Quietly and into the night, the methodical and repeated bumps of train tracks slowly lulled Alphonse to sleep. Serene and peaceful, the moderately decorated coach car they were traveling in felt like a small home away from home at this point. His eyes dozed softly while the soft light of the moon glanced over his face and illuminated him to Violet's view. As he dozed, his calm and tranquil demeanor remained, into the night as Violet kept her usual, rigorous vigil.
Still trained as a soldier, still acting as she had in the rigorous warzones and battles of the military she restrained herself from sleep. Keeping her leather wrapped and silvered arms crossed, she remained attentive, but observant. The views were absolutely breathtaking, going through the moonlit landscape of Amestris. The night sky, vibrant and stunning as the moon slowly passed overhead and the stars became visible. The arid prairie floor had little detail, but a soft pale-blue light illuminated a field to their south.
Violet turned her head, looking out into this field and thought back, recalling a faint glimpse of a memory, of a day not unlike this. Her fingers gripped tighter, clasping herself as she took the moment, and recalled the face of a man most dear to her. The moonlight, striking against his cheeks and illuminating him only slightly, she could almost remember every detail of his striking appearance. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her hand to imagine him there, standing before her.
Within that one calm and serene instant, her mind allowed her to visualize and see him standing there. Her eyes closed tight, his auburn hair turned black by the pale light but his eyes piercing as she imagined them staring right into her. Clutching with her left hand, the metallic fingers wrapping around the Emerald brooch she wore on her neck. The memory, as powerful as ever, brought her a single tear as she imagined in that moment being able to take control of her younger self and reach for his face and to feel her fingers touch him before it was over.
Alphonse had started to stir and rouse, the bumping of the car jostling him awake slowly and he looked up quietly. Observing Violet, he saw her sitting and mimicking this action and looked at her with a big of fascination. Until now he had never seen her do anything out of the normal behaviors. With a glance he saw the tear forming in the side over her eyes as she continued pantomiming in the air with her hand held high and her face smiling despite the tear she began to shed.
Without a sound or a wasted movement, her face turned sour and her lips turned down letting a frown creep across her normally stoic and reserved features. The icy exterior Al had come to know as her normal persona finally broken in this one moment as he watched her hands reaching forward to an unknown goal. Only the moonlight to show him the scene, her hand was cupped, fingers stretched and hand outreached, almost like she was looking to grab something. Or Someone.
Not wanting to disturb her he sat in silence and kept his body motionless as she slowly returned her hands to her lap and her face, less contorted fell back into its normal doll-like appearance. A single tear shed, continued down her cheek and rolled to the tip of her chin and fell slowly like a small fragile gemstone. Without anyone to catch it, shattering upon her dress and for the briefest of moments staining the fabric dark in a unique pattern all on its own. Her hands collapsed back into one another to return to her seated position she preferred whenever not using them and for a brief moment to Al, the moonlight made her appear almost motionless and still.
Her frame and face, cool blue and with the appearance of frosted glass with the window cast across her gave the uncanny appearance of a china doll painted to perfection but cracked and broken.
For the first time in a long time, Al thought back to his own youth growing up, and without her ever saying anything, she made him really think about some of the pain that as a suit of armor he had endured night after night. Cold, alone and isolated with his thoughts countless times through their travels he had sat up keeping watch for his brother. The moonlight had become nothing more than another light source to him over his many years traveling and the loneliness that came with having been bonded to the armor suit had left him uneasy at nighttime.
The pair continued to sit with Violet unaware of being observed she slowly let her head drag and the memory of her beloved let her finally see comfort. Her arms tugged at her heavily as she gave into its pull and slumped to one side, resting her head on the red velvet cushion of her chair.
Al closed his eyes and letting himself think for a moment before falling back to sleep of his brother and Winry, their faces both passing in his memory before he let his mind drift away again and relax in the moonlight of the night as they continued their ride southward.
Just a few hours were able to pass, neither of them waking until their destination was nearly reached and the morning sun just beginning to peak out over the valleys and arid desert near their location. Violet was first to awake, the bright streaks of crimson sunlight shooting into the car and dazzling her awake. Sitting calmly in the train she stirred in her seat and let herself wake and relax, slowly taking in the gorgeous desert landscape.
Every day was a new location recently in her trip to Amestris and in only such a short period of time she had already been to the most beautiful locations she could have ever imagined. Her blue eyes cast upward as she stared into the distance, the rolling rocky hills surrounding them as they began to dive deep into the caverns and valleys of Rush Valley.
Remembering her earlier discussion with Alphonse on the train, she reached down and unbuckled one of the side compartments to check its contents. Making sure everything was secure, her fingers slipped in to count 2 small letters stashed in the small pocket as she refastened the buckle overtop of the pocket. The leather satchel on the side tight, she looked again out the window and watched the station pull around them, engulfing the train and presenting a narrow view of the station.
Among her observations Violet had missed any sighting of a civilization around the town, the station itself being somewhat of a surprise as they pulled in and the scenery changed from the vibrant rocky colors to a much more vibrant set of posters and advertisements in a moment as they finally came to their resting spot on the tracks.
Standing alongside her guide, Alphonse guided her, both wordlessly leaving the train and for a moment, being blinded by the bright sun as they stepped from the luxury of the transit train and out onto the pad. Looking back and forth, aside from some of the simple accommodations at the station itself, she could hardly say that there was anything more here than a simple station in the middle of a rocky desert. Violet looked the length of the station and could see out some of the windows, deep into the rocky terrain which was marred with crags and valleys as far as the eye could see.
"Sir Alphonse, is there not a town or village here?" She asked, walking the length of the train and curiously looking past the barrier deep into the wastelands that surrounded Rush Valley. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she was quite certain they were to meet someone here, but aside from the posters and a few people that had gotten off the train, it seemed fairly devoid of inhabitants from the look of the landscape she'd observed. When pulling into the station, it wasn't even clear that they were anywhere of importance, like Resembool except much more barren and inhospitably appearance.
Al chuckled for a few moments, waiting for the train to start its departure from the landing before directing her to the train itself.
"Maybe we should have gotten off on the other side of the train if that's what you are looking for." Al offered up, smiling as he led her across the landing to the other side of the tracks. What appeared to be nothing more than a few sets of doors with no windows and a very in descript wall offered no such help to Violet, who had expected more of the Auto-mailer's Heaven as she'd heard some people describe it on the train during their ride. Inclined to investigate further however she pressed on to the doors and let an almost childlike curiosity overtake her as she walked closer and closer to the heavy metal doors.
