This is for DeathBerrry! I guess it just takes place somewhere in the series randomly.
Disclaimer: Don't own FMA blah, blah, blah... ok enjoy!
The River
The sun was a pale yellow as it shone through the rusty, golden leaves of the trees.
There was a cluster of clouds off in the distance with the possibility of a storm later on that night.
It was Autumn and the weather was getting colder and colder by the day, the trees were beginning to lose their leaves and turn white with the first frost.
Edward Elric sat on the Rockbell's porch steps, gazing blankly out over the green valleys that lay beyond. He parted his jaws in a huge yawn like a cat and smiled to himself. He and Al had taken a short break from their search to return home for a while, and also to check on Winry to see that everything was okay, since they never called.
Ed's content was cut short as a wrench whizzed through the air and collided with his bruised, blonde head with perfect accuracy. He fell forward before jumping up to his feet and spinning around. "Winry! What the Hell was that for?"
Said automail otaku was standing on her balcony glaring down at him with annoyance but with slight humor in her azure eyes.
"You could get in here and help us, y' know!" She huffed loudly enough for him to hear.
"Why the Hell d'you need my help anyway?" He grumbled. "Its just Spring cleaning." Nonetheless, he slowly went to the door.
"Its not Spring cleaning, Ed!" Winry called below her. "Its Autumn."
"Whatever." As he walked into the house, he heard her footsteps as she came down the stairs to greet him.
"Come on, you can help me clean up all my tools." She grinned. Ed began to grumble in protest but was cut off when she shot him a death glare. But before they could reach Winry's workstation, the two were stopped by Pinako.
"That's alright dear," She said to Winry. "Ed and Al can clean up here so you just help me with starting dinner okay?"
"Sure thing, Grandma." Then she turned to Ed. "Don't mess up anything." She warned ferociously before heading into the kitchen. Ed trembled for a moment at the intensity of her gaze. Then he shook himself and walked over to where Al had appeared and was waiting for him.
"She scares me sometimes." Ed confessed to his younger brother.
"Yeah… Me too." Al agreed.
They spent about half an hour polishing and cleaning off what seemed to be hundreds of thousands of different tools. And just when Ed had thought they were almost finished, he spotted another toolbox off in the corner surrounded by at least three more.
"Dear God! How many freaking tools can that girl have?!" He shouted in exasperation. "I swear she's not human." He sighed. But before he could complain anymore, a high-pitched call sounded from the kitchen.
"Edward! Alphonse! Diiiinner!" Winry sang out.
"Great!" Ed mumbled. "I'm starved!"
"You always are!" Winry flashed back good-heartedly.
They argued and squabbled together as they took their seats, just like they always did.
"Wow! You really do make amazing apple pie!" Al exclaimed after dessert.
"Why thank you Al!" She beamed. "Its Ms. Gracia's recipe. I'm glad that someone around here is showing some appreciation for my cooking." She grumbled, glaring at Ed.
"What're you looking at me for?" Ed growled. Winry rolled her eyes at the oblivious boy.
The sun was still lingering in the sky before it set and the whole landscape was bright with warm colors and light, even though the winds that blew were cold.
"I think I'm gonna go for a walk." Winry decided out loud. Set stood up from her seat and headed for the door.
"You'd better bring a coat dear." Pinako offered. "You'll be pretty cold wearing only that." She eyed the black pants and white T-shirt the girl was wearing.
"Okay." Winry gave in, picking up her small black jacket. She opened the door and stepped outside as the cool air blasted past her and into the house. But she did not seem to mind and she closed the door behind her. Ed watched her go from where he sat on the couch.
"She'd better hurry back. There's a storm coming." He said to himself. A small flicker of foreboding sparked to life inside of him and he could not douse it. A frown crossed his lips as he stared at the door where the blonde girl had left.
"Brother?" Al's voice woke him from his trance. "What are you doing? Are you okay?" Ed did not turn to face his younger brother, and it took him a moment to answer.
"Yeah." He lied, his eyes still gazing uneasily after the girl.
Winry sauntered along the jade grasses in the valley.
She was near a small forest where the trees thinned, got bigger and then smaller when it ended again. She could not recall the last time she had been here, and she was consumed in her memories.
The warm sun was gradually being swallowed away by thick, cotton clouds, and the gray ones she had noticed earlier where drawing nearer and nearer, but she took no notice of them, or the tang of rain on the wind.
