riverviewlogs | [closed] ed, you're going down

Entry tags:

[closed] ed, you're going down

who: Citrine, Edward Elric
what: Snowball deathmatch
when: backdated to December, at first snowfall
where: somewhere outside
warnings: none, maybe some extreme silliness

There it was. The cold, wet mass that made your boots get stuck when you were in a hurry, that became sullied so easily it would look like glistening mud instead of what it really was and that felt like a million tiny needles poking at your skin when it seeped into your clothes despite bundling up. Why anyone would like snow had always been beyond her when growing up, and she still insisted it was an inconvenience if not worse, but now-now, she had a reason to look forward to it.

"You better actually read what people tell you," she muttered to herself as she adjusted the gloves on her hands, reevaluating the note she'd left for Ed before going to work this morning. Was the message too vague? Would he suspect anything? From what she knew of him, he would be, but that only increased his chance of showing up to confirm his suspicion. And she would be ready. Oh, she was so ready.

"One, two, three, four, and..." Five perfectly shaped snowballs, resting on the little snowbank next to her. The moment he shows up, he's getting hit by a full volley. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold, and if she's starting over here, she'll be in the lead from the start.

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Luckily for Citrine Ed had gotten her note, and taken it just as seriously as she intended. Of course she was right about one thing, if nothing else: he was suspicious. If it was something that they needed to talk about it could have easily happened in the communal building, but the implication that she had something sounded more research related. They had been discussing sharing information if they found anything of value, after all.

Sure enough, once Ed arrived he looked a little put out by the whole thing, watching her carefully but oblivious to her intent - and the snowballs carefully crafted in advance. Although he had his suspicions that Citrine may very well be the one he knew she'd made no indication of recognizing him or anything he talked about, and he did try to maintain a certain guideline about how he treated the people he recognized in these places. If he knew for certain it was her he wouldn't put such a surprise attack past her, but considering he was still undecided on the matter and she'd yet to do anything too entirely revealing for now he was left with a hunch, Val's own suspicions and the benefit of the doubt offered in her direction.

"All right, what's this about?"

Ah, sweet revenge. The moment she had been waiting for was so close. Citrine watched as Ed approached in the distance, her fingers twitching at the thought of hitting him straight in the face. Or should she aim elsewhere? Her eyes scanned his body, making a note of his arm in particular. That wouldn't do. No, there was no time for big changes in her plan like this. She'd just stick with the first choice in a perfect echo of what happened between them the first time.

In the meantime, Ed seemed oblivious to what she was planning despite the obvious caution he displayed as he walked up to her. I expected better of you, she wanted to taunt, but instead she only let on a tiny smirk while her hand reached for the nearest snowball at her side.

"Just this," she pointed to her left, watching Ed's gaze follow the motion in misguided wariness. Perfect.

And smack. Citrine hurled the snowball straight at the side of his face, making sure not to use too much strength on the first throw. She couldn't expect this Ed to be as familiar with these fights as the one she knew.

"Ah." The chuckle was hard to hide in her voice as a wave of childish satisfaction set in. "Apologies. I think my hand slipped."

An eyebrow quirked at the smirk, because of course he noticed it. If this had been a note left from a stranger his guard might be up a bit higher, but as it was there was still that sense of familiarity, and in his mind no reason not to trust her. If he'd had any idea that she was most definitely the same Citrine he knew years ago he might actually be more aware of his surroundings, after all he had yet to forget their rivalry no matter how long she'd been gone from his life.

Of course he looked as directed, and immediately regretted it when a snowball slammed into his face for his efforts. "Should've known better than to trust you." He retorted, immediately slamming both hands down to the snow and forming a barrier of thick snow between them.

"You've known all along, haven't you?" This Ed was definitely familiar enough with these fights, maybe even more so, and he's definitely making his own snow ball to retaliate - but for now, he's hiding behind that pillar of snow, waiting for an answer.

The question caught her off guard, enough for her to pause in mid-action as she'd moved to pick up the second snowball, planning to break that snow pillar Ed conjured.

"Known what?"

She'd seen it coming, too. He would always make use of the environment in their little fights back in Purg, forcing her to use her powers to try break his defenses while avoiding the incoming attacks. If she had to be honest, those snowball fights had been the most challenging training she had even while working at White Fang. There was no way this Ed knew of all that though... was there?

The question remained on her mind: Known what? This couldn't be what it sounded like and yet — She focused her waveform for a moment, taking a step backwards and raising her hand to use her shock wave on the snow pillar. The Ed she knew would expect it and be putting up another one right before the first one broke, giving himself enough time to launch an attack of his own. Would this one?

He didn't bother answering right away, already clapping his hands together to make another barrier - this time of the dirt beneath them - behind the one of ice and snow. One thing Purg had always had in quantities greater than the Quarantine seemed capable of was snow, but he'd make do with what was available and be grateful for the lack of a blizzard.

"Don't play stupid!" She was really insulting both of their intelligence at this point, as if this hadn't been some elaborate trap planned well in advance. Another clap as the snow behind her comes up in a wall, effectively giving her only one direction to go if she tried - straight for him.

