Defrost

[Crassus]

Ishval, 902 A.D.

Few things stood out in the dry, heated landscape. A dead tree, black as coal and lurching forward, and a handful of rocks and plateaus. However, the dead land was not an ugly one. The ground was an orange most distinct, dry and hard to the touch, though in the far distance some greenery could be seen. It was that most perfect of shades, a bright and vibrant orange to contrast the light blue sky that hung above it. The landscape was exceedingly uneven, craters and tall rocks abound, with great cliffs and holes marring the earth and making it difficult for anything to be seen other than from the highest of perches. Crassus found a half-decent shortcut to portray the colours in her leather-bound book; the rocks themselves, rubbing them against the hardened paper, capturing the scene in front of her perfectly, though she was forced to give the sky a rather light shade of orange rather than the blue that it truly was. She kept this going, until she heard the approach of small footsteps.

“Go home, stranger, or your freedom is forfeit.”

Crassus made no indication of noticing the small girl, already knowing that she wasn't a threat, despite her words. “My master is a terrible fiend, master of cold and the king of sorcerers...” Came the voice again. A young voice, too young to be a slave. However, Crassus decided to get the detail of this plateau on her sketch just right before addressing her. The girl came a little closer. “He has already enslaved me, and he could enslave you just as easily! Go home, stranger, or your freedom is…”

That prompted a laugh.

“Enslave me, ha!” Crassus finally turned her head to the little girl. Her black hair was pinned behind her hair in a fiercely woven collection of knots, the odd curled spiral of hair jutting out of it and hanging from her mostly short-cut fringe. Her face was upon a round head, with dust, dry mud and sand dirtying the already dark skin, teeth gritted in rage and a fire locked in her hazel eyes. She stood with her legs apart, a clumsy battle stance, as she pointed the pole at Crassus' eye level. Her body was stocky, short in height but not in bulk, her limbs fat with muscle, tight trousers and a man’s shirt far too big for her covering her. Behind her rest two jugs of water, her bounty for her master, while on her wrists and her neck were great iron clamps. However, she shook as if cold. She was certainly frightened of Crassus, a woman who so casually laughed off her terrible master. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.”

“Who are you?” The girl asked. “There is no woman like you in all of Ishval.” Crassus stood to face her, and the girl dropped her pole by mere instinct.

“Your master. Where is his fortress?” Crassus asked, and the girl dutifully pointed her in the direction of her target. A great hill, and visible upon it was a singular black tower, a blot against the blue sky. Crassus smiled warmly. “Excellent. Is that your master’s water?” The girl, remaining silent now, looked to the water buckets, before nodding. The Ostrogoth walked over, picking up the pole the girl had used, before sliding it onto the buckets and picking them both up in one hand. “I’ll take them. Your mother’s waiting for you.”

“M-mother?” She asked desperately. Oh, what a word! A word she had not heard in what must have been years. She could only remember glimpses of a time when the master’s dark eye watched over her, and this pale woman simply came and promised her back. Then she remembered her chains. “I can’t… the master’s magic chains, they watch me. He knows where I am, always.”

Crassus rose an eyebrow, though it didn't take long to figure out the master's trick.

“He can see you, but the chains have nothing to do with it.” She explained, before putting her hand behind her back, and then producing a telescope and placed it in the girl’s small hands. The girl looked as if she had been given something pulled out of a dream. “Place it to your eye, and look to the tower once again.”

The girl did exactly what she was told, and looked to the tower. “I… I can see so far!” She excitedly yelped, before focusing on one sight. A terrifying figure of darkness and cloaks, and the girl almost recoiled. Her master. But he seemed just as terrified, looking through one of those strange tubes himself. He dropped it in shock, and the girl saw him disappear into the shadows. She pulled the telescope away from her eye, and looked to the pale woman. “W-what is…”

“It’s called a telescope, where I come from. It’s my gift to you.” Crassus said, the sun seeming so much less harsh with her cold words. “Your mother’s in the south east. She wants to see you again, Ryuqa. Go.” The girl took a step back, wondering whether to or not. This could be a dream. It was inconceivable that the master would not follow and attack her again, but on the same merit it was impossible that he could bother making an illusion at this point of her imprisonment. Sure that the woman was not deceiving her, the girl simply turned tail and ran. Crassus grinned as she watched the girl disappear into the dust of the savannah, before looking back to the black tower.

