Disclaimer: My self-portrait is not an awesomely-drawn cow...yet...
Third person P.O.V
"Ed, Al; NO!" ripping herself away from her night terror and raking her frantic eyes across the room, the teenage girl came into view of the moonlight, giving a more accurate picture of what the young woman looked like: her hair a light blue-white, a built but slender and generous figure for being fifteen though short for her age (an inch taller than Ed) and gold eyes with sapphire blue flecks in them. Breathing hard and resenting the sheen of slick sweat she had from her night-time torture she searched the room for the aforementioned names in a panic, scared she had lost them to the failed human transmutation of their mother. At those thoughts the girl gripped her aching arm and winced at her leg, just an inch above the knee where the moon revealed that there was automail where she ached, refusing to be hurt. Hurt led to whimpering and whimpering led to being a child.
She wasn't going to do that at all. She was essentially grown, and much like Edward, never really cried anymore, not letting out so much as a grunt in pain unless necessary (unable to hold it all in). Not even as twenty seconds dared to pass, the girl let out air in her lungs at the force of being impacted by a concerned Ed and frantic Al. "Sister you okay? We heard you scream for us. Was it another- "Yeah…thanks for checking on me you guys, but I don't deserve it 'ya know." The girl cut Ed off as he questioned her, not wanting them to feel sorry for her. "Why should you? I was the reason you're both like that anyway. Hell, I'm not even sure I'm even a real Elric! I don't doubt mom but what if I'm adopted?! I don't want to be where I don't belong!" the girl cried out, her real fear being voiced out to the air of her brother's hearing. At her self-hating words, the boys looked down sadly.
It was true, the girl was nothing like her brothers; them having brown and gold hair with gold eyes…no, much to her disdain, she was her family's virtual opposite with her blue-white hair and blue-flecked gold eyes. The only thing that matched her brothers were her height, temper and height insecurity with her hatred of milk as well…hell, she didn't even talk like them, having a verbal quirk and freakish memory ability. "Don't start this sister of course you do! You're family! I might not remember much, but I remember mom saying you were definitely dad's daughter! His and hers, so don't you dare think otherwise! " Al argued loudly before his voice dropped down to his usual soft tone. "And besides….It's not your fault…we all did it….we all agreed on it…." Edward looked to his sister with a firm but sympathetic gaze, making sure she knew it wasn't just her fault.
"Yeah Rain. You can't just blame yourself all the time. You know mom wouldn't lie to you; she wasn't that kind of person…you know genetics can only be predicted; just because mom and dad look a certain way doesn't guarantee you would too. Besides, we've all taken part of that, but what's done is done. We get our arms and legs back and Al his body when we find the philosopher's stone." Rain let her gaze meet her younger brother's and softened it from self-loathing harshness to bitter-sweet optimism. "Yeah, you're right Ed. And besides, we get to give Colonel Bastard hell tomorrow 'ya know!" Ed laughed in mutual amusement with his older counterpart, happy at the thought of pissing him off. "Good! I hate that bastard!" Rain snorted lightly when she laughed, having been entertained with tomorrow's plans to make Roy-chan pissed, making Al sigh in defeat. "Why do you both hate the Colonel so much? He's not that bad." Ed and Rain broke from their laughter to look at Al like he was insane. "Because he's a stuck-up ass, who just loves to put us down and point out our…umm….vertical challenges!" Rain complained loudly, making Al sigh in resignation while Ed laughed in agreement.
Hi, my name is Rain Elric. Strange name, I know. But mom wanted to name me after the summer rain she loved so much after hardly any at all the one year I was born. Oh yeah; you don't know it…and can't tell by looking, but I'm Trisha Elric's daughter! Funny I know, but genetics isn't an exact science…so it was just my luck that I was born with blue-white hair and gold eyes with blue flecks in them…the odd one out in our family…but I didn't mind back then; the odds for white hair are nearly improbable to predict, but hey, it's what makes me...Well…me! When I was little, I loved to play with my little brother Al, help Winry out in mechanics and spar with My older little brother Ed…it was so much fun; and then we tried alchemy….oh, we loved to try and come up with trinkets and whatnot for our mother! Ed, Al and I usually made her animals, although we did make her a 'flower' garden once. By God, she loved that silly thing…we had a near perfect life…. It was all so simple…or so it seemed….our life before then…we had always believed our mother was the strongest in the world; like no-one or nothing could bring her down…until she got sick. You see, that bastard hohenheim thought it would be a good idea to experiment on our mother for 'the sake of medical alchemy', trying to speed up her body's healing and virus elimination rate. Unfortunately, her body couldn't handle the strain, making it shut down on itself…slowly and painfully…that along with the way he abused us daily while our mother was forced to struggle to help us as she faded in and out of lucidity from the experimental drugs he gave her. It was horrible; but, I guess, in some twisted way, sometimes when I look back and look around at my situation now, I'm thankful; I wouldn't have ever been this strong or met so many wonderful people if it hadn't happened.
