Like my sight, my hearing was altered by being in a suit of armor. The only way I could ever describe it was everything had a tinny ring to it. Every sound, especially people talking, echoed unpleasantly, and made my head vibrate.
When I first heard my brother's voice I was shocked. The annoying sound was gone, leaving a high tenor voice in its place. The laugh, most especially was different. It was enjoyable, and made me laugh too. I had a hard time remembering my brother's voice. It was so vastly changed from what memory supplied, and what I knew it should sound like. It wasn't childish soprano any more, and neither was it alto with a tinny echo laced through it. It didn't fade off but ended sharply with each word, and it never hurt my head. It changed from sometimes almost bass to high-pitched enough to be soprano. I never remembered it doing that before.
Other people's voices were different too, and the sound was even more different. When I rode the train the shaking didn't make my head rattle against my shoulders, or grate the plates of armor together. There were no heavy steps to make the tinny vibration weave through me with every step. Instead there were vibrations I could feel.
It was easier to place some voices than others. Winry's voice came to me immediately when I heard it, and Granny Pinako's voice was equally recognizable. The one voice I struggled with the most was Colonel Mustang's voice. His deep tone had been vastly distorted by the echoes in the armor, and I was amazed he didn't squeak at odd times any more when he spoke.
There was, of course, also a sound I relearned to love; a cat's meow. Now, as a human, the noise was even more appealing, and sometimes even more piteous. Now, however, my brother couldn't tell me no, and Granny Pinako loved cats just as much as I did. Den, thank heaven, loved them too.
Tones had also been distorted. I missed the soft whisper of my brother's voice as he apologized, or the delight he radiated when he figured some complex problem out. I missed Granny Pinako's scolding tease as she beat us form the kitchen, and I missed Winry's happy giggles as she beat Ed in anything. Above all I missed the jubilant shout my brother issued when he burst into my room every morning, and pounced on my bed, proclaiming I was still there, and I'd never go away again.
A/N: It's over. Yes, this was a very short piece, but it's over. Oh, many, many thanks to every reveiwer, thank you again and again. Al thanks you as well.
Sayonara minna-san.