"You knew. All that talk about other worlds and gods, and you said nothing, but here you are setting me up for this attack. You're not really going to pretend this is all just a coincidence, are you?" That said, he's not going to throw a snow ball, he's going to transmute the snow right in front of her, shooting upward to hit her square in the face if she doesn't effectively dodge. Cheating? Maybe, but he's more concerned with the conversation - and implications involved there - than the actual snow ball fight at this point.

Citrine glanced back as the snow wall came up behind her, grabbing the remaining snowballs she had prepared and dashing forward to take another shot, realizing a second too late that this was what he wanted. Caught between her own momentum and following his hands down to the ground with her eyes, she gauged the situation as fast as she could. Too familiar. The movements, the strategy - and what was it he's saying?

She stopped dead in her tracks as the last of the words hit, her hands dropping the snowballs just as the snow came shooting upwards one hair's breadth in front of her. Dodged, except there's snow on her face from when it shot up. Does that count as a hit?

"Hold on a second." She came to a complete halt, her arms crossed but ready to move in case she had to use her powers to defend herself. "Are you saying..." Suspicion had been there, but what were the chances of it being the case with the changes obvious in this Ed? So many things had spoken for it, but just as many had been against it. There was only one real way to know now.

"What's our score?"

Just as she's cautious, he's wary. He does stop when she says to hold on, but his hands are raised, ready for the next attack if need be. Golden eyes narrow when she starts to question what he's talking about but then she switches tactics and he practically sighs in exasperation.

"You expect me to remember that after all this time? Me kicking your ass, that's what I know." Regardless of whether or not it was true, Citrine had a tendency to bring out the argumentative cocky teenager in him. The teenager that he was for three extra years in that place before finding himself in Attollo, suddenly full grown to match the years he'd spent there.

"You came here from Purg, didn't you? Even though you were gone while I was still there. It's been a long time, years since I saw you last," Not that he wants her to get any ideas about him calling this whole business off. "That doesn't mean I won't still take you out. I might be out of practice, but I adapt." All these worlds he'd been on that weren't his home, that is one thing he'd certainly learned how to do.

Ah, there it was. Citrine could feel her fingertips tingling as power crackled through them, itching to knock Ed down for his cocky attitude. Even if this still didn't quite make sense, there was no doubt this was the Ed she knew. This would make taking him down a peg so much better now.

"I think the cold is getting to your head. Last time I checked, I was the one in the lead. And it'll stay that way." She moves to pick up a handful of snow as she says that, forming it into a denser than normal shape with her waves within seconds. This one's going to hurt if it hits.

"I don't know how you ended up here before me while being years into the future, but I'm not letting you muddle the score with your sorry excuse of a memory." She moves straight for him again, certain he will put up walls and ready to smash her snowball right through them. There are so many questions she wants to ask him now, but that'll just have to come along as they carry out their little match here.

Oh yeah, he was playing up the cocky angle all right, just what she wanted to see. It was familiar, easy to fall back into that role as much as it was even more of a facade now than it might have been back then. "This?" Not likely, "It's practically summer compared to the last blizzard I was in. Nice try, though." He didn't care about score, honestly never had. It was more about routine for him, something to do - something to enjoy - in that endless monotony. A place designed to cause madness through boredom and if there was anything Edward Elric was good at it was adapting to change, meeting a new challenge head on.

"You don't?" Now it was his turn to condescend to her, was she really so oblivious? He quirks an eyebrow, shrugging his shoulders even as his gaze never leaves the snowball in her hand, readying for her attack. "Did you forget how these places work? How timelines don't matter, the same way someone can show up here who should be dead months after someone who saw their death years ago." Really Citrine, having just come from Purg who had the shoddy memory here?

He isn't going to give her the satisfactions of predicting his next move though, she's expecting a wall and instead and he's ready to dodge rather than stand in place and watch her destroy every transmutation he does make. He is different, changed in his years away from Purg - and not just in appearance or age - and she's going to learn that the hard way with the resources available to him in Quarantine.

Predictable down to a T, Citrine thought to herself as she readied her hands for another attack, channeling her waves into her fingertips to destroy the next little wall he would put up.

"Oh, I remember how Purgatorium worked, but this place was starting to make more sense than that. I suppose I was wrong."

It was always a back and forth like this until one of them slipped up - it would be Ed, of course - and Citrine could go in for the kill. This time would be just like that, she was sure.

Or maybe not. Her eyes widened in surprise when she didn't see another wall coming up in front of her as she rushed towards him; that throws her off, and she glances down to make sure nothing is coming from below, catching the movement in her peripheral vision.

'He's—dodging?' She tries to adapt as the realization hits her, losing her balance for just a second as she jumps back in preemptive defense. This was new.

"Looks like you've picked up common sense since we last did this." Trust her to turn it into a taunt. But there's more she wants to know now, her voice softening a little as she follows up. "How did you leave Purgatorium?"

"They're all the same." Does he sound bitter? He's bitter. Let the implication settle in that he's referring to more than two places, or he might have just said 'both'. No, as far as Edward Elric is concerned all of these multi-verse defying worlds were the same. Even when they weren't, sure there was a portal here instead of gods in control but some things just never changed.

