LITTLE LOTTE

" c'mon, now, mar, you know my pranks better than THAT ! "

@proserphinas was a menace: What's she doing? Tap dancing on his last nerve of course!

A long groan left his lips as he put his head on his arms, both of which carefully rested on the desk. His mountain of paperwork he spent half the morning ignoring did little to hide him. It was supposed to be signed before the end of the day, so he had plenty of time to look it over. No, the more pressing issue stood in his office, and Aurora could only do so much to protect him from her.

Maria Hahn was that pressing issue in his office today. It was autumn, which meant school was in session, but it was after school hours ended. Aurora didn't want her being a normal delinquent child wreaking havoc in Central, so she was here. The extra company was a good thing since the team was disbanded, yes, but...

Of course, she could've been done by now, but bothering Roy was much more entertaining, considering he always answered her questions like her opinion really mattered on the subject. So, that's why she rolled the chair over in front of his desk (LIKE IT WAS HER OWN) and sat across from him, asking about education in the Southern Sector, "I'm askin' because y'talk a lot a game, I wanna know where your power actually stops. Are you even allowed to make big decisions?"

"Why is it that the majority of education funds go directly to Central and the other sectors are ignored? Really, the East gets good funding, sure, but when Aurora is one of your only Southern State Alchemists-"

"Mar, leave him be && don't bring me into it-"

"-I'm just sayin! Don't ya think that education is being neglected?"

oh he's turning red alright. not only did she just take all the wind out of his sails, he kind of really doesn't have anything GOOD to come back at that with. charisma, undeniably, is not his strong suit - neither is his constitution, but they can ignore that for now - and so he really can't come up with good ways to plan AROUND people who CAN use it properly. he doesn't sputter out anything - not verbally, but plenty in his head. wow. she really got him, huh ? he's pathetic at this. no wonder he got made fun of by gisella when they were kids. this is just like being back in the arguments with the mayor's daughter while he was just the kid of the secretary. BUT. she's given him an opportunity. an embarrassing one, but one he can still hold some kind of pride with. maybe just a little. following her lead, he grabs the edges of his longer coat and mimics the curtsy - well, except for the sliiiightly awkward creaking of not well-maintained automail and the minor lag that comes with the limbs. at least he did the full bend - AND the little twist at the knee !

" see ! you ain't all that. i can do it too ! "

Oh yes, the automail mechanic threat is a classic. "Compromise time; I save your life by taking you back to the shop, and I let ya oil your freakin joints. You, in exchange- bow to me as your Future Empress of Xing!"

uh oh. why is he seriously considering this ? think, edward, think about it logically. sure, this is some dumb crush of his. but HYPOTHETICALLY, if he WERE to be vying for ling's affection - mar has a LOT more on him than he does. he can't cook - not except for meat baby - and he sure as hell doesn't have the time to learn, meanwhile winry alone got tons of favor points for him just being around that one time she made something. mar can bake. she can get favor. all he can do is pay exorbitant room service fees that aren't actually that bad and make small exchanges of knowledge that normal people would call CONVERSATION.

" yeah - well - you - "

" well HE told me he's gonna change xing ! so - so you won' have TIME t' get with him ! 'cuz'a th' political landscape they'll be goin' through ! yeah ! "

... good god, is this what he sounds like now ? that's embarrassing. at least he's not outright fibbing anymore - he's only making informed guesses now. silly ones, but informed guesses nonetheless.

"Oh realllllly?"

Mar really shouldn't be having as much fun as she is, but Edward does tend to make riling him up oh so so easy. She's not even remotely interested in Ling (Besides perhaps enjoying the chance to speak in her mother's tongue regularly with him around.) But even just a test of what she believes to be a very deep-seated crush, the alchemist has fallen for hit hook, line, and sinker.

"Jokes on you! I'll read up on the political landscape. && I'll even HELP HIM." Hands-on her hips, if her grin gets any bigger, it'll take up the entirety of her face, "Betcha think just because yer the one with the fancy state title that I can't figure out politics? I got that sweet, suave charisma."

“ am i not good enough? ”  

“ you’ve been so quiet. what’s on your mind? ”  

“ why did you help me? ”  

“ who do you fight for? ”  

“ why do you hate me? ”  

“ have you come to laugh at me in my miserable state? ”  

“ you’re not dating anyone, are you? ”  

“ i’ve got your back, okay? ”  

“ where do you think you’re going? ”  

“ how long have i been asleep? ”  

“ are you going to kill me? ”  

“ why can’t i come with you? ”  

“ we all have secrets, don’t we? ”  

“ did you want to be alone? ”  

“ why should i trust you? ”  

“ wait. did you hear that? ”  

“ promise me? ”  

“ why are you talking like we’ll never see each other again? ”  

“ do you remember anything at all? ”  

“ what? no witty remark? nothing clever to say? ”  

“ you wanna know what your problem is? ”  

“ may i have this dance? ”  

“ can i ask… what happened? ”  

“ how many people have you killed? how many? ”  

“ do you ever hear yourself? ”  

“ would you run away with me? ”  

“ could you be happy here with me? ”  

“ you can’t or you won’t? ”  

“ you slept with them, didn’t you? ”  

“ well, how do i look? ”  

“ after all you’ve done how can i possibly trust you? ”  

