In Times of Peace

Chapter Six

The Brothers Elric

Yuery and William had asked if they could go play in the garden. They HAD intended to stay put in the garden as they were told, but then William thought he heard an injured cat. Yuery insisted that they needed to go find the cat and bring it back to the house so that their dad could help it. William quickly agreed.

An hour later, the boys had learned that there were birds that could mimic the sounds cats made, and that they had no idea how to find their way back out of the woods. They weren't scared, much. Dad would find them. Dad always came.

They weren't scared, but they were tired and getting hungry. William wanted to keep walking to try to find their way back, but Yuery remembered that Uncle had told them once if they were ever lost in the woods, to stay put. That way the grown ups looking for them could find them faster.

"Yu. I want to go home now." Will said with a sniff as they sat on a fallen log.

"I know, me too. But Dad will come soon Will. He always comes." Yu said as he hugged his brother.

"What if we went too far and Dad doesn't find us before dark?" Will asked. He was terrified of the dark, everyone in the family knew that he was.

"I'll protect you until Daddy comes Will. I promise." Yu said with much more confidence than he felt. He knew Dad would find them, but he didn't know how long it would take. They had wandered pretty far before they realized they had no idea where they were or how to get back.

"I don't wanna be in the woods in the dark." Will said with tears in his eyes.

"I know. Listen. Remember when Uncle said we had to stay put if we got lost?" Yu asked.

"Y-Yeah."

"Well, we kept walking for a while after we noticed it, so maybe we should go back to where we were when we realized we was lost and that will make Dad find us faster."

"Yeah, okay."

The brothers stood and looked around. Neither could remember exactly which direction they had come from before sitting on the log, but they didn't want to say that either. Yuery set off in a determined pace away from the spot, William trailing behind him.

They had walked for another ten minutes, before Yuery stopped them again. "Do you hear that? It sounds like water. OH. It's the stream Dad and Yeye took us to go fishing!"

"Can you find home from there?" Will asked rubbing his nose with his sleeve so that Yuery wouldn't notice he had been crying. Only babies cried, like Maes or Tad or Trish. He was big like Yuery.

"Maybe, but Yeye and Dad will def'ly know to look for us there. Come on." Yuery said as he leads the way.

They emerged through the trees to the bank of a stream, but Yuery didn't see any landmarks from before, or a trail. Still, he was certain Dad would know to look for them here. He sat down on the bank and patted the spot beside him. Will sat next to him, and they hugged each other again.

The sun was starting to get low and the shadows long. Both brothers were hungry, and tired. Yuery admitted to himself he was now a bit scared too, not that he would tell Will. That would just make Will more scared. Dad and Yeye would come, he knew that, but he didn't know how long it would take. Stupid bird tricking them into thinking it needed help!

As they sat on the bank, trying to ignore the growing shadows, Yuery listened to hear Dad calling. So far, he only heard the sounds of the woods. Chirping of birds, chittering of squirrels. The snap of a twig nearby.

At this last sound, he jumped to his feet and stood in front of his brother. A moment later an elderly man came out of the woods carrying a fishing pole and tackle box. He looked startled to see anyone here. "Uh. Hello there. Didja get yourselves turned around out here?" the man asked.

"We aren't 'lowed to talk to you." Will said from behind his brother.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt ya any." The man said as he sat down on the bank, close enough to hear the boys but far enough that he couldn't easily reach them. "I'm Eber Stanson. Take care of the grounds of the big house over there. I'm pretty sure that's where ya wandered from. You're the Elric boys, right?"

"Yes. Our Dad will be here soon." Yuery said.

"Oh, I'm sure he will. He don't seem the type to mislay his kids and not go looking. I think I'm gonna go ahead and set out my line for a bit. Don't let me bug you." Eber said.

Yuery looked at him suspiciously. He still remembered the people who kidnapped him after all, but the man didn't seem interested in them really, so they sat back down. Yuery made sure to sit between his brother and the man. He also picked up a stick to carefully draw an array to protect them if they needed it.

Time passed slowly as they sat in silence. Eber would occasionally pull his line back in, tut over the lack of fish, and then throw it back out. Eventually, Will was squirming in his seat. Partly because he had to pee, but also because he wanted to tell the man what he was doing wrong. Eber was a stranger, but from what he said he also was staff. It was alright to talk to staff as long as they were polite and didn't interrupt anyone's work.

"You gotta put a worm on it. You won't catch anything with just a hook. Daddy said." Will told Eber after he pulled the line in for the fourth time.

"Well, so you do." Eber replied with a smile. "You're a smart kid aren't you."

Will smiled a bit at this before pulling on Yuery's sleeve. "I got to pee Brother."

"Okay. Let's go find a good tree, then we can come right back." Yuery said.

"I'll keep an eye out for your people, but don't go wandering off again. I can imagine how scared everyone out at the main house is; I know I would be if my kids wandered off." Eber said with a frown.

Yuery nodded before leading Will away to take care of his bladder. Eber listened for the boys to ensure they didn't go too far away but he couldn't see them from where he was. It was a relief when Yuery lead William to use the restroom. Eber had been watching the boy squirm since he sat down.

Eber knew there was very little chance of talking the boys into following him back to the estate, so he settled in to wait for the others to find them. He wasn't about to leave two small boys alone on the side of the water where anything could happen. The boys returned a few minutes later and sat back down on the bank, slightly closer than they had before. Eber smiled down at them but decided to leave them be for now. They were lost and scared, the last thing anyone needed was for them to decide to run away from the stranger and get themselves even more turned around.