Welcome to the story Teachings of Pain, a sort of manga-verse multi chapter fanfiction for Fullmetal Alchemist. This takes place roughly a year after Edward's certification, making him 13.
Disclaimer: Sadly, Fullmetal Alchemist is not mine, or else there'd be lots more blood and what not ;)
Teachings that do not speak of pain have no meaning,
Because Humankind cannot gain anything, without first giving something in return...
The wind was still, the skies were blue, and the weather was deceptively calm. If one were to pay more attention though, they would have noticed the eerie stillness and silence of the smaller critters, and the mass of grey just barely visible on the horizons. Within hours, the heavens would unleash upon the unsuspecting earth below a torrent of rain, as it cried its outrage and beat against itself with strikes of lightning. A fitting beginning to herald such a change in the wind.
Inside, Edward Elric was slouching as he reported in to his commanding officer. He and his brother had reported back to East HQ barely a week ago, and he had been called in this fine morning to receive his newest mission briefing. Such was the life of a State Alchemist.
He had obtained his license a bit over a year ago, and had run numerous missions for the Amestrian government. There was a mixture of little boring ones of no consequence, and some that involved traveling through much of the country. If there was one thing he had come to expect, it was that each time he stood in front of the desk in his commanding officer's office, he never knew what to expect.
Or, that was what he thought prior to today. Today, however, he had a slight inkling, and despite his casual stance, he stood with a good deal of apprehension. The rumour mills had been working over time, and so, as he watched the manila envelope he had come to recognize as a mission briefing land on the table surface, and heard the Colonel's voice break the silence, he was reasonably edgy.
"Fullmetal, your mission is inside here."
Colonel Roy Mustang pushed the brown envelope across the table. The perfectly brown envelope slid smoothly, the mahogany colored desk offering little resistance, though the room was silent enough for each and every member of the room to hear the soft sound of the paper envelope sliding across wood. Edward stared down upon the envelope, the little brown envelope 'staring' up back at him with all innocence, his blond hair slightly hiding his face from view.
His hand trembled slightly as he dragged the envelope towards him slowly, and with a pause, opened. Slowly and gingerly, his fingers grasping at the off-white paper within, and pulled it out, wincing slightly as the action brought another scraping sound. The room was deathly quiet as he lifted the piece of paper gingerly.
His eyes widened as they scanned the page, as though hardly believing the message the envelope contained. All was still. And then, slowly, the sheet slipped from between nerveless fingers, drifting down upon the desk, next to the envelope with a scratching sound. But that sound alone made Roy wince, as he watched Edward carefully for the younger boy's reactions. The shock, he understood perfectly, and the nerveless fingers? That too. The Colonel sighed.
"What the-?" Edward's face was frozen, his gold eyes staring at where the sheet of paper had been between his fingers. Slowly, he lowered his hand, and picked up the sheet of paper again, his fingers failing him as they trembled, and shuddered, so that he had to try several times to pick up the piece of paper once more. Reading its contents over again, Roy could see the lines on Edward's face tighten, his lips drawn. And then, the blond boy lifted his eyes up to meet the Flame Colonels, as though begging for the Colonel to burst out laughing, to reassure him that it was all a joke, and that it was April Fool's day or something. Anything. His eyes then turned to Riza, standing silently, looking for the same reassurance. But he found nothing.
His shoulders drooped, and his hair dropped over his eyes. The boy silently stuffed the paper back into the brown envelope, giving Mustang one last look, a look of utter defeat that sent shivers up the Colonel's spine. But all Roy could do was to nod at this. Fuhrer's orders and all.
Edward's lips tightened, and he nodded as well
"I understand."
No sudden outbursts. No demanding of whether or not the Colonel really meant it. No complaining about the difficulty of the task.
He turned and walked quietly out the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click, which penetrated the silence like a gun.
- - -
"Sir, you can not be serious about sending Edward to war?"
First Lieutenant Hawkeye looked up after the door had shut. The Lieutenant walked forth from her position behind Roy, and stood next to him, her eyes staring straight ahead, and her arms at her side. Her steely disposition obviously came from her years of experience in the military. She turned to Roy, and regarded the man thoughtfully, before speaking again.
"He is only 13. Sending mere children out to war does not seem to be the best course of action, nor the greatest idea."
