In the last chapter...
Ana pouted at him, "Alphonse, your brother is an ass."
Al gave a long-suffering sigh, "I'm aware."
And so it continues...
Life Lesson #10
Fire is bad
(-Ana-)
"Come on, wake up Ana."
That voice…I know that voice…
Ana stirred, lifting her heavy eyelids. She saw his face, that broad grin standing out against his dark skin. How dare he wake her up.
"Go away, Bryton," she moaned, snuggling farther into her pillow and the pleasantly warm blankets. She wanted to sleep. Why did he always have to come over when she was sleeping? Curse them for living so close to each other. It was no problem for him to walk over to her house and interrupt her slumber. Anyone else and she would have strangled them. Stupid Bryton, being her best friend.
"Girl, come on! You've got to get your butt up."
"Why?" Ana moaned again. What was his deal? Wasn't it the weekend or something?
"Ana…"
Ana's eyes blinked open at his odd tone. Her sight adjusted for a minute, taking in the pink, painted walls of her bedroom (don't judge), the cluttered mess of clothes and other junk littering the floor, the TV on a dresser with overflowing drawers. Something was off with this picture. She didn't remember falling asleep here…
"Bryton?" she called, realizing that he was gone. That was odd. He was there a moment ago, sitting on her bedside… Or had she not heard him leave in her half-awake state?
She sat up grumbling, pushing the covers off of herself. Her legs moved over the side, bare feet touching the floor.
"Bryton!"
"In here!" his voice called out from elsewhere in the house.
She glanced at the door, wondering again why she'd never heard it close or how Bryton had suddenly become a ninja and snuck out without a sound. That didn't matter, she supposed. She needed to get up, see what was up with him.
Ana left her welcoming bed and stepped out of the room and into the living room. She frowned. Since when did her room connect to the living room? There was supposed to be a hallway there…
"You comin' or what?" Bryton called to her.
Ana turned to the right, the front door directly beside her and shut tight. Next to it were two windows, one of them open and Bryton's tall, lanky frame standing on the other side, waiting on the porch impatiently.
"Where are we going?" she asked, confused.
"Out," he said, as if it were obvious. "You need to get out, Ana. Now."
"But why?" she wondered, looking around the room and spotting the archway into the kitchen. The house was eerily silent. Where was everyone? Momma? She didn't hear anything from the kitchen, which was the woman's usual haunt. Daddy? Not in his leather chair watching Netflix, so he was probably at work. Kaylee? Ana didn't hear the sounds of her playing the Wii in her room, nor was she in here on the computer. So where? She couldn't hear any of them.
Ana took a step in the direction of the kitchen and away from the front door.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Bryton spoke.
Ana glanced over her shoulder. All of Bryton's usual cheer was gone, his face gone stony and so unlike himself.
"Why not?" she questioned. What was in the kitchen?
He shook his head, utter seriousness written in his features, "You don't want to find out. Trust me." Was it her, or did he seem a little sad too?
Ana peeked at the kitchen again. She could see the giant, maroon cabinet in the corner and the dogs and cats' food bowls underneath on the floor. Now that she thought about it, the animals were missing too…
"Ana," Bryton called again, his voice urgent. "You've got to get out of there."
Ana swirled back around, her heart fluttering with nervousness when she couldn't find Bryton. He was no longer there. Where did he go?
A panic rose in her. She needed to get out. She needed out now.
Her hand clutched the door handle and twisted. The door flung open. Darkness waited on the other side and swallowed her. She began falling in a black sea…
Ana jerked awake, a sharp gasp falling from her lips. Her eyes darted around the room, confusion seeping in when she recognized the living room of the Hughes' house. What happened? How did she get here? Wasn't she at the library? Alphonse? Edward? Where were they?
She turned to get up, taking a moment to notice she'd been napping on the couch, and was met with a small figure standing nearby the arm where her head rested.
"Oh God!" Ana gasped again, her heart making a bee line up her throat and back. It took a second to think past the surprise and confusion to realize who it was that had scared the bajeezus out of her. When she did, Ana gave a staggering sigh, wiping a hand over her face as she said, "Good lord, child. You scared the shit out of me… I meant poop! You scared the poop out of me… Don't tell your parents I said a wordy-derd."
Looking half scared herself from Ana's jarring awakening, Elysia couldn't manage more than staring up at her with those large, luminous green eyes of hers. Great, Ana had traumatized her again. And they had made such progress last night.
