Golden Scales Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
o.O.0.O.o
I cracked an eye open blearily. No sunlight stung my vision, which I found mildly unusual. I rubbed my eyes with my hand and sat up against the wall. From this angle, I surveyed the room.
Clean, dustless, and dark. The outfit I'd discarded on the floor last night now lay folded in a small laundry basket that someone had shoved into the corner. Mt. Notebooks sat on the dresser, stacked neatly and color-coded. The newly polished desk fan hummed softer and smoother as it made its white noise. Dim light bathed the room in blue, radiating from the newly changed light bulb behind the bedside lamp's cobalt shade. And, seemingly promoting a longer sleep duration, the shades were drawn shut.
Frowning, I glanced over at the clock. 11:45AM. My frown deepened. Winry never let me sleep in this late. And she certainly didn't bother cleaning my room. Something was definitely out of place here.
It had only been three days since Winry found the doctor's number and called. Mr. Harrison said that he'd be in Resembool in roughly five days. We still had two more to wait. Did Pinako order a house-wide spring cleaning early, or what?
It hardly mattered, I knew. Whatever my house-mates were up to, they obviously saw it fit to not involve me. Why else would they let me sleep in so late?
Shrugging, I moved to stand with heavy support of the wall. Slowly, I made my way across the room, out the door, down the hallway, and into the bathroom.
o.O.0.O.o
At breakfast, Pinako served eggs, bacon, and toast. She smirked at the blond teen's expression as she set the plate down in front of him. Winry possessed an identical smirk as she announced a full stomach and shoved some of her own bacon on Edward's plate. She'd had her share of breakfast before he even left his room. Alphonse, unable to take part in the wonderful ritual known as eating, was mysteriously missing from the study.
Clearly, from the clueless expression Edward wore, he still had no idea what they were up to. Or rather, the meaning of that day. As the suspicious, yet oblivious teen dug into his morning meal, Winry drummed her fingers on the table leg beneath her, growing slightly irritated with how slowly this day was unfolding.
Pinako noticed the slant of her granddaughter's eyebrows and cleared her throat. "Winry? Why don't you take this list and go down to the market. I'm sure Raphael's is open by now."
She took the list and scanned it. "Sure, Granny."
The blonde mechanic quickly got up, tossed her dishes in the sink, and bolted out of the room.
The remaining blond raised an eyebrow as Pinako moved to get up as well.
"Ed," she said, "I want you to stay in the house today. Don't let anyone in unless it's one of us."
Edward sighed. "Sure, I guess, but where—"
She'd already left the room, leaving him completely alone.
o.O.0.O.o
I closed the book tiredly, shoved it back on the shelf, and pulled out another. As much as a challenge it was to get there all by myself, none of my findings were worth the effort. My eyes grew achy after scanning torturously small font for forty-five minutes straight. My one arm primed to drop any second from the overuse. And even though my stumps had grown a fair amount over the past few days, the length wasn't nearly enough to make a difference.
That still freaked me out a little. But knowing I had open holes in the sides of my neck watered my panic down significantly.
I sighed as I opened the next book, scanning the table of contents absently. A few seconds of this passed before I noticed slight pressure on my left shoulder. Steadily, I turned my head, only to sigh in relief when I found Den's head poking over my shoulder excitedly. His tail wagged behind him and his tongue hung out. The dog peered over at the book as if to say, "Whatchya readin' there?"
I smiled. I set the book down and rubbed my hand across the top of Den's muzzle. Not even bothering to continue my research, I let myself fall to the floor. There I decided that taking a break sounded great. Den lowered himself as well, and rested beside me. Both of us sighed together before floating off to our separate dreamscapes.
o.O.0.O.o
"I don't think he's interested in water alchemy, Winry." Al said.
Winry waved him off. "I want to get him something he doesn't already have. The last time I got him an earth alchemy book it sat in his room collecting dust."
"Actually," Al argued, "He forgot it when we headed back to Central. He complained about it for half the train ride."
Winry blinked. "He did?"
"Here you are, miss." Raphael said, handing her the book.
For a second, she hesitated. But then her expression cleared and she took the book with a smile. Sticking her tongue out at the armor, she slipped her newest purchase into her bag. Since he couldn't roll his eyes, Al settled for tilting his helmet and sighing.
"Still," Al continued, "I think he'd appreciate something other than an alchemy book."
"Like what?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.
"Like… I don't know… something that you can't buy, perhaps."
Winry narrowed her eyes. She got the meaning of that a few seconds later.
"Oh, no you didn't!" she hollered. "You did not just say that!"
Al stared ahead as they walked. "No. I didn't say that. I thought it, but I didn't say it."
