The forest was dark, though that was not for lack of trying from of the full moon above. Moonlight filtered through the forest canopy, making a vain attempt to illuminate the undergrowth below it. The thick cloud of fog that hung below the leaves blocked most of the light, with only the dimmest amounts fighting through it to reach the ground. Along the path that wove between the tree trucks stomped a little boy. His younger brother cautiously followed behind, taking more care than his elder to look for roots and stones in the earth before him.
"Brother," the second boy asked the first, his voice as gentle as his footsteps. "Are you sure we're going the right away?"
Edward Elric turned to give the younger boy a wide, reassuring grin. "Of course I am, Al! Don't worry. I'm gonna get us home."
Al gave his brother a shaky smile back, although he did not feel the same confidence that his brother apparently had. He didn't recognize any of the surrounding woods. How far had the two strayed from Resembool?
"We'll be back before we know it," Ed continued as he turned back towards the path ahead of them, and Al nodded shortly to acknowledge his words. Internally, his mind was still on the mysterious woods they found themselves in. A sudden thought occurred to him, and before Ed could speak further, he interrupted.
"Ed? How did we… get into these woods?" He said. Though Ed no longer faced him, Al could visualize the confidence sliding off his face as he came to an abrupt halt, forcing Al to a stop as well. Without the crunching of leaves to fill the air, the sound of crickets became almost deafening. Al had missed their chirping while he and his brother were training with Izumi Curtis in Dublith, but now, in this gloomy forest, they sounded sinister. He didn't ever think he would long for the urban noises he grew accustomed to in his teacher's home, but then he also didn't ever think he would become hopelessly lost in an unfamiliar woods, either.
"Do you remember?" He pressed again when Ed did not respond.
"...No." Ed said finally. His tone was no longer the warm and reassuring one he had used earlier, but small and frightened. It scared Al to hear his older brother sound scared.
"But we'll get home, won't we?" Al asked, worry creeping into his voice.
Ed turned to his brother once again, the grin returning to his face. This time though, it seemed much more fake. "Of course! I already said so, didn't I?"
Al nodded.
"Exactly!" Ed said. "So don't worry. It doesn't matter how we got here. All that matters is that we're going to get home."
Ed shifted his gaze back to the path and continued forward. He only made it a few steps before he stopped again.
"Do you hear something?" He asked. Al tilted his head to the side, trying to listen hard for whatever it was his brother had heard. A clicking sound from behind alerted him to the presence of someone new, and filled his stomach full of dread. Ed turned to meet his fearful gaze, and then his eyes traveled up, above Al's head, and the fear they held turned to horror. Al slowly turned to face what his brother saw, pulling in a deep breath to try to ease his growing panic. He found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. Some of the air he had sucked in blew past his teeth, making a soft wheezing sound as it did.
Behind the barrel and through the gloom, Al could just barely make out the figure that held the gun: a woman with long hair tied back neatly and sturdy clothes suited for hunting. When she spoke her voice was calm, but stern. "What are two children doing in the woods at night?"
"We-We're l-lost, and trying to get home," Al managed to stutter out quietly at the same time Ed shouted at the woman, "Don't shoot my brother!" He felt himself being pulled back by the collar of his shirt, and suddenly Ed stood in front of him, arms outstretched, guarding him. She held her rifle trained on him for just a moment more, then it was pulled away and hung safely from a strap over her shoulder.
"It's dangerous in these woods," She said, her tone as even as before. "You shouldn't be out here."
The two boys were left at a loss, and stood shocked as the huntress began to walk past them. She made it a few long strides away before stopping and turning to them again. "Well? Follow me. I'll take you somewhere safe."
The boys exchanged a look. Ed didn't trust her, Al could see that, but there wasn't really any other options to choose. Ed had to know that, but he was too proud to admit. Without the woman they were lost, and it didn't seem like they were going to get any less lost by themselves. With the help of someone who appeared to know what she was doing though? Al finally made up his mind, and jogged after the woman. A sharp noise of frustration told him exactly how his older brother felt about it, and suddenly he was at Al's side again, stomping down the path with more aggression than before.
