What I Bargained For
Part Ten: Into The Night
Like a gift from the heavens it was easy to tell,
It was love from above that could save me from hell,
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me,
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,
And we sang
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
We're singing
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,
You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces,
We were spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes,
The room left them moving between you and I,
We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,
And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night,
And we sang
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
We're singing
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
Like a gift from the heavens it was easy to tell,
It was love from above, that could save me from hell,
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me,
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,
And we sang
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
We're singing
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
Ay oh ay oh,
Singing ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
Ay oh ay oh...
I awoke sharply, crying out with a muffled whimper. I held onto my side firmly for dear life; pain lanced through my stomach and up my spine. My back arched of its own accord at the sudden stab of pain, and then I curled in on myself. I opened my eyes, which had been squeezed shut tightly, and saw that Edward was still sleeping, and apparently he'd shifted a fair bit and was now sprawled over the far end of the lean-to. I looked up and around and saw that Alphonse wasn't there. The fire still burned.
I managed to crawl on one forearm and my knees out from under the roof of the lean to. A sudden, startling rustling sound seemed to explode in my ears in the silence; it came from my right, deeper into the forest. A few paces away, I saw a few leaves end their trembling, as if someone has passed by them hastily. It didn't make any sense, I began to think through the pained fog clogging my already groggy-from-sleep head. If it was Alphonse, he wouldn't take off like that. I began to remember that it wasn't just us three on the island.
The forearm I held to my injured side began to feel warm and damp. I looked down at my side, and saw that there was blood blooming through my bandages and nightshirt. I winced; the wound had reopened, badly. I dug around for the towel I brought, and, clutching it to my chest, I headed out with grievous progress to the small cove at the shore that Edward and I had raced by. Once there, I did a quick 180 behind me to make sure I was really alone.
I needed to clean the wound, the bandages, and most importantly myself, I was in desperate need for a wash. It's not nice to be fermenting in your own sweat for too long. Nasty. I took the nightshirt off, hanging it and the towel each on their own separate branches of the plants that hung close over the narrow shore. I was given ample cover by the curving rock formation that jutted out. I looked down at the long cotton bandages wound around my torso, bright scarlet even in the pre-dawn darkness.
I untied the knot, and unraveled the bandages to reveal an ugly, angry, torn, and bloody wound that was barely half healed. It had puckered in on itself, trying to seal up and heal, forming into a red, raggedly-shaped star. Without the bandages to stem the flow, a rivulet of blood welled from the wound, tracing a path like a thin, red ribbon down my side, curling around my hip. I waded farther into the water and the blood mingled, diffused in the water, leaving a cloudy, muted crimson haze. I flinched as the water lapped at the wound, making it sting slightly. I bunched the bloody dressings in my hands and scrubbed them together, cleaning them as best I could. When they were washed to my satisfaction, I laid them across some of the lower rocks to dry.
Now for me; I took a deep breath— receiving a jab of pain I forced myself to ignore— I dunked myself, head and all, under the water. I could feel my long hair swirling and floating around my face and shoulders. Under the water, scrubbed some of the grime out of my hair, trying more-or-less to fruitlessly comb it with my fingers. When I gave up on that, I surfaced, flinging my hair back out of my face. I scooped up a handful of water, and poured it over my wound, while tentatively scrubbing the blood away from around it. When it was half-decently clean, I turned my attention to the rest of my befouled self. Finally, when I was inexorably sick and tired of being in the water, and being cold, I turned to get my bandages off the rocks, then head back to shore for my towel and clothing. But just when I seized my bandages, a brutal, massive gust of wind tore though, throwing my wet hair around, setting the bandages in my hand into a loud, snapping, protesting frenzy. With the wind beating down on me, I was freezing! Holding onto myself as if I might blow away too, I shivered violently. I cracked open an eye during the wind's tirade in my ears and I saw to my horror that it swept away my nightshirt off the ground and my towel off of the branch I'd draped it over. And carried it around uncomfortably close to the portion of shore near the camp.
"Oh crap," I swore aloud under my breath, my stomach bottoming out. I dropped the F-bomb a few times as well, but you don't need to hear that.
