Sea of Blood
Edward had long since gotten used to the sight of blood.
When he was little, the salty tang fascinated him, and he'd lick his cuts and bite his tongue to taste it, like all children do.
After his mother died, he began studying the components of blood. Protein, grease, urea, iron... Blood types, the circulation system, everything. Blood became ingrained into his mind- after all, one day he'd have to make it from scratch.
On the day of the transmutation, he and his brother traded their own blood in exchange for the most horrific night of their lives. It tied their bodies together and started them on a quest to restore those precious drops.
After the day of the transmutation, the stench of it lingered about the Rockbell house for weeks. Blood, sweat, tears, grease...he was always covered in some kind of liquid during those long days of pain and recovery.
After the day they burned their house down, it still remained an ever-present factor in his life. Every major battle left him with a wound- a gash on his face, a cut on his side, his head nearly getting split open at one point. Again he returned to the habit of licking it off, if only to keep it from getting in the way.
And now he was swimming in it. It stuck to his hair and clothes, filled his shoes, was the very ground he walked on. Blood was, literally, everywhere. And he couldn't help but wonder what he'd found so fascinating about it.