I apologise for any mistakes in this chapter. It's late, I've been up for almost a full day now, and I'm tired. I wanted to get this up for you guys, though. I hope you enjoy. See you in chapter five!Ironically, my internet died before I could post this last night. still holds, though, because I only have time to post it right now. No further editting is possible.
The remainder of the trip was absolute torture for Edward, who knew full well that if he even thought about causing any further trouble that the colonel would make good on his threat and attach his hands to the armrests. The man was, after all, not really any good with children. Instead, he settled for taking out a book and reading. There really was nothing else he could do, save perhaps sleep. He did a good deal of both in the end, and the colonel did lay off after awhile, letting him get up to go to the bathroom—fucking finally!—and to get some food.
Still, Ed did so hate sitting still.
Eventually, though, the train whistle blew, and the brakes clanged down, bringing the train to a long, slow stop at the Southern Briggs Train Station—damn clever name, wasn't it? Hah.
As the huge vehicle halted, passengers began getting up, more than a few of them piling on layers.
"Bundle up and let's get moving, Fullmetal. We have a ways to go, yet." Yeah, because he couldn't figure out from the twenty feet of snow outside that he needed to keep warm! Thanks. Really. That was so helpful, Mustang.
Perhaps he was still a little bitter over the whole being forced to behave for so long thing.
Yanking on his coat with a sullen glare, the teen pulled his mittens on with the same expression. At a glare from the colonel, however, he found himself stuck taking the mittens off again so that he could add an extra layer of socks, and then it was back to the mittens. At long last, however, they were able to get off the damn train. About freaking time, too! He really, really needed to stretch his legs.
His first thought as he stood there, in the entrance to the carriage, was that it was way too cold. The icy wind slapped him in the face, burning his cheeks and making his eyes sting painfully. Oh yeah, this was going to be an amazing trip. Only it so was not. He was from the south, dammit! South-east, even! Near a damn dessert! They had almost never gotten snow, and it never, ever got this cold. This was just plain unnatural. Not to mention the unnatural darkness that was prevailing over the late-October landscape. It was barely three in the afternoon, yet the sun was already most of the way down. He did not like it.
"Oh, cheer up, Ed. Look over there."
Ed was about to respond with some snippy remark or another when his eyes landed on what his officer was pointing to. Amber eyes widening, he could not help but grin a bit. There, just a few yards away, lay a real, honest-to-goodness dogsled team. The eight dogs were sprawled out in various positions of relaxation while a man, the teen assumed it was their owner, walked over and saluted.
"Colonel Mustang, I trust? The name's Sergeant Sherman Chaffee. I was told by Lieutenant Hawkeye t'wait for two. Is the Major comin' later?" the man asked, glancing behind Roy in a way they irked Edward to no end.
"No, you idiot! I'm the Major!"
"But you're just a kid..."
Fuming, the blond glared at the offensive man, already brewing up ideas on how best to flay him alive. Before he could act on any of them, however, Roy stepped in, the asshole actually having the nerve to pull him back.
"Calm down, Fullmetal," he ordered in no uncertain terms. "Yes, I am Colonel Roy Mustang, and this is the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric."
The sceptical look on the jerk's face made Ed's automail positively itch to wipe it off for him. Not that he would ever actually hit the guy, but thinking about it helped with the indignity of it all. Having his position doubted was up there with having his height mocked on the list of things he hated. Both of them were just positioned under milk. And shots.
"Well, if you have everythin' ya need, then shall we depart, Sirs?" Sure, he stopped acting sceptical when Mustang said who he was! Talk about insulting.
"Yes, that would be fine. Fullmetal?"
Snapping his gaze up, the teen nodded, grabbing his bags and following the guy back toward the sled. It was at about that moment that Edward realised what was happening. With a childish grin, he glanced up at his officer, annoyance dissipating in a flash.
"Hey, Colonel? Are we really travelling by dogsled?"
It was hard to miss the smile on Mustang's lips, no matter how he tried to hide it behind his collar, as he replied, "Do you see any other forms of transportation out here?"
Well, that was enough for Ed. Breaking into a trot, he started to hurry toward the dogs, only to have a heavy hand on his shoulder stop him dead.
"Oh no ya don't. Those are trained workin' dogs, and not pets. You try playin' with 'em and you're liable t'get your hand bitten off."
"Oh, and they can bite through metal, can they?" he shot back, baring part of his right forearm. Despite that, however, he complied, slowing his strides to match the paces of Mustang and the bearded sergeant.