Hastily, I rushed out of the shallow water in pursuit of my flyaway possessions, very conscious of the fact that I was in nothing but that pesky old birthday suit. Running out onto the beach, trying to be as sneaky as possible in the dim pre-dawn murk, I was glancing around a lot. I saw my towel flying around up above my head, carried by the wind. Suddenly, the wind died off, and the towel began to flutter down. I reached, snatching it from the air. I winced, grimacing as a jolt of pain speared my stomach. My arms shot down to wrap themselves around my middle, holding the towel in my hands to my waist. Looking up ahead on the sand I saw my nightshirt, already deposited on the sand several paces ahead of me. I started forward, my hand reaching slightly when the vegetation directly to the left of it shifted, then parted, to reveal— to my horror— Edward.
He didn't notice me at first. What he did see was my discarded nightgown, practically at his feet. Seeming puzzled by the discovery, he looked up and jumped, startled, and let out a shout of surprise and embarrassment. I let out a cry, and hurriedly brought the towel up to my chest; I could feel my face getting hot. An expression of wide-eyed shock overtook his face. He stood stock-still as if welded in place. We stared each other in the eyes for a moment. I was about to say something until I heard a crescendoing clanking noise, and my stomach bottomed out into my ankles. I half-turned when Alphonse burst out of the brush.
"Sorry I was gone, I heard someone—" he was beginning to explain to reason of his absence, when his eyes found and registered the scene an he let out a exclamation of shock and chagrin, covering his eyes in a boyish gesture, and I cried again out in response, trying to cover myself up more with the towel.
When Al had appeared his gaze shifted wildly from him to me until apparently he couldn't take it anymore. And that's when Edward crumpled into a heap like a dropped sack of potatoes on the sand. The rounds of shouts continued for a moment longer like a bad sitcom and then we decided to actually do something and help him.
"Edward!" I cried out, as Alphonse said, "Brother!" and we both rushed to his side, forgetting the situation. We rearranged him, straightening him out on his back. I checked him for any head injuries—he fell pretty hard. As we waited anxiously, he began to come-to after a minute or two.
"Oh, Al, I had the weirdest dream, Clarissa was—" Edward began, mumbling drowsily. He sat up halfway, resting on an elbow. Then his eyes snapped open, looking directly at me with a blank— if not shocked— expression, and he instantly went quiet.
There was a mute pause for a moment, then he said, laughing weakly, "I thought you said you wouldn't be walking around naked," he seemed as embarrassed and mortified as I did, but there was something in his eyes, a look I couldn't quite understand.
"Sorry," I said offhandedly, "these things happen. I-I'll get dressed now." And with that, I hurried off, snatching up my nightgown as I went.
When I was hidden in the cover of the forest, at the camp I fished around in my suitcase for something to wear. Soon I'd have to wash all of the clothes I had— which wasn't much— hey, what did I have, barely two sets of clothing? With the towel still tucked around me, I looked down and realized blood was seeping through the towel. I had to wrap my wound again to try and stop the bleeding. I was changing back into my clothes, just pulling down the hem of my shirt, when there was a sound nearby.
The bushes rustled, and with a jump, I heard Edward call to me, "is it alright if I, er, come in? I wanna apologize."
"Sure, and I'm not that naked this time, if that's what you're worried about," I replied, somewhat dryly. My pants were still low around my hips; unbuttoned and unbelted, and I hurried to fix that.
I heard a nervous laugh, and then I saw Edward hesitantly emerge, his hands warily at the level of his eyes, as if ready to cover them— just in case. I stifled a snicker. "And what should you be apologizing about? And where's Al?" I held the towel to my side with all the casualness I could muster, to stem the flow of the blood before I bandaged it, the hem of my shirt was rucked up along my waist so the towel was directly at the wound.
"Oh, Al's out on the beach, he opted to wander around the beach a little. He still kinda... traumatized by the situation." Edward explained, laughing haphazardly. "And I wanted to say sorry for the whole..." he made ambiguous gestures with his hands.
"Nothing to say sorry about," I shrugged, flinching involuntarily as a pang shot through my wound. He noticed that, and saw the blood, and his face turned concerned and grim.
"It looks bad," he said reprovingly.
"It's not that bad," I protested. "You shouldn't worry."
