Chapter 4

"Let me see if I've got this right," Granny said the moment Ed and Alphonse caught her up on the last near-two years of their lives. "You were left on an uninhabited island for a month with no means to survive except your own wits and a riddle that you had to solve. During this month, Edward got his Spirit Animal and they have some kind of unique bond? Then you gave someone practically every single cent you had left to you names so they could spend the next 18-odd months beating you up, all in the name of alchemy and combat training?" Granny asked as she knocked her pipe on the table.

Once Pinako, Ed, Den and Ayala had entered the house, Granny had served up the stew she'd had cooking on the stove. Ed and Al's mouths immediately watered when the achingly familiar scent of their mother's stews filled their nostrils and they'd devoured as much of it as they could. After eating their own serving, Ayala and Den had retired next to their respective human, having exhausted themselves from acting suspicious of each other. Winry had wanted to look more closely at Ayala now that they weren't in the middle of a road but Ed had told her to just wait until another day. He'd used the long travel and the fact that Ayala hadn't seen Resembool before so was adjusting to the change of scenery as his excuses and Winry backed off. Ayala had thanked him profusely, not feeling up to be petted and cooed over like some common dog right now.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Ed said, nodding at what Pinako had said. He glared daggers at the glass of milk Winry had placed in front of him. His hatred of the drink hadn't lessened in his time away and even Izumi's beatings hadn't been enough to make him drink it. Al rolled his eyes at his brother as he sipped his own milk. "Hey, speaking of our bond, have you ever heard or seen something like it, Granny? Teacher hadn't but she has the theory that it just means we've got a ridiculously strong bond," Ed told her. Granny dragged on her pipe as she thought.

"No, nothing comes to mind. I have no idea why the two of you glowed silver or why Ayala's colouring changed when the bond was initiated. I know your mother's bond with Cleo wasn't abnormal but I'm not sure about Hohenheim's. We never spoke about his bonding process," Granny told him, not missing the way Ed's expression soured at the mention of his father but she didn't comment. She'd wasted enough breath over the years trying to get Edward on the road to forgiving his father but the boy was stubborn and nothing she, Trisha, Winry or Alphonse had done had convinced Ed to try and forgive Hohenheim. "Your teacher's guess is as good as mine," Granny went on saying, exhaling some smoke. "If she is right, that would mean that the amount of energy you hold for your Animal would be massive."

Ed felt his and Ayala's surprise. Neither had thought about that and Izumi had never mentioned, though that might've been because she'd assumed they would've made the connection themselves. The amount of energy a human held for their Animal directly correlated to how strong their bond with their Animal was. This meant that the pool of energy actually grew over the years as the bond between human and Animal strengthened.

"What do you think, Aya?" He decided to ask her since Animals were able to sense their energy level inside their human. It was how they were able to get their human to stop healing an injury before the energy ran out.

"Since I can't sense another Animal's energy in their human, I don't know for certain but the energy you hold for me is massive. I could shift into something huge, like an elephant, and hold that form for hours without making a dent," Ayala told him, not even opening her eyes from where she lay at his feet.

"Are you serious? I have that much in me?!" Ed exclaimed in shock. Ayala just hummed in confirmation before going back to her drowsing while Ed's attention was caught by the curious expressions on everyone else's faces. "Ayala says I have a massive amount of energy in me but she doesn't know why I do either," Ed explained.

Now that they were satisfied about Ed's statement, the others turned the conversation away from Ed and Ayala's bond to specific questions about what Ed and Al learned in Dublith. Halfway through a story Al was telling, Ed slipped Ayala his undrunk glass of milk but he wasn't quick enough to avoid Winry's eagle eyes and soon found himself being lectured. He snarked back and soon the lecture turned into full blown argument. Al, ever the peacekeeper, managed to talk them down before it could turn nasty and so he could finish his story. Ed didn't think the amount of amusement he could feel from Ayala was appropriate.

Laden with bags of groceries, leftover stew and other basic household items the Rockbell women had insisted they take with them when the boys had decided they should make use of the remaining daylight and head home. They'd barely been able to wave goodbye between their bags from Dublith and the bags the women had loaded them with but they managed and soon they were on their way home.

"Hey, Ed?" Al's quiet voice broke the silence that had permeated the air between the two of them.

"Yeah, Al?"

"How about we go see mum before we go home? Introduce her to Ayala and tell her about what we've been up to?" Al asked, voiced tinged with sadness and hopefulness.

