It was not until much later –almost too late- that Roy found out what she meant.
He soaked up the first warm rays of power when she revealed the secret to him.
To know that he could use it was to find out that the wings worked.
The first feathers fell in Ishbal. He was aware of it happening, too, but all birds lose feathers at some point. It never truly occurred to him that his feathers could not grow back.
She would warn him; send him notes, tell him gently, "Don't let the sun dazzle you."
It was just a woman's silly concern, he figured, and attempted to prove her wrong. That night, he had lost more than feathers. From then on, she was the source of the sun, an addictive high in the back of his mind. Not just due to the fact that she was a woman –that was hardly the point- but that she had not protested. Perhaps it was that she saw the light.
Now, that was reaching up and pulling out a clump of feathers. Anyway, it was just a fancy, not a truth. He would not let himself be thrown, regardless of who was doing the throwing.
Then the kid had shown up. He had done the unthinkable. He had attempted to create –no, to resurrect- a human.
Well, Roy would not make that same stupid mistake. After all, it was a kid who could not handle his own emotions. Roy was an adult. He had known that death was irreversible finality.
What he did not know was that Maes Hughes would be the next one to die. The only thing he could depend on was the steady rain of feathers. He made no attempt to catch them: he was not yet falling. He had too much to do.
He was not so foolhardy as to repeat the brothers' mistake. Instead, he focused on the unanswered questions and mounting suspicions. Only homunculifit the answers. Gaining wind, a new lift, he soared toward a new hope.
That hope exacted a horrible price –Lieutenant Havoc- and never bore fruit. However, he would not give up. With the aid of the two Xingese travelers, the Elrics, and his subordinates, he began the battle.
He had never meant for the girl to get hurt, and certainly not this badly. While it had been her choice, their mutual goals had been a motivation.
Then, the sun seemed to sink to him. He lost his power, his subordinates, and without them, he was falling.
She had warned him. She had known, somehow, or at least read him well.
He hoped he could change Icarus' fate.
However, time was swiftly running out.
The End… of "Icarus"?
A/N: Some of this was meant to be left to your interpretation. Some of this is my assumption. In any case, tell me what you think. Does anyone else fit the Icarus Concept? If so, and if I hear about it, it may spell companion piece!