"I do worry." His tone was insistent and sincere, "it's been bothering you a lot — I see it — and it... I hate to see you like that."
Surprised, I looked away, staring at the ground under my feet.
"Here, let me take a look at it," he offered, holding out a hand as if to beckon me.
I gave him a wry smile. "Is that a pass?" I asked jokingly.
He returned the smile. "Just let me see if I can help."
We sat at the lean-to, and I discarded the towel on the ground beside me. I held up the hem of my shirt, hesitantly, I glanced at Edward's face, but I saw only determined concern. Blood welled in the wound, but was no longer flowing, courtesy of the magic of coagulation. He drew in a sharp breath through his teeth.
"Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?" He asked me reprovingly, his eyes still on the wound.
"I didn't want to... worry you, or be a burden." I explained quietly.
"Don't say stupid things like that, you're not a burden." He looked up at me and gave me a grim smile, "you've helped me out more than once, about time I return the favor."
"But.. I'm not sure that it'll do any good. Something's stopping it from healing." I explained bleakly.
Ed's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you think it is?"
I suddenly remembered that Edward shouldn't know about my fight with Envy. Admitting to Edward, and telling him about the fight, which would lead to question why I had fought him, and... then he'd know that... he died. "I... don't know, I couldn't say for sure. Some kind of infection, maybe?" I said, concealing the truth, again. I just hoped that when he found out, he'd forgive me.
"That's possible.." he allowed, "but I'll try something, even if it might not work. There are a few plants here that are good for healing wounds and things like that. I'll be right back."
He rose, and I realized he was going out into the forest. I suddenly had a spike of irrational fear for him, as I remembered that Wrath was somewhere out there. Of course, right then he wasn't the monster he would eventually become, but...
I seized Edward's sleeve as he was about the walk away, and he stopped, appearing slightly surprised. "J-just be careful, ok?" I asked weakly, giving him a feeble smile.
His smile in response was dazzling and confident. "Don't worry about me, I know this island like the back of my hand." And with that, he made his way deeper into the forest until he disappeared from my view.
I waited for several tense minutes until I heard the bushes rustling and I stiffened and froze with unwarranted apprehension. The dense greenery parted, revealing Edward, to my immense relief. With him, he carried a small bunch of plants that were red-stemmed and had light pinky-purple undersides on the leaves and dark green on the upper sides. I just hoped it didn't sting too much.
He ground the plant—stem and all— into a paste on a flat stone. "Here," he instructed, mixing up the last of the plant paste, "get the bandages ready."
I seized the bandages at my side, holding them at the ready in my hands. Edward gathered a lump of the paste on the fingertips of his real hand. "Ok, I'm not gonna lie, this will sting a bit." Edward grimaced to me apologetically.
'Oh great.' "Oh, don't worry, I've been through worse." I said nonchalantly.
"I see that," he said with a brief laugh, indicating my wound.
I sucked in a breath, and he touched the salve to my wound. I flinched; it did sting, badly. Edward spread the balm in an even layer over the wound, and then, surprisingly, the stinging sensation faded away and the wound became numbed and warmed, and was an almost pleasant feeling. I found myself smiling slightly with content as the warmth spread, but I recovered myself and regained my look of intent concentration. I couldn't help but be acutely aware of Edward, dangerously near, his hand still at my stomach applying the salve.
I could be so reckless right then...
"The plant should kick in soon, it's a strong painkiller," he explained.
'Oh, it's kicked in, alright. If I didn't know any better, and I was back in my own world, who knows, I'd probably be wondering if it was 'Mary Jane' or something. This stuff's good... maybe I'll take some with me when we go...'
"It should help the healing, also." Edward added. He reached for the bandages, then hesitated, saying, "unless you want to wrap it—"
But I had already pressed the wrappings to his outstretched hand in my haste. "No," I said hurriedly, then ammended, "it's hard enough as it is to wrap it on my own, I'd be glad for the help. Thanks."
"No problem," he said, taking the bandages gently from me. My hand touched his; it was the one he used to apply the salve, and his fingers were still slightly slippery from it. He pulled back his hand quickly, and we were both a little red.