It all started one early spring, after school. We had just come home and were in the middle of cleaning our room-foreign concept, but true- when I had found a textbook with what looked like a cross like the ones we had seen at church, but this one had a snake on it with wings and a crown above it…a flamel, or serpent's cross as I remember it being called. The book was certainly a foreign one in my eyes at the time, but held my interest nonetheless. But if you asked how it even got there, I wouldn't be able to tell you…
First person Rain P.O.V
As I helped Ed clear away some of the clothes for laundry day, lifting a particularly heavy pile, I felt something slip out before a large thud was heard against the floor. "Huh? Eddo what was that? Did I-sa break something, yeah?" I asked, cringing at the thought of having broken something again. "It was just a book…and don't call me that!" the four-year old whined, making me chuckle at his tone. "Right...anyway…what's it say?" I asked tapping my foot impatiently. "Eddo! What's it say, yeah?" I asked again only to be met with silence, dropping the clothes when he didn't answer. "Fine…I'll-sa read it!" I snorted impatiently, reaching for the book when Ed picked it up as I was reaching for it sticking his tongue out at me. "It says introduction to alchemy, Rainy." Curious, I padded the short distance between us to look at the book with a newfound interest.
"What's that doing in here? I thought that bastard took everything with him?" I spat venomously; glaring at the brown text like it had called me short. Wincing from my tone, Ed eventually shrugged and flopped down on the floor opening the book to read the first page. "Huh? Hey, Rain, go get Al, he's gonna want to read this…it looks kinda easy!" pushing the thoughts of him and smiling happily, I nodded, enjoying the thought of learning something new. "Okay! I-sa cant's wait to read it!" I cheered as I ran out of the room. Once in the hallway I turned the corner and scurried down the stairs, looking around the living room for my brother to find him helping mom with folding the towels. Hearing the noise I made my mother turned around as she finished folding a towel and her eyes brightened in curiosity. "Did you gather the clothes, sweetie? We're going to wash them soon."
Flicking my gaze guiltily over to mom at her question, I nodded meekly, walking over to the couch reaching for Al. "Yeah…but…I-sa needs Al for a minute." I answered nervously, making the child in question look up from his shared task confusedly. "Okay, just bring them down soon; I'd prefer if we could go before four o' clock." She conceded, turning back around to finish her folding. "Okay! We will I-sa promise!" I chirped happily, crossing the distance between Al and me, grabbing him by his wrist. When I had a good hold on him, I spun around running for the steps excitedly. "What's wrong sister? Did brother break something again?" Al questioned, trying to keep up with my pace so he wouldn't be getting dragged. "You'll see Allie! Eddo and I-sa found something really cool, yeah!" I assured him as I turned the corner and opened the door of the room to find that Ed hadn't moved, too absorbed in the book, though he looked up when he heard Al and I enter the room.
"Good you're here! Look what Rain and I found Al; something to do for fun!" Ed boasted, closing and showing off the book to Al who stared at it with curiosity. "But I heard that alchemy was supposed to be really hard to figure out…" Al told his brother uncertainly tilting his head to the side a little while Ed just shook his head, smiling. "No way; it's only kinda challenging, that's all! Once we get the math down it'll be a piece of cake!" not looking entirely convinced, I patted Al on the back encouragingly. "Come on Allie, let's at least give it a try, yeah." I insisted, earning a nod from the boy, the uncertainty battling in his eyes with curiosity. "Okay…" Al agreed, moving to where Ed lay on the floor, with me shortly behind them.
Third Person P.O.V
After laundry day, the trio found themselves in school the next day, anxious to get out and read the new alchemy book they had found. It was indeed something to look forward to; the challenge, no matter how small, was fascinating to them; not to mention the idea of creating things from nearly any material to just about anything they could think of. So when school was out for the day, they found themselves walking with their friend Winry, though it was just common practice so instead of talking to her, they whispered excitedly about the book and the possibilities of what they could learn and do. "I mean, if you think about it, with all the different combinations possible, you-"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" Winry asked, not wanting to be left out. "None of your damn business." Ed said as-a-matter-of-factly, hands behind his head as he walked.
