Reading, Books and People [Alphonse, Ask, Invite]

[Anastasia Vorobyov]

Anastasia yawned. It was about noon, based on the shadows of the people that were passing her in the busy streets of London. She was on the steps of the library, where she had just taken a nap. Truly, when she first arrived there, the enormous clock in the center of the town had chimed 9 o'clock. The library didnt open on Sundays until 11:30, and in her wait for it to open, she accidentally fell asleep. She had wrapped her trench coat around her and put her briefcase on her lap. The only real thing that woke her up was the sudden change in temperature. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she noticed that clouds were beginning to cover the sun, and it smelled like rain. Standing up and stretching, she didnt want to get caught in a rain storm at all. The last thing she wanted was to be wet before sitting for hours.

The reason she had come to the library in the first place was to do some research on what types of engineering London had that differed or varied compared to Moscow. She took her briefcase in hand and turned on her heel through the doors of the library. Normally, she would grab ten, perhaps twenty books to add to her arsenal to study, but she had no idea what the policies of this library were. She was still rather new in this city. It had only been a few days ago that she had arrived by train from Russia, and she felt completely foreign. One thing she needed was someone that could show her around the city, offer some help in finding her someplace she could set up fort or stay for an extended period, and a job. That, or just someone to talk to. She hadnt talked to too many passerbys, because she found it would probably be awkward to start talking to some random person.

Anastasia shook herself and took some decent-sized strides to a table that was in a rather quiet section. It was the science section, perfect. Setting her briefcase down and tossing her trench coat over the back of her chair, she got up and looked for the right book. After about five minutes of browsing, she found the perfect book Astro-Physics and the Concepts of Engineering. She smiled to herself...this book was just right. She flipped absently through the introduction as she slowly walked to the table where she put her things and sat in the chair with her coat on it. She took out a pen and paper from her briefcase. Alot of it contained some theories she had developed while attending a University, and she wanted to prove them somehow. If someone helped her, that would be nice. But for now, she was content with taking notes by herself.

Brushing her arm somewhat, she absently traced the outline of the burn scar that was branded into her skin from her own foolishness. Before cracking the book, Anastasia smiled. Everytime she touched the scar it made her think of her father, the biggest and most motivational figure in her life. She was doing this for him, her goal to bring joy to him...because she would prove that she had grown into as talented a person as her mother. Now, to read. She opened the book and began in chapter one.

[Alphonse Elric]

The freshness of the air was welcome to the younger Elric as he made his way to the library, drawing in a deep breath through his nose before exhaling slowly. The day could have gone better, his confrontation with his brother and his attempted reconciliation...it seemed to have worked for the most part and the atmosphere that was usually heavy between them seemed to have thinned considerably, but it was only a temporary fix, he knew that well enough, it wouldn’t be long before everything returned to the way it was, and the atmosphere would once again attempt to choke him within its shroud. There was some elation to be had perhaps over what had happened, he had seen that his brother was still there, hidden beneath the veil of the demon that was consuming him, but still present and somehow that filled him with a small sense of optimism, he’d said he would tell him, given some time....a promise of sorts.

Promises...that was what Edward always made to him, promises that used to be kept so easily now thrown aside with apparently little thought. He had sad he needed time...but time for what exactly? Why would he need time to debate something that seemed so...so...simple? Was it so difficult for him to communicate with him now? He didn’t understand it all...hell, he hardly understood anything anymore, his life played out before his eyes, it was like he was viewing it through someone elses eyes, as though he were merely a spectator in his own life, unable to change the outcome of situations, no matter how much he wanted to. There was nothing he wanted more than to return things to how they had been, to save his brother from his apparent insanity, but for that to happen, he would need to know exactly what was wrong...and he wasn’t getting anywhere fast with that, even with the acknowledgement that Edward had said he would tell him...but hadn’t he said things like that before?

‘Plop’, the sudden sensation of water on his skin roused the younger Elric from his thoughts as he paused at the bottom of the large stone steps that led up to the library, grey eyes almost the colour of the sky itself were cast upwards as the rain began to fall. Alphonse raised his arms, hands outstretched to catch the droplets as he closed his eyes gently, revelling in the coolness, the sensation of the drops upon his face. It was strange how that cold sensation made him feel calm, at ease, and were it not for the fact that he had forgotten his coat, he might have stayed poised as he was at the bottom of the steps, instead he lowered his arms slowly, blinking away the water from his eyelashes before exhaling deeply, making his way up the steps to the library. He wasn’t looking for anything specific here, he rarely did, more often than not he found himself merely scouring the stacks for anything that jumped out at him, a colour, a title, anything that would catch his eye, though frequently he found himself among the science books.

