Disclaimer:All characters, and the basis for this fanfiction, are not made by me. I DON'T OWN THEM, AT ALL! I wish I did, but that doesn't count. So, no lawsuits, because I can't even pay for my own school lunch.. Hopefully, I only have to say that once, if this becomes more than a one-shot. That depends on you, though. :D

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Salt deposits, gradually abandoning their oceanic origins, flecked against his filth-ridden, excessively bruised countenance. Tendrils of golden-blonde hair, though always somewhat disoriented, were now attached to his facial features because of the overabundance of sweat he released in such a humid, accursed region. Sweat, now, was water he could hardly afford to lose when the potential of dehydration was so high; his blurred vision mocked him of that very threat, and made it all the more tangible and real. No matter how many times he brought one of his hands up to rid his forehead of salt, particles of sand, and water, it seemed it simply returned faster than he could remove it.

If not to sleep, he mentally begged night hours to befall him and his brother, just to be able to bask in its idyllic coolness rather than to suffer another hour of the relentless sunlight. His heartfelt wishes, as expected, continued to go unheard and ungranted. That had become excruciatingly clear.

It was in these situations, he could only curse himself for ever being so naive to actually agree to putting himself in this hellion environment. Granted, it had been an indirect agreement, and he had been completely oblivious to the discreet setup for it, but even so, he could have prevented it. He should have learned alchemy like he always had. He was always told he had the talent, and he wholeheartedly must have believed at least some of it; therefore, he still could not bring himself to even understand why he bothered asking a disturbed woman for assistance in something he could have learned all on his own. Without the needless torment, and the bodily scent he was beginning to give off.

Then it hit him. His brother had mentioned it, and his brother knew better than he would about asking for help and the benefits of doing so. 'We can't learn all this on our own.' Alphonse was probably right, as he tended to be, but the overwhelming heat still pushed Edward to think there could have been much more appealing alternatives. Even so, dwelling on it now would do no good, and he could do nothing more but make the most of the circumstances. The dreadful, abhorrent, disparaging circumstances.

His target was plainly in view - or relatively so, considering blurred vision - and as long as he kept to silence, aside from his mental tirade, he actually possessed a chance at catching his prey. It was, indeed, a pathetic goal to wish to catch a small rat and give it the label of 'dinner,' but at this point, pride and elegant meals did not matter. The blonde boy was hungry, and more importantly, his little brother was hungry. Being the oldest meant he had to take a certain degree of responsibility, and provide some kind of nourishment for his brother, if nothing else. It was just that simple.

Without stalling any longer, not even to conjure a plausible plan for his assault, he lunged forward with his small fingers extended in preparation to clamp down upon his opponent; however, his confidence shattered in an instant as the rodent perceived oncoming danger and quickly scampered out of Edward's grasp. The sudden jolt of the enemy instantly resulted in everything going awry, and the small blonde crashed head-first into a lithe rock embedded into the soft earth. With all of his sensories so irrepairably distorted, at least for the moment, he could have almost sworn that the escaped-meal had turned back towards him, shot him a cynical glare, and skittered off triumphantly.

The only thing he, himself could possibly think, was, "That BASTARD!"

Trying to bring himself to stand, or even to support himself on his hands and knees, proved to be absolute failure. Either his motor skills were temporarily hampered from that mishap, or his body was being disobedient from the soreness and shooting pains it suffered. Defiance and rebellion were a combined concept he was undeniably familiar with, and for this reason, it brought all the more enmity when he was the one left to handle it. He was learning just how exasperating that quality could be, whether it be physical or social, but it was not the knowledge he sought after, nor was it something he would care about later. It was a lesson he would never learn, since insubordination was half of his character.

Finally, his eyes managed to respond properly, and opened to narrowed amber slits encumbered with nothing but swirling distortion. Apparently, his vision was even further disarrayed than it had been from the heat, and certainly if he could have, he would have pounded the ground in frustration at that point. Having no knowledge of how long this ailment would last, he had not the slightest idea of how to explain this all to his brother. Moreover, he had no desire to be lectured about taking care of himself, taking caution, and some drabble about 'thinking before he acted.' As far as he could see it, he was only trying to do something beneficial, why should he be punished twice for failing?

Time slowly progressed, and thankfully, he had slowly begun to regain more of his consciousness. Svelte digits assumed responding to the signals Edward gave them, allowing him to gradually lift himself onto his knees; however, even this brought him collapsing back downward, thanks to his vision and lack of balance. It was obvious that he would not be able to walk right away, or get up and run back to his younger sibling.

Crawling was not so much a problem as it was embarassing, but luckily, the only people on the isolated island were he and his sibling. The small child proceeded the infantile action, following his below-average sense of direction, instincts, and impaired vision; lacking control, he ended up stumbling several times along the way.

This kind of migration was painfully slow, and the dream he had so desired hours before - the presence of night - had finally become a reality. Now, it was a despised prayer that would have been better left unanswered, shot, and buried beneath superior ones. The frigid night that blanketed everything in layers of darkness only added to his visual complications, rendering him almost completely helpless, and left to discover the right path through trial and error. The locations of rocks, vines, and twigs, were encountered more than anything else; despite the problems he was faced with, his resolve and motivation was stronger. Determination told him he had no choice, that he had to get back to his brother one way or another.

If he failed to do this, chances were, his sibling would become too concerned and feel compelled to come looking for the elder Elric. That, he thought, would be the worst scenario possible, and it had to be avoided at all costs.

"Feel bad enough I got us stuck here.. the last thing I need is him to do somethin' stupid and justify it with that 'worry' crap," Edward whispered to himself. "Maybe he managed t-.."

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The original was MUCH longer than intended, so I finally broke it up into two chapters.. And I'm not going to put up the second half until after Fanfiction goes down. If you saw it before, then.. Well, I guess you know what happens and it doesn't matter.. um.

Sorry! I haven't touched fanfiction in almost a year, so.. I couldn't stop. Anyways, please leave a review? Prettyplease? -Whines.-

They make me really happy.. Even if they just criticize.