Hey all! THIS STORY ISN'T DEAD HOW WONDERFUL :D
TW: Child abuse, wild animals (referenced), food, the same general Envy creepiness you should be expecting if you're actually on the third chapter of this story.
Part 3
It had started pissing down on the way to Dante's, and now there were heavy raindrops plunging straight through the little shelter the paltry canopy provided. It wasn't even a real forest, not this close to Dublith. Of course, it didn't stop the little shits from whinging and crying.
Envy knew he was being unreasonable. He hadn't done this from the start because he knew the kids probably couldn't handle it – but now they didn't have a choice. Besides, that stupid crying girl would have the hue and cry on him within the hour.
"Hurry up," he snarled. Al tripped over something in the underbrush, sprawling on the dirty ground with a sob. He'd been sniffling non-stop since they'd left downtown Dublith.
"I want to go to sleep," he murmured. Envy lifted his leg, ready to kick him, but instead he turned and slammed his foot against a tree, a few leaves spiralling down. Al shrank away anyway.
Envy gritted his teeth, closed his eyes. Breathe in. Breathe out. "You can sleep when we get there," he said, not opening his eyes. "It's not much farther."
He turned towards them, and plastered on a fake grin. "Come on."
Ed glared at him. Envy glared back, lifting his lip slightly to show off some sharp teeth. That got him moving.
Stupid brats. It's not like I enjoy being out in the rain in the middle of the night either. The only thing that gave him any real comfort was the knowledge that he was at the very least the second scariest thing out here. Besides, Dante's really wasn't much farther. He hadn't lied about that, at least. Although he was starting to wonder what 'far' meant to a five-year-old and if he hadn't overestimated them a little.
He didn't have to wonder long. "Ed! Uncle Will, please, help!" came Al's plaintive cry from behind him.
Envy didn't hesitate. He swiveled on his heel and leapt backwards, landing on the wet leaves and skidding a little. "What now –" He cut himself off. Ed was sprawled face-down on the ground, not responding to his brother's desperate attempts to rouse him. "What happened?"
"He – he – he just fell over!"
Envy dropped to his knees and grabbed Ed by the shoulders, rolling him over and propping him up against one of the trees. There were a few leaves stuck to his face and lips, and Envy pulled them away, satisfying himself in the process that the child was in fact breathing. "You can't even walk a few steps without passing out? The fuck do they even feed you these days?"
"We haven't eaten anything, Uncle," said Al quietly. "I'm hungry, and Ed's hungry, and we're tired, and it's cold, and I –"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'm a terrible fucking parent." Envy smacked Ed's cheek gently. "Hey. Beansprout. Wake up." He grabbed Ed's chin and shook it, trying not to use too much force – he wanted to wake the kid up, not tear his head off. That would be a pain to clean up.
Thankfully, the kid was starting to rouse. "Uh?" His eyes started to open. "…Dad?" he murmured.
The bottom dropped out of Envy's stomach. "Don't call me that!" he hissed, burying his hand in the five-year-old's short-cropped hair and yanking at it. "Got that?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I won't do it again – I'm sorry!" Ed flinched, squeezing his eyes shut again, and before Envy could react, Al had thrown himself between them, beating at Envy with his small fists.
"Leave him alone, leave 'im alone!" he was screaming. "He didn't mean to, leave him alone!"
Envy fell backwards, blinking in surprise. Al stood back, reaching behind him and grabbing Ed's hand protectively – and his overlarge shirt slipped to the side, revealing a very fresh, angry bruise.
Little brats, was his first thought. The second, though – They don't trust me. Which was fair – Envy had many skills, but charisma didn't rank high among them. That was proving to be a problem. If they didn't trust him, they wouldn't trust Dante, and he'd wake up tomorrow morning to find them headed back to Rizenbul. And you couldn't force somebody into a human transmutation, or beat them into making a Philosopher's Stone – you needed a carrot to go along with the stick. And they needed to be able to take you at your word.
"I'm sorry," he echoed back at them, trying not to cringe at the words. God, he felt like a fucking two-year-old learning etiquette. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
Al didn't look convinced, and neither did Ed, peering around his brother's arm.
"Tell you what." He settled more comfortably on the ground, taking some time to cross his legs in the unfamiliar body he wore. He'd probably sent off another shower of red sparks earlier – hopefully he could get that under control. Like hell you will, Envy, he snarled to himself. You've been working on that temper for a couple centuries now. "Let's sit down and talk for a little. That way you can both have a rest."
"Can we have some food?"
"Unfortunately I don't have any. That's why I've been so eager to get to where we're going." He was slipping back into the 'William' character. That was good. He just had to keep it up. He was a calm, reasonable adult – essentially a mythical figure in his experience, but they were kids, they were easy to fool. "But let's talk."
Al sat down carefully, not quite looking at him. Ed followed him, unwilling to let go of Al's hand. Then he said quietly, "You and D – the bastard didn't like each other very much at all, did you?"
"What tipped you off?" responded Envy sarcastically, then bit his tongue.
Ed actually seemed to like that, though. "I'm glad," he pronounced, confidence returning. "Mum kept telling us how awesome he was but I knew he was an asshole. I knew it."
"I'm not getting into it."
Al scowled, the expression not quite fitting his round face. "Why are you so mean?"
"Mean? Me?"
"You were awful to the lady! And you keep hitting me and brother and swearing, and I don't like it."
Envy bit his tongue a little harder, then swallowed the blood that filled his mouth. Calm, reasonable adult. "…I'm just, uh…" He sighed. "Fine. I promise not to touch you at all. Does that work?"
Ed and Al eyed each other, looking a little disappointed, but it seemed to work for them. Envy couldn't fathom why they didn't look happier. He'd promised not to hit them anymore, after all! He'd barely touched them even since they'd left Rizenbul, either – they were scared over remarkably little.
"We should get going. It –" He stopped, thinking it through. "… Are you going to pass out again if we walk any longer?"
Ed tried not to meet his eyes.
"Can you sleep outside?"
"I can try," mumbled Ed, and Al just nodded, probably unwilling to challenge Envy any more than he already had. Actually, Envy was kind of impressed – he hadn't thought the younger one had it in him.
"I'm going to go ahead and get some food."
The two of them looked horrified. "You're gonna leave us alone?" whispered Al with a panicked look on his face.
"….Yeah?"
"But what if something eats us?"
"Take a bite out of it first. It'll get the idea." Envy shrugged off the long trenchcoat he was wearing, dropping it over their heads. "This'll keep the rain off you. I won't be long, but get your sleep while you can."
"And you're sure there aren't any…like… wolves?"
"Or bears?"
"Or snakes?"
Envy snorted. "I never said anything like that. Just, you know, don't wander off. And don't make too much noise." Actually, the wildlife around here was pretty tame, but there was no harm in having a little fun.
He walked off into the forest, waiting until he was sure he was out of sight – then, with a groan of relief and a crackle of sparks, he shifted back into his preferred shape, shedding the form he hated so much and running his hands through his long hair. He took a deep breath, then sprang up into the trees, bounding from one branch to the next, trying not to think about the years yet to come.
He still had time to enjoy himself, after all.