Edward took the bandages in both hands, and he seemed to ready himself for a moment. I held up the hem of my shirt so that it was level all the way around. His face was still tinged with a bit of red, and if I didn't know any better, I would've said it looked like he was coming down with a fever. He measured out a length of the bandage, beginning from one of the ends, and laid it gingerly from one side of my waist over the wound to the other. Then he held down the end of the bandage to the far side of my waist with one hand. The other guided the bandage across my stomach, smoothing it out gently as it went, forcing me to suppress a shiver at the contact.
Then, he had to reach his arm around me to wrap the bandage all the way around. He bit his lip, wether in concentration or restraint, I couldn't tell, as he leaned forward. Edward was so close that his hair brushed against my cheek. I could feel my heart beating haltingly in my chest. I could just spread my arms out, put them around him...
'No, bad Clary, bad.' I chastised myself like a disobedient puppy.
Edward had already wrapped the bandage around my middle— and the wound— using up the length of the wrapping, and was beginning to tie off the ends. When he was finished, he sat back and inspected his work. "Is that tight enough? Or too tight—?"
"No, it's perfect, not too tight, not too loose, thanks." I gave him a tentative smile and he returned it. Then I remembered: "Hey, where's Al? I think we should go look for him." I suggested.
"Oh, yeah," Ed scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I can't believe I forgot about him for a minute there."
"Ok; I'll check this way" — Ed pointed to the right — "and... could you check that way?" He asked, pointing in the other direction, toward the rock cove. "Then if we don't find him along the beach..." he let the sentence drift off. If we didn't find him along the beach, we'd investigate the forest. Edward stood up, and stretched a bit.
"Sounds like a plan to me." I conceded amiably. I stood up as well, brushing myself off here and there. That plant, whatever it was, was working. Meanwhile, in my head: 'Oh, Cannabis, our home and native plant...' I needed to stop that. 'Focus! Must walk straight! Walk straight, dammit!'
Actually, it wasn't THAT hard to function, it was just more fun to. I was feeling positively blissful as I walked down the beach to the cove. As I rounded the corner, I saw Alphonse sitting in the sand at the edge of the surf. He'd been gazing out over the water; as I glanced to look myself I could see the distant shore of the mainland. I mused briefly that I knew how to swim rather well. When Alphonse sensed someone was there, he turned his head and jumped slightly in surprise. Clearly he wasn't expecting company.
"Oh, hey Clary." Alphonse said kindly, sounding a tad surprised.
I took it as an invitation to sit. Planting myself on the beach next to him, I began to speak. "So what are you doing here all by your lonesome? Anything been bugging you?"
"No, I just felt that you and my brother might like some time alone, considering you —" Alphonse began, but I cut him off.
"Does everybody know about it?! What the bloody hell is this?" I started ranting, pulling at my hair comically, irate that it seemed that practically everybody knew and that I didn't know everybody knew (confused yet?).
"Well, no offence, but it's... kinda obvious." Al replied calmly.
I sighed, still feeling a little miffed. "You still seem a little preoccupied with something." I said, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah..." Alphonse began reluctantly. "It's about... Will I really get my body back?" He asked, sounding unsure and young, and then he raised his hand of armor, looking at it with a sense of something I couldn't place; I couldn't tell if it was sadness, or hate, or something else.
"Of course you will Al, I promised, didn't I?" I answered, my voice soft and earnest. "I might love Edward, but I adore you, and I'll make sure that you will get your body back, no matter what." I tried to put a comforting arm around him, but because of the size of his armor, my arm reached just over halfway across his back. I kept it there.
"Thanks, Clary," he said quietly.
'It's the least I can do. I'll make sure, even if it kills me, that even if things don't go exactly like they should, I'll make sure that you get your body back. It's really my fault that things don't turn out just like they should, I have to try and fix them, as best I can. I made one hell of a mess, and it's not over by a long shot, all because of a selfish decision, but I'll make sure that I don't mess things up too badly. I swear on my life.'
"Clary," Alphonse's voice broke through my internal pledge. "Are you ok? You looked like you just zoned out there."
I realized I had been staring blankly out over the water at nothing in particular. "Oh sorry, I was just thinking." I apologized with a smile. "Anyway, me and Ed were looking for you, mind coming back to camp? You're a beaming ray of sunshine in this place."