This was new, different opponents meant different tactics and Ed had his fair share of new experiences since Citrine disappeared. He didn't have much of a plan in place, just the element of surprise - and it worked just as well as he'd hoped, seeing her momentarily slip up before returning to a defensive state. The glint in his eyes said not to underestimate him, but he really hadn't been too sure that switch up would have worked.

"I've always had common sense." She would, but he's used to it, and there was always more to things than what was presented on the surface - he knew that well enough. The question catches him off guard more than any attack and Ed visibly winces. Way to twist the knife in a freshly bleeding wound, Citrine. Something that should have been years dulled only sharpened with Val's arrival months before.

"The gate to Paradise, or whatever you want to call it." Was she even around when they were giving out those keys? He didn't remember. "Guess I never redeemed myself, I never got to go home, I was dragged out when there was nothing left." He's not really in the mood for this battle anymore, not when everything he said was starting to sound so melodramatic. At this point if she pushed to keep the fight going he might just let her win to get it over with. He'd changed, he wasn't the cocksure teenager anymore that she once new, he'd faced too much since then.

The mood changed as she watched Ed's posture go from ready to fight to a resigned and pensive one. She lowered the arm she had raised in defense, her expression smoothing over with it. This was strange. A gate to Paradise? She couldn't remember hearing about any of that. Just a while ago she'd been hunting supplies for White Fang to restock. To think something could have actually changed years down the road...

"So it basically... collapsed?" It was the only way she could think to picture it from what he said about being ragged out when there was nothing left. Trust Ed to be the last one standing. And then there was that feeling. For all she tried to escape the place, hearing about its end like that almost made her—heavy-hearted.

She changed her stance into a more relaxed one as she began walking towards him, her hands raised to show she would not throw any more snow balls - for now, at least.

"How did you adjust to being here after—that?"

"People just stopped coming one day." What did she remember? That might help give him an idea of how to get her up to speed, if only he'd ask - put her in a time frame he could work around. "The clock tower broke- it started moving too fast, made us think time was..." He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

"A year after I arrived the gate went up, when Hera was in power. The winter we met, I'm sure you remember it." She had to, it was what started this whole stupid feud that was the backbone of their relationship in the first place. "A gate went up by the clock tower, keys were part of some new reward system. I never paid much attention, I had no desire to go through some door to paradise. If I left I was going home to fix Al."

She probably doesn't even know what that means, considering they'd never been particularly close. Anyway, back on point. "The clock tower sped up, time passed faster than it should have. We watched twenty years of ruin happen before our eyes in months, and one day the clock tower... It just- vanished."

"Construction was slow, but it started to rebuild, people started arriving again." This was a lot, it was a lot to dump on someone that hadn't witnessed it and it was a lot to have to relive. "Not many, and not for long. Val got hold of one of the keys somehow, pretended she was leaving and I went with her to say goodbye. Only... she pulled me through with her."

As for adjusting, that part gets a bitter laugh out of him. "I didn't come straight here. We got separated leaving Purgatorium." As one might expect, considering different people's ideas of paradise would be different, and how reliable could the place be to work properly when it was falling apart around them?

"I had to survive another place for a year before coming here, adjusting was kind of mandatory." Remember that talk over the network, Citrine? Ed had spoken about Attollo then. That's why their experiences hadn't lined up.

Citrine listened quietly as Ed went on with his explanation, trying to put together what she remembered with what he was telling her. Hera, yes, one of the less grating entities that had run Purgatorium at a time. But the rest? It was hard to picture, and a sinking feeling rose in the pit of her stomach as he reached the part about Val. Did that mean that...? It dawned on her then, but Ed was moving on with his experiences she didn't have time to say anything. Their first conversation sprang to her mind, and it made more sense now.

"That is... quite the story." It was all she could say as she stepped closer and stood still across from Ed, a strange heaviness spreading in her chest. To think this was the future of the place she had been in only a few months ago... Why had she come here before all this while others didn't? That was the most irritating part about these world travels. They were so arbitrary, with no sense of meaning in them.

"Honest answer... do you regret leaving? Because some days, I—I feel like I do." It was an uncharacteristically genuine statement from her, but she was having a strange moment here. Remembering the fountain and some pointless conversations with people she never thought she would ever care about. All of it, gone.

"You don't have to believe me," He was used to people not believing him at this point but honestly he didn't see it being a problem with her. Ed didn't imagine that Citrine actually doubted him, it was just the least depressing response he could give to such a statement.

At the question though, he flinched. There was a part of him that hated it, hated that he felt the way he did because it felt like a betrayal. It wasn't fair to Val to be upset that she'd pulled him out of that hellscape but the feeling was still there. It tore him up but he hated that he had left. She was being so honest and open though, a strange vulnerability shared between them and he wasn't about to lie.

"Every damn day of my life." The words were spoken softly, as if defeated. "I was here alone for so many months I was starting to think it was my consolation prize for sticking around the longest. Why me? Of all the places, all the worlds I've been to, why was I the only one that wound up here?" He felt like now that Citrine and Val had shown up he had more questions than answers.

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[closed] ed, you're going down

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