Disclaimer: Indicates that I don't own this.
Ed followed the mayor thorough the maze of booths. His eyes were bright and sparkling. They were on their way to the tent where Ed would begin his new job, judging cakes. Ed's stomach growled in anticipation.
"So, exactly what do I do? I've never been around this sort of thing."
The mayor smiled. "Oh, it's very simple actually. You taste the item, then mark down scores on the sheets we give you. They spell out everything you should look for. I'll be judging, as will a local doctor. My name is Jonas LeJeune, by the way. The doctor is Dr. Yvonne Harmon. She should already be at the tent. Ah, here we are."
Ed walked into the tent and went still. On the tables in front of him where literally dozens of different cakes, no two alike. His eyes grew large and his stomach grew noisier. It's heaven. This has to be what heaven is like, Ed thought, momentarily forgetting that he did not believe in heaven.
Mayor LeJeune waved to a tall red haired woman in a chair. "Dr. Harmon, I would like you to meet Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. He was attending the fair with his brother, and has kindly agreed to be our third judge. Mr. Elric, may I introduce Dr. Yvonne Harmon?"
Ed shook Dr. Harmon's hand. His eyes, however, were on the cakes. "So, when do we start?"
"Let me get the sheets. Here you go," LeJeune passed score sheets to the others. "Each cake is numbered. We each take one bite and then sip some water. When we have tried all the cakes, we add up our individual scores. We then see which ones have made the best scores, and try those again. At that point, we judge which one will be first place, second place, and so on. Okay, are you both ready? Then let's begin!"
Ed immediately headed for the closest table. "Let's see, which one to start with. I think this one. Hummingbird cake."
Meanwhile, Al was happily wandering around the fair. Most of the people he met seemed a little in awe of his armor, but after he introduced himself, they became friendly.
"Hello there! Would you like to play a game? It's easy!"
Al glanced at the man in the booth. He stood in front of a wall covered with small balloons. "All you have to do is pop a balloon! Pop one and you get a small prize, three and you get a medium, five and you get a large! And if you like, you can trade up."
Al hesitated. It did seem easy.
"You get three darts to start with!"
Al looked at the balloons, and decided to have a bit of fun.
"Sure. All I have to do is pop the balloons, huh? That's no problem."
The man grinned as he handed Al the darts. "Good luck!"
POP!
POP!
POP!
"Hey! You're really good at this." The man seemed surprised that Al had done so well. "Most people usually manage one or two, but you're the first guy I've had hit all three with no hesitation. So, what prize do you want? You get a medium size." The man pointed to a shelf.
Al studied the items. One in particular caught his eye. "I'll take that one."
The man smiled. "Yeah, that one is very cute. Going to give it to your girlfriend?"
Al stuttered. "Uh, um, well, no. I'm going to keep it."
The man chuckled. "Well, I would too, actually."
Al happily walked off to explore the fair, his prize in his hands. The item that had caught his eye was a drawing, white ink on black paper. It was a very skillful sketch of a small kitten looking at it's reflection.
Notes: Well, this is a little bit longer than normal. Oh, and that prize of Al's? It's real. I didn't get it at a fair, but it's sitting on the shelf next to my Alphonse plushie. I found it at a thrift store a few weeks ago. It just looks right, sitting next to Al. Bye for now, and thanks for reading this far. Reviews are welcome!