A/N: Originally, this was going to be a one-shot, except while I was writing, I got an idea for a plot, so… Yeah. I'm not sure how long it'll be.
Also, this is my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction, so I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism you guys can give me, especially when it comes to how the characters are acting. I feel like half the time when I write, the characters are OOC, even my original ones. xP So, read on, and hopefully you enjoy this first chapter of Last Child.
Oh, and the story is mangaverse if anything, though there won't be any spoilers for a while at least. Really, I suppose it could be either, but I'm more familiar with the manga.
Disclaimer: I own my own characters, the plot, and nothing else. I'll expand more upon exactly what I own in later disclaimers, because I don't want to give anything away. Anyway, all rights to Fullmetal Alchemist are owned by Hiromu Arakawa, who I will never be. I'm merely borrowing the characters and setting.
Last Child
Chapter One: Lost
Where am I? The words echoed in her head, only adding to the confusion and fear she felt. Eyes wide, she stumbled forward another step. Everything was so strange, nothing familiar. There was too much green, green everywhere, and the blue sky was full of white puffy clouds, so different from the wispy, hardly there clouds at home. She closed her large eyes, trying to shield them from the dizzying amount of plants around her. She longed for the warm sand beneath her feet, the soft tan that enveloped the dry landscape in the desert.
Where was she? She didn't know. How had she gotten there? She didn't know that either. Most importantly, where was home? She blinked away tears at that thought. She couldn't afford to waste precious water on tears. What would her mother say?
Oh, Mama… Unable to hold back her emotions and exhaustion any longer, she fell into the soft grass. It might have been comforting, if only it had felt more like sand. She only cried harder.
"Hello? Is someone there?" She choked back a sob. A voice… What was it? Who was it? Was it her mother? No. Someone else? The accent was strange, but feminine. She didn't want to meet the owner of the voice before she saw them. She only just managed to pull herself into the branches of a plant that was far too leafy when she heard the sound of footsteps. Her breath caught. Was it… A human? Only two feet, swift, purposeful steps… It had to be. She got as low to the ground as she could, but there was a break in the leaves above her. She could look out, but the human could not see her as easily.
Finally, the human came into sight. She was startled by her appearance. The young human was pale, very pale, and seemed almost to have no color in her skin compared to the few humans she'd seen at home. Her hair was bright yellow, like spun sunlight, partially covered by a red cloth that tied it back, and her eyes held a blue intensity reminiscent of the sky. She wore the strange skins of all humans. From what she could see of the torso, this one wore only a strip of cloth to cover her chest. Her long, gangly legs were covered by tubes of more cloth, and yet another piece of the artificial skin was tied loosely about her waist.
"That's strange," she heard the human say quietly. "I thought I heard crying." She laughed uneasily. "I must be hearing things again…" As the human turned, she made a decision. She had to reveal herself. She was lost, and she needed help. There didn't seem to be any of her kind here, and this human was the first living thing she'd seen… since she'd left home. And they were nice enough at home. Except… Well, this young one didn't have the look that those scary humans had, the look of a predator. So, when the human began to walk away, she dragged herself forward.
"Wait," she pleaded, her voice hoarse from crying and tiredness. "Please… Help me…" The human turned, and she felt blackness looming in around her. She couldn't stop it. Once the human saw her, she was enveloped in darkness.
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Winry couldn't suppress a gasp as the creature that had called to her slumped fully to the ground. It seemed so absurd, she almost couldn't say what she thought it was. A dragon… Could it be real?
It seemed real enough. Two pairs of large, leathery brown wings covered most of the small dragon's body, so that she could see little else aside from the small head. It looked so little, helpless, like a child. And it had spoken, she'd heard it. Whatever it was, it was young, and sentient. She couldn't leave it out there to die, whatever it was.
Winry picked up the small creature, surprised by its warm, smooth scales. She gently turned it over, cradling it in her arm. The underside of the dragon was the same light, sandy brown as the top had been. It had two legs, with feet that reminded her of a bird. It was also very light, in regards to its size. Winry frowned slightly in worry. Careful not to jostle it too much in her arms, she carried it back to the house.
"Granny?" She called as she entered the building, looking around. The older woman was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, she gently laid the dragon down on the spacious kitchen table, and quickly rifled through several drawers, looking for warm towels to bundle the young creature in. She smiled wryly to herself as she found the correct one. It had been a while since she'd last been home. Ever since beginning to work in Rush Valley, she'd been swamped with people wanting her to build automail, or fix what they had. She hated leaving her customers, but there were times that she had to get away, to see her grandmother. Pinako was getting on in age, even if the older woman didn't want to admit it, and Winry wanted to spend every minute she could spare with her.
As she bundled up the dragon, she noticed that one of its lower wings were crooked. Compared to the others, it was bent at an odd angle. She bit her lip, realizing immediately that it was broken. Carefully, she straightened it out, trying not to wake up the exhausted creature. Even though it had fainted, it now seemed almost to be sleeping peacefully.
She quietly began looking through drawers again, trying to find something she could use as a splint. She'd heard that wings in birds were fragile, and if they didn't set properly, the bird might never fly again. She could only assume that this creature's wings were similar.
"Winry, are you back?" She started, and stifled a yelp at Pinako's voice. Abandoning her search for the moment, she moved to the doorway of the kitchen. A short elderly woman stood at the foot of the stairs. Her long gray hair was pulled into a bun, and small glasses sat on the tip of the nose on her round face. A long apron covered most of her front, but under it, she wore a dark colored shirt and pants.
"There you are, I—Winry, what's wrong?" Winry sighed inwardly. She never could hide her feelings from Pinako.
"I found…something…while I was out walking. I think it's injured," she replied.
"You mean an animal?"
"Well, kinda." Winry stepped back to allow her grandmother a view of the kitchen table, where the dragon lay, supported by towels and with a wing stretched out. Moving quickly for an old woman, she walked to the side of the table, inspecting the dragon.
"The wing is broken," she commented matter-of-factly, looking at it closely through her small glasses. The tiny woman quickly hurried over to a counter, and opened a drawer. Inside was a first aid box. She took it out quietly, opened the top, and pulled out a long piece of wood, a roll of medical tape, and gauze bandages. With deft hands, she moved the broken wing until it was properly aligned, causing the dragon to twitch in pain even in its sleep. She then laid down the splint and wrapped the gauze around both wing and splint, effectively holding them both in place. She ripped off a piece of the tape to keep the bandage from unraveling, and then eyed her handiwork.
"Thanks, Granny," Winry said with relief, looking down at the still-peaceful dragon. It hadn't woken up yet.
"Do you have any idea what this is, Winry?" The girl blinked, surprised by her grandmother's very serious tone.
"I—no, I don't," she stuttered. The small woman sighed.
"Neither do I. Should we call the Elrics?" Winry started.
"Ed and Al? But why?"
"Well, they travel around a lot," Pinako replied. "They might have heard of something like this. I'll see if I can get a hold of them." She walked off to get to a phone. Winry sighed, apparently left to the task of watching the young draconic creature. She lowered herself into one of the chairs by the table, and glanced over at the dragon. Only the head was really visible, as covered up as it was in the towels. It was small, supported by a long neck, and almost smooth. The only spines on it that she could see were one right above each of its large eyes. And as she watched, one of those eyes twitched, and fluttered open.
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A/N: I know it's short, I'm sorry. That's just where I needed to cut it off. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. Plus, Ed and Al will be in it. Please drop me a review if you liked it. They inspire me to write faster. And again, I love constructive criticism.