Ed glanced at the sinking sun before he made his decision. "Alright, but we need to go home first. I'm not carrying this stuff to the cemetery and back," Ed said decisively. While he really did want to go see his mother's grave, he knew the visit would make the two of them sad and he didn't want to laden with all their gear on the walk home.

"Thanks, Brother," Al said, giving him a massive smile.

Both boys gave their childhood home a bittersweet smile when they laid eyes on it for the first time in nearly two years. As they approached the front door, Ed started digging around in his front pocket for their house key. A small plume of dust greeted them as Ed unlocked and swung the door open, the air caused by the door swinging open stirring up the settled dust. The boys placed their gear just inside the door and Ed shut it and locked it once more behind them as they joined Ayala, who had been waiting a couple of metres away.

As they drew closer to the cemetery, Edward's mood dropped and he almost jumped when he felt soft fur under one of his hands. Looking down, he realised Ayala was trying to offer him what comfort she could and he gave her a grateful smile as the cemetery came into view. The remaining walk didn't take long and soon enough, the three of them were settling in front of Trisha and Cleo's headstone and talking animatedly at it about what they'd been up too.

Ed and Al soon turned their retelling of the past two years into a competition of who could tell the most embarrassing stories and moments about the other they could. Ayala huffed in amusement at some and was helpful enough to remind Ed of a few of Al's more memorable moments as she lay there with her head in Ed's lap and listened to them. They slowly ran out of stories and Ed noted they were running out of daylight so he decided to address the one thing they'd glossed over at the start.

"Hey, mum. You won't believe this but my Animal finally showed up. We found each other on that island Teacher trapped us on. Her name's Ayala and she's a wolf. There are no words to describe how happy I am she's here. Al still hasn't gotten his yet but I have a feeling it won't be too long. I wish you could meet her, mum. I think you'd like her." Al had been sitting quietly as Ed spoke but when he heard Ed's wavering tone, he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm know mum's really proud of you and I'd bet that she would love Ayala," Al said as Ed struggled to keep himself from crying. He'd promised himself he wouldn't because if he did then Al would and Ayala would start fussing over them.

"Thanks, little brother," he said as he gave Al a watery smile. He didn't know how Al managed it but he always knew what to say to help Edward cheer up. "Come on, we better head home. It's getting really dark now."

Al looked around properly for the first time and took in the setting sun. They'd be lucky to get another hour of sunlight and they still had a whole house to clean. Standing up, the boys said their goodbyes and promised they'd try and find some flowers to bring for her on their next visit. Ayala pressed her forehead against the stone in her own goodbye before she started trotting to the edge of the graveyard to catch up with her human and his brother.

Once again, Ed unlocked their front door but this time both boys stepped over the threshold and into their home. Ed flicked the switches next to the door to light the entryway and hallway and were pleasantly surprised to see there wasn't an awful lot of dust on everything. Evidently, Granny and/or Winry had paid their home a visit to clean everything in the last few weeks. Despite this, they still had some cleaning to do so the house was back up to their mother's standard. So, once they'd checked the fridge was still working and sorted out the food stuff the Rockbells had given them, they stuck into the actual cleaning.

Fortunately for them, Ed had developed an array months ago that drew moisture from the air and mixed it with the dust and dirt in a set area. He then used another array that drew the thin layer of mud into a compact ball that he could then throw outside or into the bin. Ayala followed them through the rooms they'd been through, cleaned and repaired to make sure they were good enough for her. Even with Al utilising the moisture array, cleaning the whole house took nearly an hour, as they had to change the stale sheets on their beds and repair several small things. Once done, they then had to unpack their belongings and check that the water was still working in the bathroom. When they'd finally gotten the chance to sit down, both boys felt the exhaustion that came from using so much alchemic energy in such a small amount of time. After all, water manipulation was no easy feat.

Having finished her thorough exploration of the house and deeming it suitable for her, Ayala joined the boys where they'd collapsed in their spots at the kitchen table. She sat at Ed's feet and looked up at him expectantly, though it took her pawing at his knee for him to realise she was doing that.

"What's up, Aya?" Ed asked tiredly and Ayala winced in sympathy.

"Do we have anything to eat? You two need to replenish your energy and I'm hungry," Ayala asked and Ed grimaced at the idea of moving. He mentally went over what Granny had given them, because Ayala was right and they did need to replace the energy they used and remembered the stew she'd packed for them.

"Yeah, we have some leftover stew. I'll stick it on the stove to warm up," Ed said, heaving himself to his feet and going about to do just that.