"Hm...Fullmetal? So that's what it means."
Oh for crap's sake! For the ten-thousandth time, no that was not what it meant! Good grief, but did nobody know anything? Roy was not called 'Flame' because he was made of fire! Tucker had not been called 'Sewing-Life' because he was a doll, or something! So why the hell should be called 'Fullmetal' because of his automail? He wasn't even entirely made of metal!
"Actually, it's because of my talent with manipulating metals," he shot back with a smirk. "I'm pretty good at it, too."
"So I've heard."
"Shut up, Colonel Bastard."
"I'd really rather not."
"Would a fist in your face help with that?" Edward pointedly held up his automail arm.
"No, but it might get you singed a bit."
The poor Sergeant just looked amazed and horrified by the two's bickering. There was no real menace behind the words—at least, none that Roy or Ed would read into—but outsiders probably would not know this argument from two people screaming at one another on a street corner.
"U-uh, Sirs? Can I ask you to please stop arguing? You're going to upset the dogs." It was then that Ed noticed that most of the pack was on its feet, watching them warily. One of the leaders, a huge dog with a motley coat of white and grey, even had its hackles raised slightly in warning.
Striding over to them, Chaffee began working to calm the animals, signalling to Roy and Ed as he did so. "Just put your things in the sled and I'll strap them down. You two wait back there and I'll get you settled, too."
For a moment, Ed noticed that Mustang appeared to be ready to comply, only to pause and glance at Ed discretely. The blond did not miss it, however. Mustang was not so great.
"Sergeant? Would you...mind introducing us to the team?"
"Oh, don't worry. They've already picked up your scents. They won't attack ya unless you try t'hurt 'em."
"Not like that, I mean...they have names, right?" It was pretty clear that the all-powerful Flame Alchemist did not give a damn about the dogs. No, he was doing this for Ed, and for that, the blond had to be a tad bit...touched. Mustang might like dogs, but he would probably much rather be somewhere warm and comfortable, rather than worrying about learning the animals' names. Oh well, for once Ed was not going to complain. He had never seen a real sled team before. He was pretty interested.
"Oh...sure." Walking to the lead dogs, he pointed to the one that had been growling at them a moment before. "That's Dapple. She's the lead female an' that," he pointed to the dog beside her, a rough-looking animal with a grey coat, slashed by a strip of reddish brown down his back, "is her mate Hopper. They're my lead dogs an' the parents of the others."
"Their parents?" Ed asked before he could stop himself.
"Aye. In the wild, wolves typically pack together with relatives, with the parents leadin'. Settin' it up this way best mimics that, an' it makes trainin' 'em t'work t'gether a lot easier." Well, that made sense.
"Alright, back here we have my point dogs, Smoke an' Wind." Wind was an almost solidly white dog with just a hint of grey and black streaked through his coat. Smoke, on the other hand, was a solid grey. Unsurprising, considering his name. "Next up are my swing dogs, Sparks an' Twilight." Sparks was white with faint hints of grey in her fur, mixed in with a healthy dose of reddish brown. Unlike any of the other dogs, however, Twilight was mostly black, with a white and grey underbelly. He did not really look related to the others.
"Is he...?" Ed had to ask, pointing to Twilight. He knew some things about genetics, and that dog just...
"Twi? Nah, he's actually a surrogate puppy Dapple adopted when she was nursin' these guys. Since I needed anoth'r dog, I figured I'd let 'im hang around."
Surrogate puppy? "I...didn't know dogs did that." Actually, looking at Twilight, he almost looked like Den. You know, with much longer fur...and bigger.
Chaffee shrugged. "Sometimes, yeah. I mean, people do it, right? So why can't dogs, y'know?" Well, that actually made a great deal of sense. It was also a little heart-wrenching, he noticed as Twilight leaned over, nipping Sparks gently in the side. Family...was a wonderful thing. Perhaps blood relation really wasn't necessary...argh! No tangents! He needed to focus!
"Back here are my wheel dogs. Next to the leaders, they're the most important members of the team. If the sled gets stuck anywhere, it's up to Burn'n' Wildfire here t'get it out." Burn was a big dog with a mostly-red coat, mixed in with a faint streak of greys, black, and white. He also, Ed noticed, did not look overly friendly. If a dog could look thus. Next to him sat Wildfire, her also heavily-red coat similar to her brother's. She was also bigger than the others, just like Burn. Well, since they needed to pull the dead weight of the sleigh, Edward figured it made sense that they would be the biggest dogs. Well, the biggest besides Dapple, but she was one of the leaders.