Emblazoned on them were carvings and depictions of the Amestrian people, various carvings depicting the capital, and a beautifully inlaid map of Rush valley all forged into the facing of the door itself. Etched into the door just below, a sign read to her "Welcome to Rush Valley" in bolded and frosty lettering, beautifully printed into the sheen of the metal. The craftsmanship alone was gorgeous and the details she observed in the carvings were so lifelike, it was almost like looking at the town itself.
"Is this where we are going, Alphonse?" Violet asked eagerly, a smile pricking from her doll-like appearance as she looked up to him for a response.
"No." He replied with a bemused tone. Pushing on the door and opening it to reveal the town, almost exact to the image on the door, just beyond. Rush Valley lay before her, and the bright and vibrant town exploded ahead of her as if the image carved into the door had just come to life. Each building, monument and feature carved perfectly so that the doors opened to the same scene but colored beautifully by the life and efforts of the townspeople who lived there. Spanning as far as she could see, the stark contrast of the buildings backed up to the cliffs of solid rocks divided the desert perfectly, creating an avenue nestled in the crags and expanding far beyond where you could see.
With a renewed and almost immediate gasp Violet walked forward a few steps and just looked in awe. In all her years, she'd seen many constructions of large size and scale that dotted the landscape of Leiden but never such an array and palate of bright colors that were used. The beauty of the rustic looking village of works man revealed much of their pride and exuberance and was only matched by the brightly sparkling wares and reflections off the many pieces of beautiful Automail and shop windows sparkling through the distance.
Alphonse stepped down from the door and walked a few steps in front of Violet who continued to take in some of the sights and the beauty of the village.
"Me and brother, we spent some time here during our travels." Al states, looking to the side of the station and watching the train chug along and disappear into the hills that flanked the valley.
"It's gorgeous." Violet finally was able to say, taking a step or two down and beginning to Follow him. The town's welcoming center and message board greeting them with another array of posters, layers upon layers of papers plastered across it and messages advertising Auto-mail upgrades and installations by a variety of dealers promising high quality parts. Al walked forward toward it and pointed up to a poster near the center, unpinning it and taking it down. Violet followed with her eyes but couldn't read it before he took it down and brought it to her.
"Atelier-Rockbell Auto-Mail. Sound familiar?" He asked, handing her the flyer and grinning heartily as Violet took the paper and read it over. Seeing the beautiful depictions of the Auto-mail that were created for the shop and drafted across the paper was striking. The artisan and mechanic listed was someone named Winry, Winry Rockbell.
"Yes, is that not Mrs. Pinako's daughter?" Violet asked, handing the flyer back to him and looking at some of the others plastered to the board.
"Well, her grand-daughter." Al said with a half sigh, looking at the paper himself and getting the directions to her shop. "It'll be good to see her again! Granny gave me something to give her once we find her shop here." Al pointed on the map at a small address in the far end of the valley where the Atelier-Rockbell Auto-Mail shop resided.
Violet was finally starting to acclimate to the environment, the busy bustle around the city center as shops all around them were just getting their wares set up and people seemed to be appearing from nowhere. Getting to the valley early in the morning had its perks and seeing the shops just starting to open their doors was a nice treat for Violet. Looking back to the board one more time, something caught her eye, in the bottom right hand corner a piece of paper stuck out with a strange symbol on it. Violet reached for it and pulled it out from under the mass of papers above it and traced it with her hands.
"Why does this say, 'Greed' on it?" She asked, looking at the paper. It held the sketched image of a strange man with very foreign features and odd clothing compared to those worn by other Amestrian's she had seen up until now. The paper also said something about a 'bounty' on it, but she couldn't make out some of the faded and distorted text written on the paper.
"Greed?" Al said with a curious pique of interest. Walking to her and looking at the paper he thought hard and remembered back to when they were first learning of the beings known as Homunculous. The picture brought back a very nervous feeling when staring at the face of a man they had followed through into the battles across Amestris. The sharp pointed teeth and odd facial features of the first incarnation of Greed were still preserved to this day on the paper and acted as an odd reminder of the past. Within moments Al was transported in his mind back inside his Armor Suit and he remembered everything they did chasing Greed up to his eventual demise at the hands of Wrath.
Al shuddered with a fear he hadn't remembered in some time. The memories he had of that time period were not pleasant most of the time, but that memory alone was the one he had tried for a long time to suppress. Stepping back and away from the information board he covered his face with his hands, trying to shield his face from Violet.
Unaware of his actions, she posted the paper back on the board. Little more than just curious, she looked back and was about to speak when she noticed she was alone. Looking back and forth, scanning behind her and around the board she could not seem to locate Alphonse. Confused, she started to walk around the information board and the area searching for her companion. He couldn't have gotten far in the short time she was looking at the board, but she was more concerned as to why he had taken off unannounced the way he did in the first place. "Was something the matter with that poster?" she thought to herself as she rounded the corner of the train station.
She looked curiously down towards the platform and could see no human beings, no persons of any kind near the side closest to where they were standing previously. Standing at the corner of the building she surveyed around looking for his brown blazer jacket or his bright blonde hair but not seeing as much as a glimpse yet. Focusing her attention, she scanned parts of the crowd that she had the ability to observe, her blue eyes searching fervently for any trace of the companion she had now been left without.
Suddenly stricken with a wicked fear, her arms fell, and she let the box she carried dangle from her arms. Heart heavy and head hung low, the city immediately felt much less inviting and a surge of isolation and loneliness swept over her. In a crowd of people, she had become abandoned and alone far from home and anyone she could reach out to for help.
Alphonse hadn't said a word or even made a motion. He had simply disappeared almost as if he wasn't even there to begin with. Choking back a bit of pain and swallowing to clear her throat, she raised her chin again.
No.
There had to be a reason why he'd left, and Violet refused to belief the pain in her heart gripping her like an icy hand. She couldn't doubt him now after the past few days and their travels together. Something had caused him to leave or sprint away and leave her there and holding that against him wouldn't help.
Steeling her own heart, she lifted her gaze and breathed deep, her metallic fingers clutching tight to the case again and renewing her vigor.
"Winry Rockbell." She said to herself, looking out towards the long stretch of town. Maybe he slipped off on his own and she could find him there with any luck or at least find help. Taking a few steps up to the information board again, she pulled the paper from the board and looked at the map one more time, tracing the path with her leather gloved finger so she could recall it all from memory.
Her trek was short, walking between multiple stalls and various shop areas. Each one seemed to have its own charm, with many of the vendors or shopkeepers either standing outside and boisterous advertising their wares with great loud speaking voices. Several of them were shouting at each other and comparing their wares right there in the streets while holding and showing off various metallic body augmentation and replacement Auto-Mails for others to see the competition.
The city itself was quite spirited, and the hustle and bustle were impressive. Violet would have been more apt to search around had she not already been deprived her guide and companion for the journey already. Pressing forward, keeping her steely blue eyes locked in the shadows and continuously scanning for any hit of Alphonse that she could find.