"S'okay. I didn't expect you there," she assured her, pulling herself up by grabbing onto the back of the couch. Stretching out each of her arms, she surveyed the room. Nothing she saw stood out to her. However, the distinctive sounds of people talking came from the kitchen/dining room area from the other side of the house. Were the guys in there? They better be, and they'd explain to her why she hadn't woken up where she'd fallen asleep.
Ana dragged herself from the couch to trudge over to the front windows. Peeking out of the decorative curtains (decorative because they were made with that impractical see-through material but had really pretty designs like snowflakes), Ana squinted from the harsh glare of sunlight and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"
Elysia gave her the universal hum that stood for, "I don't know." Ana glanced over her shoulder at her and Elysia squirmed where she stood. "Alphonse said it was your nap time."
"He so gets me," Ana sighed. Alphonse understood her needs. If it turned out he could cook, then that was it; she would marry that boy. And she'd even be nice enough to let Edward be a part of the wedding as the maid of honor. Screw gender roles.
"You're marrying Alphonse?!" Elysia gasped in wonder.
Oh crap, Ana needed to stop saying her thoughts out loud.
"Yesh!" Ana fist pumped, because why not. "And you can be the flower girl at the wedding, Elysia."
"Really?" Elysia squealed. Ana grinned, nodding at her. Elysia, unable to contain her excitement, dashed out across the hall and into the dining room yelling, "Mommy! Mommy! I'm going to be a flower girl!" Grin not budging, Ana went to the dining room as well.
Gracia sat at the dining table, a cup of what was probably tea sitting in front of her (what was it with Amestrians and their tea anyway?) and an overenthusiastic Elysia now sitting in her lap. Across from them sat the Elrics. Edward was halfway through some type of sandwich and beside him Alphonse had been reading but now paid attention to what Elysia was chattering about.
"A flower girl?" Gracia's lips curled upwards.
Elysia nodded furiously, "Ana said I could be one!"
Everyone looked at the doorway, noticing Ana standing there for the first time.
Ana clasped her hands together, staring at Elysia with sparkling eyes, "Aw, she's so adorbs!"
"Alright, Hughes," Ed grumbled.
"Mommy, can I be a daisy girl? I wanna be a daisy girl!"
Okay, Ed could say what he wanted, but that was freaking adorable, Elysia misunderstanding the meaning of a flower girl. So precious!
Gracia laughed, "You can be any kind of flower you want to be." Then she turned to Ana, "Ana, can I fix you a sandwich? You must be hungry."
"Oh, thank you. Yeah, that'd be nice."
Gracia left to the kitchen, listening all the while to her daughter talking about what kind of flower she would be. Ana smiled, a little proud of herself.
"You're in a good mood," Alphonse noted, sounding happy himself.
"It's amazing what a nap can do for ya," Ana agreed, dancing in place by swaying side to side and swinging her arms. "By the way, thanks for carrying me back, Alphonse." It was no wonder that it had been him. However, it stumped her that she hadn't woken up not once, despite her tendency to be a deep sleeper. Maybe she'd been more tired than she thought.
"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, not sounding too surprised.
"Because she's psychic!" Ed said as if it were glamorous, doing his version of jazz hands, but it came off as incredibly fake.
"No, I'm just not an idiot!" she mocked him, making him scowl into his sandwich. And just to piss him off, she added, "Alphonse is the only one tall enough to carry me."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AS WEAK AS A NEWBORN INFANT?! I'LL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH I CAN CARRY! I'LL CARRY YOU RIGHT OUT THE DOOR!"
"Did you have to rile him up?" Al whined.
"He's like my grandma's Chihuahua," Ana noted, smirking. Never mind the fact that this world probably didn't have that breed of dog, thus leaving her comment to fly far over their heads, but the imagery was perfect. Just imagine, Ed's head on the body of a Chihuahua and yapping away…. "I mean, he's even growling at me."
"What's a Chihuahua?" Al asked curiously.
Nope. Didn't know a thing.
Ana placed a hand on his metal plated shoulder, "I have many things to teach you, young grasshopper."
"STOP TALKING LIKE I'M NOT HERE!" Edward reared back and roared his mighty roar.
Ana ignored him, planting herself at the end chair like a boss. "So Al, watchya reading about?"
She had the suspicion that Al knew that she was messing with Edward by the way those glowy eyes of his shifted to his brother and to her again. He sighed as if exasperated but answered her anyway. So ha, she won. "It's one of the books we were researching at the library. We checked a few out when we left."
Ana blinked owlishly, "You can do that?"
"…it is a library."
"Oh…right."
