Chapter 10: Greed Always Leads to Downfall
Showing up unannounced in the Curtis home had terrifying repercussions. Beryl learned this in a way completely fitting of what she knew of Izumi; the Elric dorks flew through the door, barely avoiding the knife thrown strait through the wall by their teacher. The damn thing nearly took her eye out on the other side, but with slight prompting from Alphonse, she stayed outside while they begged for their former teacher to give them a chance to speak freely.
She understood that what they talked about was none of her business, but it felt strange to be kept in the dark about most things regarding their shady forms of said business. The magic alchemy crap, the constant whispering when Beryl was around, even Al and his weird fixation with that suit of armor. All of it was weird and creepy and pointed to something they clearly didn't want her to be a part of.
Which was fine, she didn't want to get caught up in their mumbo-jumbo anyway, but what irked her was the fact that if she hindered them so much, why didn't they just let her rot in Rush Valley with Winry to pay them back? Why the hell did she get dragged into this?
Wandering off into the house, Beryl kicked the air and balled her fist around a wad of paper in her pants pocket. It was soft from years of wear, yet still rough and pointed in places from when she crumpled it up years ago.
She started walking up the stairs to kick off her boots in her indefinite room when the brothers emerged from the kitchen looking brighter than they did before. "Well that could've gone worse…" Edward sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his metal hand.
Alphonse acknowledged her as she began turning the corner up the steps, "Aren't you going to join us for dinner Beryl?" he asked, making her halt slightly at the top of the stairs.
She shifted her palm over the paper wad in her pocket, the slight movement not lost to either of them, before turning over her shoulder with a small smile. "No thanks, I'm pretty wiped from today… think I'll turn in early if it's alright with your Teach." Not waiting for a reply, she disappeared into the second story of the house.
Ed and Al watched her go, neither objecting as her door shut with a soft click a moment later. They exchanged a look before the eldest of the two voiced his thoughts. "Wonder what's eating her?"
The younger made a motion similar to shrugging, "I don't think she slept very well last night… and I kind of… yelled at her for trying to take off my helmet…"
"She what?!"
Smoke just about sprung from his ears after hearing that, however Alphonse attempted to calm his brother as he so often did. Edward tended to blow a gasket when his baby brother's safety was threatened in any way shape or form despite him being sturdier than his elder sibling by far.
"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it! She was just curious you know we haven't really explained a whole lot about our situation…"
The golden haired boy just sighed, "Did she see anything?"
A breath of silence passed between them, and Al heard a small breeze from the open window pass throughout his hollow chest, reminding him of what Beryl could've seen. Or rather, what she would've looked for, but never found, and be horrified by.
He shook his head, "No…" Poking his fingers together nervously, Al danced around the question he'd been meaning to ask since Beryl's life debt was put in place. "But shouldn't we at least tell her what's going on? If the path we're on becomes more dangerous wouldn't it be smarter if Beryl at least knows our situation?"
Edward's fist clenched at his side.
"She's a rat with a bad attitude who nearly got you killed; first the car, and then that storm, I don't know what I would've done if that rock slab you made from mud gave out and you fell… what if the rain washed away your blood seal? Beryl at least owes you for that…"
"Then why don't we tell her that?" Al insisted. "Keeping these things from her could be dangerous Ed, those people from the Fifth Laboratory… we still don't know what they meant by sacrifice, and we shouldn't be dragging an innocent person into our problems!"
"Keeping you safe and getting our bodies back is my top priority Al! This is her hometown right? So problem solved, we'll tell her tomorrow that her debt is off and that'll be the end of it… nothing else matters right now."
Alphonse sighed, seeming to accept that answer.
"Alright, maybe Teacher will let her stay here in exchange for work?"
Ed laughed at the thought. "Yeah, if she doesn't kill her for stealing food first."
The two shared a laugh before returning to help Izumi with dinner, comfortable silence surrounding the warm kitchen with a softness they hadn't felt since before that night nearly five years ago. Al absentmindedly scratched the space between his helmet and neck where Beryl's fingers brushed across his blood seal as she attempted to pry open his armor. It was a light touch, barely considered a touch at all, but for a brief moment, he'd felt the heat from her fingertips.
Turns out that all the, if you go to bed early stuff your parents teach you is a load f bull. Beryl fell asleep at 8 pm the night before and still woke up feeling like she'd been caressed by the crypt-keeper. She'd always been a light sleeper, being kept on her toes for most of her life, but this was getting ridiculous. Sleeping restlessly for two nights in a row was doing stuff to her brain; weird stuff. Stuff like bumping into Alphonse and hearing his armor echo like a metal drum, she shook it off and forgot about it as soon as he apologized like a flustered preteen. Although, Beryl supposed he was a flustered preteen, with how much he towered over her it was a challenge to remember that they were the same age.