By the time she had reached the other end of the strip of shops she had become disheartened in her search. The countless people she bumped past looked nothing like him. In fact, it was quite odd that there weren't many people here who had features like Alphonse did and he should stick out quite well like a ripe strawberry in a patch of new blossoms. Many of the townspeople had brown or grey hair and some of them had a deeply crimson eye color. Very few she observed had golden hair like his, and this rarity caused her to focus on looking for him in this manner yet still produced no results.
Standing still at the door of a shop her feet came together beneath her blue dress.
"Atelier-Rockbell Auto-Mail." She mouthed to herself as she stood under the large sign, adorned with wrenches and other symbols of craft that were put onto the sign. Her hand shook as she used it to reach forward and grasp at the handle of the door. Cautiously and hopefully she tossed the door forward, letting it hit with a fairly significant *BANG!* as it smacked against the door stop. She did this so carelessly it shook the wall and scared the shop keep who jumped from behind the counter.
A middle aged and dark-haired man looked at her, putting his hand behind his head and coming from behind the counter.
"My goodness, I know my door can stick!" He cried, coming to the front and presenting himself. Stocky and strong in build the man had an interesting demeanor to Violet who could only presume the man was in charge at the moment.
"I do apologize." Violet said courteously.
"Don't worry about it dear, that's no problem for a sweetie like you!" The man replied, giving a big and hearty grin to her as he rubbed his hands over his scalp. His appearance was similar to that of a blacksmith or armorer as she had seen but his face was covered in Make-up, almost like a theater actor would do. This slightly perplexed Violet, as in Leiden no men would ever wear such garnishments on their face unless performing on a stage. Violet's instant reaction to his odd charm over the door made her felt slightly more at ease however, as she walked into the store and closed the door behind her.
"My name is Violet Evergarden. I have come looking for a Miss Winry?" She asked, not sure if Winry was the person before her or not at this point.
"Oh my, you're A little early. That girl is still out looking for parts at this hour! I'm Garfiel however, and you are just a doll there, Look at you in that gorgeous dress!" The man put out a slight bow or was it a different gesture. Violet did not know, but she was slightly dismayed at herself for arriving when Winry was not there.
"Would you tell me when Winry will be back, there is something urgent I must speak to her about!" Violet spoke with a sense of urgency. Keeping her tone confident as she held her case firmly in her hand, eyes staring up at the man. Her concern for Alphonse was growing since he did not appear to be here, and her search was going to continue.
"Well I don't really know when she'll be back, that girl loves the markets when they open. She just brings back some of the most amazing finds, a real mechanic she's become!" Garfiel continued to gush over Winry with praises but this only sought to aggravate Violet in her current condition. While normally this would be appropriate, with her mind currently focused on finding her guide it was not helpful to her.
"Would you mind if I waited then, Sir?" She asked politely. Her gaze fell some and her frown deepened. Garfiel turned to her, and with a look of confusion pointed to a guest area of the shop.
"Sure, help yourself, normally clients will wait here but I'm sure we can make an exception for you dear." He said with a note of concern in his voice. "Why are you looking for Winry if I may ask? You aren't a client of hers I don't know about, are you? Someone on the side she doesn't want to bring to the shop?" He inquired, his more chipper attitude returning and a playful tone inhabiting his voice as he prodded her for information. Raising his hands to his head he stroked through his hair a few times, smoothing the glossy mat down again and fixing its appearance slightly.
"No, I am not a client. I will need someone to maintenance my arms at some point while I am here but that is not my reason for coming." Violet replied, distressed when turning away and walking to sit.
Garfiel stayed out from behind the desk, the poor young lady looking like a fine woman, but so upset, it made him feel odd. With his face A little contorted, he walked with her and escorted Violet to the sitting area where she laid her case down and sat, smoothing out her large blue dress around the chair and crossing her hands. Now that she had mentioned it, it was the first time he noticed her gloved hands, and the slight hint of metallic compounds under the hem of the leather.
"Why are you looking for my apprentice then?" He asked directly.
Violet looked down and gritted her teeth a moment, then looking up with a direct stare, finding his eyes with the concerned look she walked into the shop with and quietly took a breath.
"I came here with a friend, and he told me about this place. We got separate so I came here first." She said, still unsure of what to really do or say. She didn't know who Garfiel was and wasn't about to start trusting him yet.
"A friend you say?" Garfiel repeated, a confusion striking him as he crossed his arms over one another and started playing with a lock of solid black hair, twisting it with his fingers like playing with a small string toy. "There are certainly a lot of people who would recommend us but she never mentioned anyone stopping by the shop today." He prattled off, staring off at the ceiling for a few moments and getting lost in thought.
"We weren't coming here announced, I apologize for the intrusion but I need help to find him. We came here together and were separated a bit ago in the valley before I came here." Violet finally explained, clenching her mechanical fingers in frustration. Her fear of the situation was starting to take over, and she didn't know where else to turn. If Winry wasn't here, she needed to not waste time further, and Garfiel at least appeared nice enough. Maybe she could learn something from him?
"Who was your friend dear? No-one else has been to the shop this morning since we just opened the doors." Her host finally asked, shaking his head out of thought and returning to reality.
With a soft and quiet reply, Violet mouthed "Alphonse Elric."
With an elated and ecstatic face, Garfiel instantly became all smiles. "Ohhhh! You're here with one of the Elric brothers! Why didn't he call first, he's always one to be welcome here! Oh the dear he's such a dashing boy now that he's not in that suit! Why didn't you say so, Come now dear, we can host you be…" And Garfiel stopped, his elated and exuberant behavior halting when realizing that she was alone.
Violet watched and was stricken with a sort of dread when Garfiel's face twitched the expression he cast down on her was one of concerned panic now. Starting to realize that the situation was a bit more complicated than was initially let on Violet kept her gaze down and avoiding his.
"Where is our dear Alphonse?" Garfiel finally asked, a bit of weight in his words as the concern now voicing itself clear and cutting through all of the enthusiasm from his earlier comments.
"I… I don't know." Violet stammered out.
Garfiel knitted his brow, pacing back to the back of the shop and throwing up his arms as he paced back and left sight momentarily. Violet considered just running out of the shop and leaving since she was so out of place and vulnerable. Before she could make a motion Garfiel returned.
"Let's go dear, we have us a strong young man to find!" Exuberance returned and Garfiel's seemingly natural persona shining through once again actually cut through Violet's depression and anxiety over the situation and her separation from Alphonse.
She could only nod in response, smiling at the kind help of this person who seems to know the Elrics. Standing, she grabbed hold of the typewriter case and stood accidentally dropping a paper from her hand she had forgot she was holding. The paper fluttered to the ground after swaying in the air a few times and Garfiel picked it up.