Perhaps it was only natural that he should have taken an interest in science, after all, Alchemy in itself was a science, and whilst it did not work in this world, he had at least found something that interested him almost as much. The younger Elric had remained in the rain sufficiently long enough for his hair to be somewhat damp, and he brushed his fingers through his fringe, wiping away the few droplets of rain before letting his eyes scan along one shelf in particular...it was here that he had met her...Jayne, he remembered that well enough, the book that had interested them both, a large leather bound journal, the embossed cover that had once held words of gilded gold worn away, it wasn’t there anymore...and neither was she...but he remembered her. Light golden hair, sapphire eyes that sparkled with a sense of mischief...and her smile...Alphonse touched his hand to his face, feeling his cheeks burn in remembrance before he retrieved a random book from the shelf and made his way over to a table, sitting down quickly as he opened the book and buried his face it, if only to try and keep his mind on something else...or maybe it was merely to hide the blush on his cheeks from the few people here...either way, he tried to lose himself in the words before him.

[jayne]

Despite the slight dreary weather, she felt considerately happy, as always. The cool breeze of the wind was welcoming upon her skin as she walked, her pace settle and in no hurry, she would rather take her time, than to rush the very aspect of feeling such calming surroundings. For once, not much was proceeding to happen around her, and this soothed her very soul even more. Inhaling the crystal air, the young girl stepped lightly upon the Library steps, her sapphire eyes glancing momentarily at the doors. They were shut.

She was early. Sighing, she settled herself not to far from the entrance upon a nearby bench, her bag being placed beside her before she scurried through its contents. As soon as her eyes settled upon the leather her smile rose, and her heart lifted. The golden in prints glistening slightly as she reached in to retrieve it and carefully, flicked through the pages. The young boy she had met that day, both becoming interested within its contents. She of course, had not forgotten him. But today, she was to return that book.

It hadn't been long before the time struck and she knew she was able to permit herself inside. Carefully, she placed the book within the safety of her bag as the soft cold drops began to fall. It felt refreshing in a way, and to it, she stopped and smiled, glancing upon the sky around her. Of course, throughout this time, she was completely unaware of everyone around her, and merely proceeded in without a second thought. On her entrance, she received several smiles from common folk she had met, and her greeting in return was the same nodding as per usual.

Of course, the young blond had no intentions of where she was going, but whatever seemed to intrigue her enough to borrow the contents. Before, her interest in Physics was great, but it slowly faded. She still did enjoy a good book every now and then, but there were others out there would build her mind greatly. So many different titles and features of great minds which had been generous enough to share their talents with the world. It was nice to let your mind escape from reality to the words upon a page. To others, it would sound silly, but to her, it was a dream come true.

The library was not at all busy. On occasions it would become bustling with people. Carefully, she maneuvered herself around a few people before heading toward the front desk, retrieving the book from her bag before checking it over, a hand stroking the front. It was too hard to let go. The woman behind the counter smiled at her, and in return, she smiled back. They quickly exchanged few words and the book was to be returned to whence it came. Sighing, she took a moment for herself, a hand lifting to brush through her silken hair. She seemed to be looking for someone, and she was. Alphonse.

In remembering his name well enough, she remembered but a few features from him; the soft face, gentle smile and tanned brown hair, but most of all, those silvery gray toned eyes. A blush formed upon her face. Her eyes darted around for anyone who might see before she quickly scurried to a location of shelves. Those sapphire eyes studied the shelves for something that would peak her interest, and quickly grabbed a book, unsure of its title or purpose. But nevertheless, she would read it all the same, and see where it would take her mind.

In seeming satisfaction of her choice, the girl proceeded forth to a nearby table, within the Science section. It hosted one person upon it, and there was another sitting not too far away. Of course, she was too bewildered with covering her blushing that she took no notice of who those people might be, instead, considering them as strangers at first. Softly, she placed her bag down by her feet before relaxing back in the comfort of the chair, opening the book. In astonishment, she eyed the words, and realized that they explained detailed explanations of Science, amnesty various other things.

