-break-
He felt something.. The barest of tickles deep in his chest, and frowned. Then slowly closed the tome before him as he glanced around the place, dark golden eyes hidden behind his side-swept bangs.
He saw only piles upon piles of books, laying stacked just as they had been for hours.
He gripped the handles of his leg braces a bit tighter than necessary as he rose from the table, and with a wide friendly smile directed towards the bored-looking clerk at the counter, lumbered past.
Dust clogged every available space, drifting through the air, even settled thick and well between the tomes on the shelves. As he staggered his way to the back of the place, he glimpsed a flash of gold up on a high dusty shelf and found himself glad he had chopped his own long dark golden locks off about a week prior. He found it much more comfortable in the hot old dusty rooms the frequented without that extra layer clumping against his neck.
"Broth..?" Alphonse began, then let the air out of Amestrian word before he completed it.
They were, afterall, in a BOOKSTORE. He well knew that nothing, not even an nearby explosion, would likely break his brother's focus if he happened to be immersed within the pages of a book. To his surprise, however, a pair of golden orbs peeked over the wooden edge.
"Yeah, Al?" Ed replied in Amestrian. He saw that Ed was looking over the edge of an open book. That told Al Ed had felt something, too.
Al tried his best not to let his worry show on his far too expressive face, and knew he was failing horribly at the task.
Wordlessly, Ed slipped down the bookshelf, and slipped on his long coat. With a bright, though entirely fake smile as he looked at him, Ed managed a happy sounding voice and spoke in the language of this land called something like 'Jerm - many'.
"Hungry already, huh?"
Al knew the words were too carefully chosen, and fell into a shambling pace behind his brother as the seventeen year old led the way out. The golden eyes hardened as Ed examined at the clerk as they went past, and Al tried a friendly wave as he went by as an apology before the poor girl had her back against the shelves in alarm from the too piercing gaze.
On the sidewalk outside, Ed continued his rude behavior, adding a severe frown to his face as he went. Then, he scowled. With a tiny glance that told Al all on his mind, Ed turned.
In many ways, in was very like an Alchemy problem. Ed was the genius of them both, and, like now, Al was always, and quite naturally, just a bit behind him. Shambling along at the silently requested respectable distance, Al tried his best to pick out from the scant clues what Ed somehow just knew already.
An array, from the faint tickle, must somehow be involved. But to be on such high alert?
Ed had explained to him that Alchemy didn't quite work here. He hadn't actually tried any Alchemy since he had arrived to truly test the hypothesis for himself, as he had been recovering, slowly developing a firmer sense of his physical self. Somehow that very sense was shattered when he was struck by that green flash of light...
It was quite a hazy memory.. But it was there...the light flashing from a stick of all things.
Determining stick-based Alchemy was involved, Al searched hopefully about for the slight objects, but suspected it would be much like trying to pick out a sniper like Hawkeye from a crowd: a near impossiblity indeed. With that thought, it occured to him that the only remaining option was..
There was a cry.. A jet of red light from a pointy stick. It registered in his mind that Ed flowed gracefully into motion. He watched in horrified facination as the jet bounced harmlessly off Ed's right forearm, shredding his entire sleeve to nothing before it shot back to where it came from.
The ground shook, as, down the street behind them, an deafening boom rocked them all. Al ducked his head down instictively and gripped his braces for the balance he needed. Newly emerging physical instinct forced him to close his eyes for but a split second, which he knew- just knew- was a deadly mistake.
He cracked his dark golden eyes open and saw a dark haired male in strange clothes laying on the sidewalk- entire body smoking; The jet of light must have struck him solidly. Al heard the muffled cry of pain and yards away something, - another person!- dressed much the same as the first with drifts of thick dark smoke rising from his shoulders, back, and.. shimmered into view. This one fell limply to the ground before him. He wondered what had happened to make him..
He looked behind him, saw smoke and flame engulfing the cobblestone street, blanketing the quaint peaceful shops of the town in shadow. Shimmering above that..in the sky like a firework, a sparking skull with a snake spilling from its mouth.
A startling cold hand gripped his bare bicept. Al froze a moment -a result of having to think to move even after but a few months. He gazed stupidly at the shining mechanical thing, noticing it was lightly covered in soot, then it dawned in his mind that it was his brother's arm. The very right arm that had just deflected at least one jet of the strange stick-Alchemy from the bookstore they had just exited.
He heard the muffled pounding feet in every direction around them. Paniced cries and screams filled his ringing ears. A vague memory of dry gritty winds arouse dangerously in his mind, and he stared sightlessly at his brother's orbs when his chin was gently cupped in the warm flesh of Ed's living hand.
"Come on.. Keep moving." Ed growled in Amestrain. "Have to keep moving.."
Logically, it was the only option left them. They had to be very bad. Uncooperative. Moving targets.
Like always.