Re: What a strange little girl...(IVITE ONLY NOW MUU~)

[Sal]

The boy inhaled sharply and held his breath as he was - once again - lifted up unexpectedly, and only allowed himself to breathe once he had been released. It seemed that this was going to happen a lot today. He relaxed slightly as Xan gave him a pat on the head, but his offer of more cake didn't help at all. In fact, given that the pain had already made him feel a bit out of it, thinking about more sugar in his system caused him to feel a bit ill. He looked down at his feet, and shook his head in response. All Sal wanted was to be away from this girl who so clearly had the intention of causing him pain - for her own sick pleasure.

His ears twitched and perked up when another man entered the shop. When the boy turned to look in his direction, he just as quickly turned away, not wanting to draw attention from any more strangers than he already had. It was clear that he had to be much more careful about who he associated with, lest he end up dead. That was a thought he didn't want to cross his mind for another few weeks if he managed to survive this particular day.

"Sir, do you have hot dogs?"

'What?' His attention was once again directed at the new arrival. It was just that this man's voice, for some reason, stood out to the chimera. He felt that he should keep an eye out for him while he was in the shop. Sure enough, there was another addition to their already strange little group. With a sigh, Sal cast a quick glance back at Eclair. She seemed preoccupied with the food, but he wasn't sure whether he should really just bolt off like that. It was definitely looking like a good idea, but he shook his head and decided against leaving like that. He didn't want to be rude.

With a simple glance to the exit, the young boy made sure to keep his distance from the girl and sat in close range of Xan. He didn't quite trust him at this point, but sitting near him made the psychotic female seem like less of a threat.

[Xan]

Xanthus looked down at Sal again with a slightly sad look to him; it was too bad that he didn't have use of his alkahestry, else he would have been able to dull the pain even with Eclair using her own pain alchemy. Ah well, it was too late now, and the deed was done. There were now two options, stay here and keep the pink haired girl from torturing him anymore, or simply help him up and get out of the pastry shop.

One might find themselves asking why Xan was being so nice to a kid that he had barely just met. Well firstly, he would respond that he considered his behavior to be perfectly normal; being nice to others had been his attitude from day one. However, if any had known of his past and how his mind worked, they might have known that the Ishvalan felt slightly guilty because of an event that happened not quite so long ago, when the life of a friend of his who had been about Sal's age at the time perished unexpectedly. That event triggered this apparent benevolence to the point where even Pride was unable to argue against it or make any sort of comment.

At any rate, whilst Xan was musing, another person walked into the shop and ordered...hot dogs? Then he came and sat down at...great, he came and sat down at their table. Even before his training, the Ishvalan could read people quite efficiently, but after being trained as a Horsemen, Xan could tell peoples' entire mind-frame simply by looking at them, and what he read from this new person was nothing good. And such was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Xan put his hand on Sals' head again and turned it slightly and gently as possible.

"Alrighty then kid, it's time for me to go. Things are getting a bit... weird. Come with me or go the other way; it doesn't matter, but as I'm sure you've figured out by now, staying here is not the best option. Hmm...If you ever need help, then go to Central Command and find my office there, it shouldn't be too difficult to remember my name."

With that, he released Sal's head and stood up. Briefly he explained that he had business to tend to at Central Command and excused himself from the table. However, before he left, he looked at Ever.

"Oh, and Ever...we'll keep in touch."

And with that, Colonel Xanthus Icarus walked to the door and walked out, heading in the general direction of who knows where.

[Topic Exit]

[Sal]

Despite how things seemed to be happening at first, when the chimera found the pastry shop, the day's events were beginning to be too much for him. The free sweets were great, for sure, but the pain that seemed to have been attached to the deal? That wasn't so great. Luckily, there was someone who apparently sympathized him more than he had anticipated. It could have been that this man, Xanthus, only felt compassion for the boy because they were both of Ishvallan blood. Even though it was a thought that slightly upset the boy, he found it very interesting that he would encounter someone in the Amestrian military, let alone one who seemed...out of place, to say the least. He had been very kind to Salazar, and this did indeed make the boy feel wanted in some way, so he felt it only necessary to thank this strange man.

Instead of giving a direct response, the chimera simply gave Xan an acknowledging look as he spoke, and once the man had made his exit, the boy shook himself. Looking over to the table, he gave a bow and muttered a near inaudible, "Excuse me," before dashing out of the shop's doors. He wouldn't communicate with Xan just yet; He figured that visiting this man would give him a very good reason to explore Central even more.
[Topic Exit]

[Aurelius Schwartz]

Please tell me next time when a thread ends. ^_^

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