Dont own Fma stuffs just my OC's

Hello peeps!
This is just a short chapter, but its kind of stand alone so that's why its not as long at the others.
I think you'll appreciate it though.
I have a question for you guys below, check it out. :)
Enjoy!

State of Flux

Chapter 11

The overall composition of gloom and sadness inundated the group as they left the Hughes's residence. Ava's head was still spinning coming to terms with what Gracia had told her about being old friends with her parents. It might have been one of the most comforting bits of information she's ever really come across.

"I would have never thought that they would have had friends." Ava said absently.

Winry, who walked next to her, offered a curious expression. "Why is that so unbelievable?" She trailed a little behind, so she and Ava could talk.

"My whole life, my parents have been nothing more to me than written names on paper, in reports, journals, and letters. Since I don't remember anything about them and I never knew them, they could have been an all too elaborate fallacy, a trick. Meeting someone who really actually knew them when they were alive, assures me that they really existed. It's a good feeling." Ava lowered her head; her voice was trembling a bit toward the end. Though, the shaking in her words was not due to sorrow. No. It was happiness, finally, some sort of solid proof that she's not just some sorry soul. She was indeed someone's daughter. She belonged to someone at some time, that little bit of knowledge filled a very empty place. It gave her hope.

"That's silly," Winry said voice still full of grief. "Of course they existed, because you exist. Isn't that proof enough?"

"It would seem so," Ava zipped her jacket up and pulled her hands into the sleeves, the warmth was comforting. "But sometimes, the more skeptical you can be the better. So when things don't turn out exactly the way you plan you aren't disappointed." Winry seemed to understand.

"So Maes and Gracia knew your parents?" Ed asked, he slowed his pace to match the girls.

"Yes, and they knew me, when I knew them." Ava realized how odd that sounded.

"So he must have been familiar with some of your father's research, which is why he had us find you in Rush Valley." Ed eyed the cracks in the concrete; he was just being able to piece this together for himself. It was a little while before he spoke again. "I may not be able to access you're fathers file. If the research he assisted with is as cryptic as you believe, the clearance may be over my head."

Ava was suddenly flustered, how could he just throw away a lead like that? "So, there has to be some way you-"

"There is," He motioned her not to worry, but didn't seem too happy with what else he planned to say. "Colonel Mustang," He frowned. "We just have to convince him."

"Why does it seem like that may be easier said than done?" She was a little hesitant to get a third party involved, not only because it seems that involvement with the Elric's is a risk in and of itself, but that they may end up owing someone, which is something she preferred not doing. Neither a beggar or a borrower be.

"Because it is." Ed chuffed.

They carried on in silence and when they reached the hotel they broke up and went their separate ways. Al and Winry headed back to their rooms. Ed went to the cafeteria for dinner, operating on autopilot, Ava followed him quietly. The silence was driving her mad, mostly because it left her alone with her thoughts which are always too complicated. Like overdrawing a bow, she brewed more and more tension within herself, she was just waiting for the string to snap. It was hard for her to see her friends suffering; she wished she could console them. She just did her best to put on a brave face and with her newly found inspiration she knew she could be strong for them. They deserved it.

After gathering her meal she took a seat across from Ed. She looked at him while he just stared at the food on his plate. It was a morose scene that was pitifully amplified by the swaying sounds of the cafeteria musician's number.

"Ed?" She asked hesitantly, more as a permission to speak.

"Yeah?" He breathed, picking up his utensils slowly, like they were too heavy.

"I'm so sorry, please, if there's any way I could help, let me know." She went to take a drink of water, but really didn't feel thirsty, so she poked at all the little condensation droplets that formed on the glass.

"Thanks, I'm sorry too," He cut into his steak.

"Why are you sorry?" She stopped playing with her water glass and looked at him expectantly, "There's no reaso-"

"Because," He finally looked at her, "It happened to you again."

"What do you mean?" She was confused and waiting for an answer.

"You lost someone too and you don't even know it." His words cut her lightly, but were in no means meant to hurt, it was more of a compassionate statement.

"You're wrong." She said sharply. "I know what I lost, everything I have ever lost." She picked up her fork and stabbed her potato, she watched the utensil as it wobbled and stuck straight up. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

Ed's eyes widened apologetically "Hey, I didn't-"

"You get to wear your flaws right out on your sleeve Ed," she looked up at the ceiling, "I have lots of practice burying mine deep inside of me, because I have the advantage of being able to do so."