The group followed the path in relative quiet for awhile, taking lefts and rights at various forks so often that Al quickly gave up on trying to remember the route. The quiet between the three made it seem like forever for a couple of young children, and finally Al's curiosity won out, and he spoke up. "Miss? What are you doing in these woods?"
He could feel his brother shooting him a disapproving look, but ignored him. He had to be curious as well! And with so little stimuli on this dark forest path, he felt an itch to fill the silence.
"I was hunting a creature called the beast," She responded. "You're lucky it was I that found you and not it. Now, you should be quiet, lest you draw it straight to us."
Al's eyes widened and he clamped his mouth shut. His brother snorted beside him, and he felt his temper flair just a bit. Even with both their emotions frayed and ragged from being stranded in these woods for so long, he found the time and energy to tease Al for being a scaredy cat. He was about to let Ed know exactly how little he appreciated it when the woman spoke again.
"I don't just mean you shouldn't talk. I could hear you stomping your feet like an elephant from a great distance. The beast will be able to hear it as well, from even farther away."
Ed's footsteps slowed to a near halt, and Al couldn't help but stick his tongue out at him. He knew deep down that the huntress was only saying such a thing because it was sensible, and not strictly in his defense, but he buried that thought beneath the triumph he felt over his brother for getting put in his place.
The three continued on, Ed's feet making considerably less noise now that he had been scolded, until they finally reached a cabin located in a small clearing. Al could see shadows dancing on the curtains that were drawn in the windows and wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, or if there was someone inside. He was reminded of the huntress's earlier words about the beast, and suddenly felt very frightened to enter, but the huntress did not slow or hesitate as she came to the door. She drew a key from a pouch on her belt and unlocked the door, opening it to a dimly lit room, waning candlelight from the table fighting weakly against the encroaching darkness.
"Slacking off again, are we?" The huntress said as she entered. Al wondered who she was talking to when a shadow lifted itself from the table, taking the figure of a man. The shadow groaned lowly and the woman knelt beside the fireplace on the far wall, piling logs and kindling into it. As she did the boys stood watching in apprehension.
"There are children in the doorway," The man said his voice containing slight surprise. Al could not make out the details of his face yet, but could feel his eyes on him and his brother.
"I found them wandering in the woods," The woman said, striking a match and holding it to her kindling.
The man's response was tense. "And you brought them here? What if this is a trick of the beast's?"
"It wouldn't be," She said back. The small flame of her match died out with no success, so she struck another and tried again. "It can only take the form of one."
"It doesn't have to be both of them. It could be just one." The way the man said this made Al uncomfortable, like he was on trial for a crime he wasn't aware he committed.
The kindling took to the flame this time, and slowly the light in the room grew as the logs began to catch. Al could see more of the man now, and realized it wasn't just the lack of light in the room that made him appear so shadowed. His clothes were dark, his hair was dark, even his eyes were dark, and the look he was giving the brothers was dark as well.
The huntress returned to the door, giving the boys an appraising look before she responded to the man. "It isn't one of them. Come in out of the doorway now, you're letting in a draft."
It took Al a moment to realize the woman was addressing them now, and as soon as he did he grabbed Ed by the sleeve and pulled him inside. The man was still staring at them, hands folded in front of his face, appearing disgruntled by the huntress's proclamation, but unwilling to try and contest it.
The huntress left for another room, and Al heard the sound of cupboards opening, glasses clinking, and iron on iron. He glanced at his brother, who seemed to pay little mind to what the woman was doing, too busy meeting the man's stare with his own challenging glare. Al cleared his throat.
"I'm Alphonse, and this is my brother, Edward." He said, which finally got Ed to break his gaze away from the man's, turning to stare at Al in disbelief instead.
"Al!" He whined. "Don't tell him our names!"
"We're just trying to get home," Al continued. "Can you tell us where we are?"
The man leaned back in his chair, rocking on the back legs a few times before answering. "You're in the Unknown."