"Oh, I remember this menace!" Garfiel exclaimed. "This was all over every billboard for weeks! This rotten old scoundrel!" Continuing to rant out at the sight of the Wanted Poster that Violet had still been carrying with her.
"I had found that right before Sir Alphonse disappeared." She volunteered. Motioning forward and slowly shifting her legs around she stood before Garfiel while the man paced and studied the paper.
"I seem to recall something about Al and Ed having to deal with this one… Yes, they definitely have some kind of history! And that other one, Scar. Now that man is a true and reformed person, he is just the most handsome Ishvalan ever!" Gushing again over
"I seem to recall something about Al and Ed having to deal with this one… Yes, they definitely have some kind of history! And that other one, Scar. Now that man is a true and reformed person, he is just the most handsome Ishvalan ever!" Gushing again over this new person, he stamped his foot to the ground a few times as his worked and calloused hands offered over the paper to return it to Violet. "Here, do keep hold of this one."
Violet accepted the tattered paper back pulling it back and sticking it in one of the deep pockets under her dress after neatly folding it up. She folded out her dress again and nodded, taking hold of her bag.
"Leave that here dear, It will be safe here in our shop!" Instructing her to behind the counter. With the flamboyant flick of the wrist, he pointed to a small space just beneath the counter itself where Violet walked and slowly placed the box down and slid it against the wall. With her belongings secure, and a new friend in her midst the modest shop's door was opened and she was ushered back out into the world back to her quest to recover Alphonse and find Winry.
Violet took another look up into the beautiful blue sky that had befallen the valley in the shadows and breathed deep. It would be ok, it had to be. She had come to this land and in just the very short time she had arrived, it had already been quite the whirlwind of events. Between meeting Pinako, talking with Alphonse, riding the trains across the vast landscapes that made up this land she had seen so much yet felt she hadn't even begun to scratch the real surface of the country. Her contractor was still someone so far away yet that didn't even seem to bother her right now as for the journey was taking her through places she had never considered.
Shaking off the feelings of some level of acceptance Violet stood on the front steps of the store while Garfiel locked up the Atelier-Rockbell behind her. Alphonse had been gone for over an hour now by her estimation and in that time, she still hadn't heard hide nor hair of anything regarding him since. Hopefully now with someone else on her side that knows Al however that this may take a little less time. That and the fact Garfiel seems to be a local to Rush Valley he should be invaluable to helping find their lost mutual friend.
"Where do you suppose that Al would be in this valley?" Violet asked with a hint of true concern in her voice. Still unsure of her environment to a degree and not knowing Alphonse as well as others may know she was still only guessing as to how and why they were separated in the first place.
Garfiel walked to her and then off the porch, tossing his strong arms up in the air and spinning in place appearing as energetic as he did in the store. Violet smiled at this as the man seemed animated like the world was his stage. Every movement was almost exaggerated to a degree and his every movement was like watching an elaborate play performed by an over-acting performer. With his thumbs wrapped under his suspenders he hummed slightly as they walked back into the main area of town.
"How long have you known the Elrics?" Violet asked, curious as to who her contractor and Brother were. Aside from meeting Pinako Violet had only really ever spoken to Alphonse himself since she had arrived in Amestris and hadn't met anyone else aside from Garfiel yet.
Garfiel though for a moment, pausing and looking up into the sky and putting his hand to his face as to rest his chin on his fist putting his pinky finger to his mouth as he pondered for a few moments.
"I would have to say it's been about 2 years now since they first came through Rush Valley. They were the ones who brought that DARLING Winry to me, and she has become an absolute star here, just one of the family here!" Garfiel started gushing again which made Violet smile at the virulent character and flamboyant attitude he had. In Garfiel's defense Violet did find the attitude quite charming and relaxing at times. She had not met anyone either in Amestris or yet from Leiden who had ever been as free spirited as Garfiel attempted to be.
"That must have been enough time to have passed that Alphonse was still his…" Violet didn't know how to say what she was thinking as she recalled him being a suit of armor. To be honest to herself she didn't quite understand what he had meant when he told her that in the first place however she had not questioned what he had meant at the time. Now, trying to tell someone else, she found the words difficult but as she started to have doubts Garfiel turned on a dime to face her.
"Yes, that was it! Back when that boy was just the hollowest shell of a suit! He was so kind even then, quite the honest soul! He was always so attached to his brother and they were quite the duo. They even helped reform Paninya. My my, that girl was such a little scoundrel until they showed up! Always snatching from other people's pockets what were we to do with her, the little orphan. Oh, dear her antics were always getting someone miffed!" Garfiel rambled on for a bit longer but Violet tuned him out as she looked down an alley she could have sword she'd caught a glimpse of a golden mane of hair.
Garfiel turned and raised a brow as the girl standing with her hands clasped, her head turned down the alleyway. Looking to see where she was looking down to he too saw the golden hair disappearing into a shop.
"Was that…?" Violet started to say, her feet starting to move on their own and taking her forward towards what she had just seen.
"It could have been…" Garfiel started to reply, not having gotten a good look either as they both started walking, and Violet took off into a near sprint, her feet propelling her forward quickly and nearly effortlessly, despite the dress she continued to wear as she ran after the small shimmer of hope before she lost sight of the head of hair she had seen.
Violet looked and searched the corridor as they approached a small shack with windows stacked high of large boxes visible from outside and parts of Auto-Mail scattered about on makeshift racks and stalls. Inside, someone with a bright lock of blonde hair stood obscured by the window. Violet, seeing this, rushes inside and swings the door open quickly.
"Alphonse?!" she started to exclaim as she thought they had found him. Looking however stood an elderly man and a young girl who had blonde hair.
"Al?" The woman responded, looking slightly shocked at the intrusion Violet made into the shop.
Visibly saddened, Violet recomposed herself and bowed slowly to them both. "I am sorry, I thought that you may be someone I have been searching for. Pardon my intrusion." She asked, beginning to back away and walking out of the shop. Turning to leave she grabbed the handle of the door and walking back out of the store it became stuck.
"Who are you looking for, who is Al?" The woman asked, approaching Violet further and continuing to hold the door open.
Violet tried to back away again, the young woman appearing quite upset all of a sudden.
"I do apologize for my intrusion it was my mistake to rush in." She tried to apologize again and leave the shop but her path was blocked again by the woman standing in her path and blocking the door now. She was only slightly taller than Violet, with deep royal blue eyes and shoulder length blonde hair. Maybe just a year or two older than Violet she had a very quick temper as she was getting visibly upset and Violet did want to dispel the tension.
"Why are you looking for Al?" The woman asked, crossing her arms and bearing down onto Violet for answers. Not knowing what to do, Violet tried to swallow and answer her question.
