I already have a bit of the next chapter (which is the proper first chapter) but I wanted to post this first. Hope you enjoy! Fixed 'cause I thought it had a rushed 'happily ever after' ending. (Edited again)
Normal POV
"We had someone much younger than you get two automail limbs. You could always consider it as an option, you know," the old woman yelled out to the man, leaving after an adjustment of his prosthetics.
"Nah, I'm fine. Didn't you say there was someone younger than even him, that got automail?" he replied, remembering one of Pinako's many stories.
"She prefers not to be mentioned. She made her fair share of enemies in her home country, and doesn't want the same here," Pinako told the man, remembering that night a few years ago.
.:.Flashback.:.
"Please, help," a weak voice cried in the darkness, roughly two meters from the Rockbell's porch. It was the closest house, the small windows bathing the area in light. Its tiny form shivered in the pounding rain, chilled right to the bone.
Pinako sighed, the door creaking as she opened it to see what Den was barking at. The loyal canine was usually well behaved and only barked if something (or someone) important was outside. She looked down to see a dark, limp shape lying on her doorstep, only faint rasping breaths evidence that it was still alive. Not waiting to figure out who or what it was, she dragged it inside.
It was definitely not what the mechanic expected. The creature's shape was vaguely human but there were a few major differences. Firstly, its left arm was missing and bleeding from the bloodied stump, the injury couldn't have been more than half an hour old. Secondly, it had orange fur, a tail and strange ears on top of its head, as well as as odd black attire. Third, it was tiny, the size of a child.
The old woman wasn't strong enough to lift the stranger, so decided to pull them instead. It moaned as it was dragged through the doorframe, an unconscious shudder rippling through its helpless body. Pinako called out to the doctors - her daughter and son-in-law - getting their help to lift it up onto the patient bed. The three of them rushed to stop the bleeding, not once even slightly thinking of its strange appearance. The three of them watched over it, waiting for it to come back to the world of the living.
It turned out to be a she and introduced itself as Thalia. That was all she said before promptly falling asleep again. Sleep evaded them that night while they pondered the conundrum of the girl.
Winry POV
"Hello?" I asked into the quiet room, peering inside. I had heard the commotion last night, but I was sent to bed before it happened. The next morning, my curiosity got the best of me and I went to see what all the fuss was about. I saw a small girl sitting on the white bed. I couldn't tell what she was doing, but it looked like she was inspecting what remained of her left arm. The bandages that must have been applied hurriedly, had started to come a bit loose and were stained red with fresh blood, slowly covering the old brown that had dried overnight.
Strangely enough, she didn't seem fazed by the injury. She actually had a look I could only describe as curiosity in her bright blue eyes.
I heard the sound of my parents and grandmother walking up the stairs, chatting on the way. There wasn't enough time to hide (it felt like I was the naughty child who had stuck it's hand in the cookie jar), so I just waited at the door and acted like I was busy. My parents payed no attention.
"Winry, would you like to come meet our guest? She's around your age...I think," my father said. I nodded a reply, and walked over to the black clad girl. She didn't notice me… wait, no she did, but was more focused on her arm, discreetly sparing glances towards me.
Granny Pinako quickly looked over her bandages, fixing them, and then left with my parents. I tried for the rest of the day to get the mystery girl's attention (Granny called her 'Thalia'). She never said a word, only glaring at me with a scary look in her eyes. Her eyes looked out of place on her delicate face, everything down to the way she held herself told me she was battle hardened, an odd look for a three year old, a look i usually only saw on war veterans who more often than not were missing a limb, not unlike Thalia.
The sky began to spill a red-orange, signalling the oncoming darkness, and I was called down for dinner. Granny thought our guest too injured to come down and eat with us, besides, we were almost complete strangers. That night, once again, I stayed up thinking about the mystery girl.
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