Chapter 4
Elysia started off the train, she didn't notice Strider struggling to retrieve his baggage from the compartment until she heard him curse loudly at the bags.
"Strider!" She scolded as she stormed over to him. "Don't talk like that in public."
"Hmph." Strider muttered moving aside. "Since when do you care? And your not…" he trailed off. Apparently he didn't want to say "mom".
Elysia rolled her eyes and handed him his bags. "If you needed help, you could have just asked."
Strider glared at her. He roughly snatched his things from her and went down the train aisle. "I don't want your help."
Elysia rolled her eyes again, and followed after him. She did love her little brother, even if he was only her half brother, but he was almost too much to deal with sometimes.
Strider didn't know how to feel about Elysia. She was, after all just his half sister. They only shared half of the same blood. So should he feel likes she's really his sister? He was also jealous of her, even if her father had died, she had still met him. His father on the other hand had left his mother as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Strider had never known him.
There were times, like now, when Elysia made efforts to be nicer to Strider and treat him as if he were really her brother. Strider also didn't know how to react to that. He could never tell if she really wanted to make these efforts, or if she only did so because their mother had always wanted them to be closer. He usually decided that she only did things, like helping with his baggage, to please their mother, and often returned her favors with resentment.
Strider was wrong. What he hadn't thought about was that Elysia tried to be friendly at times for both reasons.
"Well now what?" Strider asked Elysia as they stood on the platform beside each other.
"I don't know." said Elysia. She hadn't thought about what they were to do once they were off the train, and the crowds of people both getting off the train and some waiting for others only added to the confusion.
A familiar voice called her name, and she turned to see a blond woman waving to her and Strider. She didn't recognize her at first, she hadn't seen her in years, but after a moment or two it hit her.
"Winry!" she said. The woman nodded and came over to them. Winry had grown a lot since Elysia had last seen her. She had met Winry when she was about four, and hadn't seen her since she was six.
"Look at you!" Winry exclaimed. "You're almost grown!"
Elysia laughed, and then looked at her confused. "Wait, you're not our aunt, are you?"
"Nope. But your aunt lives near us, and I offered to pick you guys up since she's busy."
Winry peered behind Elysia and pulled Strider forward who was hoping to go unnoticed. "Strider!" she said. "You were only a year old last time I saw you." She turned her gaze to his auto-mail eye. "And your eye! I forgot you had auto-mail! You have to let me take a look at it! You know what? I could build a new one for you! A better one!"
Strider was taken aback by her interest in his auto-mail. Elysia explained to him that she was an auto-mail mechanic, and got a little overexcited at times when she came across any.
Even with this information, Strider still thought this woman was strange. He then found her almost scary when she grabbed him by the hand and dragged him along still babbling on about auto-mail.
Winry left them at a doorstep a few houses away from her own with strict orders for Strider to stop by later.
Elysia stared at the door in front of her after she was gone. She wasn't sure about this. Even though this aunt was her father's sister, she had never met her.
"Well?" said Strider interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced at him a moment and knocked on the door. It opened slowly, and an almost exact replica of Maes Hughes stood before. This woman really looked like her father. Aside from the longer hair, dress, and breasts. She even seemed to have a bit of facial hair where her father had some. She looked at her aunt for a moment, and then passed out from shock.