"What the hell does that mean?" Ed said indignantly.
"Brother!"
The man looked amused. "It means you're much farther out of your league than you realize."
"And you would know?" Ed challenged.
"Quit antagonizing him, Brother."
"I would know more than you."
"Oh yeah?!"
The front legs of the chair thumped onto the floor and the man answered with a question of his own. "Tell me, what do you know of the beast?"
Ed opened his mouth, but seemed to deflate as he realized they knew very little. He turned to give Al a questioning look, as if he had anymore answers for the man.
"We… don't know much at all," Al admitted, much to Ed's chagrin.
"It's a terrible creature," The man responded, his words biting and angry, "that preys upon those who go wandering lost in these woods. It tricks its victims by appearing as that which they most fear. It traps them in that fear, that despair, until they are consumed by those emotions, and thus consumed by the beast."
Al couldn't help but shrinking in on himself at the man's speech. He had a good idea of what form the beast might take, and the idea of being trapped with it in the woods until he gave into his despair sounded hellish. He felt something warm grab his hand, and jumped a little. He looked down to see Ed's hand around his, his grip tight and comforting. His heart stopped beating so quickly in his chest, if only a little.
"If this beast is so awful, what are you doing out here?" Ed shot back angrily. "Maybe you're the one that's trying to trick us right now! Maybe you're the beast! Why should we trust you?"
"You're pretty astute," The man said with a condescending smirk, "but if I were the beast, what advantage would it give me to tell you all my secrets?"
Ed's face lit up red and he shouted, "Y-yeah, well! That doesn't answer my first question! Why are you out here?"
"I already told you," Came the calm, even voice of the huntress as she emerged from the kitchen. She was carrying a tray that held a teapot and four steaming cups. "We're hunting the beast."
She set the tray down in the center of the table, and placed one cup in front of the hunter, then put one in front of herself, and the other two in front of the remaining empty chairs. "Why don't you two sit down? You must be tired."
The boys hesitated, sharing a look that spoke volumes about how little they wanted to go closer to the hunter, but also of how correct the huntress was in her assumption. Al's legs trembled, and he suddenly realized just how exhausted he was. As soon as Ed noticed, he ushered his brother to the table, pulling a chair out for him– the one farther away from the hunter. As soon as Al was seated, Ed sat as well, and let out a small sigh of relief.
The huntress sat as well, picking up her cup and blowing gently on the hot liquid inside. Al took his own cup in his hands, soaking in the warmth radiating off its ceramic surface. He copied the huntress's actions, blowing gently on it, before taking a sip. Immediately, he scrunched his face up in pain. Too hot.
"I have some sugar if you would prefer your tea to be sweeter," The huntress said, and Al shook his head, sucking in a breath and letting the air run over his tongue to cool it. He thought he saw a smile ghosting over the features of the huntress, but when he turned to her, her face was as impassive as ever. He turned instead to his brother, and found his elder staring deeply into his tea cup, as if contemplating something of great importance. Al blew on his tea again and took another sip. He found that it hadn't cooled much at all, but his tongue was more numb to the heat now. Al snuck a glance at the hunter next, and found himself meeting the man's gaze unexpectedly. He averted his eyes quickly back down to his cup.
The four continued this way for an uncomfortably long time: the huntress sipped her tea, Ed stared into his cup but never touched it, and Al found that the hunter would alternate between watching him and watching his brother. If Al strained his ears enough, he could still hear the crickets chirping past the sound of the crackling fire. Once Al could see the bottom of his cup through the tea, he felt the silence had gone on long enough. He tried to clear his throat, but found that the pathetic, nervous little noise he produced was not enough to get anyone's attention, and tried again. The hunter's eyes darted from his brother to him in an instant, and Ed's head shot up to look at him. The only one who didn't react was the huntress, but Al had no doubt that she was paying just as much attention as the other two.
