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[Well it had been a good two or so weeks since...'Ling' had come into her house. She was beginning to wonder if giving him that name had really been a good idea. In fact sometimes she wondered if it had been a good idea to create him to begin with, at least in his image, but there was little she could do about that now.

It was a rainy day, and she wasn't particularly feeling up to doing any tinkering today so she was divested of her usual lab coat and instead just in a white tank and shorts. The house seemed unusually quiet, something it hadn't been since Ling appeared, so she made her way over to his room and gave a knock]

Ling?

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[He looked up at her reaction and- was very startled by the expression on her face and the way she moved towards him. What was-- did he do something wrong? Why was she speaking like that. He just wanted to know why he was seeing so many strange things.

Though ...he wasn't going to disobey her. He cautiously held out his hands to her so she could take the lantern.]

[she inched the rest of the way towards him, almost as if she were afraid of him now, and took the lantern from him, cradling it to her chest. She didn't often pull it out of its special place, all alone in that cabinet. Still, knowing it was there was one of the things that had kept her going these past years.

She looked at it, cheeks becoming a little pink, and blinking rapidly before she raised her head to look at Ling]

How did...you know? About 1224?

[He looks up at her, a bit like the kid who's hand was caught in the cookie jar. Quietly he responds:] ...I don't know.

When I held the lantern ...I knew.

...just how much do you know?

[Winry of course doesn't believe that memories can be transferred via an item, but she's also sure that Ling wouldn't lie to her, so she's not certain what to think]

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...A plane. To a place called Shanghai. There were large markets ...a shop. [He looks up at her.] Where that lantern was purchased.

[for a moment her hands tightened around the lantern, but just as quickly loosened--it was a delicate thing. If she so much as bent it, she wouldn't forgive herself.

She nodded at him to continue, still standing stiff as a board, body angled away from him]

[He silently closed his eyes, recalling more of the images.]

[He speaks now in chinese, a language he's not even sure he knows. He pauses and then tries to repeat it in english.]

The lantern was special. I-- [Not him- it couldn't have been him.] The shop lady told- someone- that it was a gift to be ...given to someone special, because it was said to hold a part of your soul.

He averted his eyes now to look at the ground. He didn't have one of those, did he?]

[Winry remembered the note that had been sent with the gift. She had thought it incredibly sweet, and it had made her so happy even if she thought it a little silly. It was the sentiment that counted after all, and it had been, even when he was still alive, her most precious possession

However that wasn't what was at the forefront of Winry's mind. No, what was, were these details Ling was bringing up. Knowing about the incident was one thing, but know about the lantern? What it meant? Even more so, she hadn't caught that slip up. Had he just spoken about Ling--the real Ling, as if he were himself?]

This was a gift given to me, years ago.

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[There was more but it wasn't as clear as what he'd just spoken of. Though now he knew that he'd somehow upset her, by these things that he'd said and by taking the lantern from the spot he'd found it.]

...I'm sorry.

[she swallows, feeling she should tell him it was fine, but she really wasn't feeling fine. Not at all]

I'm. Going to go put this back where it belongs. Then we'll figure out what happened. Or just forget about it. [the latter was actually looking rather appealing to her]

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...[He looked up at her now. His expression was hard to define because even he wasn't sure what he was feeling.]

[But he knew that he had hurt Winry and that was unacceptable, so he nodded.]

We can forget about it.

[Even though he wanted to know- Winry was far more important than his own question in the end.]

[after some deliberation she shakes her head]

Just give me a moment. The fact that you were able to...conjure up that information is still an issue that won't go away, and it might happen again. Ignoring it won't solve anything.

[she sighs and leave for a moment to go and put the lantern back where it belongs]

Ah...

[But- he was trying to-. She always did that though. Whenever he tried to do something he thought she wanted, she would insist on the opposite. He didn't understand it.]

[He'll sit there on his bed, waiting for her. His hands are folding neatly on his lap.]

[She goes downstairs to where the decorative cabinet. It's a large one, make out of mahogany with a deep polish. It's double doors are intricately decorated with an etch of two dragons facing the center, their claws wrapped about the knobs. She opens it up. There are several shelves inside but they are all completely empty save for a small bright red pillow on the center on.

She places the lantern back on it and closes the door, heaving a sigh and taking a moment to try and collect herself. She hadn't wanted to cry in front of him, but she does so a bit now, before wiping at her tears and making her way back to his room.

She enters, quiet, and makes her way over to his bed, sitting down and folding her hands on her lap. Where to even begin in solving this mystery?]

...

[What now? He looks over at her, he sees how red her eyes are and knows what that means.]

[He looks down at his lap again. He asks now, very carefully, hesitantly.]

...May I ...ask about the one who bought you the lantern?

[she hesitates a moment. Talking about him was always hard, but in this case she was also a little worried of what it might do to this Ling. Being told you were essentially modeled after someone else...no, that wouldn't be good.

She nods, but she doesn't plan to tell him everything]

He was someone really precious to me. I've known him for as long as I can remember [she faintly smiles in nostalgia]

He was such a goof. Let his stomach lead his thoughts so often,and always had a smile in his face or a joke or banter to deliver. He always made laugh no matter how down I was.

But he was also very...I don't know. Noble in a way. He understood and took care of others. He was a natural born leader though very few would guess it until they saw him in action, or came to know it. He was so loyal to his friends, and so very, very dependable.

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[He listens and he has a faint smile- she talks about this person so fondly. But something seems so off about it.]

...The way you speak of him in the past tense.

Something ...happened to him, didn't it?

[she turns her face away]

He died.

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[Pauses. quiet, he looks away, as well.]

...On the plane.

[face still turned away. It's too hard to look at him right now]

Y-yea.

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...

[Draws his knees up to his chest.]

Why do I know these things about him?

[she shakes her head]

I don't know. That's what I want to find out.

When did these thoughts stare coming to you? Exactly when, and what was the first? Is there anything else you remember?

When I picked up the lantern. Ah.

There are a few other things but it isn't ...something I can express. They are not solid memories. Fleeting thoughts.

...like...feelings? [a confused frown and she's finally turned to look back at him again, though her head is bowed and she only flickers her eyes up at him occasionally]

....Perhaps. I'm not sure.

[Looks up at her.]

Maybe you can find out why if you... [he lightly reaches around to his back where his back opens up.]

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