"Al is my guide, we became separated and I had thought I had seen him entering this shop. It was my mistake, please let me go." Violet asked, bowing again and attempting to disengage from the upset woman infront of her.
After a few tense moments she let go of the door. "Oh well if that's all sorry, I thought you had meant a friend of mine." The girl said, stepping back from the door.
Still in the doorway, Garfiel finally caught up with Violet and peered his head in the door.
"Oh, dear me Violet you are quite the sprinter. Would have taken me ages wearing a dress like that you sure have some power to those legs!" Garfiel stated, gushing again.
Recognizing the sound of Garfiel's voice, the woman shouted out the door to him and peeked her head out to see him.
"Well Well, Winry! No wonder we were confused!" With the statement, Violet looked back to Winry, now recognizing her as the young lady Al was supposed to be taking her to meet and immediately bowed her head.
"Garfiel! Hey. I was just getting ready to come back to the shop, funny you should find me before that." Winry states, smiling at her approaching Mentor. "Wait, why are you here though, do you know this girl?" She asks, trying to back up the conversation.
Violet responds, a bit more composed now that the tension has passed, "Yes, I met Garfiel here after I became separated from Sir Alphonse earlier today. We have not been able to find him since." Violet explained turning to Garfiel who nodded in confirmation of her story.
"Al is here?" Winry asked, almost shocked. "He never comes without calling ahead or at least letting me know! What's he up to… wait, where is he?" Winry's brow furrows instantly realizing what they were doing now in looking for Al.
"Well he does appear to be somewhere but this young lady has lost track of him." Garfiel explains, letting Violet catch her breath for a moment.
Winry remains standing in the doorway staring out slowly and looking out at the girl in the blue dress and Garfiel joining with her. With some what of a huff, she walked out of the alleyway shop and passed both of them, rushing out into the sunlight as it lit up and reflected off of her brightly shining golden hair. Slender and muscular Winry tried to dress comfortably for the hotter weather, preferring a fair colored pair of overalls to Violet's much more conservative dress. With a quick motion of her wrist, she flicked a large wrench she was carrying up over her shoulder as she looked back over it to Violet.
"So… where did Al go?" She finally asked, letting her frustration roll off her shoulders and rubbing a finger against her temple slowly.
Violet looked to Garfiel who just stared off into the distance, avoiding the young ladies pleading gaze. Knowing he wasn't going to jump in and help her she walked up to Winry and with a definitive motion reached down and pulled out the folded poster she had picked up earlier.
"He disappeared shortly after I found this on the bullitin board just over there and I lost track of him." Violet handed over the unfolded paper with the picture of Greed to Winry and pointed to the main information board near the city center. Anger seething up, Winry instantly crushed the paper in her grip and threw it to the ground. Violet rushed to pick it up as to not lose it as Winry wordlessly stormed off leaving both Violet and Garfiel looking perplexed as the blonde hair hung and swung violently as she flicked her head back and forth.
"What do you mean, Lost track of him!" Winry starts yelling and waving a wrench she was carrying in her hand around. Quickly exasperated again and looking to Violet she rubs a finger against her temple and tries to soothe her exploding anger.
Violet looked to Garfiel who just quickly turns and looks away, pretending to be innocent as she turns back to face a now angered Winry.
"Sir Alphonse, he has been my guide since I arrived in this land just a few days ago. I was here with him, on our way to see my employer Edward." Violet begins to elaborate. Winry's face goes a bit pale when she says this.
"Wait, so you're the writer Ed put out for from that country west of Drachma?!" Winry yells out, banging the wrench against the door. "DOES NOONE TELL ME WHATS GOING ON ANYMORE?! I mean I expect Ed not to but Al too?! What does a girl have to do to get just a little bit of information out of these two!" Winry keeps slamming the wrench on the door out of frustration making Violet jump with each repeated strike until she finally takes a breath from yelling. Her blonde and spiked bangs starting to unfurl from a black hairband she wore over her head and cheeks flushed from getting worked-up, Winry finally stopped to take a breath.
"Winry you know everyone always does their best, sometimes things just happen, calm down dear." Garfiel tries to talk at least a modicum of sense into his apprentice and business partner as she takes another breath and lets the wrench fall to her side. The heavy and visibly worn appearance of the wrench told Violet that this wasn't the first time she's lashed out at something with it.
Violet and Garfiel stood staring in sheer amazement, watching the girl start to pull away off into the village before stopping dead in her tracks. With her body facing forward and her posture changing slightly, shifting her feet she swung the wrench in her hands a few times. She simply twisted her head and shifted her feet to bring her sneakered feet together as she calmed herself down a few moments.
"Well… are you coming or not?" Winry asks over her shoulder.
"Coming?" Both Violet and Garfiel ask together.
"You want to know where Al is right? I have a pretty good idea where he went." She says, hoisting her wrench up over her shoulder as she turned to walk away, her body swaying against the sands and rocks in front of her in a mesmerizing walk as she quickly led them away from the alley and back into the main part of Rush valley.
Violet and Garfiel wasted no time catching up and together they began to follow her up a side path and away from the main city. Violet walked up and away from the city square to an isolated and seemingly unused path. This path took them high into one of the adjacent hills with a bluff at the edge of the road cordoned off with a large wooden fence.
Violet took a few steps towards the edge and raised her hands to place them on the barricade as she looked down over the town. For the first time since she had arrived she was able to see the entire city at once with all of its beautifully colored houses in the distance giving a beautiful rainbow in the desert. Like how she had seen it coming out of the train station a few hours ago, but now seeing it from up high she could see almost the entire town, sparkling with all the shops selling their wares and glistening with movement.
Looking up to the sun, she estimated that it was about midday now and the town had simply come alive. The stunning vibrancy and the life in this small isolated town was truly brilliant and for some reason, it made her think of home. Reminding herself of something she had been told once before as she reached up to run her fingers across the emerald brooch she wore on her chest and she smiled big.
"Live… and be free." As she closed her eyes she heard his words again almost like a whisper in the wind itself. The serene landscape was enough to sooth her mind for a time and help her relax. Falling on the comforting words of her mentor she stepped back from the barricade.
"Are you ok?" a concerned voice finally asked out. Violet turned with a bit of a startle as Winry and Garfiel were both standing behind her watching her. Unbenounced to her, she had forgotten for a moment that she had company with her and stopping to stare off into the city wasn't exactly on their roster of things to accomplish today.
Violet simply smoothed her hands over her dress and bowed her head to them both. "I'm sorry, I did not wish to delay us." She said with a slight frown.
"Well let's get going, you got us all worried about Al, let's go find him. Kay?" Winry offered, a bit of a reassuring smile offered to Violet as she nodded and they continued on up the winding path.
