Hey guys! Happy Unbirthday! (Unless it's your birthday...) I was really hoping to get this in a few days ago, but I spent most of my time on a roleplay forum, which was both fast moving and confusing! It's amazing how the plot just kept getting weirder and weirder... But I still tried to contribute my part in it, even though I obviously was one of the less important characters in the story. Being sucked inside of it left little time for me to actually be able to THINK about what would happen in this chapter, and so I got very little written while on the forum. I guess I got a small case of writer's block... I want to show who the mystery person is now, but that just seems too rushed, huh? I'm gonna wait at least until next chapter to do so! Which makes me feel like this is just a filler...

On with the story!


Al's POV:

The next morning, Winry and I woke up and prepared for going out, and afterwards we managed to wake Brother up. The three of us went to the restaurant across the street and ate, although hiding the fact that we were giving food to Ed, because of weird looks.

We stepped out after asking the waiter the best place to start at when looking for someone. We ended up at the city's police department. We gave the best description possible, and they promised to tell us when they found something, but of course, that can take days.

Meanwhile, we decided to just search the streets. The three of us separated into different directions, looking at everyone on the sidewalks and peeking through any windows of businesses. But when a few hours passed by, we all met up in the designated restaurant for lunch, and no one had any news. After an hour of rest, we all returned to where we left off, once again going for hours until meeting up for dinner. And again, nothing.

"Guys, can we stop at least for today? My feet are totally killing me!" Winry complained.

"...I'll admit, I love having my body back, but I haven't gotten used to so much walking yet..."

Brother looked at us with a look of maybe some sympathy. I guess during the time he was a State Alchemist, we did travel a LOT, and he did all of it on his own two legs. (...Leg...) I couldn't feel anything during that time, though, being a soul bound to a suit of armor and all. I never realized just how much exercise he had done until now, seeing that Winry and I felt we were about to die, and he sat there like it was nothing.

"We can wait until tomorrow, right, Brother?" He seemed disappointed, but agreed. He was probably going to go out by himself anyways.

We all returned to the inn with full stomachs, and for some, aching feet too. Everyone went to bed, including Ed, but he may have snuck out at some point. I wouldn't know, because since I've been able to sleep again, I SLEEP.

The next day was the same routine, except we probably got less done compared to before, as it was getting hard to handle all the walking. The third day, we first went to the police station to see if they got anything, but apparently, there were no records of a citizen that looked like that. I guess General Armstrong was right...And who knows? They may have changed their appearance again since then! Now what?

Ed's POV:

I wish I wasn't so impatient. Our search for answers has gotten nowhere yet, except for that one suspect, but it's near impossible to find them, which is pretty obvious, even though it has only been a few weeks that I have been stuck like this, and only a few days spent searching. This all better be worth it in the end...

Winry and Al, being kinda wimpy, haven't been able to get as much distance within the hours we go out as I have, although it is getting to me now. I guess we all deserve a short break. It turns out there is a bakery a few blocks away from the inn, and from what I've heard while passing by, it's delicious. I kinda tried to point it out to my brother, who seemed to take the hint. I don't care how much damage they can do to me now, I want sweets!

When entering, I could immediately feel warm air, or at least warm compared to the snow outside. I got attacked with all of the smells inside the building, and it was hard to believe that everything really did smell that good and I had never noticed. One point to cats- superior sense of smell. Al was kind enough to get something that didn't have chocolate in it, and I got to try a piece of it. And it tasted like practically nothing. I kept trying to get some flavor, but it was barely anything. Point to humans- superior sense of taste. How can something smell so awesome, yet I can't taste it? I still tried to enjoy it, knowing how it was supposed to be in my head.

When we left, we were walking back slowly to the inn, and I encountered the first dog I had seen as a cat, besides Den. I could hear (and sadly, smell) it long before it came into view. It immediately started to growl at me, and I don't know if I couldn't understand it talking, or it just didn't feel the need for it. I felt myself get into a battle position, although my ears pressing down was new.

"Oh no, please don't fight the dog, Ed!"

I heard Alphonse say that, but I didn't heed to his words. I've been waiting for something like this, fighting with someone my own size. Claws were about to come out when I got lifted up in the air, and simultaneously the dog's leash was yanked away.

"I'm not letting you for your sake. You are totally inexperienced against that kind of opponent! He may have had the upper hand in this battle."

Knowing he was right, but still being stubborn, I got carried the rest of the way with what I hoped came off as a pissed-off expression. Right there, I promised to myself that if I was to meet that dog again, we WILL fight, and I WILL win.


Is it just me, or was the chapter written differently than usual?... Fo' yo' info', I actually looked up how a cat's senses are before writing this. I knew their sense of taste would be different than for a human's, as I had said in "Al the Cat," but after that I got kinda nervous about if I'd be writing correctly when it came to other senses or whatever in the future. Turns out, cats have barely any taste buds compared to us! They usually determine food by smell, touch, and what their mamas taught them. I figured Ed might have not truly noticed the difference yet, because up to this point he was probably only eating meat, like cats should.

As an effort to make this story differ to "Al the Cat" more, I was thinking that maybe Ed CAN'T understand animals, or maybe can just talk to other cats. I never understood if pets can talk to each other or just those of their own species... But if you guys think he could have an interesting conversation with a dog, go ahead and say so! Who knows how realistic I'll be with it, though, since I'm not a dog and don't know how they think... Also, should I prepare Ed for a battle against the only dog in the North? XD Seriously, how has he not seen any other ones yet?

Wow, long author's notes...

K bai!