A/N I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist
Chapter Seven
The sun had not yet crested the horizon when Ed gently shook Chen's shoulder to wake her. She grumbled under her breath as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She had once again come into possession of his red coat which she had used as a blanket. Her hair had finally fallen the rest of the way out of its braid at some point in the night. It now sat in a snarled mess around her face and shoulders, which she attempted to push away before standing slowly.
Edward, who wasn't in any better shape, his own clothes torn and hair pulled back in a sloppy attempt at a ponytail, grabbed up his coat when she left it behind. "Why are we up so early?" Chen grumbled.
"We gotta check the traps." Ed said. He was not a morning person himself. His brain was still trapped in a fog of half sleep as he led the way into the trees.
Luckily, the first of Al's four traps held a rather fat rabbit. Edward approached it with care. Though this poor thing was bound to be his breakfast, he did not want it to suffer needlessly. He paused in his fog-filled tired state, vaguely remembering some of the things he had read earlier this week. "Are you sure about being here for this part? It's okay if you want to go back to camp."
"No. I said I wanted to learn. It may not be pleasant but I need to know it."
" Just to warn you. It may scream…or something." Edward said.
"Something?"
"I don't know. Ask for help or something."
"RABBITS TALK TO YOU?! "Chen asked, horrified. " HOW CAN YOU EAT THEM IF YOU HEAR THEM?!"
"WHAT, NO" Ed said, still confused himself. "I just meant it freaked you out yesterday and I remember reading that some princesses can talk to animals and…"
Chen stared at him as he trailed off, having said it out loud he realized the only reason the thought had come to him had to be from his own exhaustion. It was a really stupid idea. "You it in a children's book didn't you?"
"Three actually." Ed mumbled as his face reddened.
"I don't talk to animals Ed, those stories are made up." Ed recognized his own words thrown back at him, as his blush grew. He shrugged it off as a momentary lapse in cognitive thought and continued the lesson.
…
They had finished breakfast peacefully before the next fight began. This time over what they should do next. Ed wanted to move on, Chen wanted to go back. "Well, your friends are maybe a day behind us. We should turn around and meet them." Chen insisted.
"No, that is just a waste of time. We keep going and we'll be there in no time." Ed countered. "And they aren't my friends! They're my co-workers."
"We could just stay here and wait." Al suggested quietly.
"Shut up Al" "SHUT UP ALPHONSE"
"HEY, DON'T TALK TO MY BROTHER LIKE THAT!"
"YOU YELL AT HIM ALL THE TIME!"
"I DO NOT!"
Al watched the fight for another moment before he walked away. Neither noticing his absence.
"Well. You keep making all these choices like you know all the answers without considering anyone else's opinion." Chen said.
"You got us in this mess. You don't get an opinion." Ed said stubbornly.
"HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO USE THAT?!"
"UNTIL IT IS NO LONGER VALID!"
"YOUR BRAIN ISALMOST AS TINY AS YOUR BODY!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE COULD RIDE ON THE BACK OF AN ANT?! I'M NOT SMALL!" Edward screamed while stamping his feet and waiving his arms in a tantrum.
" YES YOU ARE EDWARD ELRIC! EMBRACE IT!"
"YOU EMBRACE IT!"
"…That didn't make any sense." Chen said.
"Yes it did." Ed said, no longer flailing as he belatedly remembered his broken arm. " you're just to stupid to see it."
"Whatever." Chen said as she walked out of camp. "I'm going back."
Edward watched her walk away in the direction they had come. He would never admit it, but he considered not following her. Sure it would involve a lot of paperwork, but he'd learned how to avoid THAT from the master… he'd also taught her how to feed herself, and help would arrive soon. Maybe. Hopefully. "Dammit, Wait up! I'm your babysitter!"
"BODYGUARD!" Chen screamed through the trees.
"WHICHEVER" Neither noticed that Al was not in camp, or that he was not following them now.
…
Grasslands
East of River
Morning
Two days west of East City (on foot)
Mustang was livid. He had drifted off as he ate his dinner, and instead of waking him the others had taken it upon themselves to sleep in shifts and allow him to rest. He had woken with the sun, and Hawkeye had managed to calm him down to a simmering state he currently resided in with a few well placed words regarding his own effectiveness without sleep.
They were now walking at the same snail's pace as yesterday which was not improving his mood in the slightest. As far as he was concerned all of his men betrayed his trust, and if anything were to happen to those boys (and the princess) he was holding them personally responsible. "Don't worry so much sir. Those boys know what they're doing." Hawkeye attempted to soothe him.
Mustang glared but said nothing, not wanting to be calmed. " Yeah, Ed's told me tons of stories about his training. If they can survive that, they can survive walking across this." Havoc added. "Even if a lot of it sounds made up."
"What stories has Fullmetal been telling you?" Mustang asked sharply. He hoped they were sticking to the cover story he'd created for them regarding their injuries.
"Mostly some crazy stuff about his teacher." Breda said from further down the line. " Like leaving them on an island for a month with nothing but a knife. Throwing cleavers at their heads. Stuff like that. Crazy. I'm pretty sure he's exaggerating…but I still don't want to meet that lady."
Mustang relaxed slightly. Edward would be careful of what he said if for no other reason than to protect his brother. He also knew if the boy ever did slip, the team could be trusted not to say anything outside of their group. As far as the issue with the teacher went, unlike the rest of them, he believed Edward's stories about training. While his own teacher hadn't dumped him out in the middle of nowhere, he had his own methods and they were not pleasant. Alchemy training never was.
"Never doubt an alchemist about their training horror stories." Mustang said. "It isn't an easy process"
"Wait. Are you saying it's true?" Fuery asked. "His teacher really tried to kill him?"
"No. If his teacher wanted to kill him he'd be dead. I have no doubt however that she threw knives and left them alone and any number of other methods. Nothing he has said about his training is unheard of."
"…No wonder there aren't more of you." Breda said. " Who would sign their kid up for that?"
"It DOES have reasons. The training is extensive. The reason there isn't 'More of us' is that most people are not intelligent or disciplined enough to handle anything higher than basic transmutations… at best."
No one spoke again as he lead the way. His tone alone told them the subject was closed, and he was not in a forgiving mood. The sooner they found the kids, the better off they would be. Mustang's concern was beginning to outwardly show.