It took less than an hour to walk to the tower for Crassus, her flail’s head hungry for its prize; the blood of the ‘king of sorcerers’ as the girl had so fearfully described him. Crassus let out a laugh at this thought. That man was as much a king as she was an Ishvallan. Still, the price on his head was high; the ice alchemist had been running ever since he botched the assassination of the Drachman king, and now that he made a living tricking Ishvallans that he was a demon who would enslave and devour little girls if the villagers did not pay him tribute… well, alchemy was rare here, ice even rarer, but idiots were far and wide. Few were quite on the level of this man, though, who had completely failed to grasp the concept of lying low. Barely had a year gone by before Crassus heard of this ice demon in Ishval, and it was on her journey that she realised that it was this quack. She reached the black tower, and saw the water pouring down from the top window. She growled, before looking to the wooden door. If he thought that making her a little wet would dissuade her from a fight, he had another thing coming. Her foot raised, she slammed her foot forward, cracking through the door with ease, the water coating her completely but failing to stop her.

Darkness all around her. Crassus looked up.

“Come out, Herodotus!” She shouted into the black shroud. The room was not very big, and simply led to two staircases, one to the dungeon below and one to the overlook above. Then Crassus heard the whistling and leapt to the side.

SMASH!

A huge spear of ice slammed down onto the stone floor, the shards splitting across the floor, harmlessly missing their target. However, Crassus decided to scream anyway. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” A great call of pain, short and piercingly loud, and then silence. In this silence, Crassus leapt into the shadows, and footsteps came from the figure descending from the overlook.

“Well, Crassus, you’re not as smart as you thought you were.” A boast, every decibel beaming with a smug victory. A mass of cloaks and darkness, tall and imposing, simply floated down the steps, planning to observe his handiwork. “As for the girl, I suppose I could just find another and…” His sentence stopped when he saw the body. Or lack thereof. He rushed down the steps, looking to the remains of the icicle he had made to crush her. However, he didn’t have long before a cord slammed across his neck. Crassus’ flail. The alchemist simply panicked, but knew that his little water trap would provide the water needed to freeze her. Before she realised it, blue and white crystals crawled up Crassus’ legs, the water on her skin freezing her instantly. She was alive and full of rage, and in a flash she was no more, locked in a cold tomb that would encase her in ice forever...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ishval, 2012 A.D.

"I didn't think there'd be anywhere this cold in Ishval."

"Well, we are pretty deep underground," was the answer. Both men, one tall and one short, otherwise looking like identical twins with the huge goggles and the clothes wrapped around them. The shorter took his coat off, before putting on his scrubs. He looked back to the taller man. "Big day today, Karl. Temperature stable?" Karl looked into a small display screen on the door that led to what could be one of the most important scientific discoveries ever.

"Stable as a collection of horses, Johann." He replied, before looking back the short man. "Have we got spare coats and gloves for our guests?"

"Put aside in a separate case. Tools sanitised and in place." Johann replied. "The alkahestrist should be here any minute, as should the Chancellor. I've put a few coats and gloves aside if either of them bring guests. We'll get called when they arrive, so for now treat it like any other routine check." Karl nodded, and entered a code into a number pad by the door. They both walked through a small corridor, locking the door behind them, before entering the second. The room was quite large, but it felt small because of the centrepiece; behind four fabric screens, a perfectly frozen woman in the ice, her teeth gritted in anger, her fists locked around the cord of a flail. In this flail was a skeleton; whoever this woman was strangling before she was encased in the ice. The scene made people shiver, and not for the cold. However, the cold was extreme, if necessary, to keep the ice stable, and by this ice woman was a metal table with many instruments such as drills, thermometers and ice picks. However, the oddest was a leather-bound book, which miraculously wasn't ruined by age; it hadn't been encased as the woman had been, but simply lying on the floor of the structure, and it was preserved. Either this woman was a very good artist or had just killed one, but it was odd that there was no writing in it.