"If you've got a problem with it, go talk to the Fuhrer." The older man sighed. He relaxed from his tense position, letting out a breath that he didn't know that he was holding, as he rubbed his temple with a gloved hand. The alchemic symbol seemed to pulse in the dim light as he did so, reminding Riza exactly why he was called the Flame Alchemist. The man sighed again, and laid his head on the table, using his hand as a pillow, slouching over, his paper work crunching under his weight. Riza's eyebrow twitched at this, though she didn't say anything about it.
"Fullmetal knew what he was getting himself into when he became a State Alchemist." Roy continued, using his free hand to pick up his pen, and to fiddle with it idly, "Although I don't think any of us expected it to happen this soon."
He looked up, his eyes resting thoughtfully at the door, which Edward had recently exited through.
"Things have moved fast for this to escalate into a full scale war that requires even the State Alchemists." He sighed again, weariness clearly slipping through, as he lowered his head, though his eyes never strayed from the door. A grin tugged at his lips as he lifted his head again, this time, his eyes straying up to the ceiling. It was a bitter smile.
"Even the state alchemists," he repeated, a wistfulness settling in his voice. "Dogs of the military, eh?"
- - -
"Well brother? What's our next mission?" A giant suit of armor shook Ed out of his thoughts. The older boy looked up from the floor tiles, which he had been so intently studying, and focused his golden eyes upon his younger brother. Upon seeing those lifeless eyes of the suit of armor, Edward dropped his eyes back on the tiled floor, before hesitatingly lifting his eyes once more to look at his little brother in the eye. The younger Elric noted his uneasy gesture, and pressed the subject.
"Well?" He asked, expectant, his voice echoing. His great body shifted as he waited patiently for his brother to speak again. He didn't have to wait long.
"Hey Al..."
Ed looked a bit hesitant. The older Elric wasn't sure how to approach the matter. He bit his bottom lip, feeling indecision rattle his conscience. Should he shield his little brother from the truth, and tell him a lie, or should he state the truth simple and straight, and wait for the explosion to follow? Which one was the lesser evil? Knowing Alphonse, he would not be pleased with either, especially the latter. But Edward could not bring himself to lie to his younger brother, even to shield him. The older boy just couldn't do it.
He hung his head.
"I think this time, it's my job only. A war. I'm a soldier. You're not."
Just as he had predicted, Alphonse was clearly startled. The younger boy backed away a step from his older brother, before closing in the gap on Edward, those lifeless eyes of his sudden flaring, as though the soul within him was kindled. The armor which was his body rattled angrily as his voice boomed out from the depth of the hollow armor.
"But brother! You're only 13! And it can't be that bad can it?" His voice was of a begging tone, as though wishing for his older brother to reassure him that it was all right. That what he was about to be sent off to wasn't as bad as they had heard. That everything was going to be all right, and in the end, they would all come back safe and sound. Moreover, Alphonse was also incredibly startled, for Edward had just implied that he should stay behind. The younger Elric would not stand for that. He would take his place by his brother's side.
"I'm coming with you."
"What are you talking about?" The older Elric stopped his train of thought to look at his little brother with something akin to one of a stranger, as though his little brother was out of his mind. Indeed, Edward believed that his little brother was out of his mind. The older boy did not like the thought of war, and on top of that, if his little brother had to go and witness what he was about to, he didn't even want to think about what was going to happen after that. His lips drew to a tight line as he surveyed his little brother again.
"You're staying here." His tone was firm, and with a shake of his head, he turned around, his golden braid whipping about and settling on his back, a contrast to his red and black cloak. His voice quivered slightly, and his fists were clenched, but other than that, he was resolute. "You're a civilian, not some damn dog of the military." Unlike me, his thoughts added. Because it was never your fault.
"Yeah, but Brother, if I don't go, it's not like there would be anyone to look after you, and it's not like I'll be much trouble...besides, I thought we promised to always be together…" Alphonse trailed off, unsure of what to say next. It was true. It was a promise, and Edward Elric would never break a promise. Being his little brother, he knew.
"Damn it, Al." And Edward knew it too. The reminder of the promise was like a blow to the face. He shook his head again, before starting off down the hall, his back to Al and his hands jammed in his pockets. "I'm going alone this time. Go talk to the Colonel about it." He shouted behind his back as he stormed off, his platform shoes stamping angrily, the sound echoing down the hall and back again, as though a thousand Edwards were storming down the hall.
"Sheesh," the younger Elric sighed as he stood there, staring at his brother's back, his hand on his head, as though to scratch his head in a gesture of confusion and exasperation. He sighed again, and let that arm drop, before muttering to himself in wistful tones. "You'll probably slack off or something."