Digging through the fridge, he grabbed the container of leftover stew and poured it into a saucepan that Al handed him with a tired smile. Thanking his brother before shooing him back to the table, Ed lit the stove and set the saucepan over the flame. Ayala waited patiently next to Ed as he sat back down for the duration of time it took for dinner to reheat. Her patience won out when Ed got up twenty minutes later and served them all dinner.

"So what's the plan, brother?" Al asked as he relaxed back in his chair, tummy full to bursting point now they'd finished the serving of stew. Ed looked equally as relaxed, slumping slightly in his chair while Ayala lay sprawled on the floor and fought to pay attention to their conversation rather than slip into the food coma she wanted to.

"Well, tomorrow we need to check the outside of the house to see if there's anything that needs repairing. I reckon the roof will have a couple of leaks and we need to get them fixed before we get a storm," Ed told him, groaning a little as he sat up. "After that, I thought I might take Ayala for a walk around to some of our old hiding and playing spots so that she can get used to the area. You're welcome to come with us if you want or you can head back to Granny's and see if we can celebrate your birthday with them," he said before continuing. "We also need to go to town and get some supplies because what Granny and Winry gave us won't last us for long but we can do that the day after tomorrow. At some point, we'll need to start researching so maybe once we've finished in town, we come back here and go through the bastard's study?" Ed suggested and Al hummed in thought.

"I think I'll go to Winry's tomorrow to ask about my birthday but other than that, I think it's a good idea. Also, you really should stop calling him that. He's still our father," Al said imploringly but Ed was having none of it.

"Fathers don't leave their families with no good reason and they certainly don't stay away from their kids after their mother dies! That bastard," Ed emphasised the title with a deadly glare, "doesn't deserve to be called our father!" Ed spat, his golden eyes sparking with hate. The anger he felt was so intense that it broke Ayala out of her food-induced stupor and caused her to whine in distress. "Sorry, Aya," Ed whispered to her, reaching down to ruffle her ears in apology.

"I know you hate him, Ed, but I don't! I just miss him," Al said sadly. "He'll come back; I know he will! He's our dad. He loves us," Al pleaded, eyes watering a little. Ed just shook his head and stood, pushing his chair a little harshly out of his way.

"Believe whatever you want, Al," Ed said, voice shaking in the effort it was taking him not to snap again. "It's been two years since mum passed and longer since we started sending those damned letters out. Mum spent even longer than that, holding onto the same damned hope and look how well that worked out for her," Ed said, tone hopelessly sad. He didn't give Al a chance to say anything; he just left the kitchen and headed for his bedroom, Ayala padding silently behind him.

Al stayed seated in his spot at their kitchen table as he struggled to stop the tears that had formed from falling. He'd almost forgotten about the letters he and Ed had posted in a desperate ploy to get their father home in time to see their mum before she passed. The pain he'd felt every time they checked the mailbox only for there to be no reply from Hohenheim flared momentarily and Al almost choked on a sob. It wasn't like he didn't know why Edward was always so angry every time their father was mentioned. He'd only made the mistake of pushing Ed to his limit with questions about their father once.

"A TURNED BACK AND PACKED SUITCASE! THAT'S ALL I REMEMBER ABOUT THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING BASTARD, OKAY?!" The anger in Ed's raised voice and eyes had been burned into Al's memory and he'd scared Alphonse so much that the younger boy had avoided Ed for the entire day. Since that moment, Al had done his best to keep his questions to a minimum and avoid the subject of their absent father whenever possible so he would never cause an outburst like that again. Though Edward had eventually apologised to him for yelling and the incident was all but forgotten by the elder Elric, it stuck in Al's mind vividly. Sighing, Al finally pulled himself together enough to stand from the table. He cleared the table and washed the dirty dishes before he strode out of the kitchen. He had an older brother to find and apologise to.

Al found Ed upstairs and curled up on his old bed with Ayala wrapped warmly around him. Ayala perked her ears up when Al approached but otherwise didn't react to his intrusion to her human's room. She didn't even flinch when Al sat on the edge of Ed's bed, causing the mattress to dip and his brother slide minutely towards him. After a moment of no one moving, Al lay on his back so he was face-to-face with his brother.

"I'm sorry, Ed. I didn't mean to upset you," Alphonse whispered in the darkness. Ed shifted slightly before sighed.

