Chapter 5: Rain's Hero

People, people, people…..where were all of my reviews…? Tsk tsk tsk….if I loose my self-esteem I may stop writing, j/k….but please please please please review this chapter. I really need to know if my story is going in the right direction.

Ed turned around in the tree to get a better look at his surroundings…and he fell out. "Damn…that's the last time I ever want to climb a tree…" Ed said as he stood up and rubbed his head. "Now where are you Lauren…?" He started to walk in a random direction.

Lauren opened her eyes and looked up into the darkening sky; she had been walking for more than four hours and had managed to get herself lost. She was lying on the grassy base of a rock while she contemplated on going back for Ed. She had only left him because she couldn't carry his unconscious form anymore, so she stuffed him up in a tree. She shook her head, sighed, and stood up and continued walking away from where she had left Ed.
Roy Mustang opened his eyes to a scratching at his office door. He had been 'napping' with Riza on the sofa. He didn't want to wake Riza up, so he carefully rolled over so she was on the inside of the sofa, then he got up from the couch with his jacket tied around his waist. He threw open the door, eyebrow twitching, and was looking down at a cat.

The cat meowed and rubbed itself against Roy's leg.

"Fire…?" Mustang reached down and picked up the cat and walked back over to the sofa, he sat down and Riza opened her eyes.

"Roy…?" She sat up with the sheets clutched around her and looked at Fire. "Isn't that Lauren's cat?"

Roy nodded and kept looking down at the dirty cat. "Lauren would never let him out of her sight, she always takes him on her missions, his collar has more of her gas mixture in it…"

Riza stood up and began to scavenge for her cloths, which she found on Roy's desk where she had discarded them.

Roy stayed where he was, thinking. "What if…something happened…?" He whispered more to himself then to Riza.

"Well…if something did happen, we should go after her, maybe she's seen Kaara or maybe-"

"Hush Riza." Roy set the cat down and started to get dressed.

Riza bit back tears. Roy had never once told her to be quiet in such a harsh tone then ignore while they were alone together. She finished getting dressed then quickly exited the office.

Roy turned at the sound of the door opening and closing, then smacked himself in the head. "This is just what I need, for my wife to be mad at me while for all I know my niece could be dead!" Roy sat down at his desk and began to sort through a few papers all concerning Kaara Mustang, code name Kaara Hart. Fire was asleep on the sofa already.

Ed was completely lost and confused; it was getting colder as it got darker. He sighed and leaned against a tree. "Where am I going….where's Lauren…?" Ed banged his head on the tree trunk and something hit his head. He looked up and saw a pair of huge yellow eyes staring back at him. "Gaaah!" Ed ran around another tree and poked his head out.

A leopard climbed down from the tree and walked up to Ed all predator like. It growled as he sniffed him.

Ed was still as the leopard pawed at his boot. "Shoo Kitty."

The leopard snarled and Ed went white.

"You're a big kitty yes you are…I mean…cat…or…umm…"

"Hero!" A girl about Ed's age jumped down from another nearby tree, she was dressed in a thin white dress, dirtied with grit, grim, and blood.

The leopard left Ed alone and walked to the girl, who surprisingly petted him like a big fat huge overgrown spoiled pet! Hero licked the girls face and Ed could've passed out. The girl looked over at Ed, her eyes were a piercing brown red and her skin was pale and delicate looking, like porcelain. Her hair was a ratted mess of brown and blonde. "Who are you, why you in our part of the forest, Hero has claimed this." The girl's voice, though soft and gentle, gave away a sharp tone.

"I'm Edward Elric, I was on a mission from the state when I got separated from my partner, Lauren Nakura, have you seen her, or perhaps a group of four people with a little girl with them..?" Ed stepped forward a bit then back again as Hero growled at him.

"Hero, shush you great oaf." The girl put her hand to her knee and Hero laid down.

"What's your name?" Ed asked the girl as she sat down in front of Hero and leaned against him.

"I'm Rain, and I've seen no one else in our part of the forest. But I'm sure Hero has, he's always going off by himself why I stay home and cook him dinner." Rain fluffed Hero's tail as she talked about him like he was her husband, cooking him dinner indeed….he could eat it raw and not care!

"Well…is there a way you could..like…ask him?" Ed leaned against a tree again.

"No, but if you have a scent of either of the people you're searching for, Hero could probably track them." Rain said as she stood back up and walked to Ed. "So do you?"

Ed lost himself in her eyes. "Do I what?" Her eyes were staring into his. They were two pools of life….but the reddish color seemed to add the feeling that he was looking into death.

"Have anything that has the scent of who you're looking for." Rain said, half-laughing.

Ed looked at her nose instead in order to think straight. "My partner's scent might be on me…"

Rain snapped and Hero walked up beside her. "Smell him, but DON'T...eat him." Rain added as she saw the hungry look in the leopard's eyes.

Hero seemed to whine as he sniffed Ed, all he was picking up was Ed's scent, until he reached his chest…he growled shortly then turned right and started to walk.

"Come on, Edward." Rain pulled at his arm and they followed Hero.

"I am so lost..." Lauren sat down on a log on the edge of a small stream. "Ed…I shouldn't have left you…I don't know what I'm doing…"

"But I know." A man's voice came from the shadows….

Lauren turned to see whose voice it was…her eyes widened...her jaw dropped…it was-

I am so evil aren't I……well that's what you people get for not reviewing my last chap! Maybe if you review this one you'll find out who's hunting Lauren down and possibly catches and...to see if Ed saves her! So I will only write more if I get more than five reviews, that's all I want, if each person who reads my story could just press the little "go" button then say…."it was good, plz write more" or even…"That was shit"…..would be just fine with me! Please! Review!