The discovery was made only a few months ago; some archaeologists had found what was once a huge tower, but an earthquake had caused a nearby mountain to crumble and a large rock slide collapsed the upper floors. However, the dungeons and the front entrance were safe, and some of the top. After several hundred years, it seemed like just another cave, and when the tower was discovered no one thought much of it; it was of great interest to find that someone had built something here once, but it wasn't going to provide much information; there were plenty of Ishvallan towers from the same period that were still intact. However, two days after it was discovered, when people had gotten deep enough to find what was once the base, they found the woman in ice. She was preserved almost impeccably, and a few studies showed that she was, in fact, as good as alive.

It was the greatest discovery in Amestrian history since... no one could remember. A woman, who was alive at the very beginning of the 10th century A.D. The knowledge one could get from her; history books would be entirely rewritten, events everyone had possibly gotten wrong corrected, and what else did she know? Did she only live in Amestris, was she familiar with Drachma, or Creta, or anywhere? However, no one dared defrost her; the chances of killing her were too great. So, the team that discovered her kept the preservation process going, until they could find a qualified medical alkahestrist who could keep her alive while they defrosted her, and heal whatever damage her body had taken over the past 1,000 years. The scientists were so eager that they had even invited the Chancellor himself to watch the defrosting.

Karl and Johann were professional in their routine, but for once they weren't shaking from the cold or the eerie scene, but from anticipation. Today, someone would come back from the past.

[Hans L. Reinhardt]

History was being made in his lifetime and it was astounding. Truth be told, considering the variety of wars and terrible things that had happened in his lifetime, there was a great deal of big history. But this in particular was on the more positive spin. A woman of the early ages had been found encased in ice and alive in Ishval. Astounding news to be sure and he had not quite believed it when he first received the news. But a little bit of extra research confirmed the facts and Hans felt himself growing excited like a small child over a new toy. The amazing things that could be learned from this young... er, old?... this woman. It was going to be fascinating. He had sanctioned further research on the woman and due to his donations (and probably his standing as Chancellor) he had been invited to attend the defrosting. He had travelled to Ishval with a small selection of bodyguards (something about being protected from a crazy ice-encased woman or something...) and Colonel Furor.

Colonel Furor was actually who he was speaking with right now. Upon instruction he was bundled up in a large, feather-down coat, as well as thick gloves. Brigitte had given him a scarf to tie around his neck and he also had a hat to place on his head. They had been allowed through the security around the new facility and were being escorted down to the defrosting area. As they walked, Hans was sternly speaking to Jay. “Colonel Furor, I really think that if the scientists had WANTED you to bring a flamethrower, they would have asked.” He shook his head with a frustrated sigh. “It is completely ridiculous. You'd kill this woman, trying to melt her with that.”

[Jay Furor]

Quite a few groundbreaking things had occurred in Jay's day; the devastating tragedy at South City, the war on RIOTE, space-flight... And she'd been there for all of them! Sometimes even playing a fairly large hand in some. Such as she was to do on this very day. Hence the flamethrower she was toting on her back.

WHY is she carrying a flamethrower, you may wish to ask? Well, it seems a perfectly preserved living human was found trapped in alchemic ice, flash-frozen and somehow still showing signs of life, despite being OOOOOOOOOOOLD. Still doesn't explain the flamethrower? Well, everyone had a job to do; Hans was there to oversee the project, two scientists were to ones accredited with finding the woman in the ice, and are the ones giving instructions, and a medical alkahestrist or something was supposed to be coming in to fully ensure she'd survive being unfrozen. Still, why the flamethrower? Well... SOMEONE has to thaw her out!~

And Hans HAD requested that Jay get together some sophisticated means of unthawing a giant chunk of ice that was probably older than her entire lineage. So of all things, she chose a flamethrower. And she honestly had good reasons for bringing it! "Nahhh, don't worry Mr. Chancellor, sir!~ It'll all be under control, kinda... whatwith the whole ten seconds of fuel thing. Melts the ice quick, too, and keeps it melting for a bit; fastest and safest method, guaranteed!~" Psh. Probably. Maybe...