Winry heard rushing water ahead of her and she remembered a small river that she had often retreated to when she wished to be alone. She had come here to grieve for her parents many times, but also to just get some peace and quiet and thinking time, away from her loud grandmother, demanding customers, and barking dog.
She stepped over a fallen tree and passed a few other standing ones before she came to the gully. The little, calm river had risen a bit with the recent rains, but it still filled her with the same sense of security and sereneness. The woods had grown darker from the shade of the trees and the morose, gloomy shadows of the clouds. Winry found the rock she often sat on, with the oak tree just behind it so she could lean her back against it. It was close to the ridge of the gully, and now that the water had risen, Winry could almost splash her feet in it.
She sat back and just listened to the sounds of the forest around her. When she listened past the rumbling of the water and concentrated, she could just barely detect the scrambling of small creatures through the undergrowth that was wilting away with the cold. She heard several different birds singing above her, some calls smooth and long and harmonious while others were short, clipped and sharp.
Winry leaned her head against the bark of the tree and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
She would love to just fall asleep here, just live here and forget all of her troubles…
The chattering of a squirrel awoke her back into the living world.
She blinked sleepily.
"I guess I must've dozed off." She mumbled to herself drearily. She stretched her arms above her head and tightened her loose ponytail. A light, steady rain had begun to fall and her pants and shirt were a good deal wet while her feet were soaked from the swelled river. "How could I not wake up? Geez." She grimaced at her drenched ankles and socks. "I'm gonna catch a cold for sure." She whined.
Shakily, she stood up and immediately jumped away from the top of the gully and the overflowing water. The rain picked up a bit and she decided to head for home. She turned to begin the trudge home in the rain when she caught movement in the corner of her eye and froze, remembering the howling of wolves she had heard so many nights before. But then she saw red and gold and a moment later Ed appeared from behind a tree.
"Winry! There you are. What the Hell're you doing out here you idiot, you'll get sick for sure!" He scolded.
"Sorry, Ed." She rolled her eyes, suppressing a shiver.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Winry did not miss the flash of relief in his eyes when he had first seen her, as if he was surprised to see her okay. Winry shook off the feeling and began to follow him.
The grass and moss was meshed into a big, wet, marshy puddle. They walked along the gully, only to avoid the trees that were creaking ominously and swaying in the wind. They walked in silence, with only the pounding of the rain and the rapid water below them.
One especially slippery piece of ground was all it took.
Winry let out a yelped as she felt the earth disappear from underneath her. She slid off the edge of the gully and plummeted down into the rapid torrents of water. She heard some cry come from Ed, but then all she could hear was water as she crashed painfully against the surface of the waves and went under.
The collision of the rough waves took the breath away from her and she struggled to rise to the surface. She opened her eyes, but could only see black and squeezed her eyes shut immediately when a harsh sting shot through her. Winry managed to fight her way past the waves and only hoped and prayed that the way she was going was up.
Her lungs felt strained and her body was weak and she almost gave up before her head broke the surface. She gasped, but only got in one decent breath before another wave crashed over her and she swallowed a mouthful of water. She coughed a few times before going under again.
It was like a perpetual underwater thunderstorm, the roar of the river and rain and the cruel, lightning-sharp waves that forced her back under the second she got a breath. Luck was the only thing that allowed Winry to surface a second time and she panted, treading water as she opened her eyes. All around her was black, hungry water, longing so badly to suck her deep into its depths and keep her there, forever trapped in a cold, suffocating death. She tried to swim, but the loss of air and tired, stiff limbs from her sleep were her faults.
The current swirled around her and before she knew what had happened she was under again. Winry did not know how much more of this she could take before her body just went limp and gave up on her.
Only then, under the surface of the battling waves did she realize just how cold she was, the freezing water bashing against her and flowing everywhere and numbing her lungs. It was like being in the eye of a tornado. Surprisingly, underneath the violent waves, it was calm and the water carried her smoothly; she felt light as a feather riding a breeze. But then her chest began to burn and her lungs screamed for air, her heart pounding painfully hard against her ribs.
Winry did not even know if her eyes were closed anymore, or if they were open and staring at the water, or the vast nothingness of death. Her consciousness began to fade and then her struggling ceased.
She did not even feel the arm grab her by the arm and drag her to the surface. Ed spat out a mouthful of water as he thrashed against the waves, trying desperately to keep his head up along with supporting Winry's extra weight. In his mind, he scolded himself for not just using alchemy to help her instead of just rashly jumping in after her. Now, he could not transmute with the unconscious girl in his arms.
