The green grass flooded out along the wide spread fields of Resembool as I strolled along side the shimmery waters slowly gliding past me in a lazy effort to get to the ocean.

I breathed in the sweet summer air and peered happily at the blue sky. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky on that warm day as I headed for what was left of our burned house.

I walked up the slight incline up to the place where the ashes rested quietly on the ground, forever reminding me of what happened that one horrible night.

I walked over to the ashes and bent down, scooping them up into my hand and letting them drift slowly to the ground, rushing to join the rest of the pile. I sighed, not knowing what to do on this seemingly perfect day.

"What are you doing up here?"

I stood and turned my head. I scowled. "This is where I used to live, but you should already know that." I said, glaring at Roy who stood with his hand in his pockets.

Roy smirked at me. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But you still didn't answer my question." He said, looking at the scattered ashes.

I looked down at the ground, shoving my hands into my red cloak. "Just thinking about the past, I suppose." I said with a shrug.

"You're not thinking about what you could of done differently, are you?" Roy asked me, frowning ever so slightly.

I shrugged again. "Maybe." I muttered.

"Well knock it off. You did what you thought was best at the time. Yes, it was wrong, but you thought it was the best option for you. There's nothing you can do to change the past anyways so why blame yourself so much for what happened?" Roy asked me, stepping forward.

I looked up at him and gave a slight smile. "Yeah, guess you're right. But I still can't help but blame myself for what happened. I mean, it is my fault." I said, meeting his onyx eyes.

Roy rested his hand on my shoulder and smiled down at me. "Yes it was and you did made a bad decision. But you have since learned from it. You and your brother are still here, alive. The consequences could have been a lot worse but they weren't. You shouldn't feel so bad about it. You have learned why it was forbidden and now you want to better yourself by changing the mistake you made, and that's very honorable. You should feel good that you still have it in you to keep going, most wouldn't have recoverd from everything you went through in the first year." He said, letting go of my shoulder and looking out into the horizon.

I sighed. "Yeah but it's still not enough, ya know?" I looked at his face. "I just feel like I should've been the one to end up in a cold suit, not Al." I mumbled.

He turned and looked at me with a scowl. "Don't you dare say that. If you were the one to end up like that then you would never get to redeem yourself and get your bodies back. You would never have made it into the military and people would fear you, not help you." He said.

I frowned. "Are you saying Al scares people?" I folded my arms and stared at him, waiting for a reply.

Roy shook his head. "Not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying if you were a suit, you would scare people. I mean, lets face it. You're not exactly a cuddly kid and you'd wind up killing someone by accident. So it was better that Al ended up in it instead of you." He said with a sad smile. "It's only temporary, he'll have his body back soon. You both will. These ashes only prove the sacrifices you're willing to make to get you to that goal. I know you'll get your bodies back." He said.

I nodded with a smile. "Yeah, we will get our bodies back. I did promise that and I meant it." I said. I looked at the ground and kicked at the ashes. "And, uh, thanks for cheering me up a little." I mumbled softly.

Roy leaned in, his hand to his ear. "What was that? I didn't quite hear yu." He said with a wide smile on his face.

I glared up at him. "I said, thank you for helping me, you jerk!" I yelled with balled fists. "I'm outta here." I said, storming off down the hill, followed by Roy