The sound of a wrench meeting metal hide rang through the market.
o.O.0.O.o
Winry took extra care to hide her purchases in her room. Even though the probability of Edward taking a leisurely, undeliberate stroll through the house had nose-dived these past few days, Winry refused to take any chances. She wanted this birthday to be a complete surprise.
The mechanic nodded to herself as she surveyed her work. Even if, for reasons unfathomable, Edward happened to glance in her room, he wouldn't be able to spot his gifts. Giving one last sigh to the chilled air, she turned around and marched out the door, confidently leaving her door wide open. On her way down the hallway, she retrieved her glass of Liquid Candy off the end table and continued down the stairs.
Once she reached the bottom, her heart almost melted at the sight she found in the other room.
Two sleeping creatures lay in a comfortable dog-pile. Drool hung and dripped from both snoring mouths. Fur and head-fur alike stuck out at odd angles, accumulating an impressively collective mass of bed-head. Books, notebooks, and loose leaf papers were scattered about around them, creating a circular flow that separated them from the rest of the room. At times like these, Winry really wished she owned a camera.
A small giggle escaped her as she carefully picked her way around the dog-pile. Once in the clear, Winry headed for the kitchen to prepare the room for that evening.
o.O.0.O.o
"So… are you a patient too?"
I looked at the kid who'd just spoken, a bit surprised that he'd worked up the courage to talk to a complete stranger. Even though Pinako thought him strong enough to function normally again, there was only so much one could expect from an eleven-year-old who had just recovered from a complete amputation. Then again, I had undergone the same torture at the ripe age of ten.
"You could say that." I replied.
Silver irises bore into my own golden ones, taking in seemingly every available detail. The kid scanned every feature, observed every movement. Every time I so much as leaned to the side the unnerving silver irises flicked back to me. This made me mildly uneasy. In exchange, I copied the kid's behavior. After all, this was the first time we had met.
The kid was short for an eleven-year-old. Dare I say, even shorter than myself at that age. Rather small-framed and frail as well, as one might expect after two weeks of bed rest and an IV replacing proper nourishment. A scraggly mop of brown hair stuck out of his skull at odd angles, the longest strands reaching halfway down his neck. Darkened circles ringed his eyes and the skin on his chest clung tightly to prominent clavicle bones. His body appeared worse for wear, however, that didn't stop his curious eyes from outshining his unhappy posture.
In those metallic eyes I could see mischief and curiosity burning brightly. From those eyes I could tell that the kid was actually excited to be here. His soul relished in seeing new places, meeting new people, and learning new things. A small smile pulled at the corner of my mouth.
He's kind of like me, I silently noted.
Currently, we sat together in the study. After Pinako banned me from the kitchen a few hours ago, I retreated to my favorite room of the house. There, I found the kid already there, leafing through the texts with his one good hand. It had been one of the more embarrassing moments in my life when I had to pathetically work my way into the room using the wall as a crutch.
In those silvery eyes though, I saw no pity, but sympathy. The kid had looked away embarrassed as I carefully lowered myself to the floor next to him.
Now, after twenty minutes of comfortable silence between us, the kid was slowly opening up to me.
"So…" he began, "Um, if I may ask, why do you keep your hair so long?"
The question caught me off guard. "Oh, uh… I don't really know."
I grinned uneasily at the kid as I rubbed my ridges, a habit I'd developed these past few days. What I'd said was a complete lie. I knew exactly why I left my hair long. I just wasn't willing to share that information. My reasoning ran too deep into my past, and I didn't want to open up that can of worms. Especially in front of someone so young and innocent.
The kid bit his lip, sensing that the conversation was headed for a dead end. Then his silver eyes lit up again before he asked, "What kind of books do you like to read?"
I paused for a moment before answering. "Boring textbooks and field journals."
"Aw, really? Dude, you're weird!"
Laughter filled the room, joined by Den's excited baying. The obnoxious din of the living room caused Pinako to shout from her place in the kitchen,
"Quiet down in there!"
"Sorry, Ms. Rockbell!" the kid shouted back.
"Sorry, old bat!" I added.
"What was that, runt?!"
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SHORT?! I'M NOT SMALL, DAMMIT!"
Winry's voice added itself to the noise. "WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE, ED! THERE'S A KID IN THE HOUSE!"
Said kid giggled pleasantly. Den stopped baying and things settled down once more. The kid glanced up at me.
"My name's Jack, by the way," he said, "Jack Harrison."
I raised my eyebrow, now noticing that I'd been hearing the name "Harrison" everywhere lately.
"My name's Ed. Edward Elric." I replied.
A few moments passed before a frown pulled at Jack's lips. A few more moments passed before his silvery eyes shot open in surprise.
"No way!" he shouted, "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist!"