"Um," Al began, realizing he wasn't exactly sure what he was hoping to gain with everyone's attention. He stumbled over his words, trying to think of an appropriate thing to say to break the silence. "Can I… May I ask… why you're out here? Hunting the beast, that is… Why are you out here where you aren't safe, when you could be somewhere that you are?"
The hunter narrowed his eyes, and Al felt as if he had chosen topics incorrectly, but the huntress intervened. "Our reasons are… personal."
This seemed to pacify the hunter, until Ed snorted in derision. "What'd the beast ever do to you?"
Al suddenly wished he had more tea left in his cup that he could splash his brother in the face with. "Ed!" He hissed instead.
"What?" Ed said, glaring, and Al resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"You want to know why we hunt the beast?" The man spoke up, catching both of the brothers' attention.
"Yeah, we do!" Ed confirmed, challenging the hunter once more.
"The beast took one of my closest friends from me. A family man, with a wife and daughter. Nobody knows how or why he gave into his despair, but it's rumored that the beast took the form of his wife to trick him. That is why I hunt the beast. For its treachery against my friend. For its treachery against me." The hunter's voice was like hot coal. His dark eyes seemed almost ablaze with passion as he told the brothers his tale, and Al saw that Ed had sobered immediately upon hearing the man's reason. His cheeks flushed red with shame at pushing the man like that, but he offered no apology. Too proud and bullheaded to do so.
The silence that followed was deafening, leaving even the crackle of the fire a distant memory to Al's ears. Ed had finally picked his cup of tea up, sipping away at it in lieu of speaking, which Al thought was for the best. With his own cup drained of distraction, and Ed too busy to make all the stupid decisions, Al felt himself itching to fill the silence himself. Quietly, he voiced another question to the huntress, who was pouring herself another cup of tea.
"Why do you hunt the beast, miss?"
The huntress paused at his question, the stream of tea ending abruptly. "Would you like more tea, Alphonse?"
Al nodded and held his cup out towards her, wondering if that meant the discussion was over, but as she began pouring she said, "There is someone I have to protect. That is why I hunt the beast."
"That's very noble of you," Al said, and pulled his cup back to blow on the tea inside. The huntress set the pot back on the tray and picked her own cup up as well.
"It's what I must do," She said simply. "You two should rest after you're done with your tea. We'll show you the way home tomorrow."
"You won't come with us?" Al asked, somewhat disappointed that the huntress wouldn't be escorting them. Though he did not care for the hunter, she seemed much more warm and safe. He would like to have her protecting them.
"I have to stay here," She said, then as if sensing his thoughts added, "As long as you follow the path and only travel when it's light, you'll be safe."
He wasn't entirely satisfied by the answer, but let the subject drop. He doubted there was anything he could say to change her mind. When he and his brother had both finished their tea, the hunter took the liberty of taking their empty cups to the kitchen, leaving the huntress to find them a place to sleep. Al supposed it was because the hunter was no more eager to spend anymore time with them than they were with him. He was grateful for the hunter's hasty retreat. He felt much more at ease without the man's piercing gaze following his every move.
The huntress found them spare bedrolls to sleep on for the night, and Al thanked her for her generosity, elbowing Ed until he thanked the woman as well. They unrolled the bedrolls in the main room of the cabin while the huntress went to join the hunter in the kitchen, blowing out the candle on the tabletop as she went. The room was still bright with firelight, though without anyone tending to it even that slowly began to dim as it ate through its fuel.
The popping sounds from the fire were coming further apart now, and between them the only sound to fill the silence was the clinking noise of dishes in the kitchen and soft chatter between the hunter and huntress. The brothers lay silently through it, staring at the ceiling together and contemplating their situation. As much as Al raked his brain, he could not for the life of him remember how either of them ended up in the Unknown. The last he knew they had been in Resembool. They had been in their home. And he didn't recall there being any woods near their home called the Unknown.
"Ed?" Al whispered.
"Yeah?" His brother responded.
"We'll make it home, won't we?" He knew what his brother would say before he said it, but Al needed to hear the reassurance out loud.
"Of course we will, Al. Of course." Ed said, just as Al predicted.