"It's okay, Al. I'm sorry for getting upset. I just don't like thinking about him and I don't want to see you get as sad as mum was when she thought we weren't looking," Ed said just as softly, voice tinged with sadness. Al turned onto his side so he could wrap an arm around Ed's shoulder, although it was tight squeeze with Ayala lying right there.

"I promise I won't bring him up again," Al said, grateful Ed wasn't as angry with him as he feared. "Hey, brother?" He asked after a couple of moments of silence.

"Yeah, Al?" Ed answered, eyes flicking open at his brother's nervous voice.

"Can I stay in here with you? Just for tonight?" Ed frowned at his brother. He didn't understand why the younger blonde was nervous. He knew Ed didn't mind.

"Course you can." Al smiled and rearranged himself so he was under the blankets, though not without kneeing poor Ayala a couple times. She got up with a snarl and moved herself down to the foot of the bed and glared at Al.

"Sorry, Ayala." She huffed as she went back to sleep but Ed knew she didn't really mind if the fondness he felt through their link was anything to go by. It didn't take the two boys long to settle into comfortable positions and fall asleep.

The next two weeks flew by for the brothers. They'd made sure to pay Granny and Winry plenty of visits to discourage Winry turning up unexpectedly and disrupt their study time. They'd set a day for a supply run into town each week and they'd fixed anything that needed it on the house with alchemy. Because it was so old, neither brother was surprised when they discovered their fridge had carked it but Ed used an old array he'd found in one of their father's journal to make the fridge work without electricity.

Ed and Ayala made it a habit to go exploring for at least an hour every afternoon, even after she'd grown familiar with the area. The two boys continued their sparring routines with each other, having a match nearly everyday while Ed and Ayala did their best to keep up with the specialised training Teacher had given them, though it was much more difficult since they didn't have another bonded pair to act as opponents. The alchemy side of their training was much easier to keep up with, thanks to the dozens of books their father had left behind in the study. Although their original aim had been to scan each book and discard the ones that didn't mention human transmutation, they ended up reading through them much more carefully because the knowledge contained in them was too tempting to pass up.

Soon enough, they were spending as much time as possible in the study, devouring book after book as they chased the knowledge each one contained. Ayala was always there with Ed and even though she found the study a bit tedious to start with, she still joined them in reading and discussing the theory. She may have been a wolf but she was Ed's wolf for a reason. Slowly but surely, the two boys started gathering information about the array they wanted to know everything about.

Three weeks after they returned to Resembool, Al flew into Ed's room and pounced on top of his sleeping brother, scaring the boy and wolf so badly that Ayala almost bit Alphonse.

"Alphonse Elric! What the fuck?! Ayala could've bitten you!" Ed shouted as he sat up and glared at his brother where he was sprawled on the floor. "You know you shouldn't scare her awake. For that matter, you know you shouldn't scare me awake so you better have a damned good reason." There were plenty of more effective and safer ways to get him and Ayala out of their bed. Scaring them was the dumbest and most dangerous way Al could've gone about doing that.

"Sorry, Brother but I was just so excited! I couldn't wait to tell you!" Alphonse didn't look overly apologetic but Ed was prepared to let it slide when he saw the excitement plastered all over his brother's face. Rubbing his hand over his face in an attempt to wake himself up a bit, Edward looked at his brother expectantly.

"It had better be good or I'll let Ayala bite you for real," Ed threatened. Al gulped. Both boys had been nipped by Ayala when she was displeased with their actions. "The sun's barely up!" Ed whined before Al could answer.

"It is, I promise!" Al swore. Ed flourished his hand to tell Alphonse to get on with it. "Well, the first part is 'cuz it's my birthday and we get to go over to Granny's to celebrate it."

"I know that. The second part?" While Ed was happy that his brother was excited for his birthday since neither had really celebrated it after their mother passed, though Izumi and Sig had tried to give them nice birthdays while they were under Izumi's roof, Ed wasn't happy about the early wake up call.

"Well, I don't know if it's real or just another false dream but for the last four nights, I've dreamt about the same animal!" Al blurted out, trying really hard not to grin.

Like Ed had done, Alphonse had found himself having what he thought was the Dream only to find himself heartbroken and disappointed when they turned out to be false. This time though, Al was certain it wasn't another false dream and was really the Dream he'd been hoping for. He'd woken up this morning with the feeling and he couldn't keep it to himself any longer, hence why he'd risked Ayala's wrath. If the grin on his brother's face meant what he thought it did, Al might avoid Ayala's teeth still.