Smiling, she proceeded to read anyway, getting her mind into the book. But, as her sapphire eyes lifted for a split second to peer upon the other two, the one before her seemed somehow familiar. In thinking she was seeing things, she resumed to her book. Yet, it had occurred to her at this stage. Her mouth opened in slight awe as she lowered her book. Her sapphire eyes meeting the back of the book that the boy held. "..... Alphonse?" her voice soft, quiet, but mostly, confused, her head tilting slightly to try and get a better look. It had been so long.

[Anastasia Vorobyov]

Anastasia found that she had been staring absently at the same page for some time. Recently, she had been letting her thoughts wander alot when she was trying to focus on something. Clearly though, she wasnt trying to focus that hard on the interesting text before her eyes. For a few months now, she'd taken an interest in human psychology, especially the unconscious mind, what happens when one is asleep, and dreams...the interesting fragments of both imagination and reality being put together with ones desires whilst they slept, playing a movie for the dreamer to watch.

However, she very well knew that these movies could come out horrible, and they could haunt their dreamers for elapsed periods of time that seemed to never end. She blinked as she picked her head up to stare at the shelf across from her. Really, this was the first science that she had taken an interest in that was not some sort of physical science. It was odd, but after the time she had picked that one book up at the University, she could never quite get a little buzz of enthusiasm shooed out of her head each time she thought of Unconscious Psychology. She yawned and closed her book, the 'whump' of the pages collapsing on each other making her jump with a new, more awake energy.

She looked around her. There were two people there near her seat, technically at the same table just because of how long the table itself was. There were two people...they looked younger than she was, but they were each sitting in this section of the library. A young couple interested in physics, maybe? No...they would be sitting next to each other, no doubt, if they were a couple. However, the girl seemed to be staring at the boy, a shocked expression on her face, and the boy seemed sort of absorbed in his reading, as though any words the girl had said didnt quite reach him...if she said anything at all.

Not wanting to just sit here and make a situation awkward by staring at two strangers, Anastasia stood up. She brushed something or other off of her pant leg, and made her way over to the two. She pulled out a chair that was next to the girl and sat down in it. She didnt mean to startle anyone, but her goal here in this new city was to make some friends..friends that could answer any questions she had and point her in some correct directions. "Hello.." she said, a casual introduction, her Russian accent fairly noticeable. She silently cursed it. She didnt want to seem like a clueless foreigner, but she spoke anyway. She glanced at the front desks to check that her question wouldnt be stupid..and she wouldnt just get waved off to the desks. There was a que of people waiting to be checked or whathavethey, and Anastasia was no waiter.

"You two appear to be a bit more familiar with this library than I am. Do you know if they have a book on Astrophysics and Mechanics, and a book on Clinical Psychology...Dream Psychology? I grabbed this book thinking it could benefit me, but I was mistaken."

She gave them a friendly smile, and observed both of them. One thing that she had a tenancy of doing was analyzing people.

[Alphonse Elric]

It was sort of difficult to get into a book when you had decided to cover your face with it...as silly as that sounded. He wasn't exactly sure what had made his cheeks flush, it hadn't been a long meeting, five minutes if that, but then things happened in a short amount of time sometimes didn't they? Maybe it was merely remembering his embarrassment that day, his idiocy at not realising that the book wouldn't move because someone else's hand were upon it, and if he hadn't given it such a hard tug to retrieve it from the shelf, Jayne wouldn't have ended up on the floor. Perhaps in a way that had been a blessing, merely for the fact that he had gotten to meet her. It was unusual, to find a girl interested in science, it wasn't that he disapproved of it, it was just...well, most girls in society weren't really interested in becoming anything these days, but she was so...so different, it was refreshing to meet a girl who wasn't just pleasing to the eye.

The younger Elric shifted uncomfortably in his seat, feeling his cheeks burn more as he tried to drive his thoughts away and actually concentrate on the blurred text in front of his face...which was easier said than done. "..... Alphonse?" Huh? Did someone say his name? He had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed that someone had decided to sit across from him, and he lowered the book slightly, grey eyes peering over the top of the thick tome before he dropped it completely, eyes wide and staring as he swallowed hard. “J-Jayne!” he cried somewhat surprised at seeing her, this had to be the strangest coincidence...why did people always seem to show up when you were thinking about them? “I-I......uh...”. Damn it his tongue felt like lead in his mouth, weighing down his words so that all he could muster was a few vowel sounds...this was embarrassing , he should have been able to say something, how stupid was it to just sit there gawking. Alphonse cursed himself mentally for his brains lack of ability to function for a few moments before he became aware of someone else approaching, seating herself next to Jayne...well, that took some of the heat out of his face at least.

