Bum bum bum~! OPEN. 8D

A pale-skinned man ambled through East City, his eyes shaded from the now bright sunlight with a hat that squelched his black mop of hair. He was wearing a white t-shirt and some black dress pants. Nice for someone who lived here, as mostly everyone wore rags... But it was plain and simple for him. He sat down beside the girl, praying she wouldn't recognize him. He didn't feel like dealing with a mob of fangirls(or fanboys) today.

OOC: I read nope-nope and thought about the Land Before Times. XD

The man heard her grunt, and sighed impatiently. Didn't she know who he was?! Oh... Well he was masking his features so no, she didn't. But she had no right to make such an ugly sound all because he sat down! "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, making sure to cloak his voice with a low, rumbly growl. Those damn news reporters.... Wanting an interview every ten minutes...

His eyes sharpened, but he said nothing, smart enough to know to hold his tongue. He pulled a worn book out of his pocket. The title was faded and seemingly threaded together, but you could still read it. It said COOKING FOR MEN (LOL I couldn't resist). He himself needed to learn more on the art of cooking... And he really didn't feel like going all the way back to Central for the third time that month out of boredom for a mission. He flipped through the dog-eared pages, looking for something he'd like to cook tonight. Er, attempt to cook.

After another few pages he finally found the recipe he was looking for. The page was yellowed with age and fingerprints were smeared over most of it from long ago. It was a recipe for something called German Chocolate Thunder Cake. It was pretty much all chocolate. He read off the ingredients in a quiet hum, seeing what he had at home from memory and what he needed to get from the store. "Just need some Heath bars and fudge and I'll be all set for dessert tonight," he murmured, his voice slightly giddy that he didn't have to walk around the store for countless hours buying things he'd only use once.

The man felt a gaze on him and looked over, blinking as his emerald gaze met the crimson one. He looked back down at his book as if not fazed, flipping the pages a few more times while he searched for a main course. Hm... What was he going to do about that? "Maybe..." he mumbled under his breath, his eyes on a recipe for Lo Mein.

OOC: I understand. XD

The man blinked as the sound of damp paper rustling reached his ears. He looked over at the girl, curious, only to see a piece of paper shoved in his face, the words "Why is someone like you cooking?" scrawled across the page. He shrugged. "I dunno. It's something I'm not good at, and I want to be better at it. Besides no one else is going to cook it." he said thoughtfully.

"You automatically assume I'm rich?" he questioned, raising one eyebrow. Well, he was. But that didn't give her anything to work with. Especially since she didn't recognize him. "And I only have one helper." The word servant just sounded wrong. "She cleans up the house, but I don't force her to cook if she doesn't want to."

The man's eyes widened, and he returned to staring at the ground. That it, until he heard some crazy bat roaring her lungs out. He didn't have a clue of what she was doing until her hands wrapped around the girl's throat. He stood up quickly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a transmutation circle drawn on a sheet of paper. He always kept one for emergencies. He threw it on the bench and pressed his fingertips to it, enacting a blue glow. He glanced over to the side to see the girl's frightened eyes, and felt angry. What was this blond's problem?! In an instant, several green shards erupted from the earth in front of the girl and the blond, rising up to be several feet tall and a few feet wide. It blocked the woman's attacks completely.

Many people stared. A few screamed, "Look! It's the Emerald Storm Alchemist!" in excited voices. Many people wondered how he could pull of such transmutations while still obeying the laws of equivalent exchange. Simple. He channeled alchemic energy through the circle and the bench, going deep into the ground. Then he teased the minerals needed for the gems to grow to produce faster, and he manipulated how tall/wide they grew.

While the woman was distracted, he reached out and took the girl's hand. "Come on! Get out of here!" he hissed, not noticing that his book was lying face-down on the pavement. He started to drag her along, trying to keep a fast pace. The emerald shards probably wouldn't hold off the crazy woman for long...

The man ignored many of the women and men screaming, "Danai!" and pulled the girl into an alley, making sure they were out of sight before plopping down on the ground, panting. "Jeez, who was that woman?" he asked, scowling. "Bat-crazy, if you ask me...." He looked up at the girl. His hat had been knocked off somewhere along the run, so his mop of black hair made his pale features even paler. "You okay?"

Danai rolled his eyes. "Whatever." he grunted, pulling out his pocket watch and glaring at it slightly. He was happy to be a State Alchemist. But the privileges didn't outweigh the consequences. Not by an ounce. "So, you're name?" he asked, arching one eyebrow. "I really don't feel like calling you "kid" the next time I see you." He didn't add the next time if he saw her...

He lifted one hand and tipped an imaginary hat. "Danai Thomas." He had noticed the circles, but he thought little to nothing of it.

OOC: GAWD NO MUSE! D:

Danai stood, his eyes flashing with surprise. "Wait!" he said, blinking. "What are you going to do? You surely can't go back to your mother...." he said, trailing off. Why should he care in the affairs of other people? ... He was an alchemist. It was a job.