Not so different to a real arm or leg either there, when you think about it.

[elementofloyalty]

[She shudders, shrinking a little.] Ugh, that's way too casual a way to talk about that sort of thing.

But it must be different when you're more used to it, huh.

[rewritethis]

[This here is a more standard (that is, not nearly as friendly) grin than the one he had a moment ago.] Why, you squeamish? Just be glad I'm not telling you about the operation.

[elementofloyalty]

[She ducks her head, rubs a hoof through her mane, then looks up at him again.] Tell me about it.

[rewritethis]

[He pauses halfway across the room with an armful of shirts, apparently thinking, but not for long.] Nah. Sounds like it'll be funnier leaving it to your imagination.

[Which is purely a jab at her, and not at all a circuitous way of saying he doesn't want to recall more of it than he has to. Duh.]

[elementofloyalty]

Oh ha ha. Well if you ever decide you want to talk about it and not be the Secret-Keeping Alchemist, I wanna hear.

[rewritethis]

[Hey now, that's someone else's title...]

Since when were you into that kind of thing? Did you pick up a medical textbook while I wasn't looking?

[elementofloyalty]

I don't care about the weird details! I just... I just want to know what it was like for you.

[rewritethis]

[He shrugs as dismissively as he can without dropping his clothes, as if to say yeah, sure she does.] Over quicker than the rehab. It had that going for it.

[elementofloyalty]

Well I wanna hear about that part too. I can't even imagine what it's like to learn to walk again, but I wouldn't be able to even TELL if I didn't know.