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 Posted: Thu May 21, 2026 7:02 pm
Ekstrom sat waiting patiently at the arranged meeting place, this time so they could visit her Wonder. She'd been working diligently on the floor with all the black "tar," or..."goo," or...whatever it actually was—she still hadn't settled on a word that felt right for the stuff. She'd gotten to a point of it being presentable enough that she thought it'd be alright to show Hohenheim. Though she could take him to other, arguably more impressive (at least to her), areas of her Wonder, she thought a space that was still a work in progress might be more encouraging. Something about conveying that he wasn't alone when it came to figuring out his Wonder. She wasn't sure it would work, but she hoped!
And so, ever the optimist, she invited him to have a look at her Wonder.
She looked fairly relaxed, leaning back against the bench and looking up at the cloudless night sky and letting her thoughts meander from one topic to another. Things had been...okay of late, though immediately after having the thought she briefly wondered if she may have just jinxed herself. In any case, this had been okay. Work was work, and while she was busy she had settled into a decent routine between work, life, and Knight life.
Of course, several minutes into this and the pervasive thought about one aspect of her life eventually reared its ugly head. Again. She made a face and tried to shove it away. Sensing an Order signature, she happily clung to the distraction and looked in the general direction it was coming from.
"Hohenheim?" she called after a moment, the usual smile once more settled on her face. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him off for the night because of the look on her face whenever she thought about her love life, of all things.
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 8:13 pm
More and more, it felt like he was a rat in a maze in his wonder, even after they'd come with him on his last visit. But tonight, they'd invited him to go to their wonder instead. Logically, it made sense to take a step back from a puzzle or look at things from a different vantage point. Realistically, he didn't quite feel sold on the idea, but with her repeated assistance, he felt he owed it to her. Fiddling with the cube as he walked, he looked up as he heard Ekstrom calling out his name. "Hello, I'm not late, am I?" Though keeping track of time wasn't always something he was good at when he got into a project. Something seemed slightly off about her smile; perhaps it didn't reach her eyes, but it wasn't something he was well-versed in either, so he ignored it for now as he sat next to her on the bench. "So up to a different cold place this time... yours isn't as bad, right?" At least from what he remembered her mentioning. Anything might be better than what he'd been dealing with lately.
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Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 11:50 pm
"Nope, not late," she reassured him as she moved to stand. And then, at his question, she smiled somewhat apologetically.
"It's not open to the outside like yours so it's not as cold, but it's still cold. I, uh, haven't exactly figured out if there's heating or anything like that." In truth she'd gotten so used to it that she hardly noticed now, especially because whenever she visited she kept very busy and so she basically only realized how cold it still was inside after she hopped out of the shower.
"I kind of wanted to show you how things might improve and stuff over time. I have before and after pictures, 'cause my wonder is kinda big and so a lot of times I wind up asking like, what's the point and stuff? When I get there, I look at the pictures to remind myself how far I've come and it helps me get back on track." She extended her hand then, and waited for him to take it.
"Before that, though, I wanted to show you my work-in-progress spot. I found something weird there, but it doesn't seem like it's there anymore so I'm just starting to poke around."
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2026 1:22 pm
Making a mental note about it being cold, but not outside, so no snow getting under his shirt again, Hohenheim nodded. It seemed like a good enough reason, and the lack of snow made his curiosity win out over his hatred of being cold, since it wouldn't be a wet cold. "Okay, that might help. I mean, you were up there with me, everything seems run down, and well, it's a maze." Which meant he'd not ended up in the same place twice there. Sighing slightly, he took her hand, knowing the song and dance from last time. "No snow. That's what I'm gonna be happiest about. As for the work in progress... I'm not sure how much help I'd be if it's all... techy... but I'll be there for... moral support?" Trying to fix his face to be at least a semblance of a supportive smile, he wasn't sure it suited him and just went back to his default flat expression.
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2026 5:11 pm
She grinned, his hesitance about things somewhat familiar now after their few encounters. Hesitant, but still willing—that was what mattered to her. And likewise, she was more than willing to help him with anything knight-related of his that she could, if he asked.
Taking his hand, she closed her eyes and focused, reciting the familiar words in her mind. Soon she felt the familiar tug back to her Wonder, and the cold that wrapped itself snugly around her marked their arrival. Ekstrom opened her eyes and glanced around, a little surprised that they arrived exactly where she was hoping they would. More often than not she started at her quarters, and second most often was one of the entrances.
"We're actually here," she said, the tail end of her words lilting with some amusement. "Nice. Saves us a walk, at least."
The room they had arrived in was a waiting room, organized, functional, and mostly clean. It looked like a perfectly usable space, though the damage dealt to the area was still there, and black "tar" riddled the floor, walls, and ceiling. Ekstrom adjusted her jacket slightly, eyes narrowing as she looked toward the hallway on their left.
"Anyway, this is the floor I've been focusing on a lot. I think there's something here. Not a tech thing but a..." She pursed her lips as she tried to think of a word that hopefully wouldn't freak him out too much. She didn't want to lie to him either, or underplay what she thought they might encounter. She wanted to build up the trust between them, after all, and honesty was always key in that.
"Honestly, I think it's an alive thing. I don't know what it is so I'm trying to be careful." She pointed down the hallway. "But it hasn't done anything yet, so I'm like...not too worried?" Her smile took on an apologetic look then, and she added, "Yet, anyway. There are some rooms I was gonna start looking into. I got one of them open the other day." She walked toward the hallway in question and gestured for him to follow.
"C'mon."
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