"Okay," He said. After a moment he added, "We should sleep."
"Yeah. Goodnight, Al."
"Goodnight, Ed."
The fire had dimmed to mere embers, warm glow the only evidence that they still weakly clung to life. The noises of the hunter and huntress in the kitchen slowly faded from Al's mind as he fell into a restless slumber.
His dreams were formless and vague, but threatening nonetheless. He felt like he was being stalked, chased, hunted. Not by the hunters perhaps, but by something. A darkness. As the shadows closed in on him, he woke with a start to find morning light pouring into the room through the crack in the curtains. Ed was still snoring away beside him, and though he wished for some comfort against the nightmares that plagued him, he let his brother continue to slumber.
In the morning light, the cabin seemed much more inviting and homey, despite being sparsely furnished. The curtains were a light, creamy color with lace patterns running horizontally across them. The wooden furniture pushed against the walls looked sturdy and handmade. A few framed pictures lined the mantle, but at the smiling face of a man and little girl Al didn't recognize he suddenly felt as if he were invading the hunter and huntress's privacy by looking at them, and averted his eyes back to the ashes in the fireplace. Though he didn't want to risk stumbling upon something not meant for his eyes, Al realized that he desperately needed to use a bathroom and with only slight hesitation crawled out of his bedroll, careful not to wake his brother.
He wondered if there was a bathroom in the cabin, or perhaps an outhouse he would have to walk to. He shuddered at the thought of going outside, even with the daylight to keep the shadows at bay. With careful steps Al found himself in the kitchen, and was somewhat surprised to see that the huntress was awake already, heating water in a kettle on a wood stove's surface, a cast iron pan beside it waiting to be put to use on breakfast.
"Good morning, Alphonse," The huntress said. "I'm surprised to see you awake so early."
"The light woke me," he fibbed, unwilling to admit to the shadows that haunted his sleep. If she noticed his lie, she said nothing, only continued her work preparing breakfast.
"Do you need something?" She asked and he nodded despite the fact that her back was turned to him.
"Where is the bathroom?"
She didn't even pause in her work as she answered, "Down the hallway, the door on the left."
He thanked her more enthusiastically than such a response needed, but he couldn't hide how grateful he was not to have to go outside to relieve himself. He padded as quickly and quietly as he could down the hall, making a beeline for the bathroom, barely taking the time to notice the two bedroom doors down the same hallway, one shut tight- presumably the hunter's- and another that was slightly ajar.
He was quick to finish his business in the bathroom, pausing in front of the mirror hanging on the wall with a sink basin below it. He thought he could see the traces of bags under his eyelids, barely there, but enough that Ed would probably notice. He cautiously turned the sink handle, somewhat surprised to find the cabin actually had running water, and splashed a bit of the cool liquid on his face, trying to refresh himself before he went back out to the kitchen.
When he opened the door, the smell of cooking meat met his nose, and his stomach rumbled angrily at the neglect it had faced the night before. In the main room, Ed was sitting up on his bedroll, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Al waited for his brother to finish stretching and stand to join him before going back into the kitchen where the huntress had ham steaks and eggs cooking in the pan.
"Would you two do me a favor and set the table?" She asked. "Plates are in that cupboard there, and silverware in that drawer."
The boys shared a look, then set to work, Al pushing a chair to the cupboard to stand on to retrieve the plates, and Ed scooping forks and knives out of the silverware drawer as he did. The boys raced back to the table, setting the plates and utensils down in noisy clatters, trying to beat the other to finish, paying no heed to the one occupant of the cabin who remained asleep until they were both pushing each other away from the final spot at the table and the man in question was shuffling down the hallway, rubbing sleep from his eyes and looking in no mood for games. They both stopped dead in their tracks to stare at the man, realizing the mistake they had made in their merriment, then quickly set the remaining plate, fork, and knife down, quickly and without a fuss.
The man paused, looking at both boys slowly before saying, "You sure know how to make a racket." his voice rough from sleep. Then he passed them for the kitchen, and the two followed, shuffling their feet shamefully.
