[Al's eyes grow a little dark. He doesn't like to have to pull this, but Ed needs to understand.]
She needs something that she doesn't have to get in close to use, something that doesn't require a lot of strength. She can shoot to slow something -- or SOMEONE -- down.
[Al lifts his chin, drawing a finger over the faint marks on his jawbone, all but faded now.]
You didn't see this when it was fresh. If I hadn't been an alchemist, I would have been beaten to death, in an alleyway, with a crowbar. For no reason but the fact that that man wanted someone to hurt.
My alchemy was the only thing that saved me. Mom wouldn't have any chance against something like that, unless she had a gun. Even a knife wouldn't have done much good.
[Al's voice drops to a whisper.]
I don't like it any more than you do, Ed. She'd never forgive herself if she hurt someone... I know that. But I want her to be alive in order to regret it. Mom would never use the gun in anger. Never.
-=He understands...All too well. But there comes a point where you have to ask yourself where the line is.=-
You realize, -=his voice is quiet as his hands curl into fists at his sides.=- That once she fires that weapon at someone, regardless of whether or not it's in defense, she'll no longer be the mother we know.
-=Frustrated beyond belief, he slings his pocket watch across the room.=-
Why the FUCK do I still have this title hanging around my neck when I can't even use it here?!
[For Al, there isn't even a line anymore. Or if there is, hell if he knows where it went to, because he won't know until he's knocking against it. No matter the horrors of what they'd been through back home, he'd been through worse here.
Innocence was the price to pay for the strength to survive.
He starts to reply when the clatter of metal on wood cracks through the room, and Al flinches before he realizes it's only his brother. ... it's not the normal response to an outburst of violence from anyone, especially Ed. ... it's far from the normal response.]
... sometimes you have to do things you're not proud of, Brother.
[Al's voice is very quiet.]
She's been here... much longer than you realize. She's been here just a few months less than I have. ... she's seen what's out there. She knows what we do, what happens to us. She knows the dangers, and she handles them. She's already a part of this, Brother.
[Al's got not answer for him on that one. Instead, he just shifts to sit up in bed, and hold out his arms, slightly. If Ed's too mad, it's a different story, but..]
[Al waits a minute, then shifts from the covers to slide his hand into Ed's left one, leaning his chin on his shoulder, just to have that closeness to him.]
... this place is a hard place to be. ... it hurts you. It changes you. It makes you think about things, and do things, that you'd have never thought of or even considered before. You meet people and encounter ideas that'll completely change the way you look at the world.
It's hard. It always is. But that's the price for the chances we have. The price is always going to be there, but it's up to us to live.
... this place gave us Mom. It gave us this second chance to be a family again.
[Al ruffles his fingers through Ed's hair. His touch must still feel unfamiliar, but he's working to erase that. Ed needs to be hugged. Or so Al rationalizes to himself. He's got years to make up for it.]
[Al's smile grows. Ed used to do that, since he couldn't fit his hand around the huge leather glove that was his hand, for so long... Al very gently curls his fingers around Ed's hand. He doesn't have to be so gentle now, but... memories.]
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timeasmymeasure
[Video]
Date: 2009-12-03 03:53 am (UTC)Come upstairs.
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-03 11:45 am (UTC)She isn't gonna carry a gun.
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-03 10:23 pm (UTC)She has to have some sort of protection out there.
[Al's voice is very firm. Ed doesn't know how dangerous this place is, how easy it is to be attacked, to be killed.]
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-03 11:38 pm (UTC)-=Adapt or die is a necessary thing, but when that adaptation demands you abandon your core beliefs? No.=-
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-03 11:47 pm (UTC)She needs something that she doesn't have to get in close to use, something that doesn't require a lot of strength. She can shoot to slow something -- or SOMEONE -- down.
[Al lifts his chin, drawing a finger over the faint marks on his jawbone, all but faded now.]
You didn't see this when it was fresh. If I hadn't been an alchemist, I would have been beaten to death, in an alleyway, with a crowbar. For no reason but the fact that that man wanted someone to hurt.
My alchemy was the only thing that saved me. Mom wouldn't have any chance against something like that, unless she had a gun. Even a knife wouldn't have done much good.
[Al's voice drops to a whisper.]
I don't like it any more than you do, Ed. She'd never forgive herself if she hurt someone... I know that. But I want her to be alive in order to regret it. Mom would never use the gun in anger. Never.
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-03 11:55 pm (UTC)You realize, -=his voice is quiet as his hands curl into fists at his sides.=- That once she fires that weapon at someone, regardless of whether or not it's in defense, she'll no longer be the mother we know.
-=Frustrated beyond belief, he slings his pocket watch across the room.=-
Why the FUCK do I still have this title hanging around my neck when I can't even use it here?!
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 12:11 am (UTC)Innocence was the price to pay for the strength to survive.
He starts to reply when the clatter of metal on wood cracks through the room, and Al flinches before he realizes it's only his brother. ... it's not the normal response to an outburst of violence from anyone, especially Ed. ... it's far from the normal response.]
... sometimes you have to do things you're not proud of, Brother.
[Al's voice is very quiet.]
She's been here... much longer than you realize. She's been here just a few months less than I have. ... she's seen what's out there. She knows what we do, what happens to us. She knows the dangers, and she handles them. She's already a part of this, Brother.
If you have a better solution...
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 12:25 am (UTC)Fuckin' HATE this place!
-=No, he doesn't have a solution-for now.=-
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 12:35 am (UTC)[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 12:41 am (UTC)[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 12:52 am (UTC)I'm sorry.
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 01:04 am (UTC)'S not your fault...
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 09:16 pm (UTC)... this place is a hard place to be. ... it hurts you. It changes you. It makes you think about things, and do things, that you'd have never thought of or even considered before. You meet people and encounter ideas that'll completely change the way you look at the world.
It's hard. It always is. But that's the price for the chances we have. The price is always going to be there, but it's up to us to live.
... this place gave us Mom. It gave us this second chance to be a family again.
But we have to keep her safe, somehow.
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-04 10:49 pm (UTC)I know. -=Al says the painful truth, and as much as Ed doesn't want to admit to it, he can't help but agree.=-
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-05 12:33 am (UTC)... I promise, it gets easier.
[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-05 01:17 am (UTC)[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-05 01:31 am (UTC)[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-05 02:42 am (UTC)[Offline]
Date: 2009-12-05 02:47 am (UTC)