"Hey! I was just curious, you mean little shrimp!" the girl defended, looking away with her nose in the air, arms crossed. "What brother means is that it's a surprise, okay Win?" Al elaborated apologetically to the sulking girl. "Yeah… but it-sa still isn't her damn business right now, Allie." Rain countered, teasing her little brother in hopes of changing the topic. "Hey! Don't call me that, I'm not a girl!" He whined displeased by the 'affectionate' nickname he had been given when he first came home from the hospital. "I-sa never said you were." The white-bluenette shot back overly innocent in a sing-song manner, making Al blush his frustration. "Aww, don't feel too bad Al; you know Rainy loves you!" Winry chirped happily to the younger boy, taking in her friend's embarrassed pout. "Yeah, I know. I just don't like the nickname's all." He mumbled stubbornly, fumbling with his backpack nervously. "Okay guys. This is my house. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Winry asked as she stepped up to the porch, about to head inside. "Of course we will! And we promise our surprise will be ready by then!" Ed yelled back as they decided to run the rest of the way home and work on her surprise. "Come on you guys! Let's go home before mom starts missing us!"
'I wonder where they are; it's getting kind of late…' Trisha mused as she folded a blanket casting a glance out of the window. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE COULD FALL IN AN ANTHILL YOU JERK?!" shaking her head at their antics, Trisha went to put away the blanket in the closet behind the stairs. "THE SAME ONE WHO-SA SO TINY HE WOULD GET LOST IN CARPET FIBER LIKE IT WAS A FOREST YOU BAKA!" Sighing in a fond, yet tired fashion Trisha closed the closet door, and walked into the kitchen to open the back door for her hot-tempered children and their brother as they came into the house, Ed closing the door with a mild slam. "Eddo, you idiot!" Rain yelled to the angry boy, her furious words coming out hissed while Ed looked to the girl in a murderous manner. "Sister, I think you should stop; brother looks really mad this time." Al insisted nervously, grabbing his infuriated sister's wrist, trying to calm her down when-SMACK!
"Oh my god, Alphonse!" Trisha yelped in shock, helping the poor boy up from his sudden place on the floor. "Are you okay, sweetie? Talk to mommy, honey!" the woman insisted to the tearful and shocked boy who held his stinging cheek staring at his sister. Rain however, could only look on in shock at what she had done, staring at her hand as if it had been burned away by fire. "A-allie…I-I-sa…so sorry…yeah…" the girl half whimpered, half whispered reaching forward in a desperate attempt to make amends to her trembling brother when Ed blocked her hand away with a stinging and reddening slap. "Rain…Why don't you just…go…drink a gallon of milk and die?" he whispered –more like hissed out-, though it didn't go unheard by their mother, who gasped in shock at her son exploiting his sister's severe allergy.
"Edward Elric, don't say things like that! You know how she can't control her temper like you can!" Trisha scolded harshly, not wanting anymore fighting than what had happened. Ed only tensed in anger as he listened to his mother defending Rain, whom he hated at the moment. "That's exactly why she isn't like us at all; just a stranger's child!" Ed yelled accusingly, pointing to a now devastated-looking Rain, opening his mouth to continue, but stopped when he saw a tear fall from her eye; Then another and another. Soon the girl was openly crying and sobbing relentlessly holding her forearm to her eyes in a poor attempt to stifle the pouring salt-watered sorrow. "Eddo…don't worry…I-I-sa…I-SA HATES ME TOO, YEAH!" Rain yelled out in sorrowful rage as she ran up the steps to their room, ignoring their mother's calls for her and shut the door with a loud resounding slam catching a stunned Al's attention. "B-brother what was sister doing? I don't think I saw that right…" Al desperately whispered to Ed, hoping he saw wrong.
But to his dismay, Ed shook his head sorrowfully, head bowed from regret. "S-she was crying Al; you know that." The older boy whispered in regretful shame. For a moment it was completely silent before Trisha decided to try and coax Rain out of their room and talk with her. "Don't do anything else rash, Edward…just watch Al." the woman spoke softly, holding her arms as she trekked up the wooden incline. The knock on their bedroom door was heard throughout the house, as if carrying an ominous feel when it sounded, Ed's pulse matching the swift succession of raps. "Rain, sweetheart, its mom…please open the door." Trisha pleaded to her saddened child. The wailing stopped momentarily, at her mother's arrival as if she had let her in, giving Ed hope in talking with her. However, it only ended with a louder wail of sorrow and a scream to be left alone shattering Ed's hope as quickly as it had appeared.
