I stared at Edward nervously. He had been my only companion after leaving the lab, and I was afraid of what his real reaction was-after finding out I was truly a monster. Not of my own accord, but it's not like that mattered. A nervous, tense knot squirmed in my stomach as I watched him staring out the window of the train compartment we were in. His eyes betrayed no secrets, the sun colored irises staring out the window-irritatingly enough. His chin was rested on his hand, his elbow rested on the windowsill. A casual posture, but still-the depth in his eyes and the seriousness of his expression betrayed that casual-ness.

"So-are you going to sit there and count unicorn shaped clouds the entire train ride, Ed?" I teased. Something to interrupt his thought pattern-no doubt he was thinking about the people sent to get me, my abilities, and trying to piece together the puzzle. Smart as he was, if I didn't distract him somehow, he'd get it immediately. However, that remark had the desired effect. His eyes tightened, teeth gritted. The deep thinking expression left his face and he turned to me, his expression akin to an angered bull.

"What the hell do you take me for, some kind of kid?" he snapped.

"Of course not, Eddie-Chan." I replied, beaming. The angry tint left his expression, and once again he was deep in thought. Geez this kid was a thinker.

"So tell me something."

I tensed.

"When you were in the lab, did they ever feed you philosophers stones?" His tone was all seriousness. I blinked.

"What are philosopher's stones?"

He didn't reply. Obviously, his wall was up once again. But he was still staring intently, as though trying to force the answers from my eyes. I chose my words carefully.

"They mixed a blue-ish powder in with the food they gave me. At first I tried to starve myself, saying I wouldn't eat it. But after a week of no meals, your instincts tend to take over, and you eat what you can. They never told me what the blue powder was, but I did overhear them talking about how it was a mix of chemicals-a mix meant especially for me, to keep my powers intact." My thoughts raced.

"But I didn't…I didn't think that keeping my powers intact meant…

My throat closed up on me. I looked nervously up at Edward. The kid offered no sort of comfort or empathy-his eyes were hard. I scowled. Stupid me, thinking any human would comfort a creature like me. How odd-thinking of humans as though I wasn't one of them. But how could I call myself one? Humans didn't have leftover feathers hidden among their hair from turning into birds. I combed my hands through my dark red locks even more nervously. I could feel the small, scattered feathers growing from my scalp. Realizing how tensely I was holding my shoulders, I pulled them back, taking a few deep breaths. Imagined a peaceful field. This strategy had once been my only link to sanity. It always worked well. I glanced at Edward once again. He was back to looking out the window. Wordlessly, he reached up and undid the latch, gently putting the window down. The wind blew his scent powerfully at me. Wait…

It was small, but un-mistakable. It was a scent like no other. And it permeated from his right arm. My eyes narrowed.

"What about you?"

His eyes glanced at me for a second, his expression unreadable. But I was used to that kind of expression.

"You keep asking me all these questions. But what's your story? The scent of your right arm tells me it was pulled from the gate. Obviously, there's more to you than you're putting on."

He was visibly tense. I plowed on, no longer caring.

"The scent of your right arm is your own-the limb truly is your own. But the gate's scent still permeates it, more so than the rest of your body. Really, the gate's scent never fades. But the longer someone's there, the more they smell of it. So the only possible conclusion is that your arm was there longer than the rest of you. You're missing a leg. Why bring back your arm without your leg? What caused you to lose the limbs in the first place? And then there's the overall question-you've been at the gate, yet I haven't seen you use alchemy once since I've met you-though there's been plenty of opportunity." I looked at him, waiting for his reaction.

"Brilliant deduction." Edward growled out. The anger in his eyes showed me I had hit the mark. And possibly passed it. Though his eyes, now focused on me, showed me he was on the edge of biting back like a cornered dog, his expression was controlled. Finally, he sighed, and went back to looking out the window. I was slightly disappointed.

"Alright. But if I tell you my story, you have to tell me yours. It's the-

"Law of equivalent exchange?" I said, smiling at the unexpected reply from Ed.

He broke into a grin unexpectedly. "So you do know the rules of our alchemy."

"Alchehestry isn't all that different. Just a different source."

His expression grew serious again.

"I mean it, though. You can transmute without a circle-which means only one thing. Not only did you see the gate, but you went into it, and came back."

Damn it. Now I was the one all serious.

"You know what-I take it back. You can keep your story."

"What? You can't take it back!"

"Oh? And why not?"

"Because I say so, damn it!" He was yelling in my face, fists curled.

"And who are you to tell me? You're nothing but a shrimp!" He was too easy.

"I AM NOT A SHRIMP! SHUT UP!" He stood up, beginning to look like he was going to attack me.

"Gladly. Oh, and by the way, you're attracting a lot of people's attention."

"I don't care!" He ranted.

"That's nice."

Stopped him cold. "Huh? How the hell am I supposed to respond to that?"

"You aren't."

Confusion sprawled itself across his face for a few seconds, then he grit his teeth and sat down harshly.

"Damn you."

"Already done."

"Huh?" He was once again sputtering in confusion.

"Quite obviously, I've already been damned."

His eyes blinked uncomprehendingly for a few seconds. Then-"Oh."

"Yea." This time I was the one that turned my gaze to the window.

A/N: So. This chappie was short, but hopefully interesting. I've been trying to go for more 'realness' in the story. Full Metal Alchemist, no matter how you look at it, was never truly meant to be a book (manga doesn't count, I loved the manga too, but its not a book full of words), so it's a challenge figuring out how to create a story out of it without ruining the characters or the overall feeling of it all. It'll certainly be a challenge to describe Edward and Al's coolness moments in words in the upcoming chappies. (insert insane fan girl squeal here)