"Alright, that's the whole team. You two ready?"
"Yes, thank you," Mustang answered before Ed could even think to. Yep, the old bastard just wanted to get on the road.
"Alrighty." Leading them to the back, Chaffee pointed to the sleigh. "Ya can place your things up 'ere, behind the brushbow." Tapping the curved, handle-like protrusion on the front of the sled, the sergeant opened up the tarp that covered the cargo bed. "They'll be kept dry in here."
As Mustang set to work putting their bags in place, Ed eyed the sled critically. "So...where do we sit?"
"I'll be sitting in the cargo bed, Fullmetal. You, on the other hand, will be chasing the sled."
"Wh-what?" Oh, hells no!
"Relax, Fullmetal. I'm only joking."
Ed bristled. "Yeah, because I'm supposed to believe you wouldn't actually make me chase the sled."
"Well, now that you mention it..."
"Jerk."
Poor Sergeant Chaffee clearly had no idea how to conduct himself when confronted with the famous Fullmetal versus Flame spats. "U-uh, you can both ride in the cargo bed. Colonel Mustang, Sir, if you'll just take a seat here, ya can lean back against the handle bars."
"Here?"
"Yes, that's fine. There's a pillow there that you can lean against. Now just stretch your legs out."
Edward did not like where this was going. There was no way in hell that there was going to be enough room for them both, unless...
"Major Elric? You can just sit in front of the Colonel." Oh hell no!
"I'd rather walk, thanks," he snapped.
"With all due respect, I—"
"—very well, Fullmetal. We'll meet you there. Sergeant?"
"Uh..."
"Wait, you bastard!" He might not want to do this, but Mustang really would leave him behind, and he did not fancy being stuck farther north than even North City while waiting for the ass to come back. Because small chance he would be getting home on his own from here.
As Ed climbed—reluctantly—into the sled bag, he did not spare his officer a glare.
"Look, Fullmetal, I don't want to do this either, but this is the only practical way to travel between the lines up here, so suck it up and get over it." Then Mustang dropped his tone to eliminate the risk of Chaffee overhearing. "And you could stand to be a little more polite. He's being taken well out of his way for this mission, too."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it," he muttered, sitting down and biting his own tongue as he forced himself to lean back against the royal pain in his rear. After a moment, he glared over at the poor sergeant.
"Hey, can't we just sit side-by-side, or something?"
"No can do. The sled's gotta be aerodynamic."
With a sigh, Ed sucked it up and settled down. Grabbing the blanket offered to them, he settled it over their legs.
"You two comferble?"
"We're as good as we can be, Sergeant."
"Alrighty," the bearded man replied, bending over to buckle the sled bag closed. "This'll keep ya dry an' warmer." With that, Chaffee moved ahead to shorten the dog's leashes, pulling them into position on the shanks. The gesture threw the dogs into a frenzy, the animals leaping in the harness and barking excitedly.
Edward could only watch in anticipation, his position of leaning back against a certain ass' chest practically forgotten, as he watched the dogs. They were clearly excited and more than a little revved to go. Hopper especially was jumping forward, living up to his name as he leapt forward against the confining harness. Dapple, however, was waiting patiently for the cue to start. Burn and Wildfire, too. The other four dogs, however, were bounding every bit as much as Hopper.
Twilight was standing up barking eagerly, leading an excited chorus of dogs. Burn joined in after a moment, leading Wildfire into that much, at least. Good thing they were not straining, though, because Ed had to wonder if the brakes would hold it those two threw their weight against them.
Yet still, Dapple sat quiet and patient through the whole thing, waiting on the cue to start. Well, Ed was definitely eager for them to start. He had...never done anything like this before. Riding cows at Millie's farm pretty much summed it up, in fact, that and riding in a horse-drawn carriage. So yeah, he was excited.
"You two ready?" the musher asked, walking back down the line and pausing beside his passengers for a moment.
"Yes, we're ready," Mustang replied.
"Yeah, so hurry up!"
"Fullmetal," came the warning hiss.
Ignoring Roy, the blond teen glanced back eagerly as Chaffee positioned his feet on the runners and grabbed the handle bar with one hand. "Whoa, Hopper! Whoa boys! Settle! Settle boys! Hopper!"