Ed looked down at his automail hand, though covered with a glove, he flexed it. "What are you trying to say?"

"I may not express myself too outwardly, but that doesn't mean that Mr. Hughes being gone doesn't matter to me. I lost another connection to my past. Few remain; few things validate its existence. I lost someone, who whether I knew it or not, cared about me." She looked him right in the eyes. "I was so angry most of my life, because I felt so damn forgotten, so many times. To learn that there was someone who still, until the day he died, was looking for me is so uplifting. He still believed I was out there and never gave up searching all these years. My sorry ass had no clue, and in one day I learned all of this and also that I will never be able to meet him, to thank him, to give him all my gratitude. It fucking kills me Ed." She shut her eyes tight and a tear traced itself down her cheek, she breathed deep and covered her eyes with her hand, before more had the chance to slip out.

"Your right," He sighed and looked down. "I guess I don't understand, sorry Ave."

She dried her eyes and wiped her hands on her pants, she sniffled, smiled, Isn't that what Gracia said she and my mother used to call me? Hearing that made her feel a little better. She steadied herself, even
chuckled a little, "Man, Ed, were a mess."

He smiled at her, "Yeah, all our problems together, we're pretty pathetic." They were finally able to start eating, thankful for the lighter mood that the conversation left off in.

Ava stood when she had finished, informed Ed that she was going to check on Winry and he should see how Al was doing. She managed to navigate her way to the hotel room, trying to remember what number Ed had said was theirs. She raised her hand to knock, she could hear light sobbing from the other side of the door. She rapped softy.

"Who is it?" Winry called from inside, trying to sound as normal as possible.

"It's me." Ava announced and peeked in the room. "I'm coming in."

Winry sat up on her bed, her pillow was tear stained and she looked exhausted. She wiped at her eyes and straightened her skirt. "Sorry, I'm such a mess." The room was dimly lit, the basket of apples they had collected earlier rested on the table.

Ava shrugged, "You have every right to be a mess." She walked in shutting the door behind her and took a seat next to blonde girl, her feel dangled off the edge of the bed. "Just get it out, kay?"

"Miss Gracia makes the best apple pie." Winry said out of the blue.

"Is that why you bought the apples?" Ava asked, "So she could make an apple pie?"

"Well, not really. I've been practicing; I was just hoping Mr. Hughes…hoping-"She was really having trouble getting out the end, but Ava knew what she was going to say.

"Hey, I'm sure it would have been perfect." She tried to smile convincingly.

"I just don't understand, how could something so terrible happen to someone who's only done good for people?" Ava looked at the poor girl, practically in shambles.

"Well, there are many answers, none of which are easy; it's only what you choose to accept." Winry was still looking to her, waiting for something more comforting. Ava spilled.

"To be honest with you, death isn't something I'm all too familiar with. It may seem a girl with no family left should be saying something a little different, but I didn't suffer when my family died, that life in which I had a family just ceased to exist. I was taken in by a woman named Eleanor; she was sick but did what she could for me. She was wonderfully loving, happy and caring, but I was a 5 year old little girl, who never knew what it was to love a person, family was not a concept that I understood. I believe that even though I clearly struggled with the love I received and had no clue how to reciprocate it, Eleanor felt like I was her family, because I understand it now. You see, her son died in the war, very early on. In her dying days she found me, an orphan with no one and nothing, and as her final deed in this world she raised me as her own; A confused, fractured, helpless, but happy, little girl who carried a piece of her on. In some small way, I am her legacy." Ava was entirely unaware of the door opening, her eyes where fixed on the floor.

"Maes, he was like Ed and Al's Eleanor. He was there for them, wholly and entirely, maybe in the beginning they didn't quite understand why, but he played a key role in their lives that has enabled them to proceed on the path that they have chosen. He was quite obviously a great man, one day I hope to understand just how great. I can gather a small empathetic understanding given that he was trying to find me when he heard about what happened with my family. I'm sure my life would have been incredible if Maes and Gracia raised me, but I wouldn't have given that final purpose to Eleanor, I wouldn't have traveled, learned and experienced the things that I had, that have made me who I am."

