Ed stared at the fragments of glass in Avarice's hand. The glass was stained red with her blood. Becky stared at the fragments. She couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. Something bad was going to happen. Avarice turned to look at the blood-soaked lawn and corpses.
"Runt," she said without turning around, "Fix this." She gestured to the carnage before them. Ed glared at her and opened his mouth to protest.
"I need to get Claudia situated or she's going to add to the lovely red color that had suddenly bloomed in the yard," Avarice cut him off. She scooped up Becky in her arms and had carried her inside. Al stood in the doorway, looking at the bloody scene.
"Avarice-sama?"
"Move, tin can," Avarice snapped but in a gentler tone she added, "I'm a bit high strung and my tag is bleeding. Go help your idiot brother before he tries to transmute something and forgets he's missing an arm." Al nodded and went outside. Avarice went into the kitchen and sat Becky on the table. Before Becky could protest, Avarice had stripped her. Becky yelped as the cold air of the kitchen made contact with her bare skin.
"Quit being pathetic," Avarice said dryly as she examined the wound, "Besides, it's not like Edward is in here." Becky felt her face burn and was grateful that Avarice couldn't see it. She heard a chuckle and she knew Avarice had seen her face. Mortified, she turned away. Avarice applied a salve to the bullet graze. It stung wildly, causing Becky to suck in a huge breath.
"When did you become a medical expert," Becky wondered aloud. Avarice looked up and shrugged.
"To keep a low profile for all the humans, I learned a few things to keep their eyes away from me. I figured learning how to wrap things and treat ailments would be the best way to get a human to think I was one of them. Besides," Avarice replied as she retrieved a roll of linen from her burlap sack, "I enjoy doing it. It's-" Avarice floundered for a word.
"Irritating? Annoying? Comforting? Relaxing?" Becky prompted hopefully.
"That last word you said works."
"Relaxing?"
"Yeah. That's it." Avarice straightened out Becky's leg slowly so as not to cause her 'patient' too much pain. She had just started wrapping it when Ed sauntered into the room. He saw Becky on the table and made a hasty retreat. Becky couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of disappointment. She wouldn't have minded if he'd stayed. Finally, Avarice finished wrapping Becky's leg and helped her stand. When Becky was stable on her own two feet, Avarice handed back her clothes. She pulled them on as the fiery-haired homunculus pointed to the stairwell.
Becky allowed herself to be led to Ed's room. Avarice turned away and headed back down the stairs when she'd opened the door for her. Diagrams were plastered everywhere, all of them depicting transmutation circles of some kind. Books lay scattered on the floor or in poor stacks on the desk. The bed was the only neat thing in the room. It looked like it hadn't been slept on. Becky was too exhausted to sift through Ed's things. She'd steal from him later. Instead, she collapsed on the bed, immediately drifting into sleep. As she entered the state Becca would have called semi-consciousness or dream limbo, Becky heard voices that where to far away fro her to completely grasp. She did hear words.
"You can't be in here!"
"So what? It's my room, isn't it?"
"But Cla-" She drifted off into deep sleep at last. The first rays of the sun hit her right in the eyes. Becky groaned and rolled over. Her hand rested on something warm. Startled, Becky's eyes snapped open to find Ed sleeping peacefully next to her. He was fully clothed. Obviously, he had just fallen into the bed, his own exhaustion catching up to him. Becky leapt up from the bed, her face a bright red. Silent, she inched around it, careful not to wake him up. When she reached the door, Becky turned and bolted down the steps. Her feet carried her through the house to stop in the kitchen. Avarice sat at the table, her feet comfortably on the surface of it. Al was trying to convince her to remove her feet from the table with very little success.
"Avarice-sama, you really shouldn't put your feet up where other people eat."
"You're starting to repeat yourself, Alphonse," Avarice commented dryly, "Good morning, Claudia. Did you sleep well?" Al turned his attention from Avarice to Becky. Becky could see the face hidden by armor. It was flustered and trying to be apologetic.
"I'm so sorry, Claudia-sama! I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen to me!"
"I'm fine, Al, really," Becky reassured him. Avarice removed her feet from the table to better look between the two of them. After a couple moments of glancing between the two of them, Avarice scowled at the world.
"It's very hard to read people when one of them is made of never warping metal," she snarled, "What happ-" She stopped as she looked closely at Becky's face. Realization crossed her face as she rose to her feet. She quickly made her way to the doorway, glancing into the living room. She was laughing when she returned to her seat. Becky's face burned red sending the homunculus into more rancorous laughter.
"Claudia? Are you sure you're okay?" Al sounded very worried.
"She'll be fine, Alphonse," Avarice howled with laughter, "as soon as her blood pressure drops back down to normal." Becky shot her a death glare. Avarice was pounding her fist on the table, laughing louder than ever. Ed entered the room, still half asleep. Avarice's laughter paused for only a moment as she looked up at him. Immediately, she started laughing again. Ed frowned.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Um…nii-san….you kind of-" Al searched for the words to break it to his brother gently.
"You slept with Claudia!" Avarice managed between her bursts of laughter. Becky stared at her double, completely mortified. Ed's jaw dropped.
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
"I tried to warn you, nii-san! I tried to remind you that Claudia was sleeping in your room," Al replied helplessly, "You didn't listen to me." Ed's face was burning as he turned briskly and walked away. Avarice's laughter reached its peak when, without warning, she fell silent. Becky and Al looked over to her to find her face down at the table. A trickle of blood ran in the crack of the table. When she raised her head, Avarice was swearing as she wiped away the tiny mark of red.
"What?" Becky asked.
"I literally busted a gut. Talk about a waist of regeneration," Avarice replied cynically. Al chased after his brother, trying to speak to him. Avarice grinned wickedly as she grabbed Becky's arm.
"C'mon, fan girl," she whispered. She towed Becky after the clanking suit of armor. Al went outside and Avarice cursed in a low voice. Becky saw him out the window. She pointed at the window. The two women huddled underneath it, listening to the brothers' talk.
"Nii-san?" Al sounded apprehensive.
"Yeah, Al."
"That letter…it wasn't from the Colonel, was it?"
"No. It was from her."
"What did it say?" Ed sighed heavily.
"It was just a reminder."
"Oh." A long silence followed before Ed spoke.
"I wonder how she's going to get home."
"I'm sure Becky will figure it out. She's smart enough," Al reassured his brother. Becky went rigid in her spot, fear flooding her system.
"Well shit," Avarice commented in a low whisper, "They knew too."