After a painfully long moment of waiting for the animals to settle, Chaffee released the brake. "Hopper, Dapple, hike! Hike!"
Edward could safely say that even the cold was forgotten as the sled ripped away, the canines quickly finding their stride as they galloped over the snow. This was...amazing! Even the cold air stinging his eyes was barely acknowledged as he found himself trying to take in everything at once, his senses overwhelmed by the sheer sensation of gliding over the snow. The silence of the lower foothills was broken by the sound of the runners crunching over the ice and the dogs' heavy panting as they pulled the weight along behind them. He could so get used to this.
"Having fun, Fullmetal?"
For once, Ed had no real desire to respond with a snide comment. That was probably helped along by the fact that Mustang was not being a giant asshole in the question. In fact, the colonel genuinely seemed to care about the answer.
"Yeah, this is pretty awesome."
"How're you handling the cold?"
"I'm fine."
"Just thought I'd give you fair warning that it's only going to get worse from here. The further north we go, the colder it gets." Lovely. Still, once he had had a few minutes to get used to the cold, he was handling it okay, so he could...do colder. Really. The easy acclimation to the cold was definitely not because of the blankets...and Mustang behind him, either. He could so do colder.
"Yeah, well, we don't all have to be fire alchemists to keep warm."
"Ed."
"What?"
"I'm just trying to warn you. Keep bundled up, okay? My first time this far north I nearly ended up with hypothermia because I didn't. Believe me, it wasn't fun."
Edward sighed. Honestly, one second this guy was a total dick, and now he was actually being decent? Mixed signals much. Though, really, the asshole side of this guy was easier to deal with.
"Fine, fine. I'll dress like a yeti. Happy?"
"See that you do, or else I'll do it for you."
"Have I ever told you I hate you?"
"Maybe once or twice." He might not be able to see Roy's face, but he could sense the smirk there. It probably mirrored his own perfectly.
Roy could tell that his subordinate was enjoying himself, and if he was totally honest? So was he. He had been to Briggs before, but never by dogsled, that was for sure. It was also good to see that the boy had settled down and was just acting like a kid for a bit—but not the bad sort of kid that he often was. Just...a kid, fascinated by life and all of its offerings.
The boy was watching the darkened scenery zip past them with a childlike glee that he would probably be embarrassed about if he realised he was wearing it all over his face, a face that was in clear view whenever the boy turned his head to look around, which was often. Even in the dim lighting of the sled's lantern, Ed's excitement was clear. The image was enough to draw a soft, almost secretive, grin from Roy.
"I bet Al would have loved this." At the boy's sudden words, the dark-haired colonel could only shrug.
"Still, it is probably for the best that he didn't come."
"Yeah, yeah. Because he wouldn't have fit, right?"
"Well, we could have used him for the sled," Roy baited.
"Colonel!" Ed replied, predictably indignant.
"Relax, Ed, I'm only joking."
"Joking about using my brother for a sled is not funny, jerk."
"You know I'd never really do it, Edward."
"Still..."
"You miss him?" Roy asked finally, dropping his tone from teasing to serious.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm not used to being away from him."
"He'll be fine, Ed."
"I know. He's tough. I bet Winry and Aunt Pinako are happy to have him home for a bit, too."
"Exactly, Fullmetal. Think about how selfish you've been, hogging him to yourself all this time."
Ed snorted. "In that case, aren't you being selfish for hogging me?"
"Hardly. I'd call it 'saintly,'" Roy gloated.
"And I'd call you delusional."
"How so? I'm saving everyone else from you, aren't I? I'd say I'm doing the country a favour."
"In that case, so am I."
"By heading away from civilisation? How thoughtful, Fullmetal."
"Ass. You know what I mean," the kid growled, though the words held no real bite to them.
"I'm afraid I don't. Care to elaborate?"
Ed's reply was cut off when a massive yawn cracked the boy's jaws. Oh yes, Ed's infamous sleeping tendencies. Of course the boy was tired already.
"Do you need me to put you down for your nap, Fullmetal?"
"Knock it off...what the hell time is it, anyway? It's too damn hard to tell; always so dark up here," the kid huffed.
"You know, the pocket watch actually does function as a watch."
"Yeah, I'll just teleport it out here. Gimme a sec."
"Exactly, Fullmetal. I have no more access to mine than you do yours." Granted, they could probably both get them out...but it would require entirely too much digging through blankets and clothing to be any kind of practical.
"Yeah, but aren't you the person who's supposed to know everything?"
