The Roof- Thursday Night

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry managed to make his way to the dorm roof. He'd had a busy week, and needed to relax. He pulled some sheets out of his folder, and opened up his violin case. He tightened the bow strings and rosined them up. The violin needed a serious amount of tuning, due to the climate change. But it was quickly ready. He snapped on a shoulder rest, tucked the instrument under his chin, and started to play. Mozart's first violin concerto in G minor.

[ooc: Open like a box that doesn't even have a lid to close.]

Comments

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry laughed a little, and had to sit down. "Astounding."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse was surprised to see this reaction come from Henry-- he hadn't even used it yet and he was already amazed. "I didn't think I'd ever run into someone who wasn't from home who knew what it was."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

"I'm something of a chemist," Henry responded, "and it's impossible to be in that field without running into alchemy every once in a while." Henry took a second to think. "Well, interest has been declining over the past century, (mine, that is), as people ceased to believe in it as a possibility. I mean, being able to freely alter things at the molecular level...it seemed quite impossible."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse's eyebrows rose, perking with interest. "Really?" he began, sounding more surprised. "I can't imagine it not working; I've been using it all my life. Not being able to do that would be..." He started to trail off, beginning to ponder a question he's asked himself before. Alphonse began to wonder again just how different things would've been-- or how much better off, when it came to certain things-- if alchemy didn't play a role in his life.

He shook the thought off-- now wasn't the time to be mulling over such things. Instead, he forced through a small smile on his face. "... I guess I wouldn't know, if I never used it," he finished. "But it's certainly something I wouldn't want to loose." He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking sheepish. "It's quite an amazing science, though."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry can't help but ask. "So, then, does the philosopher's stone really exist?" He shrugs a little. "It's something of a myth here, so forgive me if it's a stupid question."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"No, not at all," Alphonse assured. "It's considered so back home, as well. But it does." Or it should, he thought afterwards. He couldn't remember a thing about it, or doesn't know much about it beyond its myths, but that was the one thing they had spend four years constantly searching for. Alphonse wanted to believe that was the way he was restored to his current state from an armored body, and so he did. "... In fact, I spend some time researching it here and there."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Like a child being able to confirm the existance of Father Christmas, Henry was happy to hear that the philosopher's stone was real. "Astounding." He repeated. "I doubt very much that science will ever cease to amaze man."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse chuckled lightly. "It's one I'm hoping never ceases to exist in my own world," he said. "I'm curious-- you said you were a chemist; what sorts of things do you research?"

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

"Medicine." Henry answered. "I'm considering focusing on chemical cures for mental illnesses."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"Oh, wow," Alphonse sounded genuinely impressed. "I'm not familiar with that area at all, but it sounds like pretty complex stuff."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

"It certainly is." Henry agreed. "Even when you think something is viable, even when it logically must work..." He sighed, "...it tends not to."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse certainly had experience with that.

However, there was a much more positive route to go, rather than the one his mind initially started to follow. "That's one of the big things in any science," he pointed out. "Not every theory is perfect, nor is every experiment. But that's what makes science so interesting-- being able to come up with theories, figuring them out, putting them to work, all the effort-" Saying it this way almost thrilled Alphonse. "And then, when you finally do figure it out, the reward feels so much more greater."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

As Henry listened to Alphonse's impassioned speech, he couldn't keep a grin from spreading across his face. "Indeed. And the more a subject frustrates one, the harder it is to let it go."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"When you spend a whole lot of time on a specific experiment, it always is," Alphonse agreed. Even if their last big project led to disastrous results, he missed the times when he and his brother spent every night planning and researching until they were too exhausted to go on, until the next day when they were well rested-- then they'd continue the same routine. "I'm sure you'll find the right results to yours someday. There's an answer to everything."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry felt heartened. "You're right. Setbacks are irksome, but really only minor, when the whole thing is all over."
Because transfoming into an incarnation of evil at inoppertune times was no problem, really.

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse nodded, and then, he couldn't help it-- he slipped out a laugh, sounding entirely too overjoyed by all this. "I never thought I would be doing this," he said, grinning. "To have such a conversation and someone actually knew what I was talking about." He shook his head, turning slightly red. "Alright, I probably sound crazy. But after a long time with most people looking at me like I'm speaking a foreign language, this is... great, really."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

"I understand you completely! Most people don't seem to see the value in scientific inquiry. They're happy to reap the benefits of a technologically advanced society, but so long as it's there, they couldn't care a whit how." He shook his head, a trifle miffed. But the smile broke back out again when he realized what he was saying.
"It is good to speak about it."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"Usually, they just don't know what I'm yammering on about," Alphonse chuckled. "But here, I think there's far too many other things people are concerned about. With all the magical stuff floating around... A friend of mine insists that the alchemy I use is magic." He shook his head. "Ah, well, I don't let it bother me too much."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

"The misconceptions that arise due to ignorance..." Henry muttered. His comment seemed to have brought him to a point. "And that can lead to worse than people who don't care; when they disagree. Do people ever have an irrational fear of your alchemy?"

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse looked at Henry oddly-- to him, that was a very strange thought. "No, not that I know of," he answered. "I... I've usually always been praised for it." He was hoping he didn't sound too full of himself then. "Even here. Sometimes my friends will ask for my help if they need something fixed."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Uh-oh! Time to commence backtracking in three...two...one...
Henry smiled. "That's wonderful. I'm glad to hear that it's respected." He rolled his eyes. "Most people in my time period would have had none of it," he offered by way of explanation.

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"They don't support your research?" Alphonse asked. "That's... crazy. If it's for the greater good, I don't see why it should be frowned upon at all."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Backpedal faster, Henry!
He waved it aside. "Oh, it's not a big problem for me. I was just curious s to what kind of social niche Alchemy found. If it was similar at all to Chemestry here."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"Ah, here," Alphonse realized as the mun facedesked for misreading. "I guess it falls around the 'yet another unusual thing someone can do' category. No one really bats odd glances at things people are capable of here anymore." He shrugged. "It's almost exactly like chemistry. In fact, I took a class on it my first semester here, and, well... it was all basic stuff I already knew. Except that you can't transmute matter in it."

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

"No, sadly one cannot transmute." Henry agreed. "Chemistry is the business of taking the long routes everywhere. Cumbersome, yes, but there's a certain flow to it all."

[ooc: Don't worry about it at all. You and Al read Henry correctly the first time. Henry's trying to cover up his own embarassment by changing things around. *rolls eyes* Paranoid...]