'I-I can't believe I did that…' Ed whispered in shock, unable to move. 'I actually made her cry…she never cries…NEVER EVER cries…even when that bastard was still here…and all I had to say was she wasn't really mom's…a lie…she cried because I lied to her…' He thought angrily as he realized something, the notion finally clicking inside his five-year old mind: 'She's been scared that she was adopted…because she doesn't look like mom or the bastard…because she's different than us…' the child thought bitterly, closing his hands to fists as he listened on helplessly to his sister's cries. "Damn it." Al looked over to his brother at his words to find him shaking and clenching his fists, his bangs over his eyes. "Brother…" Al whispered gently to Ed hoping he was being heard. "Please don't be mad at sister…I know that she can't control her temper…I got in the way on purpose…" Al sobbed lightly, making Ed shake even more, his brother's nails drawing blood from his palms.
"So please don't be mad at sister…" trailing off, Al understood why his brother was shaking; he was crying Al realized watching a few shiny, water-like drops stain the floor. "Brother- Al stopped, at hearing a noise on the steps, turning to see his mother descend down them, a sad look in her eyes meeting the question in his own. No. she still hadn't opened the door, nor stopped herself from screaming in agony. Finally having enough and sensing his mother's presence and deeming her out of his path, Ed ran up the steps and to their bedroom door, Al and Trisha close behind. Reaching the top and nearing the door, Ed could hear his sister's wails from behind the door, pulling viciously at his heart as he was forced to listen to Rain, the girl who ignored the school's teasing about herself and the girl who got into fights and even suspended when someone bad-mouthed her family, break down because her little brother had called her a stranger's child.
After a moment, when the noise has quieted some, Ed knocked on the door softly three times in a pattern of sorts, letting her know who it was. "Rainy…please open the door…" Ed whispered, bracing himself for the scream to be left alone and more crying. But, to his and the other's surprise, he heard shuffling and heavy foot falls before the door was thrown open with Rain standing in the doorway. The girl looked like hell, Ed decided, her normally and proudly neat long hair was messy and out of its neatly high, horse-tailed fashion. Her neat, before-incident clothes swapped for messily wrinkled black boxers and a dark lavender purple t-shirt, her eyes looking more of a mixture of dull copper with navy chips, sclera an angry red and a hurt expression in her face.
"What do you want, Eddo, yeah?" She whispered hoarsely, her voice over used and worn from her crying and screaming, wincing in pain –at her newly acquired head and throat-ache Ed was sure- and waiting for his next words. Lowering her eyes to the floor and shrinking back a little, Rain waited for the insults she was sure were to be thrown in the air. But instead, she found herself enveloped in a hug that nearly crushed her; wide-eyed and shocked before her gaze softened her eyes half-lidded in happiness hugging him back gently. "Rainy, I'm-"A-ah; I-sa know Eddo…and I-sa sorry too, yeah." Rain whispered to interrupt her upset little brother, insults not forgotten, but the pain lessened. "It'll never happen again, I promise…I didn't mean it and I'll never say it again." Ed insisted stubbornly, Rain smiling at the insistence in a sad but accepting way. "I know Ed, I know..." the girl whispered without her five-year old lists, the tone she carried sounding much more mature and forgiving to the listener's ears.
Sensing that they had made up, Trisha gently pushed Al forward who squeaked in surprise, drawing their attention to him. "Allie!" Rain cried out sadly, crushing him in an apologetic hug when the boy flinched at her calling. "I-sa SO sorry! Yeah!" she yelled, shaking her brother back and forth in the hug as a tear fell down her cheek. "It won't ever happen again I-sa promise!" humming in a forgiving tone, Al pulled back out of the hug a little bit to look his sister in the eyes and smile gently, wiping away the stray salt droplet he believed should never mar her face. "It's okay sister, I forgive you…I know you can't control your temper after all; I should've been more careful." Alphonse sighed apologetically, not wanting her to worry any more than she had. Yet, upon hearing the apology, Rain shook her head sadly in objection, smirking bitterly.
"No, I-sa should control myself more…and don't worry; I'll get more control, I-sa promise, yeah!" the white-bluenette insisted stubbornly, affectionately squeezing her brother's lungs of air before turning to her mother. "Momma…I-sa sorry I hit Allie…I'll-a do better with my anger, I promise…" Rain exclaimed guiltily, her voice cracking from the strain of her screaming. Softening her gaze and kneeling down to her daughter's level, Trisha hugged her, rubbing circles on her back in a soothing matter. "I know, angel; I know." Pulling back after a few moments, she looked the girl in the eyes for a moment before nodding once, done with her mental debate. "And while I know you'll never do it again, I have to ground you from going to the river to swim for a week, and no sweets."
