The hollow moan of the wind made the run down house that Mei and Dr. Marcoh were staying in shudder violently.
The nights in northern Amestris were cold and lonely, making Mei long for the near tropical climate of her homeland. Xing was consistently hot all year with the exception of the rainy season but even the raindrops were warm, the only cold areas were high up at the tops of mountains. She never thought she would miss her home, but she had not expected it to feel so far away.
Back home her clan would be close to celebrating the Moon festival, which was to herald the coming of the harvest months in autumn. Out of all the festivals, it was her favorite. It was the only time of year that her mother would allow Mei to mingle with the rest of the clan, to play games with the other children and watch reenactments of popular plays like Lady White Cat and the Tales of the Four Kingdoms. The finest part of the festival was its food; thick yellow noodles with spicy broth topped with fresh vegetables and beef, rice-flour skinned dumplings filled with red bean paste, roasted duck in sweet sauce served on sticks. The deserts however were the best, the creamy mango pudding, the lightly golden almond cookies, and of course the thick Mooncakes with pineapple or custard filling. The celebrations would continue well into the night, with dancing, songs, boat racing, and of course fireworks that would burn intensely against the night sky.
Every year the nobility from the fifty clans of Xing received invitations from the capital to celebrate the festival with the Emperor; it was considered a great honor and a sign of power. Even the oldest elder in Mei's clan could not recall the last time the Chan clan was invited.
Her mother never seemed to enjoy the Moon festival.
Mei tightened her grip on the woolen blanket pulling it closer to her body in an attempt to keep away the cold. Xiao-Mei shifted her small body in her sleep unconsciously moving closer to Mei's side, making her smile at the panda. Mei lifted her black eyes towards her other companion, Dr. Marcoh; she could barely make out the faint outline of his form in the dark gloom of the house. All Mei could see was his back but she could tell that he was not sleeping; she hoped it was not because the cold was hurting his face or if it was perhaps another issue. Even though they were working together, Mei knew very little about him, but she vividly remembered the glare of disgust smoldering in Mr. Scar's eyes. It was hard to believe that the reserved Dr. Marcoh could have done anything to hurt another person. He did not even yell at her when she carelessly abused his body in her attempt to explain the power flow in the human body, though he had been too impressed to be angry.
Mei found it curious that the power flow, an idea she had known all her life, was virtually unknown outside of her country's boundaries. She wondered how they could not notice the flow of energy coming from people, plants, animals, and the other elements that made up their world. The basis of her country's alchemy was on the principle of accessing that power flow then to apply it to the art of healing or self-improvement. Majority of people in Xing understood this concept and had limited access to the flow, only a few had the benefit of raw talent and expert training. Mei was one of the lucky few for which she was proud of, but ever since entering Amestris she at times regretted having it.
In Amestris, where there should have been the usual power flow of the Earth's crust, there was the feeling of large numbers of people withering underneath. A sense of suffering and desperation came over her whenever she paid attention to it, and it made her feel uncomfortable.
Then there was the man in the underground hideout of the Homunculi. His outward appearance was that of a human, though his eyes appeared to take in everything around him but reflected nothing back. The man lacked a natural flow of power, and where the soul's presence should have been there was nothing but blackness. He was human but not truly human, and Mei had never been more scared in her life.
Mei squeezed her eyes tightly shut as if to close herself from the images filtering into her mind, she sighed deeply and her breath came out as white mist when it hit the cold air. In an attempt to calm herself down Mei reminded herself that not all the auras she felt were scary.
Dr. Marcoh's for example was more sad then frightening. It was like the flow of the river at night, dark and distant; though the surface may be, still the waters ran deep with secrets. She felt bad for him, wishing that he would smile more.
Mr. Yoki with his myriad of silly faces, leaving Mei to find him funny, kind of like the monkeys she saw in picture books. He was not a bad person but even Mei knew he was not exactly good either. His aura was like oil, it could slither into any crevice and you could never truly get a hold of it. Mei was not scared of him though, he was too silly for him to pose any threat.
Mr. Scar was the most different out of all of them. His power flow was like liquid fire that came down from Shian Mountain, intense and had the ability to destroy anything that crossed its path. Mei felt that an event in his past must have been fueling the fire that seemed to have no limit. Mei really liked him though, she knew deep down that, he was kind. After all, fires not only burned but also provided warmth and light.
If Mei was, brave enough to admit it to herself, she would say that out of all the auras she had felt, she liked Mr. Alphonse's the best.
He was an interesting case concerning power flow to begin with, since the soul's connection to the body and mind had been disrupted. His soul signature was like a soft white light that subtly blazed strongly against its unfortunate circumstance. Mei could only compare it to the fireflies that she used to capture on warm summer nights, a glow that would uplift your heart. She recalled how happy she was to hold a glass jar containing those lights, to drift off to sleep watching her precious radiance that felt like she captured magic. When morning came, she was upset to see that all the fireflies had died, their tiny bodies no longer emitting any light. She would then go crying to her mother who made no move to comfort but instead warned Mei about taking anything out of their natural home. Similar to the fireflies that died within the confines of the glass jar, Mr. Alphonse's soul was placed in an unnatural container that was stifling it.
She wondered worriedly if he realized the consequences of separating the three major components of the human beings: the body, mind and soul. The bond between soul and armor was strong, but by no means perfect. She had sensed it briefly in their short stay at Dr. Knox's house, but Mei felt his soul flicker. It happened so fast she almost thought it was a figment of her imagination, but the image of his soul wavering like the flame of a candle about to be snuffed out unnerved her.
His was a strong and good soul, but it could not last forever in that body.
The sound of the wind howling came crashing all around, as streams of freezing cold air seeped through the holes of the house. Mei let out a small whimper before clutching Xiao-Mei closer to her body, in fear that the house would eventually lose its battle against the unforgiving wind and collapse. The wind eventually backed down, but the onslaught of the heavy snowfall did not stop for a moment.
Mei hoped that he did not know the reality of his situation, for that would be a fate worse then death.