And with that we headed back to camp. The sun had finally crested over the land, and it spread the buttery glow of dawn over everything. The change was so sudden — or maybe I just didn't notice it — that I shaded my eyes against it for a moment until they adjusted. I looked around and I didn't see Edward, so I called out: "I've found Al!"
A few moments later, Edward came jogging around the bend. He smiled with fondness and relief at the sight of his brother. "Hey Al, what've you been up to?"
"Oh, just thinking," Alphonse replied, and thankfully he didn't say anything about giving us — how did he put it? — 'some time alone' for me and Edward. Yeeeaaaaah, that would've been awkward.
"If you say so," he said amiably, clearly in fairly good spirits. "Who's up for some breakfast?"
"I'm up for fish," I volunteered meekly. All the excitement that morning gave me the major munchies. And since there were no Ritz Crackers, I would go for fish. This time, to give Al a break (and because Edward wanted to show me how to spearfish, I just hoped I wouldn't injure someone) we made a pair of spears —which Edward also had to help me with, because I nearly took the end of my finger off— and then we waded out into the water.
"Ok, here comes one to your left," Edward instructed me. He stood to my right, a pace or two away, and Alphonse sat at the shore, giving encouragement here and there.
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the gray-scaled fish. It swam about two and a half feet from my left foot. With the spear poised, I was ready to strike. I had learned that with the way the surface of the water refracted images, you had to aim at the fish at a slightly different spot than what you saw. Rather tricky, and it was a concept I lost the first three fish to. I aimed about three inches to the side of the fish, and struck. I pulled the spear up from the water, with the fish skewered on the end, flapping this way and that. I held the spear up triumphantly and laughed.
"Finally!" I crowed, sighing with satisfaction. I was feeling quite proud of myself, as I'm sure we can all tell. Edward had already caught three of his own. I waded out of the water with him onto shore.
"You didn't do too bad for your first try, it took me hours to get a fish the very first time," Edward congratulated me.
"Aw, shucks," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck, pretending to be bashful. I had my hair tied back for once, it had grown really long, longer than I'd ever had it, but I didn't have the heart to cut it. My hair reached the small of my back, and was a pain in the ass to keep knot-free, I found myself constantly combing it through with my fingers, plucking out a twig or a leaf here and there.
For the fishing ordeal, both Edward and I had rolled up our pant legs to prevent them from getting wet, and we ditched our boots. While we had fished, I could see his auto-mail leg next to his flesh-and-blood leg, and the contrast was striking, I often found myself glancing at them. He wore his customary sleeveless shirt, and I wore my black sleeveless tank-top. Even so, the sun was rising, and getting increasingly hot, and sweat beaded and ran down my face and neck.
As we were walking up the beach, I glanced back at the water. It wouldn't hurt to go for a swim. I handed my spear to Edward, the end with the fish on it sticking up, and he took it in surprise. "Hold this for me, would you?" I asked good-naturedly with a wide smile.
I turned around and jogged back to the water. Edward called after me, "hey, where are you going?"
I glanced back to him to answer, and I saw that he'd turned to face the water and me. "Going swimming!" I called to him, laughing. He handed off the two spears to Alphonse who took them in surprise, looking from the spears that were suddenly in his hands to Edward, protesting weakly. Meanwhile, Edward dashed to the edge of the water after me, but stopped before it got past his ankles.
Once I reached knee-height in the water, I stretched my arms out over my head, closed my eyes, held my breath, and dove in. Plunging into the cool, quelling water was refreshing and shocking and the same time. My clothes felt heavy as the water saturated them. I swam briefly under the water before pushing off the sandy, uneven bottom and rushing upwards, breaking the surface with a splash. I breathed in deeply, brushing water from my eyes. I smiled at a startled-looking Edward who apparently thought I must have drowned from the look on his face.
"Come in, the water's fine!" I urged him. I could feel some of my wet hair plastered to the side of my face, and I brushed it away. I treaded water waiting for what Ed would say.
"I can't swim!" Edward called to me, sounding possibly a little envious.
"I'd sink," Al put in modestly, still holding the spears. Realizing this, he stuck the non-fish ends into the sand.
"Can't swim, huh?" I echoed, putting a pensive tone into my voice. "Well then, I'll have to teach you."
