The Cycle of an Alchemist

"Hey, Mom! We're going out, okay?" The small boy yelled into his home with no real concern for being

quiet. He waited for a response to his request for only a moment. With too many wasted seconds, he

decided it best to turn his face towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going this late at night? Don't you know monsters are out at this time?" A

rather feminine voice stopped the child cold. He sighed slightly before running a hand through his

golden hair.

"Don't be silly, mom! Dad said you're teasing us with that monster stuff. Henry and I are just going to

the pond for a bit. It won't take too long." Hopefully the woman would just leave him alone. She really

was too overprotective.

The steps leading towards the boy's position in the hallway spoke a different story. The face of the

mother he was having a shouting match with finally revealed itself.

Sparkling blue eyes stared to her young son with a certain suspicion. She always gave him that, "I

know you're starting trouble" look, though he couldn't really blame her. He really always was starting

trouble, but it was usually against his little sister.

Long golden hair was held to a ponytail far above her head while bangs fell freely down the sides of her

face. She spent so long every morning brushing her head that her children thought it might come off

one day. It was for a good cause, though. In all his life, the boy had never seen more beautiful hair

than his mother's.

She wore a rather cool dress today that went down to only her ankles. The reflective color of white and

the sleeveless image told almost anyone looking at her that she was not one to enjoy the heat.

The woman set the frying pan in her hand over her shoulder as she gave the stink eye to her son.

"Now Hughey, do you really expect me to believe that? You're just Going to push your sister in like you

did last week. Why does she keep following you if all you do is be mean to her?" Winry Elric shook her

head slowly.

"When your father comes home, I need him to have a chat with you."

Hughey let a frown work it's way to his mouth.

"When is dad coming home? It's been nearly a week." To be honest, the boy was starting to get bored.

His father was usually the one whom he played with. His baby sister was only good to make fun of, and

there weren't many children around that he enjoyed being with.

Winry seemed to perk up at the question. She smiled softly.

"Soon, Hughey. He's meeting with Uncle Mustang about some military business. I'm surprised it's taken

as long as it has. Maybe he'll come home with something for you if you're good." She giggled before

turning back towards the kitchen. She gave a single glance back towards her son.

"Now don't go and antagonize Henrietta anymore. If I hear you pushed her into the pond again, there's

going to be trouble, mister."

She always called him that when he was in trouble. It was never, "Hughes Van Elric", but "Mister"

Perhaps it was because those names held so much respect she could never speak of them in anger.

Hughes had heard the stories of his father's old military friend and grandfather to which he had been

given his names. They were both so amazing that the very thought of Hughes having their names sent

a rush of anxiousness through his body.

Though, sometimes, hearing those names only sent a shiver of disappointment his way. What if he

could never measure up to the two men who had died? Was more expected from him because of his

names? There wasn't anything he could do now but dream and read to his heart's content. Maybe one

day his succession of those two would be possible, but for the time being, he was as normal as they

came.

Hughes took off through the open door behind him. His steps on the wooden patio stopped only for a

moment to be replaced with soundless dirt. He rushed past his younger sister much to her displeasure.

Her distant shouts were ignored as the boy focused on the scenery rushing past him.

The distant sun had been replaced with a slice of moon smaller than Hughes' hung in the

distant horizon and the direction to which the boy was running. His huffs of exhaustion pushed a

burning sensation to his throat, yet he pressed himself harder. The dark rushing of the wind through

the grain stalks around him waved through his hair with a simple brush. He ignored the gentle feeling of

his blonde hair being moved to instead focus on the distance.

The stars rising with the moon ushered him closer, yet he could never really get any closer, no matter

how he tried. Every night he would push himself to run closer to those lights in the sky. Maybe one day

he would actually reach them.

Hughes slowed his running down to a jog and finally to a pause. He stared forward at the darkness

until another smaller individual stopped at his side. He took a big breath before turning towards the

little girl.

His younger sister wasn't older than ten, but her long hair rivaled that of his mother's. She copied the

woman's hairstyle of a simple high ponytail, but she could not truly be called a copycat when the color

of her eyes was brought to light. Henrietta had received their father's honey-colored pupils-a fact that

burned Hughes to the core. Of course his little girl had gotten his eyes and not his son. What was so

good about having the blue eyes Hughes possessed? He was sick and tired of being called his mother's

"Little angel"

"What are we doing, Hughey?" Henrietta caught her breath as a smile faced her older brother.

As always, she looked up to him with no malice in her bright eyes. Perhaps that was the reason Hughey

decided to pick on her so often. While she was quick to tears, she was also quick to forgiveness. He

could do any mean thing he wanted without worry she would be mad for very long.

Finally catching his breath, Hughey strolled forward ahead of her.

"I wanted to show you something, Henry." He knew that was a nickname she disliked, but even so, he

never found himself calling her anything else.

The small girl wrinkled her nose at her brother's mistake, yet she followed him with no complaint.

Henrietta only questioned him further.

"What is it? It isn't the pond monster again, is it? You better not throw me in the pond again. You know

I can't swim."

It wasn't a very deep pond, but it most definitely held the ability to drown such a small girl. Perhaps she

had inherited her small size from her father.

Hughes shook his head as a smile appeared to his lips.

"No, it's nothing like that." He laughed, "That was funny, though. You cried all the way to home to mom.

I can't believe you fell for it."

Henrietta puffed her cheeks slightly at his comment.

"Hughey-"

"Here it is." The girl was cut off from any protests she could start by her obviously excited brother. She

rushed to his side to grip his hand. The darkness that surrounded the area they were in seemed to

close in on the both of them. She could actually believe a monster lived in this part of the forest.

Hughes ignored the scaredness of his sister in order to showcase his pride. He smirked rather largely

as they cleared a bush.

"Where are we?" Henrietta drew closer towards her only companion in the oncoming forest. If this was

just another one of his stupid ways to scare her, he was doing a good job.

Hughes shook his head.

"It's not where we are, Henry. It's what's here." He dropped her hand as he knelt to the ground.

Hughes clutched the piece of chalk he held in his pocket tightly. He had spent many days deciding the

best time to take it from the chalkboard. If he lost it now, it would only embarrass him to steal another.

Henrietta could only watch her brother's odd writing with curiosity. She knew how to read of course, but

the weird circle and symbols he dug into the ground were unlike anything she had seen before. Only

when he added a few sticks to the center of the circle did she realize just what her brother was doing.

"H-Hughey!" Her gasp was ignored by a sudden flash of light from the center of the circle her brother

held to. It illuminated his features for just a moment before the illumination disappeared.

Hughey turned back to his mystified sister with his prize in hand.

Turned from the twigs he had placed in the center of the circle was an item the brother had often made

by hand. It was a long process that took up most of the day, but with the power he had made, the task

was done in mere seconds.

Sitting in the boy's hands was a small twig crown big enough to fit over his sister's head. Others made

previously had flowers woven throughout the piece, but Hughie had obviously been lacking in that

material so late in the summer. Even with the crude work, a proud smile sat upon the brother's face.

"M-Mom said we couldn't look at dad's books! Hughie, that's-"

His simple nod cut her off. His blue eyes had never shone so brightly than in the moment he showed his

sister his accomplishment.

"The power of equivalent exchange; the magical power dad had. I can do it, Henrietta! I can do

alchemy!"