Ava sighed deeply "I can just hope that when I die, I leave a legacy half as strong as he did. I don't want money, I don't want fame; I want scars, markings of a life well led." She looked up at Winry.

"That's one way to put it." Ed sounded from the doorway, Al hovered behind him, and they were looking at Ava. She smiled a little embarrassed.

"I guess, that does make me feel a little better." Winry had stopped crying.

"Winry, you should get something to eat, the cafeteria is closing soon." Ed said taking a few steps into the room.

"I'm really not that hungry, but I think I'll turn in." She tried to smile believably.

"Suit yourself." Ed shrugged.

"Hey, I'll go hang with them for a bit, I'll be next door. I'm not tired yet and I don't want to keep you up." Ava hopped off of the bed.

"Alright," Winry laid back down Ed and Al turned to leave. "Ava?"

Ava was making her way to the door and turned to look back. "What's up?"

"Thank you, for what you said. It's a nice perspective to have, it helped a lot." Winry drew her covers up.

Ava nodded, "I'm glad I could help." She closed the door behind her quietly and entered the next room down the hall.

The brothers were seated in the living area of the room. Ed was on the couch with the little book Ava had given him back in Dublith open and he was thumbing through the pages. Al sat silently in a chair, but turned to greet her when she entered.

"Hey Al." Ava said halfheartedly, she was plum beat emotionally. If she had to muster another smile today she might collapse. She walked over to the sofa across from where Ed sat. She paused before she sat down, this little adventure has yet to have a dull day since they started out. She wanted, for a moment because that's all she needed, to feel normal. All the chaos with the homunculi, her father's research, Mr. Hughes Murder, hell; her own rocked core, it was, at this time, a little overwhelming.

She looked at her hands, her fingerless gloves; the metal plates were scuffed and scratched. She slipped them off and tossed them on the table. The iron bars on her back felt heavy and unnecessary she unhooked the belt that held them crossed at her back and removed it, tossing it to the ground. She unzipped her jacket and draped it over the back of the couch then sank down into it herself.

"Rough day." Al said, it wasn't really a question. Ed peeked up at her from the book.

"For everyone." She breathed, pulling the band out of her hair, black wavy tendrils fell over her shoulders, Ava put the band on her wrist. She rubbed at the dark circles that cradled her eyes then focused on Ed. "Learn anything yet?"

"Yeah, It's just relearning the way you use alchemy and where you harness the power to initiate an alchemical reaction. That's a little confusing to me." He exhaled eyeing a few lines intently.

"Well, you have to start at the source. That source is you. I know you're an accomplished alchemist and all, but don't try and rush alkahestry, you don't want to turn someone's broken arm into a wooden post on accident." Ava stretched and brought her legs up to lie on the couch, she stared up at the ceiling with her hands folded at her stomach. "Maybe we'll have a chance to work on it tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Ed grinned, glanced up at her again, and then it faded. She looked peaceful, but you could see certain heaviness in her eyes, where they burned a hole right through the ceiling in the way that they seemed to be looking at something much further away. He felt like he should say something, but didn't know what so stayed quiet.

"Hey, Ava, I was just wondering," Al began sheepishly, "Where are you from? We still really don't know much about you." Al drew back a little, feeling that maybe his words where too presumptuous, "Uh- well, you know, we know you and, we just don't-"

"Al, hey," She held a hand up, "It's fine, you've just never asked before. I'm from a town called Leith, It's north of New Optain and west of Liore."

"Leith? Can't say we've ever been there, maybe we've passed through." Ed thought aloud.

"It's nothing much, a few textile mills, lots of little homes and some farms. You didn't miss much." Ava explained.

"Would you ever go back there?" Al asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm always afraid I left some stone unturned in that dammed house." She said with indifference.

"We should take you to Resembool sometime; I think you'd like it there, that's where we grew up." Al said happily.

"Sure, sounds nice." She yawned, and put her arms behind her head and closed her eyes for a moment. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.

Thank you for reading! This was an interesting chapter to right, lots of feels and junk.

Thinking about adding some small snippet stories to the beginning or end of the coming chapters, they would be of Ava and her life and travels before she meets the brothers. Like when she goes into her actual home for the first time, her first train ride out of leith, ways and places where she learned her lessons of life and all that.

Would that be something you're interested in?

'till the next chappy

~NDG