Trisha instructed firmly, finding approval when the girl nodded, accepting her punishment without complaint before looking to Edward. "And you young man, are grounded from sweets…and cannot read until you fall asleep for three days." Ed made a face of disappointment, but nodded anyways. "Yes ma'am." He voiced sadly, turning to go to his room, rubbing his stinging hands, the slight indentions now being brought to his calm and level-headed attention. "Good; now, I do believe there's homework from Ms. Walsh's class today so we'll get to that after we eat dinner okay?" The tired mother instructed gently. Getting nods of understanding from all three of them, Trisha made her way to the stairs, casting a worried glance in their direction and the trio knew that when dinner was over, and homework was being done, there would be a talk about what had happened. '
I'm just glad that everything's okay now.' Alphonse thought to himself as he stepped inside the shared room and meandered to the bed on his side, collapsing down on it for a few moments, Edward and Rain –by the sound of them- echoing his movements. They were silent for about three minutes when Al decided to break it, tired of the gloomy feeling that had taken hold of the three of them. "So…can we work on the math for Winry's present?" His innocently inquiring voice sounded across the quiet room before being met with Ed's. "Sure, why not; ne, Rain come on, let's work on Winry's present." He called, walking over to the white-bluenette's bed on her side of the room, gently shaking her awake.
"Huh? Wazzat? We-sa gonna wrk 'n wat now, yeah?" Snickering at her sleepily-awake slurring, the golden haired child managed a nod. "Winry's present…where's the book?" Ed inquired once more, bringing his sister back to reality. Slightly more awake now, and thankful for the opportunity to focus on other things, Rain pointed towards the night table drawer beside her bed lazily while she rubbed her eye with another hand. Grabbing the book off the night-table, Ed walked to the middle of their room's floor, placing the book in between them as they sat in a makeshift triangle around it. "Okay you two, let's get started!" Ed announced, plopping down in the middle of the floor to study.
First Person Trisha P.O.V
Reaching for another spice jar, I absent-mindedly stirred the potatoes I had fried, turning down the heat on the spinach, and adding some garlic salt before checking on the meatloaf and bake apples I had in the oven. Satisfied with them being done I took them out and placed the dishes on a pot-holder I had set on the counter. And as I cooked, my mind was anywhere but the kitchen, namely on the kids. 'I just wonder why they blew up like that…and Rain…I never thought she'd hit Al…let alone cry…oh, Van, I wish you were here…you'd know what to do…' I sighed thinking of my longed-for love. 'God, please send him home to us soon.' I sighed desperately, when I suddenly felt dizzy as I reached for the plates. Heart racing, I quickly slammed my hand to the counter and grip for dear life, trying to steady myself and let the dizzy spell pass. Unfortunately, I was unlucky, having set the knife down where my hand now supported me upright.
"A-ah….damn it…" I hissed, letting a rare foul word pass through me along with the pain I felt. I heard loud footsteps on the stairs and seconds later, the living room and kitchen, before a gentle, concerned voice was paired with the previous noises. "Mom are you okay? We heard a loud bang and-"I'm fine honey, just cut myself on the knife being a klutz." I breathed around the pain, interrupting Alphonse, my balance having returned by now. "D-do you want me to get you some bandages or the salve?" he asked attentively in a nervous fashion, bringing a smile to my face. "If you don't mind I'll just take the salve, sweetie." Glancing over my shoulder I saw Al nod before he jogged up the stairs and to the bathroom. 'He's so sweet…thank You for that…we need that around here.' I smiled at the thought, turning on the water to rinse my hand, wincing when the cold water came into contact with my open and sensitive skin.
Hearing footsteps close by, I turned around to meet Al holding out a generous bit of the requested salve on a q-tip. "Here you go mom." Not missing the worried tone in his voice as I took and applied the medicine trying my best to ignore the sting, I smiled at him. "Thank you Al. would you be a dear and get your Big brother and sister while I set the table?" nodding his agreement, he took the q-tip from me and threw it away in the garbage can on his way out, not noticing the lack of blood in favor for running up the stairs. Frowning at that last bit, I too, looked at the supposedly-sliced appendage to find that it had already healed. 'I'm either blessed by this…or cursed…' I decided, before tossing the thoughts aside, not wanting to dwell on such depressing things when I had children to make sure were happy and looked after.