He looked up again to see Edward far ahead of him, turning the corner, and spurred into action, his steps heavy and echoing through the hall, each step followed by the customary clang.
"Wait Brother!"
- - -
The next morning the train station was a bustling sea of blue. For once, Ed was decked out in the military blue that was the standard issue uniform. It was then, Edward decided that he had finally found out the real reason why so many people died in wars: the uniforms were so itchy and choking, that half of them probably suffocated in them while running on the battlefield. The collar was too tight, and the sleeves were too long, and the pant legs had to be folded twice so he could walk in them. But it did do a good job blending him in the crowd though. It seemed to be the only thing that the uniform was good for. He had quite a few qualms against the uniform though, especially the size…
"Hey Fullmetal, you seem to be blending in quite well with everyone else."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SUPER SHORT SHRIMP THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE UNDER A MICROSCOPE?"
"Brother, he didn't go thaaaat far." The younger Elric sighed, keeping a hold on their luggage with one metal hand, while restraining his older brother with the other, the latter struggling with a venomous expression on his face directed at a certain snickering Colonel. "See, if I wasn't coming, you would be attacking our own men and getting in to trouble." Edward merely snorted angrily, before turning away from the Colonel like a sulky little kid, his arms crossed, shooting Alphonse another glare, before stomping off in the general direction on the train.
And was promptly knocked over by a stampede of soldiers also heading the same direction.
Alphonse shook his head, exasperated, before grabbing their luggage, hauling it over his back easily, and stepped in to intervene before his older brother lopped off heads
"Come on, let's get on the train."
Colonel Mustang watched Edward and Alphonse leave with a wistful expression on his face, an expression he had previously been hiding from the other two. The Colonel's eyes stared long into the backs of the two boys, watching as Alphonse untangled his older brother from the surging masses of blue uniformed men, Edward all but biting Alphonse on the arm, as Al towed his older brother towards the train awkwardly. The Colonel could distinctly hear the sound of the younger Elric's voice calling out to the people around them for them to excuse him. How different could the two Elrics get?
It made Roy wonder. It was a wonder how thoughtful and peace-loving Alphonse and rash and temperamental Edward came from the same family. He shook his head. He'd never know. But either way, if anything happened to either of them, no matter what the differences were between the two, they'd help each other through. He just hoped that it would never come to that..
They had better be alright...
- - -
On the train, there was much talk about the 13-year-old pipsqueak with the giant suit of armor. Much of it was centered around how short he was, why there was a suit of armor, and mostly why there was a kid being sent to war. After all, a short blond kid in an overly large blue military uniform and an even larger self-propelled metal suit of armor on a train wasn't something you'd see everyday. The Elric brothers made good gossip.
"Don't tell me that the military is recruiting 10 year old kids now."
"Look at his pocket."
"Is that a silver watch?"
"No way! How could such a shorty become a State Alchemist?"
"I heard that he's the Fullmetal Alchemist."
"More like the Full Metal Midget." Sniggering followed this comment.
Since the gossip wasn't very inconspicuous, even Edward heard. He had begun twitching uncontrollably, his eyes glinting positively dangerously as he casted the soldiers baleful glares whenever they pointed or even looked his way.
It's like they've never seen a person in a military uniform before.
And now just WHO were they calling short? Just one more word…
"Hey pipsqueak! Shouldn't you be playing with your baby toys? This is a man's war! We've got no need for midg-"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO MIDGETY THAT MAKES YOU JUST WANT TO STEP ON HIM?" Edward exploded promptly, blue alchemic light shooting in all directions, and fists flying in the general direction of the soldier who had backed away against the wall of the train nervously at the sight of a newly transmuted sword. In fact, he would have happily ripped that soldier apart, not to mention many more since it never hurt to be 'safe than sorry" (who knew how many of them had called him midgety), if it had not been Al who took the initiative to grab onto his waist, effectively stopping him from charging and beating those unfortunate men to a pulp, as well as effectively cutting off his air supply.
"Brother, it's not good to attack the people on your own side during a war!" Al sounded a bit exasperated as he forced his big brother back on his seat with a gentle push, giving the soldiers apologetic looks, and watched wearily as the soldiers all backed away until they were all huddled on the other end of the train car, discussing on who on earth was the little guy with the armor, how much of a temper he had, and just how short he would have been without his platform shoes. Edward merely huffed, re-transmutated the sword, and sat down, more than a little peeved.