Ed saw a large tree ahead of them, its roots jutting out into the gorge. Ed let the current take them that far and managed to stay above water. Then, his free arm flashed out like a striking cat's paw and he latched onto the roots with his metal hand. His fingers gripped the bark strongly and he heaved himself out of the water halfway before falling back in.
Cursing louder than the roar of the water her reached out again and somehow grabbed the roots of the tree again before they were carried away. He pulled himself all the way out this time and dragged Winry out behind him. He sat up on the drenched ground and caught his breath. Winry lay motionless in the boggy grass beside him. Ed crawled over to her, fear in his eyes as he stared down at her unmoving body.
Panic struck him like a charging ox and he fought against the onslaught and kept his wits. He rested his flesh hand on the girl's stomach to see if she was breathing, but he could not even feel the slightest bit of movement coming from under her sopping shirt.
Then he placed both hands on her stomach and he pushed gently. He did this several times yet still, she showed no signs of consciousness. He pushed one last time on her stomach, grief filling his eyes as he stared down at her. She looked so much smaller than she ever had before. As he pushed against her stomach, her body shuddered convulsively and a trickle of water dripped from her mouth. Hope flared inside Ed and he pressed down on her again. Another spasm rippled through her body and more water spilled from her lips. Then, some strength overcame her and she pushed herself up into somewhat of a sitting position.
"Winry?" Ed's voice was cracked with worry, and relief at the same time. He inched closer towards her and just barely managed to catch her in his arms when she collapsed into a coughing fit. She vomited mouthful after mouthful of water, Ed held her tightly as she quivered and spat out more and more water, all the while straining to open her eye and gasp for air. Finally, her shuddering ceased and she sat, hunched in his arms and turned towards him, panting with shallow breaths.
"Ed…" She sputtered. "I-I-"
"Be quiet." He silenced her. Then more gently he added. "Come on let's go home. Can you stand?" Winry shook herself, cold droplets splattering about her in the process. Ed stood up and reached his hand down to her. He pulled her up onto unsteady feet and let her regain her balance. Then Ed decided better. "Here, get on my back." He ordered with a small blush. The rain poured loudly for a moment before Winry's bashful response.
"B-But Ed, you can't carry me! Not like this!" She protested, glaring at his drenched clothes.
"Are you saying I can't carry you? That I'm not strong enough because I'm so…" He did not finish, cursing his height.
"No! You know that's not what I mean, but-"
"Then get on." Winry fought for words that would not offend him, but she soon succumbed to the intense ferocity of demand and care in his eyes and she obeyed. He lifted her up and began walking back through the forest again. Their little swim had pulled them back farther than they had even started out at.
Winry locked her arms around his neck and rested her cheek on his left shoulder, her face turned away from him. Ed smirked, for within moments she was asleep. And she thought she could walk on her own. He sighed inwardly.
The rain was falling less hard but the river was still violent and hungry as it surged and swelled with debris and black water. Ed avoided the small gorge and headed off into the forest where the cracking of the trees had died down to a low groaning. Ed could feel the beat of her heart against his own and he tried to walk as smoothly as he could as not to wake her.
Finally the small trees became bigger and they passed the boulder Winry had been sitting on where this whole episode started. The rain died down even more and even the lapping waves of the current became smaller and less ruthless. Eventually, the big trees thinned out and before he knew it, Ed was standing at the edge of the valley that led to the Rockbell's house.
Winry blinked awake finally and glance down at the ground over her shoulder without moving her head. She smiled slightly, remembering the times she had sought out the river, the place where she could cry in private and make wishes. It was remembered as a silent place of mourning, although now she had rough, cold, suffocating memories of it too.
But those were soon overwritten by the memories of Ed's warm, protective arms, and his concerned eyes that hid an emotion Winry thought she knew, but did not want to be wrong in guessing.
As Ed carried her back across the wet grass, the gloomy gray clouds broke away the slightest bit like a crack in a puzzle and a ray of sunlight shone down.
Its light warmed Winry's drenched skin and dripping hair.
And as her eyes closed again she let out a soft sigh, pressing her cheek closer to Ed's shoulder and neck.
Her eyes closed on the forest behind her that contained, in its depths, the memories of hurt, pain, grief, and tears, but also the place of hope, wishes, care and love; The River.
A/N: I changed my mind! It has an epilogue now! So go read the next little chapter!!
Please revieeeeeww!!