[Jay Furor]

~BUMP~

[Crassus]

Karl and Johann couldn't find anything wrong, but their shaky state was not helped by confirmation that the Chancellor had arrived.

"Johann, you go greet the guests, I'll keep an eye on the madam." Said the taller man, and Johann nodded, taking his leave. He walked out the door, and for the first few moments he had eyes only for the Chancellor.

"Chancellor Reinhardt, it is a great honour." The short stature of Johann meant that he had to reach up to shake his hand. "My name is Johann Brechnaht, it was my brother who originally dug on this site, he would be here in person but he is on his honeymoon. Your donations are what has made today possible, and we are glad you accepted our... our..."

The woman standing by him had a flamethrower.

Johann stopped mid-sentence, fear in his eyes. He looked back to Hans, and then back to the woman. She must've been here on the Chancellor's request, for otherwise she wouldn't be here, but... he looked to Hans and back to the woman, still processing the information.

She had a flamethrower.

"Chancellor, I know it is not of me to tell you what to do, but might I ask that your guard take the flamethrower off the premises." He asked of Hans, before looking to the woman. "I appreciate the gesture, but the defrosting needs to be a slow and delicate process, and we will be able to go underway once we have our medical alkah..."

The sound of something shattering. The wail of a terrible siren. Karl violently swearing, before he thrust the door open, fear planted on his thin, long face.

"SHE'S WAKING UP!" He shouted, and Johann's brow rose.

"But... but that's not possible! She's been dormant for a thousand years, why is she..."

"I DON'T KNOW, JOHANN, BUT SHE JUST IS! WE NEED TO DEFROST HER NOW!" Karl shouted back, both the scientists losing all their previous cool, now looking and honestly feeling like children caught in a burning house. Terror in their eyes, panic in their throats, limbs shaking, blind instinct taking over.

"SHE COULD DIE IF WE DON'T HAVE AN ALKAHESTRIST!"

"SHE'LL DIE FOR CERTAIN IF WE DON'T DEFROST HER RIGHT AWAY AND FAST!" Karl ran back into the room, trying to take control of the situation, while Johann just began to hyperventilate. Then he straightened his back, his breath slowing, regaining some of his lost composure.

"Turns out I'm wrong, Miss." He simply said to the woman with the flamethrower. "You brought your equipment at the right time. Both of you follow me, if you would."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Crassus tightened the grip around Herodotus' neck, and the alchemist gasped. She kept the cord of her flail firm on his windpipe, trapping the air, leaving him to choke.

"This is for all the girl's that you've put into slavery, you no-good..."

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNG!

fffffffffffffffFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMM!

The pain! The pain! It was in her head, it was in every one of her joints and bones. Her stomach ached, her lungs curled, her heart stopped, her brain pulsed in her skull, as if it was trying to break out from her very head. It was freezing cold, it was scorching hot, and she couldn't hold onto Herodotus, who surprisingly fell easily. Her eyes clenched shut, she tumbled to the icy floor, grabbing her own head in pain.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGH!" She screamed, her legs kicking like a jackrabbit caught in a toothed snare. She felt like crying. The warrior and treasure hunter Crassus Arminia, crying? She hadn't even cried as a child, but this pain was so intense it was unbelievable. Was she dead? Had Herodotus somehow tricked her? Killed her?

"... stable... need to... turn it off, turn it off!"

Voices... voices and pain. Proof that she wasn't dead yet, though she wished it if only to end the torment. Then, it was like her body kicked into gear after a long rest. The pain receded, if only slightly. She dare not open her eyes, but she slowly wiggled her fingers. She could still move.

"I... think... I think we've done it! We've actually done it!"

