Video; un: ilikehorses

[shoplifter]

[Laura's been trying to adjust. Part of her wonders if coming here wasn't a grave mistake — she'd come thinking there are more like her, people who would accept her more willingly, and in a way, that's true. However... There are a few... annoyances. Grievances. Her rather overworked case worker Linda has been making sure she goes to school. Today isn't the best day for school, though. She's quiet and 'weird' and the other children usually aren't fond of her and her quiet but present danger.

And for Laura, well. She doesn't do well with anyone 'teaching' her. She's had too much of 'teaching' the last eleven years of her... eleven years.

She may or may not have punched another kid in the eye.

She may or may not have ditched school.

And now she sits on the top of a rather tall and dangerous brick-ish wall in the city, her feet hanging precariously off the edge. Close by, the shadow of a tram wooshes by, and somewhere out there, Linda the Case Worker is having a heart attack. Laura, however, seems more puzzled and annoyed than anything. She sits with a potentially stolen bag of mini-donuts, her favorite glasses pressed up on her forehead and her lovely albeit mildly damaged unicorn shirt clear and vibrant.]


Why do children have to go to classes? 

I can learn outside of school.


[There are mean children that exist. She's never ran into children who are so exclusionary; after all, mutants had to stick together.

And teachers aren't bad, but something about the set-up bothers her, in ways she's not sure how to explain.

Maybe it's harder to blend in than you'd think. Not that she had gone into this with any high hopes.] 

Comments

[shoplifter]

[She listens in earnest, brow creased with uncertain thought. Not the police is good. She's not a fan of people like that. Of anyone with guns or authority, really. But at least this sounds... nicer. People finding things and being helpful... and not experimenting on things. Or people.

Feeling sated by the information, she turns the conversation thanks to her own curiosity; she hardly has the social skills to naturally change a topic, sorry.]

What are brothers like?

[alchemyfreak]

[Ed wasn't used to there being a police force in these other worlds, normally the newcomers kind of made up their own law enforcement. Especially in Purg. So it felt important to note the difference, there is a police presence here and it's not the same thing as the Guard. It felt important to mention, to point out the separation between them. Shooting people still wasn't what he was about.

Having satisfied that subject Ed pauses with the question, blinking as if he wasn't exactly sure how to answer.]

I guess that depends on the brother.

[He looks a little sullen at that, shrugging a shoulder. Ed wasn't about to put other people's business all over the network but he couldn't exactly give her the whole picture with his relationship with Al, and he knew it.]

I have some friends who don't really ... get along. Not sure if that's normal where they're from, or just them though.

[He does smirk then, although it's muted, more reserved.]

My brother's great. We're really close, we do pretty much everything together.

[shoplifter]

[She's quiet for a moment.

Her dad and her, they didn't get along for a long time either.

But she doesn't want to think about that; it hurts her chest.]

Does your brother look like you?

[alchemyfreak]

[Why does everyone bring this up.]

People here say he does. He looks more like our mom, I think.

[shoplifter]

[She tries to envision what it's like...

The idea of having a mother. Gabriela was the closest thing to one she had, and even then, there wasn't a lot she could do for Laura and the other children; they weren't to be coddled. Or loved. Certainly not loved.]

I don't know mine.

[alchemyfreak]

[There is the briefest flicker of emotion on his face at that response before he glances away.]

Your mother?

[He assumes she doesn't have any brothers, considering her first question. Ed's not good at this, especially with kids, he didn't like to make things sound all good or all bad, he didn't want her to feel like she was missing out but he didn't want her to think that mothers weren't worth having, either.

This was difficult, Hina and Wrath had taught him that much.]

Sometimes it's better that way.

[Sometimes, you have mothers like Ed's, who were perfect. Or, you could have a mother that sells you out the bad guy for him to murder you. You know, it could go either way, really.]

[shoplifter]

[She nods, not quite looking at the screen.]

So they can't hurt you.

[Absorb that however you'd like, Ed; she doesn't seem eager to expound on it.

But her? She sees the life fading out of her father's eyes.]

[alchemyfreak]

Yeah...

[He didn't like having to say that to a child, but she seemed to already get the idea, so that told him there wasn't much he could do on the subject anyway.]

Parents are not always the best to have around. Sometimes it's better not to know them at all, but that's not true of everyone's parents. It's complicated.

[A lot of it was complicated. Their father left when they were young, and in opposition to Laura, Ed had watched his mother die while he still held onto her hand.]

[shoplifter]

... Everything's complicated.

[It's a fact, totally.]

[alchemyfreak]

[He might look a little surprised at that response, but then he grins.]

You got that right.

[Everything is complicated.]

[shoplifter]

[She smiles, just a little.

You're alright, braidguy. You're alright.]