When Edward reached the lake that the three of the children used to play at when life was so much easier, and when Ed and Al's mom was still with them, a fresh wave of memories swept through his clothes along with the gales that the wind was stirring up around him. The last time he'd been here was with his younger brother before their mom had been succumbed by the epidemic that would eventually end up taking her life. The two brothers had gotten into a silly fight over something that Edward couldn't put his finger on at the moment, and like always, Al had come to a river that led into the mouth of this peculiar lake. A noise erupted from the bushes that swallowed up the area where the river led into the large pond and the two brothers had been dumbstruck as they stood there, waiting for something to pop out at them. The tension was rising, but after a while, the intense growl they'd heard from the direction of the lake had lowered to a low hum. Deciding that it was best just to get away from that place, the duo took it upon themselves to trot away, look back every once in a while, but all in all, they never returned to the area.

Now that he was here, Ed could definitely feel that something was up. The way the trees bended away from the water was enough to convince him. There were no birds that sang around this area… even though he was sure that the small animals were usually more than happy to pick off the buffet of insects that lingered around the water's edge. There's definitely something in there, he thought, taking off his shirt and stripping to his under garment that covered up his lower torso. Oh well… if he encountered anything while swimming, he could just use alchemy to defend himself…though he seriously hoped it didn't come to that. Who knows what would happen if the metal in his arm reacted unusually and sent electric waves through the liquid. Because water was denser than ice, electricity shocks would travel quicker through it. He might be able to fry whatever was living in the deep waters, but in the process, he would jumpstart his heart, reset it, and perhaps even fry himself in the process. Grinning at the bitter taste of adventure in such a boring area, Edward loosened his long amber hair out of its braid, put the tie around his wrist and ran out a few feet, then dived down into the water. A few moments later, his head bobbed up and a gasp for oxygen was required, filling his lungs with one of the elements that were necessary for all life forms to survive. For minutes afterward, he was joyously relieved of his worries about the lake's inhabitants and kept himself within the moment. It had been a little over half an hour before the boy decided it was time to wash the grime off his shirt, dry himself off and head back to the Rockbell's. This was when something slippery curled around his right leg, the one that he'd managed to spare from the Gate. At first, he was prolonged from the adrenaline rush that should have followed after the grasp that tightened and dragged him down underneath the waters surface. And it didn't take him but a few moments of being held down, that he was engulfed by the need for more oxygen. His theory that something was indeed making a disgusting little house here was right! Ed kicked his legs against the slime that kept dragging him even deeper, but nothing seemed to help…nothing at all. In the water, movements are slowed down because our bodies have to work against the volume to do their necessary functions. Again and again Edward tried to break free, but when it was clear that his captor wasn't going to let go anytime soon, he turned and looked down at the enemy. What he found was surprising. His mother was staring up at him. Or at least, she looked like his mother.

"Edward...why did you leave me?" Whatever air was left in his mouth dispersed into the water around him and a burning sensation fluttered up and down his larynx, a sign that he would soon be in deeper trouble than he was at the moment if he didn't pay attention to how far down he was. Even his ears were starting to clog up, and it wasn't just the water. The pressure that was exerting itself upon him was going to steal his eyesight, which was already going black at the edges. "Come to me Ed!" She screamed, and her eyes glowed with an unearthly lime green color. No, this wasn't his mother. It was something, but not the woman he'd tried to bring back to life so long ago. Clapping his hands together, and forgetting all about what might happen, Ed called upon the water to loosen around his ankle with the little oxygen he had left in his lungs, and then shot himself upward using the water currents that rested deep on the bed of the lake- the force was so strong that it propelled him out of the water and onto land within a few moments. Gasping for air, Edward Elric fought the urge to scream. If he had, the lack of oxygen from earlier would take even longer to come back to him. Besides, screaming seemed like a little childish thing to do. After a while, Ed got his breath back, but was still a bit shaken. However, because he did not wish to stay anywhere near this area, the motherless teenager pulled himself together and scrambled further up onto the bank, grabbing his pants and his shirt while doing so. That thing was not human. Especially if it made its nest on the bottom of the lake bed! He pulled his pants on and ran the whole way back to the house with his shirt and shoes in hand, dripping water after him.

"Thank you so much Al for feeding those darned chickens for me and getting some bread from the Evar's for us… you are such a help!" Al shifted from where he was fixing the bells on the door. Apparently they'd fallen and dented into each other when Winry had slapped open the door on Ed's face. "And how was your swim young man?" Questioned Granny Pinako, addressing Ed as she pulled three bowls out from the cupboard.

"It was… interesting. Two-o'clock!" Den was wagging his tail so hard that Ed was sure that it would knock the old lady over if she got close enough, but Pinako seemed to get Edwards hint and she tapped Den's rump with the heel of her foot and the dog moved out of her way, allowing the old woman to get over to the table where Winry and Ed were sitting at. She pulled up a chair and Ed motioned for Al to join them, he did so and when they were all four seated at the small table that usually only fit three, Winry began chatting away while the rest of them ate their stew (while Al polished up his armor).