Elation... done what? Crassus finally opened her eyes, her head turned away from the mysterious figures. They spoke Amestrian, but... but it was all wrong. The words were in the wrong order, it was all jumbled. Maybe she had heard it wrong. She didn't suspect that she was in the best of states. She looked around; there was stone, there was ice, it was confusing. It was the same room as before but... different. Darker, colder, a foreboding fear clutched her heart.

"We'll have to run some tests, get her to a hospital as soon as possible. I... I can't hold my clipboard... forgive me, Chancellor, but this is... a legendary moment in science and history..."

Hospital... tests... chancellor... clipboard? No, those words didn't exist. Not in any language Crassus knew. She was not where she was before the pain. She looked forward. Four shadows. The two closest were bending down to her level...

Wait for your chance, Crassus... wait... waaaaait... now!

She whirled her leg back, striking the closest man in the temple. His form crashed against the brick. Not dead, but odd cold. The other leapt back in horror, but Crassus rolled to her back, ready to strike. The man was short, and looked like the fear of god had been put into him.

"Oh god, she shouldn't be able to move that fast!" Crassus looked down to the man's feet. Her flail was under one. She rolled forward, grabbing the handle. "Chancellor, get out, I'll call securi-" His speech was cut off as the flail was dragged out from under him, sending him tumbling back. Crassus took the chance and delivered a fast haymaker to the man, shooting him backwards.

"I'll judge how fast I move." She remarked, before turning her attention to the two last people in the room. A man and a woman... Crassus was immediately taken aback. What were they? The man was the tallest human being she had ever seen... she saw bears smaller than him. And the woman... three of her limbs, covered in... no, made of armour. She carried a... not a torch, no, this had a crossbow trigger on it, and it was a tube that spat fire. But they spoke Amestrian. Was she in another land? Another... another what? She spun her flail dangerously, the speed creating a piercing shriek as she stood still, waiting for one of them to step forward, as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Where... am I?!" She shouted, her voice carrying a terrible boom, danger in every decibel. "What's happening?! Who are you?!"

[Jay Furor]

Well then. That was Jay's first thought, as she idly swung her flamethrower back and forth, to and fro. The approaching scientist could greet HANS, but not Colonel Furor, Kanama Queen, the greatest of Amestris' colonels? And the only one prepared for the endeavors they'd have to face? Puh. Amateurs. Not that she had any form of clue as to what they were amateurs AT, only that they were clearly mediocre scientists. Because he hadn't greeted her. Shame on him, shame, truly.

And then, to sully matters even MORE, he had the GALL to tell Hans, NOT HER, to put away the flamethrower!? AS IF SHE WERE A COCKIER SPANIEL, OF ALL THINGS. HANS' LOYAL DOG THAT HE COULD- wait, yeah. That kinda described her job, really. Pretty summaritive, as well as poetic actually, but uh... YEAH. OFFENSIVE. "Hey, listen, bro, I don't tell you how to do your job, don't tell my boss to tell me to be more responsible and less reckless at mine. Or I'll set your car on fire."

Even as she spoke, though, she heard something SMASH, and some sirens, and hoisted her flamethrower up once more. Sounds like a job for Combustion Chick, Amestris' most dangerous superhero!~ Some guy ran in, yelling something about someone waking up. "GET HER SOME COFFEE, STAT. AND BEDROOM SLIPPERS. WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE." Important necessities, surely. That, and Jay was idly trolling the scientists. Serves them right for disrespecting the great and magnificent Jay.

Moments later, as the two screamed at each other like intelligent neanderthals, AKA scientists, lolderp, one turned to Jay and said he was wrong. "Apology accepted! See, I knew this would happen. Okay, I'm lying. Still. Lead the way!"

----------------------------------------------------

The scientists took Jay and Hans into a room with a big ice cube. And a chick stuck in the ice, apparently. Jay paused momentarily, ignoring the need to rush and hurry, for a single satisfying punchline's sake. "Gentlemen. I think it's safe to say that things are about to get..." She paused to put on a pair of sunglasses. "Heated. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!!~" REFERENCE MADE. FLAMETHROWING COMMENCE.