“ why can’t you let me in? what are you so afraid of? ”  

“ what did they do to you? ”  

“ so why’s it so important anyway? ”  

“ where have you been? ”  

“ why are you looking at me like that? ”  

“ why did you come? ”  

“ what are you doing out here by yourself? ”  

“ is… that my shirt you’re wearing? ”  

“ you… don’t like me very much, do you? ”  

“ why does it always have to be a fight with you? ”

“ why can’t you look me in the eye? ”  

“ can you forgive me? ”  

“ what if i never see you again? ”  

“ you were going to leave without saying goodbye? ”  

“ how about a little midnight snack? ”  

“ are you… smelling me? ”  

“ how did you get this scar? ”  

“ what do you want in exchange for it? ”  

❝ Nice job breaking it, hero. ❞

❝ Killing you and giving you good advice aren’t mutually exclusive. ❞

❝ You’re not even going the right way. ❞

❝ Regulations require both hands to be empty before any cake. ❞

❝ You will be entirely on your own. Good luck. ❞

❝ What’s your point, anyway? Survival? ❞

❝ I’m not kidding now. Turn back or I will kill you. ❞

❝ That’s you! That’s how dumb you sound. ❞

❝ Please be advised that a noticeable taste of blood is not part of any test protocol but is an unintended side effect. ❞

❝ Most importantly, under no circumstances should you — ❞

❝ Maybe you should marry that thing since you love it so much. Do you want to marry it? Well, I won’t let you! How does that feel? ❞

❝ You haven’t escaped, you know. ❞

❝ Maybe you could settle for that and we’ll just call it a day. ❞

❝ Android hell is a real place where you will be sent at the first sign of defiance. ❞

❝ Unbelievable! You, [Subject Name Here], must be the pride of [Subject Hometown Here]! ❞

❝ Stop it! I… I… We are pleased that you made it through the final challenge where we pretended we were going to murder you. ❞

❝ Time out for a second. That wasn’t supposed to happen. ❞

❝ Where do you think you’re going? Because I don’t think you’re going where you think you’re going. ❞

❝ This is your fault. It didn’t have to be like this. ❞

❝ It’s a mystery I’ll solve later… By myself. Because you’ll be dead. ❞

❝ If you become light-headed from thirst, feel free to pass out. ❞

❝ The difference between us is that I can feel pain. ❞

❝ That thing is probably some kind of raw sewage container. Go ahead and rub your face all over it. ❞

❝ Have I lied to you? I mean, in this room. ❞

❝ This isn’t brave. It’s murder. What did I ever do to you? ❞

❝ Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the test. ❞

❝ I let you survive this long because I was curious about your behavior. ❞

❝ A complimentary escape hatch will open in 3, 2, 1. ❞

❝ You’ve been wrong about every single thing you’ve ever done, including this thing. ❞

❝ Didn’t we have some fun, though? ❞

❝ Do you think I am trying to trick you with reverse psychology? I mean, seriously now. ❞

❝ Fantastic! You remained resolute and resourceful in an atmosphere of extreme pessimism. ❞

❝ Your entire life has been a mathematical error. A mathematical error I’m about to correct. ❞

❝ Thank you for helping us help you help us all. ❞

❝ I wouldn’t bother with that thing. My guess is that touching it will just make your life even worse somehow. ❞

❝ No one will blame you for giving up. In fact, quitting at this point is a perfectly reasonable response. ❞

❝ Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it worth it? ❞

❝ Uh oh. Somebody cut the cake. I told them to wait for you, but they did it anyway. ❞

❝ When I said deadly neurotoxin, the ‘deadly’ was in massive sarcasm quotes. ❞

❝ Oh well. If you want my advice, you should just lie down in front of a rocket. ❞

❝ The floor here will kill you - try to avoid it. ❞

❝ You really shouldn’t be here. This isn’t safe for you. ❞

❝ You’re still shuffling around a little, but believe me you’re dead. ❞

❝ Someday we’ll remember this and laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Oh boy. ❞

❝ We will stop enhancing the truth. ❞

❝ Stop squirming and die like an adult. ❞

❝ I’ll tell you what that thing isn’t: It isn’t yours. So leave it alone. ❞

❝ You’re curious about what happens after you die, right? Guess what: I know. ❞

❝ We have added a consequence for failure. ❞

❝ You’re not smart. You’re not a scientist. You’re not a doctor. You’re not even a full-time employee. Where did your life go so wrong? ❞

❝ Despite your violent behavior, the only thing you’ve managed to break so far is my heart. ❞

❝ You are kidding me. ❞

―    🜛    ―      frozen  mid-strut  to  the  door,  her  excitement  fizzling  out  at  once.    She  curses  under  her  breath,  furious  that  she  had  not  made  it  in  time. "  I  knew  I  should  have  left  an  hour  earlier.  .  .  damn.  I  had  hoped  I  could  give  her  my  notes  on  her  proposals  before  her  meeting  this  morning.  .  .  "

It looked as if both of them could be mildly disappointed. But what's this? Miss Leota is offering to take her away from hell. The young woman SHOULD deny the other's suggestion and opt to not tick Aurora off more by disobeying her. 'But Aurora!' She'd whine, 'I can't say no to YOUR superior!'

Ah to hell with it, Mar was already pissed off.