Well this was awkward.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Ed yelled, having risen to his feet to slap his hands on the table like a barking seal.
Like a barking seal…?
…
…
…
…now imagine Ed's head on the body of a seal.
Pfft…
"Yes, you are. Very good, Edward," Ana smirked.
Ed gritted his teeth, "Don't patronize me. After the load of crap you put us through with your stunt at the library, you should be grateful we're still putting up with you."
She cocked her head to the side, "Stunt?"
"Don't play dumb! Do you know how long it took us to put all of those books back up?"
Ana's stomach dropped. "You destroyed my book fort?"
"We cleaned up your mess," he corrected. Little did he know that he had torn Ana's world apart.
She slumped back in her chair, staring down at the tabletop in shock. "My beautiful book fort…" And here she'd been hoping to return to the library and improve the structure, make the interior larger, add a throne, put up some turrets to create a castle worthy of her perfection.
But now her fort was dead.
"It was so young…it had so much to live for…"
"I'm sorry Ana. The employees were very upset when they saw what you did and they made us take it down," Al consoled her. "But if it makes you happy, it was a very pretty fort."
"We're lucky they didn't ban us from the library. Don't be nice, Al!" Ed berated.
"Someone has to be around here," Al murmured, causing Ed's eyes to narrow into slits at him. Why did Ed have to be so cruel?
Ana pouted, "See Edward, this is why I'm marrying your brother."
Their reactions were instantaneous, both of them jumping like she'd thrown a hot potato at them. Ed's face resembled some form of fish (yet another animal for her imagination to pin his head to) and Al had curiously become very animated, his glowing orbs bugging out of his helmet and his leather hands waving back and forth in front of him.
"MARRIAGE?!" Ed shrieked.
"When was this decided?" Al squeaked in alarm.
"Oh, about five minutes ago."
"I hope I'm invited to the wedding," Gracia said, appearing out of nowhere to sit a plate of food in front of her. Who knew Gracia had ninja skills? Again, the woman rose in Ana's respect.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Ana grinned, tucking into her sandwich.
"But I'm too young!" Al fretted, still very alarmed over Ana's declaration.
Ed knocked his knuckles on Al's bulky arm to comfort him. Meanwhile, he seethed at Ana, "She's messing with us."
"What gave you that idea?" Ana smiled smugly from behind her sandwich. Mmmmm, turkey.
"Don't you take anything seriously?" Ed demanded, thoroughly annoyed.
"Not when you need to lighten up. Don't you agree, Gracia?"
Ana wondered if only she could see the mischievous gleam in the woman's eyes as she said, "Edward is Edward."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ed shouted, growing more perturbed by the minute. The rest of the table laughed at his reaction and Ed turned away from them, sulkily muttering, "Whatever. Why does everyone seem to be against me today?"
Al leaned forward and sounded like he was trying to keep the mirth out of his tone. "I think they mean well, Brother."
"Hmph."
Their meal progressed in lighter spirits, that is if you excluded Ed's moody self. Despite his grumblings, Ana doubted Ed felt as angry as he pretended. He was just overreacting. She told him so herself and received interesting results that led her to the conclusion that yep, he definitely needed to lighten up. They'd have to find something fun to do during the times they weren't at the library researching, distractions that would cheer Edward up because Ana was not going to deal with his grumpy pants. She swore yet again that he and Alphonse would find some form of happiness before she left. But what could they do? They couldn't go see movies or anything like that. Maybe play some board games or cards? Go in the backyard and play Frisbee or, wait! They could totally make a fort out there! Le gasp, with some freaking alchemy! Ed would be stingy about it, but Alphonse would surely help her!
Ana's excited thoughts led to more contemplation revolving alchemy. She'd been quiet for a fair amount of time, staring down at the remaining bites of her sandwich when Al noticed.
"You're staring pretty hard at that sandwich," he said, drawing her attention to him.
"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking about alchemy…"
At her trailing off, Al prodded, "What about it?" At this point, Ed gave a barely perceptible glance from where he'd been watching Elysia doodle on some loose leaf paper, mildly interested in what Ana would say.
"These past couple of days, ya'll have been reading about it. And it's been established that I'm no alchemist, and I hate chemistry and math anyway. But it never occurred to me to try it." Sure, Ana had no interest in reading about it. But performing it? Alchemy was basically magic. Imagine what she could do with it. It'd be cool to try her hand at it.
"You want to study alchemy?" Al asked.
