"Al, can you see anything?" Edward asked wearily as he trudged alongside his seemingly tireless brother. "I'm just about ready to collapse in a heap. We've got to find a place to stay."
Alphonse stopped and looked down at his older brother. "I could carry you, if you like." He offered. "The work doesn't affect me one bit." Ed merely shook his head.
"I can tough it out a little longer." Was his reply.
Al's soul had been bound to a suit of armor by his older brother Edward nearly four years ago after a failed attempt to resurrect their mother using Alchemy. Edward lost his right arm and a leg, while Alphonse hadn't been so lucky. The laws of Alchemy- equivalent exchange- had taken his body. With the last of his energy, Edward sealed his brother's soul to the nearest thing he could find- a suit of armor. Since then, the two of them had been searching for the Philosopher Stone- a stone which would allow the one who possessed it to ignore the laws of Alchemy- in order to restore their bodies and bring their mother back from the dead.
For many days, the Elric brothers had been wandering through endless forest, looking for a nearby town to take temporary refuge in- even though it would make them sitting ducks.
"Brother," Al began, catching Ed's attention, "do you think that those homunculi will find us?" Ed sighed and looked up at his brother.
"I think we'll be safe for at least a little while. They talk and act like they know our every move- but that's just impossible." He huffed as he lazily swung his suitcase. Seconds after, the grinding of metal on pebbles could be heard.
"Damn it," Edward growled as the suitcase slipped from his hand. "I knew this thing would get jammed up eventually. Rubble from the battle with that kid, no doubt."
Ed slipped the glove off of his right hand, revealing a complex mechanical device called automail. Automail was designed as a mechanical limb replacer for those who had lost limbs in fights- but in Edward's case, equivalent exchange.
Ed pressed a small button on his mechanical arm, popping open the steel casing.
"It's not too bad," Alphonse said to try and make the situation better. Ed growled in response and started picking out the pieces of rubble.
"I can't get this piece out," Edward grunted as he shoved his finger deep into the mess of wires.
"You're going to wreck it doing that, Ed." Alphonse sighed as he tried to move his brother's hand. All he achieved was getting Edward's hand tangled up.
"You idiot, look what you did!" Ed snapped as he tried to wrench his hand out.
"Come on, you're the one who moved yourself when I almost had the stone," Al countered. "Now let me help."
Edward and Alphonse bickered for a while, eventually starting to wrestle. Al grabbed Ed's real arm, and started to pull, causing his brother to yelp in pain as his nerves were yanked at.
"Stop touching me, you dolt!" Ed snapped, only angering his brother.
"Me, a dolt? You're the one who got your hand stuck in your arm!" Al replied as the two started to stumble off of the path they had followed.
"You know what? If you think you can fix it, go ahead!" Edward snapped as he held his arm out to his little brother. By then it was apparent that their little brawl had done some serious damage. Wires were tangled and disconnected, not to mention that Edward could no longer move his arm at all. When Al didn't respond at all, Ed became even more angry.
"I thought so- you can't do it!" He snapped. As Edward lectured him, Al noticed a quiet whizzing sound- and it was getting louder and closer very fast.
"An arrow," Al thought as he turned in the direction of the sound.
"Brother," Al shouted, cutting Edward off, "Duck!"
Al grabbed his brother and ducked to the ground, protecting him with his body. The arrow hit the tree with a 'thunk'.
"Oh my gosh, please forgive me!" The voice of a young girl called. Edward wriggled out of Al's grasp to see a young girl- probably around the age of thirteen- running towards them. Her long dark hair was pulled back into an elaborate braid. Her sweater and dark jeans hardly seemed adequate for the wonderfully warm weather. In her gloved hands she held a large bow.
"Hey, watch where you're shooting that thing!" Ed hollered, clearly upset.
"I'm sorry- my bow broke." The girl sighed as she held out her weapon. Indeed, it had. The string had snapped, sending the arrow askew. "Now sweetie, are you hurt anywhere?" She asked as she inspected Edward. She was treating him like a child.
"I'm fifteen." He growled.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" The girl cried. "I thought you were seven."
"Who are you calling so small that an atom could beat him up?!" Ed yelled as Al grabbed him and held him back.
"Excuse my older brother- he's quite sensitive when it comes to his height." Alphonse explained.
"Shut up," Ed growled at his brother.
"He is excused." The girl said with a smile. "Oh, where are my manners- I'm Rina Jaris. I take it that you two are Edward and Alphonse Elric?" She said.
"Yeah! Wait, how do you know about us?" Edward asked. The happy look in Rina's eye seemed to fade for a second.
"I know more than I let on, Fullmetal Alchemist." Rina replied with a wink. The boys stared after her in shock as she spun on her heels and walked away.
"You said you needed a place to stay- if I were you, I'd get a move on." Rina called over her shoulder.
"Y-yes, Ms. Jaris!" Al called as he snatched up his brother and his suitcase.
xXx
"So, you live alone here?" Alphonse asked as the three of them entered a small house near the outskirts of a village.
"For as long as I can remember," Rina replied as she kneeled to the ground. She pressed her palm against the floor, and in a flash of white light, two large beds emerged from the floorboards near the far wall.