"Hello.." That caught Alphonse's interest, her accent, even with that simple word was obviously not a London one, he'd been living here long enough to know that at least...but he wasn't exactly sure what accent it was, not that it really mattered. "You two appear to be a bit more familiar with this library than I am. Do you know if they have a book on Astrophysics and Mechanics, and a book on Clinical Psychology...Dream Psychology? I grabbed this book thinking it could benefit me, but I was mistaken." The younger Elric blinked a couple of times in rapid succession before his brain pieced together what the girl had said, his hand moving to drag his bangs away from his forehead. “Uh....Clinical Psychology” he said quietly thinking for a moment. “I think those ones are in the back of the library, at least they used to be, I haven't really been in that section since the first time I came here”. That was true enough, once he had found his current science of interest he had spent all his time reading that rather than delving into everything the library had to offer.

[jayne]

He just sat there, staring straight upon the book within his hands. The young girl tilted her head a little in confusion. If this was truly the bright boy she had met that day, then surely he would have responded by now. Maybe she was wrong? But luckily, that was answered as he dropped his book, causing her to be startled for a minute. “J-Jayne!” His slight panicked voiced made her blush, and her smile reformed as she watched him attempt to reassure himself. She herself was having trouble to try and keep her mind straight.

“I-I......uh...” By this stage, she released a light giggle, watching him curiously. He was an odd one wasn't he? But that was the valid reason why she had interest in him. From the very first time she had met him, she had found him unique. For a few moments she smiled at him in reassurance, but before she could respond to his stummering words, another being approached, and settled themself down beside her. Turning, the young blond looked upon the other girl, pondering at her purpose of joining their table, but she soon spoke.

"Hello.." Already she had started to have her curiosity peaked, and the accent pretty much stated it all from one word. Jayne took several seconds to try and make out the accent, but just couldn't. "You two appear to be a bit more familiar with this library than I am. Do you know if they have a book on Astrophysics and Mechanics, and a book on Clinical Psychology...Dream Psychology? I grabbed this book thinking it could benefit me, but I was mistaken."

She knew it, she swore to herself that she recognized this accent. At the same time, she herself was thinking over the other girl's request. She was about to respond, but Al had done that before she could; she didn't mind though. She listened carefully as he spoke, his voice soothing her. “Uh....Clinical Psychology” Flicking her fringe aside her face, her sapphire eyes watched Alphonse before they settled on the girl again, smile still wide. “I think those ones are in the back of the library, at least they used to be, I haven't really been in that section since the first time I came here”

Wait. She knew it... It was Russian! She knew that she had heard that accent. Slightly more interested now, Jayne bowed her head a little to the girl to display her respects and curteous personality. Of course, her eyes diverted back to Alphonse, smiling still, a blush forming again. She was just pleased to see him here, it had been a while, especially after her not being at the Library in so long from her having a cold. For that, she felt bad. But she was here now, and she was before him, along with another.

"It's been a while." she stated after a few moments silence. "How have you been Alphonse?" she asked politely, in hopes her question was not too personal to Al. It was a generic question just simply hoping that all was going well. She was to involve their new guest as well, so in respects, turned to face her. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Jayne." she said introducing herself. It would be nice to get to know more about them both. Making new friends is always a new start in life, a step and a journey that no book could ever lead you through.

[Anastasia Vorobyov]

Shortly after Anastasia had spoken, the boy had directed her in the appropriate direction, she had been about to leave until she saw the look the boy was giving the girl. What was it…shocked? Amazed? Surprised? Enthralled, even? When he had spoken, his voice had clearly been surprised. Soon after, the girl spoke. Ah, so they had met each other before? Perhaps a while ago…it made more sense now. People could make fast friends that had an impact on each other, despite how brief a time they were in each other’s company.

She smiled. These two were younger than her, but she remembered when she used to make friends just like that back in Russia. She’d left them behind to go and become a better scientist and engineer, but she still made sure to keep in contact. She didn’t want to loose people that had grown close to her simply because she wanted to advance with her life. She would always keep her friends and her father close…they were important to her, and she did not want to loose them. Sure, she was a bit of a bookworm half the time, but she always wanted to remain close to them.

She turned her head a little and nodded to the boy, who was apparently named Alphonse. ”Thank you. I’ll be sure to check it out—“ she murmured. However, she didn’t finish before the girl started speaking as well. She, too, seemed a bit surprised by the boy, however…she had pointed him out first before he noticed her. After the girl, who introduced herself as Jayne, finished speaking, Anastasia wanted to smack herself. She hadn’t been so polite as to mention that it was nice to meet them.