Gracia laughed delicately, "Maes would be delighted to have another alchemist running around here." She meant it sarcastically, seeing as how Hughes called alchemists freaks. Lovable freaks of course, but freaks nonetheless.
Ana wrinkled her nose, "Nah, I don't want to be an alchemist, or learn it really. I just wanted to try it."
Ed frowned at her. "Alchemy isn't a toy. It's not to be used for your passing amusement."
"I didn't say that." Damn, why did Ed have to make it out like everything she said was an insult? Not that she didn't say a lot of insults… "It's obviously very important to ya'll. I mean, ya'll devoted your lives to it. I'd like to see why it's so special to you." The fact that it was amusing too was a sparkly bonus, but she wasn't lying about what she said. She'd like to see this magical science through their eyes.
Since meeting her, Ed looked at Ana for the first time with no suspicion, bitterness, or annoyance. His lips parted like he didn't know what to say and his beautiful golden eyes shimmered in what could be awe but she wasn't completely sure. She looked to Al and he was just as quiet. It made Ana wonder what the hell she had said.
"I think that's a very nice thing to do, wouldn't you boys say?" Gracia smiled at them.
"Y-yeah," Al stammered. "We'll help you. No one's ever been inspired to do alchemy because of us. It's…touching."
That hit Ana pretty hard. It warmed her and brought a heartfelt smile to her face. "No, Alphonse. I'm sure you've inspired plenty of people. I'm just the first to tell you."
Armor be damned, Al returned her smile tenfold.
"Hurry it up then," Ed snapped, abruptly rising from the table and hoofing it out the door. He moved so fast Ana couldn't catch his expression. "Better not to waste what daylight we've got left."
"Right. Are you finished, Ana?" Al asked, standing up and scooting the chair into place under the table.
"Uh, yeah," Ana mentioned hesitantly, caught off guard by Edward suddenly jumping on board with her idea. No seriously, what the hell had she said?
The three of them relocated to the backyard, the new venue giving them ample space and materials to work with. Plus, as Edward muttered, there'd be less of a chance of getting someone hurt if there happened to be any accidents. Either he said that because he wanted to tick Ana off or he had zilch when it came to faith in her potential. Ana was inclined to believe both.
And so the little alchemy lesson ensued. It began with them reinforcing the law of equivalent exchange, big shocker there, and continued on to some lesser known laws from the show, ones that sounded suspiciously like the stuff she'd heard from her science classes back home. It was the boring principle type of crap that Ana didn't really pay much mind too. The circle structure interested her more, the way different shapes drawn together could result in different outcomes. An alchemist used certain ones depending on the types of elements, molecular bonds, amount of energy, you name it. They showed her one of the more basic kind of arrays, a simple design made up of two circles and two squares, the points of the bigger square overlapping the two perimeter circles. Alphonse dug the lines into the earth with a convenient stick while his brother explained the finer points of performing what would be her first transmutation. Ana knew it was important, the words he was saying. But when he started talking about the dirt's composition and how to put everything together, Ana could hear only one thing.
"Blah blah blah. Bleh blah bleh blah. Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah? Bleh blahda blah," said Edward, looking very intense about what he was describing. He really seemed to be in his element (pun intended). It was a shame that Ana was past her limit of comprehension. Or maybe she was just bored. Either way, it'd been like an hour and she was more than ready to get the show on the road.
"Okay!" Ana grinned, cutting Edward off and slapping her hands down on the outer circle before either of them could stop her. She'd been in such a rush she hadn't the slightest clue as to what she would even create, but fuck it! She was about to do magic!
The last thing she was aware of was the boys' horrified faces as a blinding flash of light enveloped the three of them.
(-Maes-)
"Honey, I'm home!" Maes called to his darling wife as he entered the house. In the midst of hanging his coat on the rack, he heard and felt a shuddering blast from nearby that had the walls trembling in a miniature earthquake.
The coat fell to the floor, Maes standing in the entrance hallway completely frozen until the shaking subsided a few seconds later.
Maes blinked twice. "…Honey…? What was that?"
"The kids are practicing alchemy in the backyard, dear," Gracia called from the safety of upstairs.
Maes sighed and moaned, "Not again."
By the time he had righted his coat on the wall, he heard the backdoor open harshly and was met with three ruffled teenagers arguing back and forth.
"Are you that insane or are you just stupid?!"
"Come over here and say that to my face, Edward!"
"I am! You are the most stupidly insane person I have ever met! Did you even have an outcome in mind when you dove right in?"
"Yes! Maybe! No! I don't know!"
"You idiot! A transmutic reaction without direction is dangerous! No wonder it blew up in your face!"