"You're an Alchemist- and you don't use a transmutation circle?" Edward asked in astonishment. The only people he knew who could do that were Roy Mustang, his teacher Isume and that brat called Wrath- and himself, of course.
"Yeah- that's my dirty little secret." Rina said with a laugh.
"Ed can do the same thing, Ms. Jaris!" Al exclaimed in excitement
"Shut up, you idiot," Edward whispered, "We don't know if we can trust her."
"If you can't trust me, who can you trust?" Rina asked. She was now standing directly in front of Edward, letting him know how short he really was. Edward cast his gaze to the ground. As much as he hated admitting it, she had a point.
"Alright, we've reached an understanding," Rina said with a smirk as she turned around and walked off to the kitchen.
"And don't call me 'Ms. Jaris- it makes me feel older than I really am." She hollered as she disappeared behind the corner.
"She seems nice enough," Al said as he sat down on one of the beds.
"I guess," Ed sighed as he set his suitcase on the opposite bed.
"Hey Al," He called as he sat down and started examining his automail once again.
"Yes brother?" Al answered.
"Did you notice anything odd about the way Rina walks?" Ed asked as he searched for any sign of a reaction from his brother.
"Come to think of it, yes." He answered. "She wobbles a bit when she walks."
"That's because her leg's been replaced by automail. She hasn't seemed to get the hang of using it, though." Ed explained.
"I haven't gotten the hang of using what?" Rina asked. The boys turned around to see her standing with two steaming bowls of rich soup.
"Fresh food…!" Ed gasped. "Never mind that for now- let's go and eat!"
The two boys sat at Rina's small table; the sound of slurping filled the room. Edward had blown through five bowls of the soup, while Alphonse hadn't touched his at all.
"Now what were you talking about earlier?" Rina asked as she joined them. She had changed into a long brown trench coat.
"We noticed that your leg has been replaced by automail." Edward said awkwardly.
"And I noticed that both your arm and leg have been replaced by automail as well." She countered.
"Fair enough," Ed said.
"It's excellent craftsmanship, really." Rina said as she stood up and slipped her trench coat off. She had changed into a short cropped tee and shorts, but decided to keep her automail covered so she didn't scare off her guests. Her automail was made with stainless steel, and engraved with multiple symbols- highly complex transmutation circles.
"You've lost more than an arm and a leg," Al said in astonishment. Rina looked down at the ground and blushed. "Oh, that didn't come out right- I'm sorry, Ms. Jari- I mean, Rina." Al spluttered.
"It's fine." Rina replied. It was true that she had lost more. From her shoulder down, the right-hand half of Rina's body was made of automail.
"How did this happen to you?" Edward asked.
"That's a story for another time." She said quietly as she sat down at the table.
"Now, if you don't mind me asking," Ed asked as he stuffed his face with bread, "How old are you?" Rina smiled at the question.
"I'm thirteen- tomorrow's my fourteenth birthday." She answered. For a moment, her eyes were filled with joy, but then clouded over with sadness, "But I haven't celebrated it with anyone for years."
Ed, Al and Rina were silent for a while after that.
"Say Al, you haven't even touched your soup- it's probably cold now." Rina said as she looked into what she assumed was Al's eyes.
"I'm not hungry right now, but the soup looks delicious." Alphonse said as Rina smiled warmly at him.
"It's fine. I'll put it away for you, Al. As for you, Ed…" Rina said as she turned to the young Alchemist, who was now doubled over. "Eating too much rich food after you've been on such a restricted diet is unhealthy."
Rina stood up and helped him into his bed. "Now, let's take a look at that shredded automail arm of yours." She said as she pulled a couple tools from her trench coat pocket. Al watched from the table as Edward showed her his arm without complaint. Within a few minutes, Rina had untangled and reconnected all of the wires in his arms, as well as removed that last piece of rubble.
"Thanks; you're a miracle worker. You and Winry would get along just fine." Ed said with a smile as he flexed his fixed arm.
"Who's Winry?" Rina asked curiously.
"That's a story for another time." Ed said with a smirk. Rina laughed and turned to Al. "You should get some shuteye. It's late, and you'll be tired in the morning if you don't sleep."
"Yeah, you're right." Al said, trying to hide the sadness in his voice. 'I don't feel fatigue like you, Rina.' He thought. Rina smiled warmly at him.
"Good night, you two." She said softly as she walked out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her. Alphonse sighed and crawled onto his bed.
"Brother," Al began as Edward cast his gaze over to his brother.
"Yeah?" He asked as he turned over in bed.
"What do girls like?" Al asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Ed questioned.
"Just because," He replied defensively.
"I'll tell you in the morning." Edward yawned as he rolled over in bed, soon falling fast asleep.
'You won't be celebrating alone this year, Rina. You've got us.' Al thought as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
xXx
In the moonlit forest, two figures walked in the twilight.
"Lust, I'm so hungry," The short and fat one whined.
"I told you, Gluttony, Master said we can't be killing at random" The tall and slender woman called Lust said without looking down at her companion.
"Right, we must find the Fullmetal, right?" Gluttony asked.
Lust stared up at the moon- it was almost full. "Correct, my dear. We must find Fullmetal- and kill him."