"Oh, come on!" Edward began to protest.
"Yeah, that's true," I said thoughtfully, "you're so short, you'd probably drown— "
"Who are you calling so short a guppy could eat him?!" Edward ranted, his facial expression turning vicious. I swear I saw him foaming at the mouth.
"Well, that's not exactly what I said, but..." was all I could say before Edward came charging into the water at me with a look of death in his eyes. I spluttered in fear and swam backwards into deeper water as fast as I could.
Edward had begun his rant again. "I'm going to— " his threat was cut off when he reached a deep dip in the lake bed and his head was no longer above the water. He splashed and sputtered frantically, flailing his arms when he bobbed at the surface.
"Brother!" Alphonse called helplessly from shore.
"I'm drowning! I'm drowning!" Edward gurgled. "I'm gonna die!"
"Oh, for the love of Pete..." I muttered, paddling to where Edward was having his little seizure, grabbed him under the arms and towed him back to shore.
Edward panted and coughed, half-sitting, half-laying in the shallow water. I crouched at his right side and Alphonse knelt to his left. "And you wanted me to swim?!" He asked indignantly.
"I wanted to teach you to swim, not have you raving like a lunatic and drown yourself." I responded dryly.
Apparently at a loss for a retort, Edward sulked silently, frowning.
"Do what you want, I'm going to have some fun and go swimming." I said pointedly. "It's rather enjoyable when you know what you're doing."
Edward grumbled and crossed his arms as I waded into the water and ducked under. While I was swimming under the water, I heard a muffled call from above. Curious, I poked my head up to the surface, blinking away the water. I saw Edward again, standing, and looking a little disgruntled.
"Alright then," he said, no doubt swallowing his pride, "I'll..." he mumbled something after that, but I couldn't hear clearly because he'd turned his head and lowered his voice.
"What was that?" I called sweetly, cupping my hand to my ear.
"I said I'll learn how to swim!" Edward retorted, looking embarrassed and irked.
"Are you sure? There might be some pretty big fish out here...And who knows, eels, hell—freshwater sharks are a possibility... " I waded back into the shallows, not wanting to test my taunt. I wasn't quite sure how deep the water was, but I guessed it was fairly deep, and honestly, who knew what was kicking around down there? I was probably just making myself paranoid, but I couldn't help it.
Edward looked unsure then, and he glanced out at the water. "Forget it," he said, trying to sound nonchalant, "maybe some other time." He headed back up the beach, pulling the fish spears out of the sand as he went.
I snickered to myself and walked out onto shore, soaked. Yes, I was very glad I brought a towel. I dried off as best I could, but I was still damp no matter what. We cooked the fish, finally, and ate a nice, filling breakfast; even if it was a little dry. Afterwards, the three of us ventured into the woods for a little bit of Wilderness Survival 101. I was homesick for bug-spray within a half-hour. But I began to enjoy myself in the thick, humid jungle of the island. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the smell of decaying vegetation, the crispness of the young plants and fragrant flowers. Before I got too lost in adjectives, the brothers pointed out different things to me; plants that could heal some of the worst illnesses, plants that could make you deathly sick for days on end. I shuddered to myself at how they came to discover all this on their own. I took special note of the one plant Edward pointed out in particular: the one he used to dress my wound. I'd be going back for some of it later, mark my words. Edward showed me how to spot animal tracks and the like, and both him and Alphonse showed me the finer points of making a rabbit snare. Personally, I'd prefer to stick to fish.
By the time they had covered all the topics they wanted to, and the time our wonderful little trek was drawing to a close, I could gauge by the sun that it was several hours past noon. Time sure flies when you're learning vital survival tactics. It's true, take my word for it. As we were walking, trying to make our way out of the woods and back to camp, I saw something. A flash of black, out of the corner of my eye. It was Wrath, I knew, but I wasn't sure if either of the brothers had seen. I looked up, giving the brother's a stealthy glance. Something flashed in Ed's eyes, and he looked over to where I had seen Wrath. Curiosity and suspicion gleamed briefly in his eye before dismissing it and continuing on. Alphonse had noticed nothing, because he had been studying an exotic looking bird with two long, trailing feathers sprouting from its tail. I'd seen a type of bird like that in a copy on "National Geographic" a few years ago, but I couldn't recall the species. Useless information, really.
