tampered | (no subject)

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: Temple

(no subject)

When; May 26, Night
Rating; PG-13 to NC-17
Character; Greed

suitcaseofnails
Summary; Elendira comes over to the Temple for a bit of dinner with Greed.
Log;

The smell and sound of cooking meat filled the entire lower level of the Temple as Greed worked at his craft. His long years of life had left him a lot of time to pick up skills, and cooking was one of them. Not needing to eat doesn't mean not WANTING to eat, after all. He deftly twirled utensils and spices around, adding and taking away from the food as needed. In goes the tenderizer, the garlic, the parsley. Out goes the fat, the bits of gristle. Near perfectly marbled steaks. His ears twitched as he picked up on a clacking of footsteps outside.

"Oi!" his voice boomed out, "The doors are always open! Whoever's there can come right in, the couch is free! Just put your shoes by the door!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Elendira hadn't been to the temple since he came to this city, having much more important things to deal with, like clothing, building an airship and other little trifles. So he was taking his time while admiring the outside structure, heels clicking on the pavement as he walked. For the day's outing, he wore his favorite red plaid jacket and slim black slacks with red pumps, having decided to wear something he was completely comfortable in before he had to – gulp – dress like a guy.

At the booming 'hello', he sighed, checked his lipstick in a small compact and nudged open the door with his suitcase. Making a face, he toed off his shoes and stepped lightly inside.

"Hello, Greed? It's Elendira."

Upon hearing the voice, Greed quickly washed his hands and removed his apron. Elendira was just in time, as he had recently finished the main cooking. He walked out of the kitchen and down a corridor, arriving in the main room to greet him.

"Elen! Great to see ya'! You're just in time!" he said, walking up to him, "You're a vision of loveliness."

"Why thank you," he replied, smiling and tilting his head. He set his suitcase down, figuring that he wasn't going to need it right now and extended a hand to Greed.. "It's nice to meet you finally in the flesh, Greed."

Greed knelt onto a knee and grasped the hand, kissing the top of it.

"It's a real pleasure. I've seen ya' at a distance, of course, but up close it's even better. Like the difference between a recording and going to see the real thing in concert. I'm just about ready to serve. What's your poison?"

Bringing his free hand to his lips, Elendira giggled. "Oh dear, you're going to make me blush, Greed." He waved a hand at the very large grill and smiled, dimpling ever so pretty. It took a lot of practice for that look and he mastered it well, if he do say so. "Wine if you have it."

"You kiddin'? I've got a whole bunch. I'll fetch ya' a good one."

He hurried around the corner and down the stairs. There was the dull sound of leather shoes hitting wood as he descending into a lower area of the temple, followed by scuffling and sliding sounds. Soon the steps were approaching one more.

"Bingo!" he exclaimed, coming around the corner, "Got some!"

He took the bottle to the main room on a small table, then went back to the kitchen and started bringing out trays of food on a cart. Medium-rare beef flanks, bread rolls with butter, fresh-made salad, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, and turkey breast. They were laid out with plates and utensils on the table, after which the cups were set down.

"Care to sit?"

As he went to fetch the wine, Elendira took the time to look around. He was quite surprised at how orderly things looked; his own living quarters resembled a disaster area than an actual room. But Greed – and whoever he had living with him – looked to be much more orderly. He turned at the sound of Greed returning and smiled softly, following after him to the main room.

"You really must enjoy cooking," he said, nodding at the generous amount of food he’d brought out. Taking a seat at the table, he folded his hands demurely in his lap and just looked at the food. "I don't think I have seen so much in a long time."

"Eh, I've walked all over my world. Visited places, picked up skills, things like that. I don't need to do things like sleep or eat, so it leaves me a lot of time to learn new things. Of course, they have to be things I actually LIKE. Food is something I like very much. Gambling too, I'm fuckin' shark at that," he said, laying a napkin over his lap, "See, the Old Man made us with real sharp minds. We can see things and immediately recall them whenever needed. We needed that kind of mind to hold all of our alchemical knowledge. I can point to anything in this room and tell you exactly what it's molecular make-up is."

He stabbed a piece of steak and continued, "So, what's up about you? Why do ya' hang around with somebody who considers your whole species in the way he does?"

"All we really have back home is sand and dust," he said, finally starting on his food. Cutting a dainty piece of steak he ate it slowly, savoring the flavor which was much better than that produced by a Plant. He frowned at his plate, picturing in his mind the land and people of Gunsmoke before trying to put words to it.

"There are cities, rising up from the sand craved from solid rock and shored up with pieces of colony ships. Sometimes there are Plants inside the cities, guarded as much as they can be from the elements and those people who would steal everything they could by force. There are roaming outlaws in the deserts, large gangs preying on travelers. There are creatures out there, the sandworms and tomas, birds that came with us and animals that you can only see at night when the moons are out. And in the sands, humans changed, growing large or small, some twisted because of Plant malfunctions or madmen’s dreams. There are brilliant scientists and crude leechmen, bio-engineering and lost technology. But always the sand rises and they are wiped away."