"That's awesome, Al! You've never had the same animal dream four times in a row! Maybe this really is the Dream!" Ed exclaimed, just as excited for his brother and Al had been for him when Ed had finally told him about having the Dream on the island. He and Ayala had seen the jealous looks Al had given them when his younger brother had thought they wouldn't see. Ed knew Al hadn't meant anything by them and he could admit to himself that if their situations had been reversed, Ed would be acting in the same manner.

Ayala watched the scene unfold in front of her and found herself in something of a situation. She was exceedingly happy for her human's brother. Alphonse was a very sweet person and she knew how badly he yearned for his own Animal. As a Spirit Animal, she had the ability to be able to sense when human close to hers would get their Animal but not until the day before the Animal's arrival. This instinct was primarily so the Animal wouldn't be taken by surprise and defend their human when there was no need.

"Ayala says she can tell me whether your Animal really will appear the day before it's due so I can tell you, if you'd like?" Ed offered when Ayala gave him the message to pass on.

"Thanks Ayala, but right now I just want to wait and see," Al said, grateful for the offer but he didn't want to ruin the surprise. Plus, Ed didn't have an Animal tell him when Ayala was gonna turn up and Ed had dealt with the suspense alright. "And before you ask, Brother, I'm not telling you what Animal it'll be."

"That's mean, little brother," Ed chided. "By the way, Ayala says you're welcome and that the offer will continue to stand if you change your mind later," Ed passed along before he swung his legs out of bed and stood. "Since we're now up, we might as well get some breakfast." The enthusiasm he received from his statement made Ed laugh as he kicked Al out of his room, claiming to need to get changed while Ayala raced down to the kitchen so she'd be ready for breakfast. Ed shook his head at her antics as he closed the door.

After spending the day trying to wheedle out what kind of animal Alphonse had been dreaming about to no avail, the boys and Ayala raced each other to Granny's house, eager to celebrated Al's birthday with their last remaining family. Al had been so excited to be celebrating his birthday with his family that he hadn't allowed his nerves about the fact he could be getting his Animal in a few short days overcome that excitement.

Granny and Winry had greeted Alphonse with birthday wishes and Den had given the birthday boy some kisses, much to Al's displeasure. The Rockbell women had gone all out for Al's 10th birthday celebrations and made him a special apple pie, using the freshest apples they'd been able to get their hands on. After dessert, they'd presented Al with the birthday gifts they'd gotten for him and he tore into them with child-like delight.

Winry had given Al a journal that was covered in cats (which Al squealed over) and Ed had given his little brother a set of books on different fighting techniques. Winry had scoffed but Al was delighted. He'd been growing bored with the repetitiveness of his and Ed's fighting routines and reveled in the fact that he'd get the chance to switch things up.

The rest of night passed with them playing card games that Ed tried to cheat his way through and Winry clobbering him when she caught at it. After a laughter-filled few hours, the boys and Ayala ended up crashing in Granny's spare bedroom because it was too late for them to try and walk home safely, even though Ayala used Ed to promise both women that she'd get them home in one piece. Ayala had been miffed that her assurances were ignored and had given Winry and Pinako the cold shoulder until Winry had apologised and complimented her enough to win back some affection.

The next morning, Ed and Ayala were pleased to find themselves waking up without a human throwing themselves on top of them. Alphonse was just as excited as he had been yesterday as Ed and Ayala discovered when they looked over at him. He'd had the same dream, further proof it was the Dream. The two got themselves ready for the day ahead and left the room clean and tidy before they joined the Rockbells for breakfast, Ayala eagerly leading the way to the kitchen.

Unfortunately, the combination of having the dream for the sixth time and sleeping in their own beds proved too much for Alphonse's restraint and he woke Edward and Ayala up once more by leaping on their sleeping forms. Edward gave him no sympathy as he cleaned the skin Ayala had broken when Alphonse had startled them awake. Alphonse spend the ordeal alternating between wincing at the alcohol stinging the wound and apologising to an extremely irate Ayala.

To further prove his regret over waking them, Alphonse cooked breakfast and gave Ayala and Ed more than their fair share of the bacon. Ed grinned and gave Al a couple of his rashers to make Alphonse's pitiful looking plate look a little better. Though he'd managed to contain his nerves and excitement well enough during the start of breakfast, Alphonse couldn't maintain that control for long and it didn't take him long to start babbling about his Animal and whether it would be happy here.