We had made and set snare when we first went forth into the forest, hoping to catch some lunch— or dinner, depending on when we got back. This was something I dreaded. And there it was; a little brown bunny caught in the snare. I preferred fish a lot more to this. The poor thing had got it caught around his neck, but at least he wasn't still alive. I heard a sad sigh, and I looked up to see Edward with an unreadable expression on his face.
"I always hated this..." He muttered, and it seemed as if he was speaking mostly to himself. He unsheathed a hunting knife that was strapped to his hip, and I was wondering why I hadn't noticed it earlier. He cut the rabbit from the snare, carrying it with him by the back legs.
When we finally broke through the dense foliage, the air had a yellow-orange glow to it already. The beach fire had died down a bit too much, so we worked to get it up to snuff before we set about... preparing the meal. Ed broke off a wide, palm tree-like leaf, putting the rabbit on it, and placing it next to the fire.
He took the hunting knife from its thick leather cover; then took it by the blade, offering the handle to me. "You can learn how to, if you want." Edward said, by way of an explanation. "If you don't want to, then I will, it's alright."
I quailed for a moment, then built up my courage and took the blade with determination. Gripping the handle tightly, I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat. Then, with Edward's guidance, I learned how to skin my first rabbit. It was a dismal and immensely disparaging event, but there wasn't much else to eat on the island. I could suppose I had no choice, and there was no place for squeamishness in the wild. The phrase 'Eat or Die' comes to mind.
By the time we were roasting the rabbit over the fire, the red-orange sun was grazing the horizon. I crouched near the fire, attending to the meal I had pretty much butchered. Edward and Alphonse sat together a few paces away, staring out over the water. They both sat cross-legged in the sand, quietly chatting. It was such a soothing picture to me that I found myself smiling from time to time, then quickly turning back to the rabbit before it burned. I didn't feel left out, in fact, I insisted that the two spend a little time together; I had felt lately then that I was driving a wedge between them, or at least forcing some sort of space between the two brothers.
When the rabbit was a nice goldeny-brown, I took the spit (the stick you put roasts on when you cook it over a fire, yeah, it was new to me too) out from the fire and put it down on a large leaf. "Dinner's ready!" I called out, with a little more volume and enthusiasm than necessary; it was rather fun.
Their quiet conversation stopped, and the boys both turned back to look at me. A grateful grin spread across Edward's face. They stood and walked over to the fire, Edward taking a seat on the log to my left, and Alphonse sitting opposite to him on the sand to my right. I sat between them directly in front of the fire. It was a normal process by now; the three of us would sit and talk around the fire, and two of us would eat, Edward and I. I divvied the rabbit between me and him and we began devouring the meal.
Apparently, at the time I momentarily interrupted their conversation, Edward and Alphonse were talking of old times back in Risembool. Edward took a hearty bite, and through said bite, tried to resume their current topic. "And remember when Mrs. Brown by the river had those—" His speech was muffled behind the lump of rabbit meat.
"Ed, come on, chew your food, swallow it, then talk, sheesh." I admonished him, taking my own bite of the meal.
He swallowed, then laughed. "Sorry," and with that, he launched back into his tale of Mrs. Brown who lived by the river. As it so happened, according to Edward's account, there was a big misadventure concerning her daughter who had fallen into the river, and apparently Edward and Alphonse had been there to aid with the rescue.
When the conversation had lulled, and the food had all been eaten, we lapsed into 'silent digesting mode'. After we weren't feeling so bloated, conversation magically started up again.
Sort of.
"I'm going to take a walk," Alphonse said, getting up. "I'll be back later."
As Alphonse walked away and out of sight, Edward hopped— yes, almost literally hopped— to his feet. "Alright, how 'bout a little sparring match?"
I grinned back, getting up. "Ok, you're on."
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." Edward mocked me lightly, taking a defensive position.