"Well….either way, I'll take it one day at a time in faith." I mumbled determinedly out to myself, reaching for the plates and finally silverware. The placement of the eating ware was done without thought, the favored and never changing seating arrangements ingrained to my very being: I sat at the side of the table that had my back to the sink, with Al to my left, facing away from the back door while Ed sat to my right, watching the back door, leaving Rain sitting a head of me to guard the living room in her peripheral as she watched the kitchen. 'I swear; those two think they can take everything on their own…I don't know who's more stubborn; Ed or Rain.' Hearing footsteps approach the kitchen I laughed a little, amused by the thought of the 'Trouble-making-twosome' in a stubborn-off. 'I can just imagine Al being right in the middle as a neutral but eventually fed up party.' I laughed mentally, imagining Al trying to coax them into an agreement or draw.
Third Person P.O.V
Racing down the stairs, followed by through the living room, Ed practically burst into the kitchen, Al and Rain in tow, all of them bright-eyed like they had found the secret ingredient for the Xingese desserts they loved so much. "Well you all look like you've found out the best secret yet." Trisha smiled, letting her curiosity seep through to the question. "No…no secrets, but we did figure out what we're gonna give Winry as a birthday present tomorrow!" Ed bragged, smiling and putting his arms behind his head in a proud fashion when he sat down at the table. "Really now? And that would be?" Rain looked up to her mother at her question a childish smirk on her face and a mischievous light in her eyes. "A-uh! We-sa cants tell you momma, it's a surprise, yeah!" Rain sing-songed to her mother, sitting down at the table and helping herself to the food with a near-frantic vigor though she ate none yet. "Sorry mom…we want to show Winry first… you can see it tomorrow." Al apologized, taking his place at the table. "Oh, alright…if it's for Winry…" The former alchemist trailed off sweetly, giving Ed a knowing smile when she noticed the faint pink tint to his cheeks. "Don't worry my little man; she'll love that it came from you, no matter what it is." She encouraged, enjoying the smile she managed to get from him. "R-right…thanks mom…I know she will." Ed smiled, fixing his plate and waiting on Trisha to start saying grace.
After dinner…
"Come on Ed…it's not that bad…just a glass and then you can get up." Trisha coaxed, gently sliding a glass of milk toward Ed, who sat sulking in his chair. "Aww….but I hate milk…" Sighing, Trisha leaned down to Edward's eye level. "Sweetie, I know you don't like it, but you have to if you want to grow up; just because Rain can't drink it, doesn't mean you can't either…now drink up!" Trisha coaxed sweetly, nudging the glass in Edward's direction, her ever-famous patience nearing its end at the fifteen minute mark of this 'journey'. Ed looked at the glass his mother had set near him and scrunched his nose up disgustedly at the drink. "Why not; If she can't I won't either. Besides, I hate the taste…" the boy mumbled, not noticing his mother's sudden resolving smile. "Well, how about I add some of the sauce from the baked apples? Would that work?" Trisha mused, trying not to snicker at her son's sudden look of concentration.
"I'll try it…but if I don't like it, I'm not gonna finish it." he warned, watching carefully as his mother poured a small amount of the sauce-like liquid into the milk, dying the –in his opinion- disgusting drink- a faint caramel and dark flecked (brown sugar) color. "There; try this, Eddo." Scrunching his nose at the use of the ever-famous nickname, Edward eyed the glass as it was set in front of him before giving a sigh of defeat and picking up it to give it a tentative sniff. 'At least it doesn't smell as bad.' The boy decided, cringing when he made to take a sip. 'Well, here goes nothing…' Ed thought miserably, sipping on the drink expecting it to taste terrible. Expecting, however, was the key word as he found it to not be all that bad; lacking a little in the sauce from the baked apples of course; but not that bad. "Wow, mom…it's actually…something I could drink…" Ed praised, quickly finishing the rest of the glass. "Well, I'm glad you liked it…and to think, all I had to do was add something to it." She chuckled, though it turned to a light laugh at Ed's blushing expression. "Okay Ed, you can go now; seeing as you actually drank your milk." Ignoring his mother's gentle teasing, Ed jogged out of the kitchen, through the living room and up the stairs, eager to get back to the siblings and alchemy book he had been called away from. 'I guess I know what I'll be giving him from now on.' Trisha thought amusedly, hearing her son's footsteps above her as he re-entered his room.