”Forgive me for my forgetfulness…it’s a pleasure to meet you. As you can probably tell, I’m new around these parts. Beautiful name, Jayne. My name’s Anastasia. How are you?”

[Alphonse Elric]

This was perhaps the one thing that had gone right today...or at least for the most part. The morning with Edward had been as unproductive as always, and the afternoon had seemed to at least be somewhat more...manageable. Edward had told him that he needed time, but time for what exactly? Did he really need time to think about it all? Was it so hard to just tell him? He admitted that he had been quick to give his brother a positive answer, that he had perhaps been all too eager to say yes when he had asked him to be patient and wait, but just how much more waiting could he do? Even if he had said yes, even if Edward had seemed content with his answer...he wasn’t, he should have said something else, should have asked him for a time, a date...hell anything, but his mind had been too preoccupied and he had found himself simply giving him the first thing that had come to his mind.

Right now however he felt like the biggest idiot to ever grace the earth, his face was still burning and he was thankful that this foreign girl had shown up when she did if only to save him from making a bigger fool out of himself than he already had. Admittedly it hadn’t been the biggest mistake of his life, it was just an inability to talk for a moment when confronted with Jayne...he’d probably have been able to say something more if he hadn’t been surprised...yes, that was what it was...she’d just surprised him that was all, it was nothing. He’d keep telling himself that, that it was all nothing...for as long as he could at least, he didn’t want to admit to himself that he felt something towards her, mostly because he didn’t want to complicate things in his already troubled mind...it had been one meeting, one time at the library, and yet seeing her just once more had sent his heart racing and his flesh reddening...and apparently it had turned his tongue to lead for a few moments.

”Thank you. I’ll be sure to check it out—“ Alphonse passed the new girl a smile, trying to be polite at least in some part through his current predicament, but grey eyes were ultimately drawn back to Jayne, and perhaps that had been the wrong thing to do, because no sooner was he staring at her than she started talking to him again, and he felt his shoulders tense. "It's been a while." Yeah...it had been a while, a long while...was he heating up again? "How have you been Alphonse?" The younger Elric simply grinned widely for a moment before swallowing hard. “I’ve been uh...” he said pausing briefly. He couldn’t exactly say he’d been well, not entirely anyway, but he didn’t want to be bringing up anything from home, besides, he didn’t know her well enough for that...and he didn’t want to burden anyone either. “...I’ve been fine”.

[jayne]

”Forgive me for my forgetfulness…it’s a pleasure to meet you. As you can probably tell, I’m new around these parts. Beautiful name, Jayne. My name’s Anastasia. How are you?”

The young girl listened, showing all signs of interest and intent of displaying her politeness. Her smile did not fade once, her bright personality wading through, as as the other girl compliment on her name, she could not help but giggle again in thanks. "Thank You. Yours too." She confirmed, nodding her head to her. "Very well. Yourself? Her voice was soft, alluring almost with every word that she spoke; it gave that relaxing essence to it, something which told you that everything was alright. In remembering, her sapphire eyes returned to Alphonse, watching him for a moment. She could sense the nervousness that resonated from him, but in respect, she simply continued to smile for his sake. “I’ve been uh...” She waited patiently. “...I’ve been fine.” She nodded. "That's good." From her words, a blush had formed over her cheeks, causing her to turn away a little.

In not desiring to be rude, as Jayne was never one to be, she looked back to Anastasia. Now, Jayne was the most polite girl ever to associate with, her gentle personality and sweet nature made her a common member to talk with, especially within the library, and she was known by most within here. "So Anastasia, how are you liking it here?" She asked politely, being rather curious and intrueged by the over all situation of a newcomer. It was lovely to meet different people from different regions of the world, it was what made the days so unique and brighter, especially in her terms. But, that was not all that had brightened her day today.

The fact she had met Alphonse delighted her, for she had not seen the young boy in a while. She herself was quite distant from others more than she hoped, and in truth, she did not have any official 'friends', ones to sit and talk with, to share a chat together or anything of that sort. Right now, there was an oppertunity, to make friends with not one, but two people. Both having their own unique personality that made them special. She smiled wider to that thought, her sapphire eyes once more retracing back to Alphonse before she giggled again, unable to keep herself from looking upon his soft face; but there was something beyond his features that she could sense, that there was much more history than he let on.