Edward found his brother's behaviour thoroughly amusing and he was exceptionally impressed when the nervous energy didn't dissipate in the slightest throughout the whole morning. Ed found it less amusing when Al nearly ripped a page out of the book he was reading during their study session so he sent his baby brother outside with orders to put the techniques in the books Ed had given him for his birthday to the test in a bid for Al to get rid of some of that energy. When Ed and Ayala emerged from the study for lunch, Al had calmed down significantly and had even prepared them lunch. Alphonse declined their offer for him to join the two of them on their afternoon walk in order to keep going through his new books and to prepare for his Animal.

"You know, it'll be really good for him to get his Animal tomorrow," Ayala stated as she and Ed walked through a wooded area near their house. Ed hummed in agreement and didn't comment on the fact that she'd confirmed Al would be getting his Animal definitely the next day. "He can stop worrying about when he'll get it and feeling guilty about being so jealous of you because you have me," she pointed out and Ed grinned wryly at that.

"You noticed, huh?" Ayala response was a flat look that didn't need a translation. "You know he doesn't mean it, right? I mean, I'd be the same way if I was in his position."

"I know, Ed. Thankfully, that will stop tomorrow. He'll be too busy focusing on his Animal," Ayala said as she leaped over a fallen log and waited for Ed to clamber over it himself.

"Yeah, that'll be good for him. So, he's definitely getting it tomorrow?" Ed asked.

"Yup. Do you wanna know what it is?" Ayala offered even though she knew his answer.

"Nah. Best to let it be a surprise, like he wants." Ed felt Ayala's approval run through him, which he answered with a grin.

Two hours later and an almost fall on Ed's part, the pair called it a day and headed back home. They reached the house just as the sun started sinking so Ed started thinking about what he should cook them up for dinner. Even if Alphonse hadn't cooked both breakfast and lunch, Ed knew he would be next to useless in the kitchen. As Ed walked through the door and spotted Al's pale face, Ed decided on an easy dinner of toasted sandwiches.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked after watching his brother eating his dinner almost mechanically and not move when Ed declared bedtime.

"I'm so worried, brother," Al answered meekly. Ed pulled his chair around so he could sit next to Al and placed an encouraging and comforting hand on his shoulder. "What if my Animal doesn't like me? What is this is just another false dream and it doesn't turn up at all?" Al was crying now and Ed used the hand on his shoulder to draw his brother into a hug before he tried to soothe him enough that Ed would be heard over Al's sobs. Those sobs grew in intensity when Ayala placed her head on Al's knee to offer him some comfort of her own. When Al eventually calmed down enough, Ed started talking.

"You're an idiot." Al made an insulted noise but Ed continued. "You are. There's no way your Animal isn't going to like you, you know that. And you've had that dream for the last six nights. The false dreams have never lasted longer than three nights for either of us. You probably have a feeling in your gut that's telling you that this is finally happening, right?" Al gave a nod. "I had the same feeling for the last two days before Ayala turned up and I have a feeling that your Animal will be here tomorrow, okay? So stop crying and get to bed. You don't want your Animal seeing you half-dead for your first meeting, right?" He said as he stood up, extending a hand for his brother to grab. Al chuckled and wiped his face before accepting Eds hand.

"You're right, brother. I'm sorry I got so worked up," Al said as he watched Ayala bound up the stairs.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure plenty of other people went through the same thing." Ed smiled reassuringly. "Now, go to sleep and so help me if you wake us up by jumping on us again," Ed warned, pointing a threatening finger at his brother. Al laughed and promised he wouldn't before he gave Ayala and Ed another hug each and went into his room, closing the door softly behind him.

Ed got himself ready for bed and once he was settled, he was joined by Ayala. However, sleep seemed to be eluding him that and he finally gave up after a few minutes and asked Ayala what was on his mind. "It's not possible, right?" Ed whispered and Ayala cracked an eye open.

"What's not?" She asked, yawning widely.

"That his Animal might not like him." Ayala could hear the worry in his voice.

"Of course it's not," Ayala said. "Although, I wasn't too impressed when I first saw you," she teased.

"HEY!" came Ed's indignant whispered shout that had Ayala laughing.

"I'm only kidding," Ayala laughed then laughed harder at his pout. "No, there's no need to worry. Al's Animal will love him," she consoled him when she finally managed to calm down.

"Good. Al deserves an Animal who loves him as much as he'll love his Animal," Ed said and Ayala hummed in agreement. "Goodnight, Aya."

"Goodnight, Edward."

A/N - revised chapter 4 is up for you guys! See you next week!