"That was rather carless, Ana…"
"It's not my fault! Alchemy hates me!"
"Alchemy is a science! It can't hate anything!"
"Then why does it keep setting me on fire?!"
"That's your own damn fault!"
Maes couldn't take anymore. He exploded into guffaws, doubling over as the hilarity consumed him.
The three kids stared at him like he'd gone nuts and all he could think was, I wish I had my camera.
"How is this remotely funny?" Ed scowled furiously.
Wiping a tear from his eye, Maes snickered, "Have you guys seen yourselves? I'm digging the afro look by the way."
With that incentive, Edward and Ana stared at each other, actually taking their appearance in this time. The two of them were sprinkled in dirt and had smudges on their clothes and faces, and curiously there was yet another scorch mark staining Ana's jacket, but the kicker was the hair. Both blonde and black hair puffed out in a singed bush. Even the long thread of hair from Al's helmet hadn't come out unscathed.
Ed's scowl deepened as Ana stared at him with increasing amusement. Her lips were smashed together in an effort to control herself. Alas, it did no good. She released a snort a pig would have been proud of and laughed, pointing at Edward as she shrieked, "You look like a poodle!"
"Poodle?" Al questioned, sounding like he very much wanted to laugh but chose not to antagonize his simmering brother further.
"It's a type of dog with bushy hair," Ana giggled.
"Why do you keep comparing me to dogs?!" Ed shouted, his fists clenched at his sides.
"You are a dog of the military," Maes pointed out.
Ana's giggling increased, "Hey Edward, bark for me!"
"Oh, I'll do more than that," Ed seethed. "You'll find my bite is worse than my bark."
"Ooooh, I didn't know you were into that kinky kind of stuff. That's okay though. You can bite me anytime you want, baby."
Ed's face flushed an outrageous scarlet in the span of half of a second. He jumped back, waving his arms sporadically. "NO! That's not what I meant and you know it!"
"Admit it Edward, you want my bod."
"I don't know what that is but I don't want anything that's yours! You sick pervert!"
"It's not good to lie to yourself, Edward. But it doesn't matter anyway since I'm marrying Alphonse."
"Don't bring me into this!" Al squealed desperately.
"YOU'RE NOT MARRYING MY BROTHER! I already told you!"
Ana shook her head at him sadly. "Lies. I'm marrying Alphonse, Winry will be the best man, you'll be my maid of honor, Elysia will be the flower girl, Daddy Hughes will walk me down the aisle, and Father Roy will wed us in holy matrimony."
"Where do you come up with these things?" Ed asked, exasperated.
"Things have certainly progressed between you guys while I've been gone today," Maes said with a smile, passing by them to go look outside and see what damage the trio wrought.
"She's not marrying Alphonse!" Ed yelled at Maes as if to reassure himself.
Maes shook his head, deciding to leave them to their squabble. He could hear them resume their argument in the background, consisting mostly of Edward explaining that men fulfill the duty of man of honor and not the maid of honor. Shaking his head at them, he peeked out the door.
"My yard!" Maes gawked at the remains of the backyard. The new focal point featured a giant crater, the two foot deep depression spreading out across half the span of the outdoor space. Scorch marks blackened the surviving grass surrounding the upheaved dirt, bits and pieces sending little wisps of smoke into the air.
The trio behind him became deathly quiet.
Overcome by a dark calm, Maes spun around slowly on his heel to face the fidgeting teens. "Who's going to fix this?"
They glanced between each other, perturbed by Maes's intimidating stare.
"Well, uh, I'm gonna go get a shower. Bye ya'll!" Ana waved, then darted up the staircase.
Edward snapped out of his stupor and held a fist up in the air angrily as he yelled, "Get back here! This is your fault!"
"Sorry, Edward! Hygiene is more important!" Ana called back, followed by a door slamming that Maes assumed to be the bathroom.
Ed wouldn't have that, marching up there to give her a piece of his mind. Alphonse could only watch helplessly as he left and more shouting reached them.
"Get out here this instant!"
"Too late! I locked the door!"
"Then I'll transmute it open!"
"You can't! I'm already naked!"
"But you just went in there!"
"So what?!"
"Hrnnnng, just get out here already!"
"No!"
"I'll drag you out whether you're naked or not!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Get out here!"
"Never!"
As they continued their shouting match, Maes gave Alphonse a look. "It's never dull when you guys come to visit."
Al slumped, "I swear they were getting along this morning."