"Whatever. It's not like we need them anyways. Y'know, if I had a higher rank, this would count as mutiny. Then, I could have killed them legally anyways."
"Mutiny?" Alphonse shook his head at the thought, watching as his brother's expression turned from annoying to extremely evil within seconds, "Calling you short isn't mutiny… It's merely an observation…besides, wouldn't that be pulling rank?"
The older Elric threw his arms up as though in exasperations, catching the attention of the other troops on the other end of the train. Out of the corner of his golden eyes, he saw them staring at him with something akin to fear in their eyes, and he glared back at them, waving his fist around in the air menacingly. They all turned away again. Sighing, he hunched down on his seat again, slumping forward.
"Just what I need," He complained, "My own brother turning on me. Now, who will I look to, to protect my back on the battlefield? Ah, how tragic, life as an under-appreciated older brother."
Alphonse merely sighed, deciding not to comment on that. There was silence as the train rattled on, as minutes stretched into hours, and hours stretching again, until it felt like days had passed. There was something bothering Edward though. Al was right. He was only 13, and he had never really fought anyone with the intention of killing them, let alone actually being the cause of another's death. How would he manage to survive on the battlefield? The older Elric watched as the landscape rolled by on the other side of the smudged windowpane of the train, his hand unconsciously tapping on the windowsill, his head rested on his other hand. Was he going to survive? Was Al going to survive? They had come so far into their research, yet it felt as though it was all going to end here, as though this train ride wasn't a ride to the battlefield, but more of the beginning of the end for the two Elric brothers. Edward had always trusted his instincts, and now, those instincts were telling him to turn back, to retrace his steps, and never look back down this path again, for something ominous was on the way. And it unnerved him.
"Brother, is anything wrong?"
Alphonse looked worriedly, or as worried as a suit of armor can be, at his brother. When Edward did not reply, the younger Elric reached out a hand, and pushed at his older brother's shoulder, repeating his question. Suddenly, Edward seemed to return back to reality, and he turned to Alphonse with a curious expression on his face.
"What?"
Al repeated his question once more, and Edward, after a moment of thought, shook his head carelessly, waving Al off with a gloved hand.
"No, nothing Al, I'll just take a nap I guess." Edward stifled a yawn as he curled up in his seat and closed his eyes. In moments, he was sound asleep, or so Alphonse thought, his older brother's chest rising up and down peacefully. But perhaps he wasn't asleep at all, for Al could see the hints of gold peeking through slits on his eyes. He could never be sure when his older brother was asleep or not, for Edward had become so adept at hiding it. He got his confirmation when the train hit a bump and the older Elric was jolted onto his back, his mouth slightly open, a trail of drool sliding down his face. His stomach was exposed again.
Al sighed, before covering his brother's stomach with a blanket he had on hand for such 'emergencies'. It was going to be a long ride.
- - -
Edward had a rude awakening, or at least what he thought was a rude awakening, when something pushed against his shoulders and a loud "Hey Fullmetal," pierced his foggy mind. Mustang walked into their compartment with Lt. Colonel Hughes in tow, the former swaggering slightly as he saluted the other soldiers in the cabin, before finally coming to Edward, who sat up at the voice, rubbing his eyes sleepily, glaring at the Colonel balefully between rubs. The latter walked in, saluted Edward crisply, before absent-mindedly began rummaging through his pockets as though looking for something.
"Ah, hello Colonel, Hughes-san," replied Al looking up. "Brother, Colonel Mustang is here."
"I know," The older Elric pulled himself completely upright, pulling at his uniform, not bothering to even try to smooth out the wrinkles made from him sleeping in it. "How can you miss that bastard's voice? It's so annoying, it's distinct." The older Elric yawned loudly, oblivious to the sudden gasps of the other soldiers in the train car, who were slightly mortified to hear their great colonel defaced like that. Roy only watched on with amusement as Edward straightened out his uniform before glaring at the older man darkly.
"Whatdd'ya want, Colonel?" he grumbled.
Mustang had a sly look on his face and a smirk that bode no well for the kid. The Colonel chuckled at Edward's state of being, which was rather crude, considering that his straw-colored hair was living up to its color: it was sticking out on all angles and constantly got into the shorter boy's eyes, in which he had to brush them out of his eyes with a swipe of his gloves. Edward merely glowered back at the Colonel, as though daring for Roy to make a single comment on his appearance, as well as his height. He didn't have to wait long.