Then he smiled, spearing a small potato and taking a bite. "I'm not quite a human. Engineered, in fact."

"No shit, huh? Same here! They certainly did a good job on ya'. What were you made for? I can tell you're quite the fighter. Never actually seen it, but I tend to be a good judge. I think it's somethin' like when two tough animals inhabit the same space. All the powerful ones around this city tend to sense one another."

He sawed off a slice of steak and chewed it thoughtfully, then opened the wine and poured some for Elendira.

"I don't mean to pry, but it's how I am. I like to learn about different kinds of things that catch my interest. I find ya' very interesting. Anything you wanna' know about me or my kind?"

"For fighting, of course," he said with a wide, guileless smile. Finishing off the potato, he accepted the glass of wine and took a sip. "Mm, nice. You are certainly a good cook and the wine is excellent."

He cut up his steak and took another bite and settled back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankles, his wineglass held loosely in his hand. "Oh I don't mind, it's sort of refreshing. Most people assume some things and never really ask. I am not sure how we were made; that memory's gone I'm afraid. I think we were failures though."

He took a sip of wine, watching Greed as he ate and then shrugged. "Well, you mimic humans to a degree, correct? Why's that?"

"Because we're constructs based on humans. But only in form. We're monstrously strong, more agile, we regenerate damage instantaneously, and we barely feel pain. Not to mention superior senses and the aforementioned mental acuity. Add in the lack of need for food, sleep, or respiration. As long as this remains," he used his knife to slice open his chest and pry a large slab of meat up, revealing a shining red stone, "and there's souls in it, I won't die. This is the only thing my stayin' alive depends on, even if the rest of me is completely incinerated. It'll just regrow around the stone. Likewise, since I don't have a soul, if the lives run out, I simply cease to exist."

He stood up quickly, removing his napkin.

"And one other thing."

Greed stretched out, then concentrated for a moment. Alchemical energy crackles over his flesh, transforming it into a shiny black substance. He spoke after finishing the change, his voice slightly modulated.

"This is my unique ability. We all have one that is special. Mine is the Ultimate Shield. It was also my nickname."

Elendira chewed on a piece of steak, watching with mild interest as he pulled out the stone and explained what it was. His eyes widen at the display of power, and then he took another sip of wine before setting down his glass and patting his lips dry with his napkin.

"How exquisite," he said, raising his head and tapping his lips with his index finger. "It must have been very advanced work to make someone like you. I almost feel like a child's broken toy. I’m so much alike to humans, I might as well be one save for the fact that I know I came from a tube. After all, I had to break out of it or die."

Greed shrugged and relaxed his shield, returning to normal as he sank down to the table again.

"There is the cost, though. This stone? Is basically compressed human souls. Thousands of living people are used to make one stone. A whole thriving city was transmuted all at once to create my little brother, Envy. Those souls maintain us, since we don't have ones of our own. Of course, that's nothin' to my Old Man. He remind me of your boss, kinda'. Except he doesn't hate humans. I don't even think other people exist, to him. He once told me that he couldn't hate a human any more than a human could hate an ant."

He stabbed a few more pieces of meat, then snagged a sweet potatoe. He ate for a few minutes before continuing.

"As for me, I see some of his point. Guys like me? You? Plants? We're better than them. We have every advantage. Only physically, of course. I mean, I AM motivated by greed, so I don't try to make some kinda' noise like I'm morally superior to them. They can also reproduce, somethin' my kind can't do. If we did, we'd probably out-breed homo sapiens in a matter of years."

"Is that so?"

He looked at the stone, wondering if it was a special skill to make that sort of thing or is it was something more than that before shrugging the thought aside. It would be something that he could research later on, if he decided to bother with alchemy. It sounded like a science, but at the same time, it was beyond the kind that made machines and flew airships. The cost actually did not bother Elendira that much. It was quite common for him to take his airship, find a village and – along with Knives and Legato – wipe the entire place out within minutes. Sometimes even less, if Legato was in a particular hurry.

"Knives once said that humans were wasteful and spoilt and that they never think before they destroy," he said, taking a piece of bread and spreading some butter over it. "I've seen some good humans, some sad humans, but they always were outnumbered by the ones that never think except for their own foolish goals. The problem with humanity as a whole has always been a lack of foresight. They want something now and do not think of the destruction that would be caused further down the road.

"Also, I've seen a Plant die, programmed to die by humans lacking the necessary knowledge to revive her and dismissing the idea that she could be fixed just by asking someone who knew what to do. Knives hatred comes from such actions."