And at that, she turned on the flamethrower, gleefully laughing as she did, firing a hot spew of flames at the ice, melting it at what would be a rather alarming rate, given the target. Fire spurted for a good six seconds, before the ice had been cut down to half its size. A few seconds later, the fuel ran out, and just in the nick of time, too. She could see a person! So she set down the flamethrower.

Hmmm... As said person attacked a scientist, then leapt to another, Jay casually turned to Hans. "Y'know, now'd be a good time to do the whole heated line again, really. Could totally have done "Well, well, well. Someone's looking particularly... Hot." Haha, get it? 'Cause she's physically attractive, hurr haw haw. Mmm... I should do something, right? Yeaaaah, should do something..."

Stepping forward as the flail spun, Jay walked, unarmed, with her hands harmlessly held up. "Hi. You are in a temple in Ishval. You were frozen, so we unfroze you, 'cause people GENERALLY don't survive a thousand years in ice, but you did, good job, by the way. Aaaaaaand this is Hans, the leader of Amestris, which is kinda where we are. Kinda. And I'm Jay, and the guys you punched out are scientists. They don't matter so much. And you are rather sexy. Just as an observation, that is." Now to see what her reaction would be. Such fun!

[Hans L. Reinhardt]

Hans felt the urge to reprimand Jay again as the scientist confirmed his early words, but a shattering from the room beyond them stopped him. The other scientist ran up, shouting quite frantically that the strange woman was waking up within the ice. Jay was going to get to use her flamethrower after all. ...Hans wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. Hans' feet pounded along the corridor with the rest as they emerged in the room. He groaned audibly at Jay's ridiculous statement before watching in some amazement as Jay got the ice melted away from the woman in record time. He watched in some amazement as she tumbled out, screaming. He briefly noticed a skeleton nearby and wondered how one had survived while the other had perished. Being that he hadn't seen the pose she had been frozen in, he was undecided at this point what had been happening prior to the woman being frozen alive.

Hans watched the scientists approach her slowly, babbling along about this great moment in history. Hans did find it impressive and more-so when the woman leapt up and attacked the scientists. His awareness immediately rose, unsure as to where she would head next. A warrior, clearly, and one who did not take kindly to her current situation. Jay's second terrible reference caused Hans to roll his eyes, but he didn't react. This woman was terrified and angry. And holding a weapon. Not a good combination.

"Where... am I?!" She shouted, her voice carrying a terrible boom, danger in every decibel. "What's happening?! Who are you?!”

Hans wanted to warn Jay to stop moving forward, but knew that it was kind of a useless gesture. The Colonel had a serious case of selective hearing. "Hi. You are in a temple in Ishval. You were frozen, so we unfroze you, 'cause people GENERALLY don't survive a thousand years in ice, but you did, good job, by the way. Aaaaaaand this is Hans, the leader of Amestris, which is kinda where we are. Kinda. And I'm Jay, and the guys you punched out are scientists. They don't matter so much. And you are rather sexy. Just as an observation, that is." Hans did react this time, turning to Jay and speaking quietly. “This woman is centuries old. She may not even understand you. And she's probably terrified of your body. So, please be quiet, if just for a moment.”

Hans turned back to Crassus and moved slowly forward, staying out of range of the flail. He sketched a small, formal bow. When he spoke, he kept his words simple and spoke more slowly than usual. When he had heard her speak Amestrian, it had sounded off to him, likely from years of language delevopment. So he could only hope that if he managed, she would be able to follow. “I am Hans Reinhardt, leader of Amestris. As my warrior here has said, you have been frozen in ice for a long time. These men found you and wanted to help wake you up,” gesturing to the scientists sprawled on the ground. “Who are you?”

[Crassus]

Crassus' flail kept swinging, slicing through the air with its high pitched whistle, waiting for a chance to strike. As the armoured woman walked forward, Crassus' foot slipped back, her right arm about to attack and bring ghoulish punishment.

