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"Big brothers! You're back!" A little girl with brown hair tied back into braids and wearing an overall style dress over a pink t-shirt ran up as soon as we entered the house. She stopped when she noticed that we weren't all smiling. "Big brothers, why did you bring a girl and a dog back with you? Papa won't like it if we aren't good hosts! But we aren't ready to be hosts, it's lunchtime and we don't have any food made..." The girl seemed disappointed.

"It's okay Nina, we'll make something real quick and be great hosts, right Ed?" Yup, Al was definitely just nice.

The boys and Nina shared a few more pleasantries before I was brought inside and sat down at a table. Ed waited to take our shackles off until we were both seated at and near the table. Just then a huge lumbering dog walked in. It was almost as big as Al and was an off white color.

"Meet Alexander!" The little girl cried in delight. "What's your doggie's name?"

I couldn't resist talking to this girl, she was adorable. "His name is Kida."

"So she has a voice!" I had forgotten Ed was still in the room. "I was afraid you lost it on our way here." He smirked at the glare i gave him.

"Hey Nina, can you come help me?" Al called. He had gone into the kitchen to make food for us.

"Okay Big brother!" She ran off to help.

Damn. Now I'm alone with him. Now what?

"So, why'd you try to steal from me?" Ed's question made me sigh. How many reasons could I possibly have?

"I'm a wallet inspector. I had to check and make sure yours was up to date since you're new in town."

"That's bullshit. I am curious how you knew we were new though. Now why don't you just tell me and get it over with?"

"You don't look like the Central City type, you and servant-guy just don't fit in. And I tried to steal because I'm broke. I have been for a while. Happy?"

"Servant? You mean Al?" he waited for me to nod before going on," No, he's just my little brother. He is Alphonse and I'm Edward Elric. What's your name?"

"How is he your little brother? He's ta-" I stopped there because of the glare I was getting and the fact Al wasn't here to help this time. "Anyway, how old are you guys?" I tried to change the topic to avoid giving my name.

"It's complicated, but I'm 12 and he's 11. Now, name?" Shit. Oh well.

"Lyra. Lyra Earl. I'm 13"

"Oh, so the same age as us about." He seemed pleased by that for some reason.

I remembered the sound his arm made when Kida bit him. "So what's wrong with your arm? It sounded like metal?"

He just stared for a few moments. After the awkward silence he let out a huge sigh and rolled up his sleeve. "I did a taboo for alchemists. This, my left leg, and Al's body were the price."

"Equivalent Exchange?" That could be the only reason. "Is that how you can use alchemy without a circle?" He nodded and I sat in silence for awhile thinking. I knew how that transmutation should work. Dad had a lot of books with the more forbidden alchemies and I had read all of them, I thought they were so fascinating. He had warned me again and again never to use anything i read, but he never actually stopped me either.

"What did you do?" I knew that this might not be the best question, but I was way too curious to resist.

"I tried a human transmutation." He looked at the ground. He seemed almost ashamed and regretful.

"Oh, um, can you tell me who? And how it panned out? I mean you must have seen the gate, what was it like to transmute that?"

"It doesn't matter. How do you know so much about alchemy? I thought you were just a thief." He had begun pacing the dining room, watching me suspiciously.

"My dad was an alchemist. He had all sorts of things. Books, diagrams, models. He had alchemy down to the last T. He just couldn't become a state alchemist for some reason though. It killed him in the end, he drank himself to death, in a way." I didn't know why it was so easy to talk to this boy. He wasn't willing to talk to me, why do I talk to him like this? "He was drunk one night at the bar and heard a few state alchemists talking about how they thought the exam was easy. It was too much for him to hear. He started a fight he couldn't win. They didn't even leave enough to bury."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Why aren't you with your mom?" He looked puzzled. Most people looked down on me for living the way I do, he seemed not to care. "Or some other family member. Why do you steal?" Okay nevermind, maybe he was curious...

"Mom...mom's gone too. She died giving birth to my little brother."

"You have a little brother?" He seemed surprised. Not as surprised as he was going to be though.
"No. Not anymore. Dad...he missed mom. A lot. He tried human transmutation and used my brother as equivalent exchange." It was terrible and I remembered almost every detail.