Despite himself, Maes gave a small smile, "I'm sure they were." Then he proceeded to go upstairs and practically haul the elder Elric back down and outside before he could break through the door with alchemy. Whether it was Ana's fault or not, no way was he going to let Ed in there while she was indecent. No sir, not in his house.
(-Ana-)
Ana hunched over in relief when the sounds of Edward's furious yells echoed farther and farther away. Letting out a deep breath, she sat heavily on the floor, using the side of the bathtub as a backrest. She'd been lying when she'd told Ed that she was naked and about to get into the shower; she remained fully clothed save for the ruined jacket she'd discarded in the corner. Although, a shower did sound welcoming right about now, she just needed a few moments first to collect herself.
Perplexed brown eyes gazed down upon dusty hands. Lines of dirt had made a home for itself underneath her fingernails and she thought about picking at them to clean them. However, her arms never moved. She was too caught up in watching how her fingers twitched, how her hands shook nearly beyond her perception. One hand cradling the other and lying limply in her lap, she could feel the lack of warmth in her skin, like the heat had been sapped from her body, replacing it with a numbing cold.
"What was that all about?" she whispered to herself.
Something strange had happened during that transmutic disaster, more so than the mini explosion she had created or how she had set herself on fire with it. When she'd initiated the transmutation, she'd felt this God awful pulling sensation, sort of like an invisible hand had gripped her insides with clawed fingers and yanked at them in every direction simultaneously. It hadn't hurt necessarily in the normal sense that you feel pain. Ana couldn't fully describe it due to how intangible the sensations were.
She shuddered in remembrance and shook her head to dispel the phantom prickling that threatened to send her skin crawling off her hide. Seriously, what the hell was that? Could it be the natural feeling that came with a rebound? She wished she could ask the brothers about it, had almost exclaimed something to the boys immediately after the transmutation blew up rather spectacularly in her face because, hot damn, that was some freaky feeling shit. But then Ed had went off on her and Ana nearly had to resort to violence to make the fiery alchemist back off. No way in hell would she ask them after that. Ed would blame her again and call her stupid and Ana really didn't need another reason to punch him between those pretty eyes of his. …Okay, so she might ask Al later when he was alone, but he might laugh at her and say that it was normal to experience such a thing and… Sigh.
Ana curled her fingers inward, tightening them against her palms until the tips were bleached white. She observed her hands, concentrated on the pressure, and let her thoughts continue their dizzying spiral for several long minutes. Dozens of maybe's plagued her, such as: maybe it backfired because it was normal for a rebound. Maybe it was Ana herself. Maybe she sucked at alchemy that badly. Maybe people from her world couldn't do alchemy right on either side. Maybe she had some strange inter-dimensional disease slowly rampaging away inside her body and prevented her from doing alchemy. Hey, she'd experienced more impossible things in the past week. This was a legitimate concern. Maybe she should see a doctor…
Releasing a heavy breath, Ana stood and began preparing for a shower. As she disrobed and stepped under the warm spray of refreshing water, she came to at least one conclusion she was absolutely sure of. Whether or not the feeling had been natural or not, she never again wanted to repeat the experience.
(-Edward-)
Due to the…eventful day they'd had, Edward had low expectations for the following day. With everything Ana had put them through so far, he began to wonder if she was more trouble than she was worth. The girl was high-maintenance, not to mention she nearly killed them all with her carelessness. How much worse would it get?
Here he was imagining the worst…and then, to his amazement, it got relatively better.
The next day, they visited the library again, Ana swearing on her Mexican heritage that she would behave. Ed didn't believe her for a second, but went they did. During their time spent there, Ed kept an eye on her.
It was unnecessary. Ana remained with them the entire time, sitting at the table reading that book that fascinated her so much. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that she was normal. Alphonse would tell him that he shouldn't be bothered by it, to accept it gladly, but Ed couldn't help being on edge by Ana's more calm attitude today.
Checking to make sure that Ana was captivated by her book, Edward leaned over to Al and whispered to him, "What's up with her?"
"Hm?" Al hummed, brought out of his own reading. He glanced at Ana, trying to decipher what his brother meant. "Is something wrong?"
"She's acting… I don't know… Reserved."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"If there's anything I've learned over these past few days, it's that Ana is not a reserved type of person."
"Well…she did mention something to me last night."
Again, that bitterness surged forth inside of him that Ana was keeping Alphonse company at night, but he batted it down. Now was not the time.
"What about?" he asked, curious as to what Ana would divulge to Al and not himself. Considering her and Al were on better terms, that wasn't surprising. Ed just didn't want them to get on too good of terms…not after her proclamation of marriage yesterday.