As they walked, a small wood-built cottage stood in their path a good distance away. Violet could only assume that is where Winry expected Al to be at. The party increased their pace as they went downhill, approaching the small cottage in the mountains, away from the rest of the village and placed in a very reclusive area which by examination of her surroundings Violet predicted it would be very difficult to approach from any other direction. With steep hills and deep cliffs there only seemed to be one real road that could approach this location.
Sure, enough as they approached, as predicted Alphonse was sitting outside of the cabin. His shoulders slumped and his head down like he was asleep. He was asleep, they walked closer and saw him leaning, his shoulder pressed against the wall of the cabin as he dozed in the sunlight.
For some reason Violet didn't feel at all upset now seeing him peaceful like this. Even though he had left and abandoned her she got the feeling that he had some weight on his shoulders and seeing him relaxed it put her mind at ease, at least for the moment.
Winry however was not so composed. Seeing all relaxed she started stomping towards him and with what had happened earlier in the day, both Garfiel and Violet chose to stand their ground. The scorn and fury she put off with each step made Violet cringe, even as a battle-hardened soldier her intimidating aura she put off was something she did not want to get in the way of.
With a simple motion Winry hoisted the long metal wrench from her shoulder, letting it slide down in her hands and catching the bottom of loop. She firmly grabbed it with both hands and wielding it like a bat she raised it smacked the ever-loving hell out of the wall of the house she was approaching just above Al's head.
Both Garfiel and Violet were shocked with their mouths falling agape. Instantly they both looked at each other and without words their expressions both said the exact same thing. "I'm so glad I'm not Al right now!"
Alphonse, for his sleeping self, was violently and immediately awake. The sound and the vibrations from the wrench hitting just above his head were enough to make him jump directly to his feet and entering a combat stance ready to fight. Bleary eyed as he looked up and got his bearings he slowly looked up from a pair of shorts he was able to focus on until he found her face, looking down and golden hair framing a shadowed set of eyes, menacingly cast from the sun staring almost down through her hair and illuminating her silhouette from behind. "WINRY!?" Al called out in surprise. Within moments though her fist flew, striking him right on the top of his head as he fell to the ground biting into the dirt and dust on the rocky terrain hard. His head hurting and brain confused he decided to lay there and breathe for a minute while he recovered from the near concussion she delivered with her single blow.
"HOW COULD YOU!?" Winry yelled out and waived her wrench like a toothpick in the air. The shadow it cast waved over Al enough to make him blink several times and wince thinking he was about to get hit again. That never happened instead Winry kneeling down beside him and rubbing his head, and he winced a little further, the pain of the hit still there as he started to attempt to get up.
"What do you mean?!" Al Groaned, slowly kneeling up and regaining his vision and seeing Violet and Garfiel standing beside her. Dread appeared to come over his face when his vision had fully returned and his soft blonde hair was stained with the dirt off the ground. He shook some off and wiped his face with his hands trying to remove some of the grit and grime as he regained some sense of composure.
"How could you go and leave someone alone in the city? That's so unlike you I don't even know what to think!" Winry yelled, still waving the heavy wrench and making Al visibly uncomfortable as he kept eying the large metal tool likely afraid of being walloped with it again.
His eyes eventually fell down to the ground and he developed a reserved and depressed look. Violet stepped forward and joined Winry by her side not holding the wrench and looked up to Al. Silently and with almost no expression at all similar to a porcelain doll he had once seen she looked into his golden rimmed eyes with her large and expression filled crystal blue ones. For a moment, for one instant, Al forgot just about everything about what he was afraid of and was instantly brought to the verge of tears.
Fear as it may have been drove him to run off, but that fear and those experiences shouldn't endanger others. Violet was his care, and now his friend and he'd just abandoned her.
Violet said nothing but simply looked up to him, her innocence portrayed in her stance and her appearance. Picking out the paper she still carried and slowly unfolding it, she held it out to him still folded once as he shook his head in silence to try and refuse it. Again, she pushed it forward, the tattered, worn and ragged paper still intact by some miracle for as long as it had been plastered to the wall. Maybe it was the dry environment they enjoyed or by some other happenstance but it had survived all this time like his own pain. Raising her hand just a bit more and stretching her metal fingers to the point where real hands would feel uncomfortable with the exertion she continued to insist.
Even Winry in her enraged and protective state was silent, watching Violet. She looked again at the paper that was being held out, remembering her own interaction with Greed, and her kidnapping with Ed and Al. She could certainly understand some of the memories she shared with him but nothing that would cause her to run away like Al had.
They all stood their quietly in the mountain air and the open sun. Several clouds sailed in the distance but provided no cover or shade as they all stood out in the sweltering sun. Alphonse finally broke with a single tear rolling down his cheek. With the failures of the past and the present both staring him in the face quite literally, Al finally erupted with emotion and broke down, sinking back to his knees in front of both the women. Confused, they turned to look at each other and then down to Al who never said a word before sinking to the ground.
"Help me get him inside…" Winry said softly. Violet did, reaching down with her hands to grab one side of him and Winry the other, helping him back up and guiding him inside the cottage. Garfiel, still standing in the back rushed to the door, opening it up and letting them inside. No-one appeared to be there at the moment but Garfiel was quick to knock anyway just to make sure. Helping Al along into the home they sat him down at a simple wooden table, covered with various bits of metal and several Auto-Mail pieces scattered about in a fairly sturdy chair.
Violet took a few moments to look around, studying this place and its rather drab and rustic appearance. The overall lack of personality showed as starkly as the interiors of other buildings and the trains that she had begun to grown accustomed to in Amestris and it was quite interesting to see someone living such a humble and reduced lifestyle. There was a crib in the corner of the room though, one of the only things to suggest that a family lived here but aside from that it was just a small, cozy mountain cottage.
"Alright Al, whats the matter with you. Spill it!" Winry said, her demanding and concerned tone starting to re-emerge now that they had settled down. Violet took a seat at the table, retaining her posture at the time and regaining her stoic expressions that she had come to be known for. Her hands rested lightly on her dress as she watched Winry and Al start bickering a little. She felt a little bad for Alphonse, she did not mean to get this much emotion and drama started. She had only meant to make sure he was ok and find him so nothing bad happened.
Starting to feel like this may have been her fault for going after him in this way, she started to sink back into her chair, not really paying attention to the conversation at present.
After some of Winry's yelling died down, Violet looked up and handed the paper she was still carting around to Al, without really a question or anything just handing it to him. Hunching forward he grabbed the paper and silently stared at it. His golden hair bent forward from the weight of the world pulling down on it and his expression contorting again into a mixture of obvious internal pain and sadness. Winry herself took a seat beside all, facing the other direction at the wall and letting things die down, while Al took a moment to compose himself.