"Hi. You are in a temple in Ishval. You were frozen, so we unfroze you, 'cause people GENERALLY don't survive a thousand years in ice, but you did, good job, by the way. Aaaaaaand this is Hans, the leader of Amestris, which is kinda where we are. Kinda. And I'm Jay, and the guys you punched out are scientists. They don't matter so much. And you are rather sexy. Just as an observation, that is."

That was enough to make Crassus drop her weapon, along with her jaw.

What... was that stream of words? Some made sense. Some didn't. But the order was mangled, the speech all over the place. This was Amestrian tongue, but not the Amestrian way of speaking. Not even the invading Rouenian legion butchered the language quite like this. "Woman of steel, to make such madness spew forth from your lips, what happened to your tongue?! Those from foreign shores have a better grasp of Amestrian than yourself!"

The tall man seemed to agree, or at least was not amused by her. He stepped forward a little more cautiously, berating her, before looking to her. He bowed slightly, while Crassus could only look on, a mix of terror and rage in her wide eyes. “I am Hans Reinhardt, leader of Amestris. As my warrior here has said, you have been frozen in ice for a long time. These men found you and wanted to help wake you up,” gesturing to the men sprawled on the ground.

His tone was slower, giving Crassus time to break each word down as it came, and she definitely understand that.

The ancient warrior could only stand fully, before nearly falling over again. She held to an icy wall for support, and then looked to the floor. Barely inches away from the two men she had beaten to unconsciousness... the two men who had saved her, as it turns out... was Herodotus...

... dead.

She turned the skeleton over. A small pendant on the spine confirmed his identity. She plucked it up, observing it. Crassus knew it was silly to instantly take the man's explanation at face value, but she simply looked into the jewel and knew in her gut. The man was right; she was no longer in the time period where she originated from. She had few friends, many enemies, but it was still unnerving to know every face she had ever seen... everything she had known... was gone. Save the pendant.

And the bones at her feet were responsible. She felt like she hadn't taken her revenge, but it was worse knowing that she had, yet never saw it.

Crassus let out a bestial growl of rage, before stomping directly onto the skull of Herodotus, crushing it instantly. "At least you're dead, Herodotus, master of all idiots." She said, before hurling the pendant into the nearest wall of ice, leaving a large crack as it stuck in there. Her eyes finally turned back to the tall man and the woman with steel limbs.

"... you said it was men in servitude of yourself that saved me... if you are the Amestriahauptling as you claim." Crassus said, referring to the tall man by what she assumed his title was. Amestrian Chief. In her day, that title was simply meaningless, for Amestris was no unified nation... but Crassus, as she had to remind herself, was not in her day. A nonsensical logic to wrap her head around. However, what she didn't know was what happened to the Ostrogoths, her own tribe, so, until she could ask...

... this man was her leader.

Certainly, she had a debt to them both, so Crassus felt she had to make it official, grabbing her flail once more. She took it by the spiky ball itself, and used one of the spikes to pierce the flesh of her arm. She didn't react, pain nonexistent for her, but a small pool of blood collected around the metal, enough to bleed but not enough to hurt. She dipped her thumb onto the blood, getting it onto her, before moving towards the tall man.

"Then myself, Crassus Arminia, is in debt to you, and my Ostrogothic blood is at your service," she said, composing herself, before pressing her bloody thumb onto the man's face and painting a straight line from one cheek to the other, halfway between his eyes and the tip of his nose (she had to struggle to reach, but she managed). "Until my weregild is fulfilled." Then she looked to the woman with the steel limbs, painting a red line across her face as well. "And to you as well, I serve." She stood back a little, before giving both of them a low bow.

"So tell me, Amestriahauptling and friend... what has happened to this world in this thousand years? Do people tell tales of Crassus Arminia? Where are the Ostrogoths? Are Cretans still mad? And... and where is my drawing book?"