"She said something was strange about the transmutation she did—"
"Ya'll know I can hear you, right?"
Both brothers jumped in their seats guiltily, startled by Ana's voice. She was staring right at them in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.
Flushing at being caught, Ed rounded on her, "Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop on people's private conversations?!"
"Private? Edward, ya'll were talking right beside me. And by the way, did ya'll know ya'll can't whisper properly? Because you really can't."
Even more embarrassed, Ed started to spaz out, "Yes we can! You just have freakishly high hearing abilities!"
"Oh, you're so cute when you're being delusional."
C…cute?
Stop giggling Alphonse. This wasn't funny.
"Besides, if you wanted to know something about me, all you had to do was ask."
Taking the opportunity she presented him, and half certain that she wouldn't answer him truthfully, he shot off his question rapidly, "Then what's this talk of your horrible attempt at transmutation?"
She scowled, "I know it was horrible, Edward. You don't have to rub it in my face. If you want me to divulge my secrets, insulting me is not the way to go."
"It's not insults; it's honesty. I'm only telling you the truth. Pull a stunt like that again and you might have to pay a higher price than your jacket."
"Which by the way, Alphonse was the one to fix for me since somebody was being an ass about it."
"I'm sorry, I forgot that was my obligation when you left us to clean up your mess! Again, I might add!"
"Okay, I'm going to go back to my book now," Alphonse announced and studiously began reading again.
"Like I could have really helped. Did you see the size of that crater? I'm not an alchemist. It's not like I could have done anything. But noooo, you're whining over having to do a little clap-and-slap of the hands."
"Alchemy is more than a simple clap of the hands. It's equations, breaking down the elements and combining them in stable bonds. I may not have to use a transmutation circle but all the alchemic knowledge is still used including various arrays that I instill in myself when I 'clap-and-slap' as you so nicely put it."
Ana stared at him like he was the bane of her existence. "Yes, please, keep talking nerdy to me. It turns me on."
Ed's face flushed and he nearly screeched his disapproval, "Can you not take anything seriously?!"
"Shhh, you guys! The librarians will get mad if you get any louder," Al chided, forgetting that he had resigned himself to his book.
"I am being serious. Or at least I was until you started getting prissy about it." She crossed her arms and slouched in her chair.
"Prissy?" he repeated in shock. He turned to Alphonse, seeking his valuable opinion, "Am I prissy? I'm not being prissy. Right?"
"Oh, now you want to listen to me." If he'd had proper eyes, Al would have rolled them. At length, he chose to give his brother the cold shoulder by turning to his book once more.
"Al, come on, don't be like that," Ed pleaded.
"I'm not being like anything," he defended, his tone betraying his indignation.
"Ooooh, you made the Alphonse mad."
Ed glared at Ana. "If he's mad at anyone it's you!"
"I'm not the one starting stuff, so nyah!" Ana stuck her tongue out at him. Edward didn't think she could get anymore childish.
"I'm mad at both of you!" came Al's outburst, instantly silencing them. "I've been hearing you two bicker since you met. I understand that you are two very highly opinionated people, but would it kill you to have a conversation that didn't end in an argument?"
"Actually, I didn't think yesterday went too badly," Edward mused. "If you exclude Ana's attempt at alchemy."
"Yeah, we were pretty chill at the library," Ana nodded.
"Glad you agree on something," Al deadpanned.
"If we keep this up we might have a real civilized conversation one day," Ana enthused.
"If we don't strangle each other first," Ed corrected.
Al sighed, "I give up. I'm taking my book and finding a secluded corner to read in while you guys sort out your differences." And he did just that, grabbing his book and walking away before either of them could dissuade him.
Once he left, Ana said in a quiet voice, "We really made him mad, didn't we?"
"He's not here, is he?" he countered.
"I blame you."
"Me? How is this my fault?"
"You're too fun to argue with."
"Fun?" he asked in disbelief.
She looked at him knowingly, "Don't tell me it's not fun."
"It's not. It's annoying."
"Edward, you've got to understand that there are several types of people in this world. You, my friend, are classified as the 'love to hate' type."
"I'm not your friend."
She smirked, "Not yet. But soon we shall have a beautiful friendship based on our mutual hatred for each other."
Ed snorted, "You're delusional. And you're still going on about that friendship stuff?"
"I'm a very determined girl, Edward. I have tenercity."
He stared at her blankly, "…you mean tenacity?"
"Whatever. Yeah, that. I have that."