"Looking short as always, Fullmetal." Came the height comment. Before Edward could splutter in rage, the Colonel went on absently, examining the symbol on the back of his ignition gloves with interest, while he spoke. "Oh nothing, really, Fullmetal, except that a certain 1st Lieutenant threatened me with a gun to get rid of a certain Lt. Colonel who was annoying her with pictures. See ya Fullmetal shorty!"
Mustang beat a hasty retreat, suppressing a chuckle as he walked away, swaggering as always. He turned back at the door, flashing Maes a thumbs-up sign as he did so.
"It's all yours, Maes!"
"Damn you, you idiot of a Colonel! What the hell did I do to deserve this?"
Interestingly enough, Ed had for once ignored the height (or lack thereof) comment in his rant about stupid, smirking Colonels that used his subordinates as human slaves and should be burnt to a crisp and deep-fried...but Edward was rudely interrupted by pictures of an adorable, cute little girl riding a tricycle shoved in his face.
"Isn't she cute? Isn't she?" Maes had sidled over onto their seat and had leant over Alphonse, who was looking rather awkward, to show pictures of his daughter. The man looked positively glowing, and slightly high, as though he were addicted to his daugher's pictures, though it was all very likely. After all, he did have a reputation for sending pictures of his daughter every time he sent a report in to the Flame Colonel. Rumor had it that the Colonel had so many of those pictures, that he fed his fireplace with them. "Doesn't it just make you want to go see her right now? Doesn't it? Mwah!"
The man hugged the picture of his daughter, hearts practically flying off of him as he expressed his love for his daughter, the typical proud father.
"Elysia-chan is really cute now isn't she Hughes-san?" Alphonse looked through the pictures with interest, or at least as much interest as a suit of armor could show. He admired the quality of the picture, easily noting that the picture was perfectly proportioned and the lighting was just right. Not only was Maes a super-dad, he also was an expert at photography. "How old is she now?"
"She just turned one a month ago! She has the same birthday as Eddie-chan right? Right?" Elated by Alphonse's interest in the pictures, Hughes took out even more pictures for them to see. A stack of them materialized into his hands, and he all but shoved him at Alphonse in his excitement. The suit of metal panicked at that, and leapt back in his seat, making Maes drop his pictures, and suddenly, the air was full of Elysia-chan flying in all different directions on sidewalks, teddy bears, and tricycles. The majority of those landed on Edward, a few getting stuck into his hair immediately.
"Argh, ack! Get those away from me!" Ed started flapping his hands at the pictures, growling as he pulled the few out of his hair, scowling at them menacingly, before flinging them back at Maes, who was trying to catch all of the falling pictures with a mournful expression on his face. "Can't someone get some sleep around here?"
"Well Brother, you have slept for five hours already," Alphonse told Edward in a patient, brotherly voice, as he forced Edward back down onto his seat again like a little kid. He then looked around to the other side of the train car, before looking down at Edward again, "and I think you've woken everyone else up too."
Sure enough, all heads in the compartment had turned their way. The other soldiers were intrigued. Just who was this pipsqueak that could get away with insulting a Colonel, no, the Colonel, especially the Colonel who could fry someone into a crisp, and act on such terms with a Lt. Colonel? If any of them had...they were scared just thinking of it.
Alphonse gave those poor soldiers apologetic looks again, before turning back to Maes. The man had finally gotten back all of his pictures, and was now tucking them back into his pocket with care, humming a happy tune under his breath.
"Hughes-san, why are you here?" The younger Elric asked, quizzically, "I thought you had a desk job?"
"Yeah," Edward grumbled as he pushed the blanket that Alphonse had covered him with away from him and onto the ground carelessly, "Don't you have something better to do, other than bothering honest alchemists who are trying to sleep?"
"Well yeah, I did," Came the reply from Hughes. The man seemed to revert to a serious version of himself within seconds, something that Edward had always found amazing, "but apparently the brass wanted just about all available personnel to end this quickly before it turns into another Ishbal." Hughes stood up and adjusted his glasses with a twinkle in his eyes. He waved back at the boys cheerfully as he walked.
"Well, I'll be going back now. We're in the third compartment down. Feel free to join us."