I was at school when he did it. I came home to see my dad crying in the living room holding something that looked like a half melted person. Both he and the thing were in the center of a transmutation circle. I was shocked, i knew exactly what he'd done, I looked and saw my little brother's baby blanket sitting near the circle. My stomach dropped and I turned and ran, leaving my dad to his evil construct. I didn't return until the next day. Even then it was hard to go home. I kept trying to say that I imagined the whole thing, I was only 7 years old, it was possible that I had just read too much from dad's books. I had slowly crept through the door to my house. Everything looked normal and even the living room seemed back in place. There were no traces that anything had happened. Hope surged in my chest, I began walking more confidently towards my dad's office in the back of the house. Nothing seemed odd on the way there but I held my breath as i neared the door. I knocked like he always requested i do. After a moment he told me I could go in. I asked where brother was and all he said was, " Oh honey, you know he died with your mother." and he turned back to his work. I was stunned by what he said. He really did try to bring mom back using baby brother... He had kept a journal of his scientific attempts. In it he explained all the outcomes. From my mother's transmutation he noted seeing a gate and that it gave him more knowledge, but that was all.

"-eeeeeeeey! Hello? Are you there? Lyra?" Ed was snapping his fingers in front of my face. I guess I zoned out.

"Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought for a little while there."

"No, it's okay, I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

I was about to say it wasn't a big deal, but I smelled the food as it was being carried in and lost my train of thought. All I knew then was my stomach was still growling and I wanted food. Ed and Al said something and then Nina responded but all I really noticed was how Al was cutting pieces of bread for all of us and Nina was filling plates with the freshly cut bread, meat slices, and pieces of apple. I had eaten two full plates of food before I could focus on anything anyone was saying.

"Wow, look big brothers! She really was hungry!" I still thought Nina was cute. She lived near me, maybe I could make a friend that will last for once.

"Yeah, I was..." I felt kinda guilty for ignoring them while I ate, but I couldn't help it.

"Don't worry about it, Ed gets that way too!" Alphonse, always the sweet one.

"Al, shut up. That doesn't matter to her. "

"I was just trying to make her feel better..." Alphonse looked as much like a kicked puppy as a suit of armor possible could. "So the exam is tomorrow right?"

"yeah, I have to be there really early. Hughes knows but he still wants to have a party tonight, so-" just then the door to the dining room swung open and a taller, brown haired man walked in, his face in a notebook.

"Papa! Look, I made a new friend!" So this man is the owner of the house.

"Oh really, that's very nice." He seemed not to care and just kept walking until he got to the doorway that led off to another hall of the house. There he stopped, closed his notebook and turned around to face the table. "I'm sorry, that was terribly rude of me. My name is Shou Tucker. And who might you be?"

"I'm Lyra Earl." He was giving me a weird look. It was like he was examining me as he would a specimen in a lab.

"Oh, I think I knew your father," I stiffened when he said this, "He was a good man. It's a shame those alchemists were so violent with the poor man. His persistence was inspirational."

"Thank you." something about this man was off. I couldn't figure out what, but this man made me uncomfortable.

"So what do you do? I heard your mother had already passed away as well?" His curiosity kept me on edge.

"I live on my own. I can manage. Neither of my parents had siblings." A light seemed to appear in his eyes when i said this. It made me nervous. "I think I should go, I have other things I have to get done today."

"Awww, you can't stay and play with me? Big brothers are always studying." Nina pouted and ran to Kida to cuddle him. "Where did you get your doggie?"

"Kida?" His ears perked as I said his name and Nina nodded emphatically in answer to my question. "I got him from a box in the street. He was a homeless puppy, so I decided he could be with me. That was back before dad died. Dad didn't like him much, but I kept him anyway." He huffed and carefully stood up, being sure not to drop Nina on the floor.

"You sure you gotta leave? What do you have to do?" Dammit Ed, leave it be.

"I have to go meet someone." Well it was sorta true... "It was nice to meet you all. I'll be going now." I turned and rushed out before anyone could say anything else, I was relieved to get away from that Tucker guy.

"C'mon Kida, let's get home!" I broke out in a sprint with Kida keeping near my heels and allowing me to lead. The Tucker estate was only a few blocks from my own abode so I was back home in no time. I went into my tent-like home and sat down. I began to think about the brothers and Nina. It was nice to have people that didn't look at me like I was some horrible creature. Then again, my hair was covered, I had even tied it well enough that it stayed when I ran from them. I wonder if they'd be so accepting of me if they knew that I was partially Ishbalan. My parents were lucky. They were both partially Ishbalan, but they didn't show it. It could have been worse, but it is a dead give away when my hair is seen. I sighed and laid down to rest.

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