"Martel…" Alphonse finally spoke, in barely a whisper.
Winry Looked up for a moment, and then to Al without a word after he spoke. His face contorted and his eyes looked at the paper as he began to tear up. Violet sat and watched, Al refusing to face either of them as he simply stared at the paper with his thoughts running amuck. Winry began to understand that something terrible had happened and like many things that Ed won't talk about Alphonse had his own demons he still hadn't faced yet.
With that realization, she put her head on the table and bumped her shoulder against Al's.
Al barely noticed as he stood up and walked the room for a moment rubbing his head from the blow she'd given him earlier. His hands shaky and his eyes full of tears now, the room felt like a graveyard. Violet could see his clear and visible pain mixed with the tearing guilt of a history steeped in war.
War… It brought nothing but pain it seems, even here. Good people who are forced to endure horrific things, painful memories and decades of shame and shock. Violet clenched her fingers and ground the metal against itself, rubbing harder and harder together.
She couldn't take this feeling she had inside herself. The desire to reach out and help and take it away was nearly unbearable as she stared down into her blue dress. This had all been her fault after all. If she hadn't grabbed that paper from the billboard, if she hadn't just shown him his own past.
No.
"It's not my fault." She reminded herself, screaming from the inside to herself. The child of her innocent mind screaming, clawing at her insides to help him. The smallest notion to push forward and make some sort of gesture was nearly unbearable in the silent mourning felt in the room. She had only found a paper, it was far from her fault that Alphonse had been put through that situation and she could only sit and watch as he relived the pain and agony.
But, maybe she could do something.
Choking back her own tears, her own violent and emerging emotions she straightened her back again and looked to Alphonse.
"Alphonse, what would you like to tell Martel?" She asked firm and stoically.
Winry blinked, unsure of what she had just heard and Garfiel joined her. Neither of them understood what exactly just happened but between Al's sobs, he looked to Violet with tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
Hours passed, and no one said a word. Alphonse would occasionally get up and pace the room, but sit down wordlessly at the table, his hands always grasping the paper tightly in his grip and never letting go.
Hunger gripping everyone in the room by this point, Winry stood at last, and walked to Al and put her hands on his shoulder. Without argument she was able to pull him into her arms and hugged him tight. No arguments or fighting and Al simply collapsed into her after being unable to hold himself up any longer.
"Hey Al, why don't we go back and find somewhere to eat?" She asked and faked just the smallest of smiles. Only managing a simple nod Winry stepped back and looked to Violet, who had simply remained observing everything as Al paced. Not wanting to interfere or do any further damage she was content with waiting for Alphonse to speak which he probably would later. Even for Violet who avoided showing weakness and hunger with people had to silently admit to herself that she too was starving.
The party of four slowly departed as they put the cabin to their rear. Walking slowly, they returned down the same path they had used to get to the place isolated in the mountains. Strolling gently along, Garfiel started humming something softly. Trying to at least alleviate any of the tension possible, the humming did reach everyone's ears and pleasantly perked up Al's whom was still a little solemn from the earlier event.
As they approached the top of the bluff that Violet had stopped at before, she saw the edge of the sun peaking over the ledge and it drew her back in. The gorgeous sunset, cresting over the edge of the tallest peaks as it became a burnt orange in the distance cast orange shadows across the town below and illuminated the hills above in a beautiful crisp auburn. It was almost like a story, the gorgeous countryside she observed made her think of the time she climbed the central bell tower in Leiden with Lecoulia her friend from when she had just started trying to become a Doll.
"I want you to see this, this is what all those men fought for." A memory of a whisper brushed past her ears and she was called to the edge. For the second time and what seemed like someone dragging her by the hand to it she returned to the fence and overlooked the cityscape and took in its beauty.
"I can see it now." She whispered to herself, touching the brooch she wore but now cradling it in her hands as if it were his hands.
Startled, she turned to her side when Al's hand landed on her shoulder as he joined her. Crossing his arms and leaning on the side of the fence, he calmly smiled, looking out over the city with her and taking in the stunning view. With Greed's portrait in his hand, clutched and folded neatly back into its form, he gripped it tight and held onto it as he looked down into the orange colored abyss.
"If we keep on down to the shop, you aren't going to go missing on us again are you Al?" Winry called out behind them. Obviously hungry and not wanting to stop again, She and Garfiel waited a few steps away.
"Yes of course, I won't run off again!" Al replied, waving. "We'll be down to join you in a bit, I'm just catching my breath is all." With a trademark gentle smile, he turned back around as Winry and Garfiel proceeded back down the path.
Al and Violet watched them walk down and away, making their way down the rocky terrain with what appeared to be ease. Turning to Violet, Al finally spoke, his voice cracking at first but getting more confident.
"Martel. She was… someone who I knew back during the fights, and we actually met her not far from here the first time in Dublith." Al said, a somber but steady tone escaping his lips as he started to tell Violet what was on his mind, what had been on it for a long time.
"She was your friend, I take it?" Violet inferred, taking a few mental notes along the way.
"Not… exactly. She worked for this man, Greed. They actually kidnapped me and Winry. But Martel, she wasn't a bad person. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was experimented on, changed into something… inhuman." Al struggled to recall some of the memories from that time, so much of it he had tried to forget but the emotional struggle and pain was still all too real. No matter how much time passed little moments always resurfaced and he instantly regretted trying to ever forget the faces of the people he knew, especially Martel.
Violet raised her head in confusion but didn't speak yet.
"Martel died… inside me…" He said, unsure how to really explain the situation properly.
"When you were… a suit of armor?" Violet replied, trying to make sense of what he meant and in a shock, Alphonse looked to her and nodded in confirmation.
"We were under the Amestris Central City Sewers and… Several of her companions were fighting King Furher Bradley. I tried to protect Martel, I tried to save her. I kept her trapped inside my armor body but.. Bradley… he…" Al started sobbing between his words trying to describe what he'd experienced.
Violet surprisingly was following along with his story and was able to at least understand what he was saying, nodding along and continuing to remember notes of what he had experienced for later.
"He stabbed her, pushing one of his swords down through my neck and killed her… inside me…." His eyes full of tears as he recalled one of the most trauma inducing events he'd ever experienced. Flashes of memories came back from that time, recalling how he felt the weight of her body sliding against the inner panel of his armor, looking down and seeing all the blood pouring out and over his entire lower half it made him sick to think about it.
"I woke up hours later, I don't remember… everything but… I did remember as they took her out. Pulling her body from me… pulling and cleaning her out of…" He couldn't continue on, the memories so real. He touched his hand to his stomach, feeling it and reminding himself that he was a real person and this was his real body. That was his body when he was a suit of armor, nothing more. The hollow space inside of him, wasn't really his insides. Taking some deep breaths, he tried to steady himself again, still horrified about what had happened.