"You know Al, I think we should re-do the hair on your helmet." She mused when Al began polishing it instead of his shoes.

"What would you do with it, Winry?" he inquired, his voice making his question sincere since they couldn't see his expression. Ed was hit with a pang of sadness. He wanted his brother to have his body back more than anything… would that ever happen? Winry interrupted his thoughts and held up her spoon to grab everyone's attention (not that she didn't have it).

"Well, we can cut it so you don't tickle anyone's nose as you walk by… or we could tie it up…Samurai style!" Everyone laughed.

"Granny… did you put milk in this?" Asked Ed, looking at the stew with an unsure expression.

"I did! Go on and taste it!" Ed grimaced, and then stuck the spoon that held parts of the stew into his mouth. He was surprised when it ended up being the best stew he'd ever tasted. "We have to get milk into you somehow!" Winry giggled and Ed slammed his water glass down after making everything in the bowl that had once held the stew, disappear.

Ed furrowed his eyebrows, "What are you laughing at, Winry?"

"I'm laughing because I love milk and you go through so much just to avoid a sip of it!" she chuckled even harder, barely getting enough air to finish her sentence.

"Well for one thing, milk may make you taller…" he leaned back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head, and sent a devious sneer over at the girl sitting beside him. "But it won't make your boobs any bigger." And all hell broke loose.

After dinner, Winry tugged on Ed's hair, which was still down from when he'd untied it at the lake, and she dragged him all the way to her room, which stunk of oil and metal, though he wasn't surprised at this… he was quite sure that whenever Winry was in her room, she was either sleeping, or working on some mechanical device that would help her in some way. She positioned herself in a chair, and then forced Ed to sit on the ground in front of her with his back to her. "Okay, take off your shirt Ed, I want to see if the nerves are really connected to your arm like you think they are." Ed did as she told him without argument. Many times before, she'd said the same thing, so it was custom now just to obey her when she got her work bandana on and starting serious talk on him. Because it would probably take half an hour, Ed was looking for something to keep his attention occupied with. On one of the walls of her bedroom were all sort of photographs from when they were all little… when Ed and Al caught their first fish, pictures of Al and Winry climbing a tree, and even a picture of Winry and her parents. Silence was the only thing in the room besides the occasional creak and craw of Winrys wrench as she worked on loosening up Ed's arm to make sure all the nerves were still connected. Better to check now than figure it out later on in the middle of a very important fight when his arm would go ka-put and not work for him. She inhaled sharply when she found that her suspicions were correct. One of the smallest wires that were connected to Ed's arm was tilting off a bit, a clear sign that the device would indeed stop working if it got dislodged. Winry said nothing when she put her hand on Ed's chest and held his back against her shins firmly while her other hand reached down into the crevice and securely connected the nerve and the wire together. Ed jumped (though Winrys hand held him down) and let out a scream that echoed miles around through Winry's open window.

"You're such a big baby." She told him, holding up his shirt for him. He glared and put it on, flipping his long hair out of the neck line. As he got up to leave her room, he took one last glance at all the pictures and then walked towards the doorway. Before he got to the halls though, Winry also got to her feet and tugged on his hair yet again.

God that hurt. Ed glanced back at her with an evil look, "Ow… what?"

"Don't 'what' me!" she growled back, and then looked away hesitantly. "Your hair is getting long... I want to cut it." Well that was a surprise… why the hell did she want to do that? He knew she meant 'trim' when she said cut, and it was twice a year that he chopped half an inch off of it, but he'd just done so last month… or the month before… he couldn't remember.

"Wh- I can do it myself!" He started off again, but was stopped this time instead by her words and not her hand.

"Edward." Silence. A few moments later, a sigh escaped his parted lips and a single word found its way to the atmosphere around the two teenagers who'd grown up with one another.

"Fine…"

Moments later, the soft snipping of scissors was whispering its way from behind Ed's head after he had sat back down on the floor and Winry had grabbed the tools she would need (which only consisted of water, a towel and pair of scissors). The silence that had engulfed the two earlier was even thicker now- and the awkwardness of the situation wasn't getting any better. Ed counted the ticks that passed by on the clock when, after a few select minutes, Winry finished.

"Alright… you can go now shorty."

"Don't call me short… did you cut it right?" The boy paused to send his fingertips back towards his hairline, which now only fell just below his shoulder blades.

"Yes, I did smartass, now get out of my room." All the freakiness that had been around the two fifteen minutes before hand had dispersed and diffused somewhere else. A sharp kick in his rear end sent him sprawling through the door frame, screaming curses at how much of a devil witch Winry had grown up to be. The girl merely smiled, slammed the door shut and locked herself away.