"Eh, you've got a point. But all creatures have instincts like that. The so-called "natural order" is friggin' myth. If all the prey animals were slow, predators would eventually kill them all, because animals are programmed for what they want NOW. As for Knives, and I'm sure he's murdered a whole shit load of humans, but he's very little better than they. His flaw is that he thinks he's gonna' change his brother. Vash is nice guy and Knives is...not so much. Tesla's nice, too. It's hard to change nice-guys. Besides, what's he gonna' do with a barren world? Does he even know how to make more of his people? A world without people to interact with would drive me stir crazy."

Greed cracked his neck and sighed.

"Ah, I guess it don't matter. I'd rather not know what kinda' stuff he's done. Or what you guys may have done for him. Ignorance is bliss, ya' know? Can't say I understand his sentiment on feelin' for his people, though. Homunculi don't really care much about each other. We may have worked for the same guy, but we didn't like each other much. Matter of fact, my life would be easier with all of them gone. Nobody to hunt me down."

He looked at his piece of bread, frowning slightly before taking a bite. There was that thought of course, a barren planet with no one but the remains of his own kin to keep him company. Knives had been heading towards that goal already when Elendira died; the Ark with its captured Plants, some of which had been drained just the same way the one had been and now, both of them with black hair stuck forever in this place. But then Greed mentioned Vash, and Elendira’s thoughts were shaken from their usual paths to something that always bothered him.

"Is he really? Sometimes I wonder. . ."

Sighing, he shrugged and finished his food, picking up the wine glass all smiles again. "I am not the most understanding of the Guns myself. And this is a depressing subject."

Greed smiled and raised his hands placatively, then raising his own glass to his date.

"Sorry. I tend to like to hear myself talk. Won't travel that road any further. Here's to a you!" he said, pushing the glass out a bit more, "A toast to new acquaintances!"

"Oh no, it is a fascinating thing but I think a date should be a bit more fun, hm?" He clicked his glass against Greed’s, coyly looking at him over the rim. "To new acquaintances and interesting times they bring."

Taking a sip of wine, he leaned forward a little, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "So what do you do for fun here? Outside of raising everyone’s blood pressure?"

"Mostly follow my own desires. I want everything I can get, babe," he said, eyes slightly lidded and a low purr in his voice, "I want money, power, status, adoration, land, sex, whatever I can get. Unfortunately, money here is pretty useless outside this place, the land all belongs to the rulers, quite a few people here dwarf me in power, and tensions are fairly high for everyone. So I go with my other strengths, which are mainly flirtin', fightin', and fuckin'. Of course, I also like to do favors for friends, as that helps me in the long run. Ya' get more flies with honey than vinegar, after all."

"Mm, I see. I think we are alike in that respect. Material good are easy to come by, there's no gain in trying to kill anyone since they just come back, and the City hosts a lot of people much stronger than I. So flirting, trying to make friends and finding someone interesting to spend a night with is on my list of things to do."

He did not add anything about the ship or making sure that Knives does not do anything more foolish while they were there. Of course since Knives was technically dead now, there was a slight hitch in Elendira's plans.

"Exactly! I may get into fights every now and then, but it's just my personal pride as a guy. I'm not just gonna' knuckle under when somebody fucks with me. I don't have anyone I'd actually call a nemesis, like so many people here. No point in blood feuds, it's just wasted energy."

With a shuffling clatter of silverward and plates, Greed began cleaning up the table, putting the materials in the cart again. He wheeled it to the kitchen and brought back a single tray, which he placed down. Upon lifting the cover, a large cheesecake was revealed.

"A little something sweet for the sweet?"

"Ah, completely understandable. I feel the same way since I've got settled here. Grudges aren't worth holding although I do want to smack Livio around. I guess because he annoyed me back home," he said, pouting at the thought of how repetitive things were probably going to be here. Outside of the curses, even though from what he’d seen on the Network, those also were recycled.

He gasped at the sight of the cheesecake and dimpled at Greed, twirling a lock of his hair around his forefinger. "Oh I'll love a piece, darling."

"Betcha' don't find a lot of THESE on a desert world!" he grinned, cutting a slice and serving it to him, then one for himself. He sat down next to Elendira with his piece, taking a large bite.

"I'd go crazy in that place. I prefer tropical settings, actually. Maybe get myself an island somewhere when I get outta' here. Or, if my theory is correct, maybe even on a world besides mine."

"Not many, no. I think I had it once when Knives decided he must go out to this expensive place in July and even then, he ordered the cook to make it." He took a bite and savored it slowly, his toes curling at the taste. Oh yes, even that cheesecake from all those years ago was a pale imitation to the real thing.

"It is all I've ever known. We had some places where there were trees and it would rain once or twice a year, but I’ve never been anywhere else but out in the dunes. It was stark but at night, you should have seen the life that was out there."