I took in a deep breath, focusing myself. My feet were spaced widely apart to give me better balance, my right foot placed farther back, my left a little farther forward. I rushed forward to him, and as I neared, he struck outward towards me, but I could tell the punch wasn't one he intended to land. I ducked to the side of his outstretched fist, grabbing the wrist of that arm with my left hand. Turning slightly sideways, I crouched, putting my hand to his stomach. By pulling his arm with help from his own momentum, and by lifting him with the hand I had on his stomach, I flipped him over me. He sailed by, his expression one of surprise, then transforming into one of determination.
Edward tilted into the flip, doing a full rotation to land on his feet, his back facing me. After he had turned around swiftly, I saw the expression on his face. He apparently was enjoying himself: there was an appreciative smile. I found that I was enjoying this too, strangely enough, my expression mimicked his. It was enjoyable, the moves and actions weaving into an intricate choreography.
I remember one night where we were dancing
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la la
I remember one night where we were dancing
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la la
Boy, do you remember
How happy you have been in that night...
How happy I have been in that night...
His eyes shined in the firelight, making them look like liquid gold. I straightened to my full height, resting a hand on my hip, a nonchalant pose. I held out the other, curling my fingers inward twice in a 'come and get me' gesture.
This time Edward charged, and I bent into a low crouch, preparing. I rested my weight back, on my left foot; I lifted my right rapidly, aiming for his chest. But suddenly — he wasn't there anymore. I realized to my surprise that he'd jumped over me. I turned in time to see him alight on the sand behind me. Edward dashed toward me again, in a move similar to his first. I tensed, waiting; as he neared, drawing back and releasing a loose fist aimed at my left side. It was so obvious, I thought he would've expected it. Just as before, I feinted to the side, and grabbed the wrist of his outstretched arm. I put my hand to his stomach, preparing to flip him, with a triumphant smile.
I realized Edward was smiling too: a devious grin. It was a trap. His momentum continued forward, tilting me backwards, and I felt something push against the backs of my ankles, sweeping my feet out from under me. My feet skidded forward in the shifting sand, and I began to fall backwards. Trying desperately to halt my descent, I seized Edward by the front of his shirt to anchor myself. It failed miserably; surprise shot through his face as he was hauled down with me.
My back connected with the sand, and my breath left my lungs in a whoosh. Edward was able to catch himself before he landed in a painful heap on top of me. My hands still gripped the front of his shirt, and Edward himself had landed on hands and knees. His hands sunk into the sand next to my shoulders; his knees positioned on either side of my hips. There was a furious crimson coloring his face in embarrassment, and my face felt warm, so I guessed I must have been blushing as well. His hair hung down around his face, close enough that one errant strand longer than the others brushed against my cheek, tickling my skin.
'Oh wow... this was convenient...'
For a moment, our gazes locked. Then, slowly, Edward's face came nearer, and with my hands still at the front of his shirt, I tugged slightly, encouraging him. Then, our lips were just barely an inch apart.
'Maybe a little too convenient...'
Just as his lips brushed against mine, I heard a familiar clanking sound.
'Aha, there we go. Knew that was coming.'
We both froze, then scrambled to stand, Edward rushed to his feet, slipping momentarily, then regained his balance. I got to my knees, and he helped me to my feet by a proffered hand. We hurriedly brushed sand off ourselves. Just as Alphonse came into view, we'd taken up some typical fighting postures, as if preparing to fight again.
We turned, pretending to just notice Al's arrival. "Oh, hey Al." Edward greeted his brother, trying for a casual tone; it was just barely passable.
My shot at nonchalance wasn't much better. "Hey there, how was your walk?" I asked quickly. My voice was slightly high-pitched with nervousness, and Edward was still trying to control the pace of his breathing.
"It was nice," Al replied mildly. "Who won?"
"Huh?" Edward and I asked in unison, then, "oh!"
We mumbled disjointedly.
"Tie." Edward volunteered.
"A tie? Oh, right, uh-huh." I scrambled to backtrack.
"Yep, a tie." We said in agreement, unconvincingly.
"Well, um, ok. That's good then, keep practicing." Alphonse encouraged, turning from us.
Edward and I shared a glance. Then Al made his way past the curtain of trees to the lean-to, disappearing between the leaves. With Alphonse gone, we both sighed. We followed after him, and prepared for a night of fitful sleep.
Hey, there it is, part ten. Took a while... You know what to do! Click that beautiful blue button and tell me what you think.