First Person P.O.V Alphonse
"So if we draw it like this we'll be able to- cutting herself off Rain looked to the door having heard brother coming up the stairs towards our room. "I wonder if he willingly drank it this time." I mused out loud, making sister snort in amusement at the thought. "Probably was threatened with being grounded some more first, yeah." She laughed, stopping when the door opened. "Hi brother; did you actually drink it, or were you forced?" I asked innocently, though inwardly I did think sister's comment was funny. "Oh ye of little faith…of course I did! Mom ended up pouring some of the sauce from the baked apples in it so I could get it down without most of the real taste." Ed conceded, blushing in frustration when sister began to snicker at him, no doubt thinking of a retort or a witty jab, judging by the gleam in her eyes.
"Well at least you're here so we can double check the notes…" I supplied helpfully, drawing sister's devious attention from teasing brother for right now. 'Avoided fight number forty-three.' I sighed gratefully as Rain lost focus on her quest to tease, snapping her attention to brother's notes to discuss our equations with his. "So I was thinking that if we drew this one-I pointed to an array used for broad-spectrum alchemy- we'd have a better chance of working with something familiar; it's not about impressing her, after all, it's about the gift." I reminded softly, keeping an eye on sister to make sure she stayed distracted. 'I love sister…but she does have a tendency to tease brother a little too much. I hope they'll get along tomorrow without a fight…' I mused as I helped brother with a particularly tough-looking equation.
"All you have to do is divide the amount of material and its mass offered by the rate of predicted exchange to get the answer." I elaborated, scrawling down a half-hearted answer beside his half-finished equation. "Huh? Hey Allie are you okay; you-sa seem kinda distracted, yeah." Rain asked, tapping my shoulder gently to get my attention for an answer. "Oh, well…I've just been thinking about tomorrow; that's all." I admitted rubbing the back of my neck in a habit I knew I had to stop. "Huh? Is that it?" brother asked, surprised at my answer. "Don't worry Al; I promise that Rain and I won't fight; right Rain?" brother looked over to sister who had taken up tracing an alchemic array on paper while she listened to us. "Of course; anything for you Al." Sister smiled, easing my worry of the coming day. "Thanks you guys…but for now let's work on deciding what material to use for the transmutation; it seems like sand would be a fair trade."
The next day, Third Person P.O.V
"Ed, Rain, Al!" Trisha called up the stairs. "Let's go you three; we don't want to be late!"
Upstairs, the three of them were in their room, looking for the chalk and alchemy book they were going to bring. "I'm-sa telling you Eddo, I remember that we-sa put the damn stuff in the dresser with the alchemy book, yeah!" Rain huffed, opening the dresser to find that it had indeed been stashed away beside the book. "See, I-sa told you it was-a there!" Rain sniffed rudely as Ed looked for a bag to put the book in. "Yeah, yeah; let's just go! We can't be late, Winry will kill us!" Ed said with a slightly fearful look in his eyes as he stuffed the book and chalk into Rain's book bag –the closest one available-. "Yeah….let's go." Al agreed, following Ed out of the house in a jog, Rain not far behind. "There you three are! Come on, we don't want to keep Winry waiting." Trisha instructed gently, walking down the road a little ways toward the Rockbell house.
"Let's go you two!" Ed ran ahead of their group, eager to see his friend. "Hey! Wait up Eddo; don't leave Al behind!" quickly pulling Al on to her back the bluenette took off after him, her younger brother's indignant squeak of protest being ignored in favor of running after Ed. "Be careful with Al, Rain!" Trisha called, running after them down the road as they neared their destination. Panting lightly, Ed and Rain ran up to the door and knocked excitedly, waiting for someone to answer. "Umm….sister, can you put me down now?" Al asked embarrassedly, speaking up from his spot on Rain's back. Looking at her brother over her shoulder, the white-bluenette nodded while she flashed an apologetic smile. "Sorry Allie, it didn't cross my-sa mind to put you down, yeah." laughing lightly, she dropped carefully down to a height where Al's feet could be on the ground.
"Honestly Rain….you'd think that you wouldn't be able to carry someone who weighs almost as much as you…I'm impressed every time." Trisha praised as she came on the porch, turning her attention to the door as it opened to reveal Winry's mother Sara. "Well, you're just in time for cake." Sara remarked kindly as she opened the door wider to let them inside, the three of them appreciating the mild temperature it had. "Winry, they're here now!" the medical expert called over her shoulder as Rain stepped in behind everyone and shut the door. Not even twenty seconds later, footsteps were heard and the birthday girl herself came bursting into the room, tackling the trio to the ground affectionately. "You're here!" Winry exclaimed from on top of the pile of her friends, happy to see them. "Course we are!" Ed mumbled as-a-matter-of-factly around his sister's fallen form above him.