But his quietness concerned her, and in hopes that nothing was terribly wrong, she reached out a hand, placing it on top of his out of sheer instict of her kindness. A frown had formed upon her face now, leaning in a little, those once bright eyes displaying evident worry. "... Are you alright Alphonse?" No matter what she said, it always sounded to tender and welcoming, a seemingly motherly touch to it. -- Looking into his silver eyes, she smiled, trying to reassure him the best she could, letting him know that, no matter what was wrong, he always had people who cared, like her, and even Anastatia. Even if they barely knew each other, to Jayne, that did not matter. What mattered, was making sure that everything was okay. For Jayne's world, always seemed bright and happy, and she was merely sharing it.

[Anastasia Vorobyov]

Anastasia closely watched the exchange between Jayne and the boy…Alphonse was that his name? Alphonse glanced to the boy. He seemed abnormally quiet. If he normally talked freely, he could have fooled Anastasia. Apparently, Jayne was picking up on something different in his behavior as well. Anastasia’s gaze had not lingered on Alphonse for but a few seconds before Jayne herself spoke, asking if he were alright. Apparently this is not normal for him… Anastasia though.

However, her focus was now not so much Alphonse’s strange quietness as it was what Jayne had asked her. ”I’m liking it quite well, and I’m doing alright, actually…better than I thought I would. I haven’t been here all that long, though. Arrived just recently, actually. I came here to deepen my knowledge of various sorts of physics, and start my repertoire with dream and unconscious psychology and astronomy and even astrology if I can get my hands on the resources. I have a peculiar interest in a land outside of the one we live in, be it outer space or the human mind…an entirely different world in its own. I actually came here after attending a university for a short time.”[/b]

Anastasia smiled and gave a chuckle before she continued. ”On the train up here it occurred to me that I should have made housing arrangements before I arrived. I haven’t got anywhere to stay yet, so I figured I could come to the library for just about anything. Hopefully, though, I can find a job for my area of specialization and buy a flat soon…or at least rent one.”[/b]

Anastasia gave a pause, and for the seconds it drew out, it seemed to grow sort of awkward…to Anastasia at least. Gently clapping her hands together, Anastasia rubbed her leather half-gloved hands together absently as though she were cold. ”As you can probably tell, Im not much of one to do the small talk…”[/b] she began, a small, laugh-like edge to her voice. ”But…what do you do for fun around here, Jayne?”[/b] she asked politely.
[/size]

[Alphonse Elric]

He probably could have thought of a better answer than simply 'fine', there plenty of other words he could have used, ones that didn't sound so false when they fell from his lips. He wasn't fine, to be honest, he wasn't exactly sure what he was right now...sad didn't cover it and confused only just managed to sum up about half of what he was feeling. Alphonse's brain was a muddled mess of emotions, thoughts, all scrambling for a place in his conciousness to the point that he wasn't sure what was what any more. It was difficult to focus, he'd realised that when he had started reading the book he had grabbed from the shelf, but at least he was trying to distract himself...even if he was failing at it.

It was perhaps unnatural for Alphonse to be quiet, if anything he had always been the more talkative brother and always the one who was more openly friendly, that wasn't to say that Edward was anti-social, it was more that he preferred not to do the talking in social situations, however, if something bothered him, he would be the first to start ranting and raving. How things changed...to think that when things had bothered him Edward would have said something...he'd always voiced his opinions, shared everything with Alphonse...only now the only thing he seemed to share with him was animosity, and frankly the younger Elric found that it felt as though it were directed at him. It was stupid perhaps to think that Edward could hate him...he remembered a time, when Edward had actually thought that Alphonse harboured hate towards him...frankly he'd been surprised at that...how could he ever think he would hate him? But then...wasn't he thinking the same of Edward right now?

"... Are you alright Alphonse?" Huh? Grey eyes that had glazed over with thought were brought to the young girls face before he felt her hand upon his and he looked down, seemingly confused for a moment before he shook it off...it was just a hand...all right it was her hand, but still. Only now was he realising that conversation had been going on whilst he was caught in his own world, and not only did he feel embarrassed by that, but he also felt like the rudest person in the world, especially considering he had hardly said two words to Anastasia “Uh...yeah...I'm ok...sorry....I sort of zoned out there for a second” he said quickly, a somewhat embarrassed smile lighting his features...he really needed to stop letting his mind wander...but he couldn't help it, no matter how hard he tried, his mind always came back to the same thing...always.