Al accidently kicked an empty can on the street and she almost jumped clean out of her skin, yelping like a provoked alley cat. Her arms tightened around the grocery bag she was carrying, making the brown paper crumple around the items inside.
"Oh, I'm sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Alphonse muttered softly, a larger bag tucked into his even larger arms. Beryl had gotten pushed into helping him pick out dinner at the market, since Edward had to speak to Izumi about important alchemy stuff, whatever that was.
Kicking the same can herself as if to prove it didn't scare her as much as he thought, she breathed out through her nose. "It's fine, let's just finish this shopping and go back to the house."
Pepper rubbed his furry body against her leg, purring loudly as though the vibrations from his belly would settle her nerves. She appreciated the effort, but it did little to lower the hairs on her neck. Silently agreeing to head back to the Curtis house, Beryl followed Alphonse, opting to walk along beside him with her lost thoughts leaving her open to wandering off without realizing it.
"If you don't mind me asking, what made you want to leave Dublith? When Ed and I lived here with Teacher, it was always a really nice town." He asked, looking around at the townspeople going about their business. A slightly familiar ginger head passed them on his way to the bakery, but Beryl crushed her urge to trip him and focused on Al instead.
She sighed through her nose, "Towns are only nice if you have money to buy the nice things they have, otherwise they're all the same… plus Rush Valley has way warmer winters; less frostbite." Keeping her reasoning simple would keep him from sniffing around too much, and the reason she gave made enough sense; she did choose Rush Valley for its dirt-cheap automail and snow-less winters. Making snow angels and throwing snowballs was a lot less fun without a warm coat.
Al gave pause before he replied concern edging his echoing voice. "I'm… sorry to hear that."
A shrug was all she gave in return, giving him a sweeping look from head to toe in an attempt to change the subject. "What about you?" He actually flinched a little bit at her inquiry, so she pushed further. "What's your story? Since we're asking each other those kinda' questions now,"
"W-well, the thing about that is… it's kind of a long story…"
"I've got time."
Seeing that she wouldn't let up until her boredom was satiated, Alphonse gave in. "My brother and I made a mistake when we were younger, and we became state alchemists to try and fix it."
His answer was curt and short, heavily giving the vibe that that was all he wanted to say, but Beryl wasn't satisfied with his answer. Big fancy alchemists like them must screw up fiercely if at all, and the more she dug out from them the better chance she had of gaining their trust and ditching them at the perfect moment.
"What'd you do?"
"I really shouldn't say…"
"Come on…" she droned. "You can tell me, I'm a real good secrets-keeper…" she poked his chest and cupped a hand over her lips as if whispering a secret to him.
Al placed his large hand on one of her shoulders, gentle but giving her a firm squeeze while balancing the bags in one arm. "I said no, I don't want to talk about it." Beryl blinked at his unyielding voice, at a loss for her usual snarky backtalk. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop pushing me just because you're bored, and respected my privacy."
Not enjoying the feeling of smallness from the way he spoke down to her, Beryl pulled away from him and gnawed the inside of her cheek irritably. "Fine, don't tell me."
Remembering the bag of groceries in her hands, and disliking the weight of it to add to her embarrassment, Beryl shoved it into Alphonse's arms with a huff. He took it but looked at her confusedly as she walked on ahead of him, but in the opposite direction of the house.
"I'll meet up with you later, got some stuff to do by myself."
She heard him sigh within his armor, "Beryl…"
"See you back at the house." She didn't give him any opportunity to stop her, as she scurried off disappearing behind a building corner into the market.
If Edward and his dorky little brother wanted to keep her in the dark, that was fine by her. But being called out on her behavior towards them just pissed her off even more.
After about the twelfth right turn she'd taken to evade Alphonse, Beryl kicked an empty can hard enough to bounce it off the wall with an obnoxious clang.
"Curse you Edward Elric!" she spat. Everything was just so… frustrating! All for what? 2500 cenz?! Letting out a loud groan and knotting her fingers in her hair, Beryl cursed at the ground she stood on. What was 2500 cenz to a state alchemist like Edward Elric anyway?! She'd seen him flash his pocket watch for free rides in almost everything from transport to board, which begged the million-cenz question…
Why was she still here?!
Wanting to throw something else, she picked up a rock from the pavement and chucked it as hard as she could, hitting a metal trash bin loudly enough to scare off the nearby alley cats with annoyed hissing and growls. She sneered right back at them, flopping back against the brick wall of a general store and sliding down until her butt met the dirt.
I hate this place, I never should have come back here, I should have jumped off that train and tested my luck with the dessert, anything is better than this crap-fest…
A soft bump against her hand broke her train of thought, drawing her focus to Pepper, the feline having followed her despite his new favorite place on Al's shoulder. He rubbed his ears against her palm before pushing up under her chin, purring all the while like a rumbling car engine.