[Jay Furor]

The somewhat insane Colonel blinked before grinning as Hans bid her caution following her introduction to the primitive woman. It was truly a thought to ponder as he spoke of the woman before them. And of course, she misunderstood the very point of Hans' words. "Terrified of my body? Well... I AM pretty sexy. If I was her, I'd be pretty intimidated by this fine figure as well." Vanity was a wonderful thing. A moment later, she caught on, however. "Oh! And I suppose my 'mail might be cause for alarm too. It's also pretty sexy, though. So y'know." Not bothering to explain how exactly automail could be sexy, without, at the least, being a replacement for a naughty part, she turned her attention to Crassus, who was obviously a grammar nazi. Obviously.

That, or REALLY CONFUSED by the natural course of linguistic evolution. And kinda hard to understand, was like reading Shakespeare or Dickens or something. "Woman of Steel, eh? That... That is an EPIC title. Hans, can that be my legit official title? 'Colonel Jay Caroline Furor, Woman of Steel.' Epic." That thought out of her forethoughts for the moment, she turned her attention back to Crassus. Or rather, back to Crassus, then back to Hans, then to Crassus, as he spoke to her. "Huh... You're a lot better at that than I am, Mr. Leader-Man. Then again, I don't usually deal with diplomacy and whatnot, way harder for me to break down my speech better. Eh." She shrugged; not like she'd really ever NEED to speak clearly or whatnot.

Crassus went on a brief spiel, talking to bones, and Jay patiently waited for her to address them again, which she did, thanking them for saving her. Kinda. And calling Hans a totally hardcore name. Would use. "Amestriahauptling. Has a nice ring to it; Hans, that is your new name!~" Another joke, though she'd likely actually refer to him as such. If only because she's herself. It was a Jayish thing to do. Watching the ancient one, she tilted her head slightly to the side as she cut herself and dunked her thumb in the blood. Well then. See something new every day.

And to make things more intriguing, she smeared it on both of the more modern Amestrians' faces. How pleasant! Though really, Jay didn't mind, she just thought it to be rather... Well, unusual. Well, was an honor to have her in service to herself. Not like Jay would really have much for her to do, but still, an honor nonetheless. Anyways, soon came a series of questions from the Ostrogoth. Which Jay was more than happy to oblige! This time much slower and more clearly. "Call me Jay~ And the world has changed... A lot. Way more than I could summarize, probably. The Ostrogoths are... Well, if they're still around, I have no idea where they are. Cretans are still very much insane, and smell funn- erm... I mean, Cretans are way nice now, and totally not horrible people I still don't care for too much." She then paused for a moment to let that sink in, as a memory hit of her childhood. A smile rose to the blonde's face, her steel-gray eyes lighting a bit as she grinned at Crassus. "And as far as stories go, I remember a few my mother used to tell me as a kid, from a storybook. Had a lot of old tall tales and legends; great stuff."

[Hans L. Reinhardt]

This Ostrogoth woman seemed to be taking the whole concept of being frozen in ice and waking up in the future rather well. She seemed immensely pleased that the skeleton she was found with was in fact, dead, rather than being alive like herself. Hans was also called a rather ancient Amestrian title, which he assumed meant some kind of leader. This woman would have a lot of vocabulary catch-up to successfully navigate through the new world. He watched her calmly, letting her absorb this new situation; he would rather not startle a capable warrior.

He could not help a frown crossing over his face as Jay kept opening her mouth, making things slightly more ridiculous. Then again, that was normal. The frown shifted into mute shock as the woman made herself bleed with her weapon and reached up to smear her blood across his face. His face was blank and unmoving, which was probably for the best, considering this was clearly some ancient ritual. But the smell of the iron blood was wafting into his nostrils and at this close range, it was not something he enjoyed. He saw Jay received a similar treatment from Crassus and she took it with her usual light-hearted banter.

He sighed heavily, wishing feverently for the moment when he could wash the blood off his face. Ideally, that would be within the next few moments. Trying to waste those moments, he replied to Crassus. “Your drawing book may have been lost due to the time that has passed. But I will have these scientists look for it. As for what has happened...” Hans looked to Jay and sighing, continued. “And perhaps I will help you learn. Myself and a few select others.” He did not need another Jay-like wacko on his hands. That would be too much to ask. “In the meantime, let us help these men and get you checked by healer.”

{END THREAD}

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