"I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I want to get you out of bed," The huntress said from in front of the stove. "I've never seen anything get you up so effectively before."
"I'll stay in bed just to spite you," He responded, picking a piece of scrambled egg out of the pan, paying no heed to the huntress's hand swatting him away, and popped it into his mouth. The boys exchanged another look and decided to leave the two, heading back to sit at their places at the table from the night before. It wasn't too long after that that the huntress and hunter brought breakfast to the table, and after receiving a nod of permission from the huntress, the brothers began to dig in, the hunter following suit not long after, leaving the huntress the only responsible one to go back for beverages.
She brought what smelled like coffee for herself and the hunter, and two glasses of milk for the boys, which Ed pointedly ignored, even despite Al's insistent glaring.
"Are you two eager to leave, then?" The huntress asked between bites.
Al nodded. Ed, so focused on his meal, made no attempt to answer, so Al added, "Yes, miss." to make up for his brother's rudeness.
"We can give you some provisions after breakfast and set you on your way. There is a town a few miles north, you should arrive before the day is out. Remember, stay on the path, and you'll have nothing to worry about." The huntress said, finishing up her meal and standing to take her plate to the kitchen. She took Al's as well, who was also done, leaving on the hunter and Ed to finish.
"You runts better listen. I don't need your deaths on my conscience." The hunter said in a casual tone, as if he warned children against dying regularly. The words appeared to be the last straw for Ed's incredible show of civility with the man, for as soon as the words left his mouth Ed slammed his palms down on the table, rattling the remaining dishes and causing droplets of his yet untouched milk to spill.
"Who are you calling a runt?!" He shouted, glaring at the hunter, who only smirked in response. "You've been nothing but rude and condescending to us this whole time we've been here and I'm sick of it!"
Al jumped up from his chair, grabbing his brother around the torso before he could leap from his chair at the hunter. The hunter, for his part, hadn't moved an inch, still watching Ed with amusement, completely unphased by the outburst.
"Edward!" Al hissed at his brother. "What about you?! You haven't exactly been friendly, and this is his cabin we're in!"
"I'm not apologizing to him!" Ed said, shoving Al off and plopping back down in his chair, arms crossed. Al would have laughed at how childish his brother looked if he wasn't feeling so annoyed with him. He didn't like the hunter much either, but there was no reason to treat him so rudely, especially when they were still relying on his hospitality.
"Fine! But stop yelling!" Al said back, plopping down on his own chair, glaring at his brother.
The huntress returned, seeming to ignore the outburst she must have heard, carrying a small pack of the provisions she had promised. She handed them to Al, and he wondered if it was only because he was closest that she did so, or if she would have avoided Ed and his temper tantrum had he been closer. "Are you two ready to go?"
"More than," Ed grumbled, hopping up from his chair and stomping towards the door. Al followed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his brother, and behind the the huntress followed as well.
"Clean up the rest of breakfast while I show them the way, please," She said, though it sounded more like an order than a polite request. The hunter's face fell from smug satisfaction at getting under Ed's skin to shock in a split second, but before he could protest the huntress closed the door on him, leaving the three of them outside the cabin and the hunter inside with the mess. Ed seemed pleased at this turn of events, perking up considerably.
The huntress took the lead, walking them away from the cabin toward a part in the trees that circled the cabin's clearing. "Follow this path straight and you will reach town. Don't stray off it, and try not to stop if you can help it. Good luck finding your way home"
"Thanks," Ed said, surprising Al by speaking up before he had a chance to thank the woman himself. "We appreciate the help."
"Of course. Stay safe out there, boys," She said, turning back to the cabin and walking away without another word.
The two looked at one another as she left, trying to gain the courage to take those first steps back into the woods. "Ready, Al?"
"Ready, Ed." Al responded, and they turned to the path, taking their first steps simultaneously. They were on their way home now, with the help of the huntress. Al was confident they would be there in no time.
A/N: No prizes for guessing who these two characters are meant to represent, nor for guessing who the beast is either.