Against all the anxiety she felt, her pet's efforts successfully made her smile. Beryl sighed, scratching behind Pepper's ears, "Why did I have to step on your tail? We'd still be living our life of luxury in Rush Valley if I hadn't…"
The tabby meowed, having long forgiven the new crook in his tail from her heavy boot damaging the muscle tissue within. Blue and brown eyes blinked, pushing herself off the ground and brushing off her pants, Pepper taking refuge across her shoulders like a silken shawl. Thinking about the incident that day left her with a feeling of guilt in her stomach; if Alphonse hadn't stopped that car in its tracks, she'd no doubt be six-feet under. And, she supposed Edward didn't have to fix the man's destroyed vehicle to get him off her back for jumping into the street, or at least to keep Al out of trouble.
As much as they had screwed her over, they had also stuck their neck out for her on more than one occasion. Winry too if you counted the free repairs she did on her automail; Beryl fiddled with the dials admiring how fluid they felt in her ears compared to the pinching patches of rust and grime that had built up before.
Maybe those dorks aren't so bad… she thought, lightly toeing an anthill in the asphalt as she mulled over her thoughts. I did go too far with Al didn't I… she was so aggravated with her lack of answers that she'd dug herself into a deeper hole in the process of getting them, and she was fairly certain that the younger Elric's silent disappointment felt worse than his brother's boasting displays of anger.
Slapping her cheeks and promising the air that she would try to make it up t Al before the day was up, Beryl turned out of the alley and moved to make her way back to the Curtis residence.
But something stopped her in her tracks, and hand on her shoulder as rough and calloused as the brick wall she'd been leaning against not a minute earlier.
"Terribly sorry little lady, but it seems I'm a bit lost and don't know my way around, could you point me towards Curtis Meats?" a velvety smooth voice asked, gentlemanly but cunning as if he wanted much more than what he was outwardly asking for.
"Oh… it's right over…"
He cut her off, not that her meek-sounding reply was much to cut in the first place. Something about his voice set her on edge, and his hold on her shoulder prevented her from turning to look at his face. "Please forgive me, but did I hear you talking about Edward Elric earlier? The state alchemist isn't he? Who can perform alchemy without a transmutation circle?"
Beryl had little to no recollection of what most of those words meant, but by the swelling curiosity in his voice, it must've been impressive. "I-I guess, I honestly don't know him all that well."
She tried to wiggle her shoulder out of his grip, but he squeezed tighter, pinching the muscles that connected her arm to her body in an uncomfortable way. "Oh but you're living with him and his brother, the suit of armor, aren't you."
A chill travelled up her spine that she hadn't felt in three years. "How… did you know that?"
The hand on her shoulder slowly slid along her skin as the man brushed his sharp nails against the flesh of her neck, coiling his fingers around her throat and squeezing lightly when she tried to wiggle again.
"I don't mean to be rude, but it seems unwise for a young girl like you to be wandering around without supervision…" he squeezed tighter, and breathing became more difficult as fear began to set in. This guy wasn't right, and she reached up to try and pry his fingers loose, but they didn't budge, and she couldn't hold her breath forever. "Some people might even try to take advantage of a sweet-looking girl like you, but I wouldn't worry too much, the best kind of people demand the finer things." He hissed in her ear, using his free hand to turn down the dial on her left ear so she couldn't hear a thing out of it.
A flash of terror slithered down Beryl's throat as the familiarity of the man's voice finally registered in her memory, and she forced herself to look up at him past his tinted sunglasses and menacing grin.
His pointed teeth glinted in the sun, as violet scorched into brown and blue like a predator staring into the eyes of its prey. "Why the long face Flea-Bag?"
Tears of fear burned as they slid down her cheeks, Greed brushing a few away with his rough thumb. "Don't worry, I've got you." The hunger in his voice instilled more dread in her chest, no matter how much he tried to make his words sound reassuring.
Beryl swallowed a lump in her throat, the hand on her neck not loosening his grip, only tightening it.
"Now… tell your big brother how you've been."
Holy SH*T it's been a month since I last updated! College is kicking my ass and I haven't even had a single test yet. Well, ass-kicking is an exaggeration, its actually really great, i'm just sad I haven't been writing all that much or designing or any of that stuff I actually like. But I digress. For those who've read Insomniacs, (if you haven't then go now) if you got that little reference when Al felt Beryl's touch through his blood seal, it was in relation to when Delilah touched his soul through the seal. I thought it was a cute and interesting idea, so I tweeked it a bit. it won't be a reacurring theme, at least not at this point in time, but I thought referencing the work would be fun, and it was! But, shit is about to hit the fan of Truth here next chapter, as Greed gives Beryl a... "stern talking to." it won't be rapey don't worry, I don't think Greed is that kinda guy, but I've already said too much so... *exits gayly* I bid you good day!