"Seeing the poster… Seeing his face, before he died, before Roa died… before Dolcetto died… It's something I've tried to hide away ever since." He said this while wiping his tears away, sniffing quickly.
"They asked me to save her. They asked me to protect her. She died, and I couldn't do anything to stop it." He said, returning his hand to his belly and rubbing again just to make sure he was still whole, still human.
Violet breathed slowly, looking to him and smiling the faintest of smiles. "You don't need to carry that burden alone anymore." She tried to comfort him, raising her hand toward her mouth a little, unsure of whether that was the right thing to say at the moment or if she was making things worse. She turned and looked out over the sunset one more time and tried to breathe away some of the stress and pain. Memories of her own forced combat flooding back through her mind at the thought of someone dying in horrific ways such as how he described.
Alphonse was somewhat stunned and taken aback by her response. The scars of the war may not be visible but this girl, this beautiful Doll, she was just as messed up as he was in the head. War heroes alike their pain was the one they shared on the inside and for some reason that made Al smile. Joining her, silently staring off into the sunset he couldn't remember the last time he'd looked out and just taken in the sunlight and the distance.
Violet still didn't know what her reason for being in Amesteris was but she was quickly making friends. Thinking to herself still that the people of Amestris like Alphonse have a great deal of damage still residing in their minds which makes a terrible scene in their hearts. That fact upset her greatly knowing that there were so many other people like herself in other parts of the world. People touched and broken by the lingering effects of the wars they fight in, the battles they wage. Both on the battlefield and off those fights never stop.
Lifting her hands, she slowly took off her gloves, the barriers that removed her from the rest of humanity and made her fit in. Staring at the silver fingers and the beauty of the joints that were crafted she pocketed the leather coverings and removed them from sight leaving only her hands exposed. Maybe this was the way she was meant to live. Not hiding from the truth and the past or running but facing it head on.
Maybe this, is what Love was.
This feeling of unconditional caring was welling inside of her. Something she had never truly understood started to come forth and make her feel on that bluff like someone new. A warmth more gentle than the light of the sun but more powerful than even its most beautiful ray seemed to strike her at the core of her being and gave her an immense feeling of comfort.
She wasn't alone in this world.
For so long, for so many weeks and months, she had followed the orders and commands of Major Bougainvillea. She had never understood what he meant, when he told her he loved her.
"I…" Violet started to speak, a hushed tone coming from her thin pale lips as she tried to put her emotions into some form of words.
Turning to her Alphonse tilted his head slightly before noticing her gloves were off. Reminding him a lot of his brother he only raised a smile. No matter how many times he saw them he always thought that her Auto-Mail arms were some of the most beautiful he'd ever seen. Never had there been crafts in Amestris that took Auto-Mail to such intricate beauty and detail as he saw with her silver inlaid hands and beautifully shined arms.
"It's ok." Al finally said.
And together, they silently stayed until the sun had just about vanished from the horizon, and the stars above starting to come out in full view.
"We should probably head on down." Al said, with a bit of a chuckle, trying to cover over the slightly awkward silence that had befallen the two as the suns light dissipated and no longer illuminated their path.
"Will we be safe going down now?" She asked, looking and realizing just how dark the path had become.
Al looked around and raising his head for a moment he nodded. Clapping his hands together he pressed them to the ground and a bright light shot out in all directions. After a few moments, the path going down the mountain and back to the village started appearing brighter, almost as if the stars had fallen on the path and were lighting the way for them to walk without fear.
Violet was amazed, looking to him Al could already tell she wanted to know how he did it. Without any words he smiled and pointed picked up one of the stones from the ground and handed it to her. Glowing and glistening, the bright shine it gave off was gorgeous. She could already tell it was getting dimmer however, fading into the background of the night.
"My alchemy…" Alphonse started saying as he led Violet onto the path. "My Alchemy, I got this ability to use it when Martel died." He said sorrowfully, his words taking a somber but respectful tone in reverence to her.
"I don't understand, Sir Alphonse." Violet chokingly replied, trying to hold back her own flood of emotions from elation to sorrow after the day's events. Her experiences from beauty to the stunning power of the light she held in her heart were opening her up to emotions she normally suppressed and trying to hold it together was something of a slight challenge now.
Al didn't notice and explained a little further. "I learned the truth when I lost my body the first time, but I forgot because the incident was so traumatic. Martel, her death… when Bradley Killed her inside me… It made me remember somehow. Brother said that… somehow it damaged the seal on my armor when she died. Because of that, I remembered everything that had occurred that night." He flipped his hands over a few times and looked to her with a slightly priggish smile, trying to lighten to mood from the topic and not make everyone too depressed again. "All I have to do is think about what I want and will the Alchemical process to occur. All I did was reach out into the earth and combined the elements that have a reaction that makes the rocks glow, and I made them combine. Photo-florescence is what it's called."
"It's amazing!" Violet said, a crisp smile hitting her lips. For a talent for something so amazing coming from something so painful, it's no wonder he was affected as harshly as he was. She never blamed in him the first place for running off but now with that truth out it made sense to her how those events would have made anyone run and want to escape. She continued to clutch the rock, holding it in her hands as its light pulsed gently and glowed in her palm.
Al felt stronger than he had in a long time. There were many things he'd held inside from his time in the Civil War that he had never been able to express, never to say or to speak. Thoughts and memories of people that he never thought he'd be able to let go of.
On their walk back to the Auto-Mailer's shop Winry and Garfiel had gone back to, they continued to have a long discussion, talking the entire way back about smaller topics. Like two old war buddies and best friends, emotionally the door finally felt open for the first time.
Finally, a part of the past for both of them was starting to feel like it was being put to rest.
OOC: Hey everyone, its been quite a wild ride. A lot of things have happened since Ch.3 came out and I've had a lot of personal struggles dealing with my own emotional battles. I'm sorry that it delayed things and I promise to work hard on really getting some of the content down better between work and school.
Otherwise I hope everyone enjoys and I'll keep working hard on this. I'm really enjoying how this is taking off not so much as an adventure story at first or any fights but just a journey of personal discovery and emotional growth for both of our favorite characters.
Thanks for taking the time to give it a read, and if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I'd love to hear feedback on the story!
EDIT: Thanks to K,R,Perice and The Dark Hour who spotted a rather glaring error where I had 2 story concepts that incidentally were blended together in their unedited formats before uploading. I have revised the story slightly to repair that damage and restructure the chapter to reflect a mixture of emotions from Winry but at the same time still keep some of her heavily Animated and eccentric behavior. Sorry for any confusion this caused and thanks for catching it you two!