His cheeks bulged as air tried to escape. He clamped a hand over his mouth but could not stifle a few snickers. "Tenercity? Really?"
"Shut up, Edward."
He snorted into his hand.
"I will eat your soul."
He laughed harder.
"Just go die in a hole!"
"I nearly did yesterday in the one you made!" he retorted but this time there was an amused edge to his tone, one that quickly flared with suspicion. "Say…you didn't do that on purpose, did you?"
Ana gave him the blandest look possible, "Yes, Edward. I intentionally set myself on fire and nearly killed myself in the process just to have a chance to off the only two people in this world that could potentially get me home."
He watched her, his laughter having died down. The frustration that'd been eating at him had given him a short reprieve, leaving him in a contemplative mood.
"Why do you call me that?" he wondered.
Her face brightened marginally, curiosity brightening her eyes, "Call you what? I've called you a lot of things since I got here."
"Everyone usually calls me Ed. You've yet to call me anything but Edward." It was hard for him not to notice, what with the way she said it. The tone she used…bugged him, like she always said it the way a mother would when scolding their child after doing something incredibly stupid. It was oddly formal of her, considering how informal she could be. "Come to think of it, you always call Al by his full name too."
"I do?" Ana blinked rapidly, the realization dawning on her so openly that Ed didn't doubt that she'd not been aware of it. Then, as if testing it out, Ana attempted to say the shortened version of his name. Her brows lowered, her face pinched with an effort that shouldn't be needed for such a small name. "Eh….Eeeeeed-d…Edddddd— No, no, I can't do this."
Baffled, yet grinning at her failed attempt, he asked, "Why not? It's just a name, Ana. My name…. Are you saying something is wrong with my name?"
"No, no, it's not that, Edward," she reassured him, then stopped herself once she realized what she said. "…I really do say your full name… Huh… Here, lemme try again." She sat upright in her chair, preparing herself for the trying battle ahead. Ed could only watch as his entertainment unfolded. Ana's mouth pursed as she began, "Eh…Eeeee- Oh God, I can't. It's too much. I feel so dirty. Quick Edward, get me some soap so I can wash my mouth out…. Edward? Edward! Why are you laughing?! You're laughing at me, aren't you?"
"Yes," he chuckled shamelessly. "You are by far the strangest creature I have ever met."
"Creature?" she repeated, sounding like she'd taken offense to that. However, she paused for a moment, pondering the word. "Creature… I like it."
"You weren't supposed to."
"I don't give a damn. I like what I like. Wait, aren't we supposed to be all mad at each other?"
"We were doing a fine job of it earlier," Ed agreed. "Al said we couldn't have a conversation without it ending in an argument. We just had an argument that ended in a conversation."
Ana's eyes widened slightly and, like the information was too much for her, she sat back in awe, "Holy shit… My mind has been blown."
Ed's brows furrowed. Did everyone speak so strangely where Ana was from? Although, to them, it wouldn't be strange in the slightest. It made him wonder what Ana thought of the way people talked here.
"Do you think Alphonse is still mad at us?" Ana asked, bringing him away from those thoughts.
He shrugged, "Possibly. When he gets like this, he goes off on his own to cool down. It takes me having to hunt him down, but by then things have calmed down." This instance was comparatively mild. The rare times he and his brother got so into it that it lead to fist fights, Al would storm off and seek a place to regain calmer thoughts. And every time, without fail, that place would be somewhere by the water. When they were younger and living in Resembool, Al would always sulk down on the riverbank.
"You gonna go hunt him down then?" Ana asked expectantly.
Ed smirked, "I don't know. Why don't you tell me, Miss Psychic."
A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "I'll go with you then, convince him that we're playing nice and all that other crap."
Suffice it to say, Alphonse was more than a little surprised when Ed and Ana found him later, the two of them teasing each other good-naturedly.
Ya know, this chapter was going to be part of a much larger chapter, but I had to split it in half basically, otherwise it'd be like 20 something pages. I'm almost done with the next half, but I'm not sure when I'll be done with it. Hopefully by next week or so.
We've got some bits of mystery going on in this chapter. Weird dreams, backfiring transmutations, ooh la la~! It'll only get more interesting from here.
Oh yeah, Ana wanted me to remind you guys that she is in fact a real person. Some of you seem to think she's not apparently, or must not read author's notes. Although there is a difference between her character and her in real life, she's real. And she reads all of your reviews...several times...
Ana: So?
LeFay: You're such a review whore.
Ana: I learned from the best. ;)