"Well be coming later." Al replied politely, and watched as the Lt. Colonel gave them a friendly salute, before walking out the door, whistling happily. As soon as he was gone, Edward picked up the blanket from the ground, dusted it out, and pulled it over his head again. Alphonse sighed, shaking his head, before forcefully removing the blanket from Edward, tossing it into a suitcase. Edward gave Alphonse a sullen glare, before sighing.
"Dammit. No doubt Colonel Shithead will be his usual sarcastic self." Edward stood up and stretched. His silver pocket watch gleamed in the light of the train. "Wonder when dinner will be. I'm going to go ask. Might as well stretch my legs while I'm at it."
"Always thinking about your stomach as always," Alphonse teased Edward. Edward merely huffed, and agilely clambered over Al. He paused mid-Al, and tilted his head so that he would be looking at his little brother through the corner of his eyes.
"You'll be alright by yourself?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go ahead brother."
In a smooth move, Alphonse slid in towards the window, and with a jerk, pushed his older brother off. There was a thump, and the Fullmetal alchemist ended up sprawled on the floor, his hair at all angles, and him looking back at Alphonse with a baleful glare upside down.
"Ow! What was that for?" Edward groaned, before attempting to push himself up from his twisted position, his uniform effectively cutting off his air supply. He gagged, before getting up and dusting his uniform off.
"Oh nothing," Alphonse said hurriedly, "but weren't you going to ask about food?" He had an adorably innocent and angelic voice on, and his posture was of a dainty little boy, who had done nothing wrong. Edward merely glared at his little brother, mentally noting to ask his littler brother where he got such a ridiculous posture, and grumbled.
"Yeah, yeah, I bet that was getting back at me for insulting that stupid Colonel."
And he left, oblivious to the looks the other soldiers were giving him.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Al found himself grinning inwardly.
"Hehe, finally some quiet." He chuckled.
- - -
Edward had come back after a bit still throwing a little tantrum. Apparently he had learned that dinner wouldn't be for a while and it would consist of a sandwich and the normal military fare. Al had calmed him down by suggesting they go visit Mustang and Ed's spirits had improved considerably when he discovered that Hughes had brought an apple pie courtesy of Gracia.
For the next few days, Ed and Al spent most of their time with Mustang and Co. and in general, the train was quiet with few explosions coming from Ed since Hawkeye had threatened Mustang with her gun to refrain from teasing Edward.
However, the day before they were due to arrive, a heavy calm settled over the whole train. It was hard to forget why they were on the train in the first place; War. Ed and Al buried themselves in books again, as Mustang studied a map of the region planning how best to attack and defend. Breda still continued playing chess, saying it sharpened the mind anyways which would help. After they disembarked from the train the following day, they took a days rest in camp before taking the three-day trek to the reserve lines after which they would transfer to the front within the day. It was cold up north though, and everyone was issued a military standard jacket. Unfortunately for Ed, the smallest size was too big for his petite frame. This caused Mustang to produce another snide remark, which in turn drew bullets from Hawkeye.
Early the next morning, the military group found that it had snowed considerably during the night and their trek would probably be more difficult. After a brief meal, everyone set off. Edward and Alphonse found themselves somewhat near the back, right behind Major Armstrong. It was still snowing and the air was bitterly cold. The wind whipped the snow around reducing visibility and cutting like knives into faces. Despite Ed's slight fear of the Major, he was glad all the same for both a landmark to follow as well as the Major blocked the wind somewhat.
He sighed. The cold was awful. He never thought that he would be this miserable before he actually got to the front. Somehow, the cold managed to find its way to his bones despite the jacket, and the jacket itself was heavy, adding even more weight for Ed's small frame to carry apart from the automail. He didn't like it. His muscles burned from the extra weight, and he was hunched over, his golden locks all but covering his face as he struggled through the snow, each step harder and harder to take, as it took more strength each time for him to pull his boots out of the snow.
Although Edward didn't complain, he wouldn't complain, he dropped farther and farther behind and Al began to worry about his brother. When they stopped for camp that night, Ed was completely exhausted. Walking for 12 hours through deep snow had taken its toll. Al did his best to keep Ed warm while he set up their tent. Fortunately, the two had been allowed their own tent due to Al's condition, as normally, one tent would occupy up to five soldiers. Although, it was the (short) Fullmetal Alchemist that was concerned here, so rules could be bent slightly to accommodate. After another small, cold meal, Ed drifted off to a restless night of sleep.
There! That was Chapter 1. Thanks much to beta Nainne. As always, I adore reviews, and you're very welcome to take a cookie in exchange for one, kay?
Sony, signing off!