"Yeah, don't be dumb! We-sa wouldn't miss your birthday Win!" Rain chastised playfully, though her barely-there temper was known. "Sister! She means well Winry; she's just grumpy that she didn't get to have syrup with her pancakes for breakfast." Al teasingly apologized, shifting under Winry's weight from her spot on top of him. "I kinda figured she didn't eat any sugar….hey, let's go and see if we can go outside and-"Winry the cake is ready!" A voice from the kitchen called belonging to Urey Rockbell. "Oh…okay, thanks daddy!" Winry called out, a little disappointed that she didn't get to play outside yet. Following the birthday girl to the kitchen, the trio crowded around the cake as it sat on the table proudly, the scent of strawberry heavily-light in the air. "Wow…it's so pretty; thanks, mom!" Winry gushed, hugging her mother.
"Oh, but it wasn't me who baked it…" Sara chuckled nervously at her daughter's confusion, briefly glancing at an embarrassed Ed. "Huh? Well, who did?" tilting her head to the side, Winry looked to her mother with confused, inquiring eyes. "Edward made it honey; he's very talented in the kitchen." Trisha chirped lightly, bragging about her son's abilities. "Yeah, brother's a really good chef…he even found a way to make caramel-flavored milk crepes for me one year!" Al smiled, thinking of his brother's reaction about cooking with milk as a main ingredient. "Wow…" Happy with the reviews of her friend's cooking, Winry smiled gratefully, a light blush across her face as she fidgeted nervously. "A-ah…thanks for making the cake Eddo…" blushing even more from the attention –though his some-what present ego liked it- the golden-haired child just crossed his arms in a huff. "It was no problem, quite easy to make it in fact; no need to make a big deal out of it…so let's eat." The adults in the room wore smiles and smirks of all sorts at Ed's attempt of getting out of the embarrassment of being gushed over by his crush. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…happy birthday Winry; happy birthday to you!"
After the cake, Winry's room
"Hey Win, we have our surprise for you!" Ed spoke up excitedly, looking up from the game of cards they were playing in remembrance. "What is it, what is it?!" the girl enthused rapidly, shaking Ed by the shoulder. "Don't worry Winry! You'll get it soon enough…just watch us." Ed assured his friend happily, reaching for the bag he had set beside Winry's night table. Rummaging through the bag, he brought out a stick of chalk and some sand along with a thick brown book. "Okay Eddo, Allie, help me draw the circle yeah." Rain instructed distractedly, reaching for the sticks of chalk that Ed had taken out of the bag. "Yeah, yeah; just don't get bossy Rainy." Ed teased lightly as he tossed his sister a stick of chalk, laughing when she stuck her tongue out at him as he handed a piece to Al. "Okay winry, here we go; pay attention; this is gonna be so cool!" Al grinned at his friend before looking back towards the circle they were drawing.
After about a few minutes they were finishing up the last bit of the circle when Winry spoke up. "Hey….I'm bored!" the birthday girl called out, fidgeting from foot to foot, anxious to move and start playing with her present. "Don't worry Winry we're done with the boring part so just watch this!" Rain boasted, hauling herself and Al to their feet and reaching for two handfuls of the sand they had collected on the way home from school. "Okay….let's get on with it, yeah."
Chapter End
For anyone who thought that the punishment was too lenient for something like that I apologize, but remember that even though her mind cannot remember what happened during those delusional and experimental drug-high moments she knows that she can't and won't raise a hand to them, let alone yell or deprive them of anything that they hold dear to themselves or their routine. They're relatively well-behaved except for the rare shouting-match-turned violent (as in truly mad at each other) between Ed and Rain. Trisha's only dealt out one physical punishment and that was to Ed after he crossed the line with Al. and even then she regretted that instantly. Keep in mind, physical abuse leaves scars; mental, physical and emotional, some taking longer to heal than others. Hohenheim, while in risembool left a big impact on the way they deal with things.
Also, yes I've made Trisha a former alchemist. She specialized in crystal alchemy, hence their eagerness to learn and study it; wanting to be close to their mom and perform it to make things that wouldn't rust. But you don't get to rant about how she could've used alchemy when she had some 'screen time' though; the bastard took alchemy out of her reach when she married him.