"My apologies. I thought that was you." Yes, bantering with this kid was pretty much the (only) highlight of this trip. And now that the kid was finally resigning himself to the inspection, it seemed that Ed was letting up on the genuine anger and falling more into a role of playful bickering.
"Very funny."
"I thought so."
Ed's reply was once again cut off by a yawn. Smiling fondly—only because the boy could not see it—Roy gently prodded the boy's side beneath the tarp covering them. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we get to camp."
For a moment, it seemed as though Ed would object, but then the blond nodded, settling down and closing his eyes.
"...just no funny business while I'm asleep."
"Of course. I'll be sure to draw all over your face."
"Bastard." The tone held no menace, however, and it was not long before the teen was asleep, leaving Roy alone with his thoughts.
"Colonel?"
Right. Can't forget about him.
"Yes, Sergeant?"
"We should be arriving in about an hour." Well, apparently he had been listening, but unwilling to interrupt his superiors. Though thinking of Edward as anyone's superior was...weird. He was just a kid, no matter his rank.
Nodding, Roy replied, "Okay. I think I'm going to catch some sleep myself. Believe it or not, travelling with Fullmetal's not all that restful."
"Of course, Sir. I'll wake ya when we arrive."
"Very good, Chaffee."
Settling back, Roy let his eyes start to drift closed, warm despite the cold air stinging his cheeks. After a moment, he wiggled one arm free and pulled it higher up to protect his face more from the wind.
Before letting himself sleep, the Flame Alchemist glanced down at the mop of golden hair resting against his chest. It was an awkward situation for them both, to be sure, but at least Fullmetal was no longer whining about it. After all, it was highly unlikely that either of them was enjoying being in physical contact for an extended period of time, so they both just needed to suck it up, because this was going to be how things went for them for the next couple of weeks.
Regardless, now was as good a time as any to stop and get some sleep for a bit before they got to camp. So he did just that, letting dark eyes drift closed.
The next thing Roy knew, he was jolted awake as they trotted into camp, the dogs panting hard from the trip. Blinking sleep from his eyes quickly, the young colonel was already moving as the runners fell silent with halted movement.
"There's a tent already prepared for you an' the major over there," Chaffee informed him, indicating a white mound not too far away.
Roy nodded, slipping out from beneath the sleeping teen. Giving the sergeant a hand with their bags, he quickly transferred them to the tent, unrolling both bedrolls in a hurry. He hated wandering around in the late night cold like this, so the sooner this was done, the better. He also just did not have the heart to awaken Ed. First off, the boy would undoubtedly be cranky, and secondly...he just looked so peaceful like that. That was a rare enough image without destroying it.
Besides, he was just a kid.
With their things set aside and the flap of Ed's sleeping bag thrown back, Roy moved to retrieve the boy. He paused for a moment, watching as the bearded man unharnessed the dogs for a moment before asking, "Will we be leaving in the morning?"
"Nah, it's probably better to wait until daylight. Ya two can have brekkfist with the rest o' the crew."
Roy nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Sergeant."
"My pleasure, Sir."
Returning the man's salute, Roy finally picked the sleeping teen up from his warm nest in the sleigh. He could not stop a slight grunt from the unexpected weight as he lifted the boy, amazed at just how heavy the automail was. And this was the lighter stuff? Dear gosh, but it was no wonder the kid was so short—you know, aside from that being a biological misconception. Ed ate enough to compensate for the added weight and still grow to his full capacity. On that note, the kid had nothing to blame his height on but genetics. Which seemed odd...but whatever. Roy did not know of anything else that could be causing it.
Setting the boy down carefully on the cot he had been given, Roy quickly stripped him of his boots and outer wear before tucking him in.
"Damn brat," he muttered mostly to himself. "Can't even put yourself to bed..." Though Roy did not mind as much as he could have. Still, he also did not enjoy doing this. He wanted to get himself to bed, too.
"Colonel, I know it's late, but if you wanted something to eat..." Chaffee muttered, sticking his head into the tent.
"That will be fine, Chaffee. Fullmetal and I ate on the train."
"Are you sure, Sir?"
"Yes, thank you. Breakfast will suffice."
"Okay, Sir. See you in the morning."
Finally left alone, Roy shed his own boots, mittens, hat, scarf, and jacket, collapsing into his own bed tiredly. He was going to enjoy sleeping not in his outdoor clothing while he could, because it was only going to get colder from here on. It was not long before he was dead to the world again.