"We've got to walk?" Feliciano asked, staring out at the desert. Right behind them was the train station, the closest one to Liore that they could reach.
Edward nodded. "There should've been a taxi driver waiting for us, but it doesn't appear to have worked out the way we wanted to."
"Don't worry, you two won't need to walk the whole way," Alphonse said. "I can help carry you two when you get tired, and we're going to have provisions ready in case you get hungry or thirsty."
Indeed, their last trip to Liore taught them a lot about traversing the desert separating the city from the rest of Amestris. They had stocked up on food and water for the trip, which was sure to take longer than their first time since it seemed like they were going to have to walk the whole way.
Feliciano didn't look up to walking the whole way, but Alphonse took all of their suitcases without saying a word. He looked at the two siblings, wondering what could've been so bad about their family to land them in this situation. There were so many other things they could've been doing. Feliciano could be creating art pieces that would last centuries, and Lovino could be helping out cultivating tomatoes and wheat and other food, yet here they were getting ready to walk across a desert.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lovino asked, starting forward. Edward, Alphonse, and Feliciano followed quickly behind. They set a steady pace that should get them there by the end of the day, but wouldn't stress the two Italians out too quickly.
It was nearly ten at night by the time they arrived. Edward had taken to carrying two of the suitcases while Feliciano was cradled in Alphonse's free arm, recuperating after falling a little while earlier. Lovino was trudging along without complaint, but it was easy to tell by the sag in his shoulders he was tired.
"It's so late, are we going to be able to find someplace to stay?" Alphonse asked, looking at the moon.
Edward nodded. Before he could answer, he heard a familiar voice begging, "Please, come out. Then I can get you guys some shelter and food."
"No!" someone else retorted. Edward couldn't be sure, but it sounded like the girl was arguing with a kid.
"…Huh?" Feliciano asked, waking up. She looked around as the group headed for the voices.
"Rose!" Edward called out when they got close enough. Sure enough, the tanned brunette was crouching at the opening to what appeared to be a small alleyway, holding out her hand.
Rose turned, seeing the group. "Edward! Alphonse!" she greeted them, but quickly turned back to whoever was in the alley. "Why don't you trust me? I can help you," she told the people in there.
"We don't need your help!" the person replied. "We can take care of ourselves."
"Wha- Feliciano!" Alphonse said, shocked, as Feliciano jumped out of Alphonse's grip and ran over to the alley with Lovino.
"Eng-" Lovino started, but was cut across by his sister saying, "Arthur!"
Standing in the alleyway was a blonde with thick eyebrows about the same height as the Italian twins. He stared at them, shocked for a moment, before sighing in relief. "So Francis hasn't gotten you two yet."
"Ah, who's that behind you?" Feliciano asked, craning her neck to see the two brown-haired blue-eyed kids behind the European.
"I'm Alfred," the slightly taller one introduced himself, but couldn't move because Arthur was blocking him.
The smaller one, sporting a sailor's outfit, said, "I'm Peter!"
"I've been asking them to come with me for hours," Rose said.
"Why don't you just leave us alone?" Arthur retorted.
Rose answered, "Because I can't just leave anyone alone to die!"
"We wouldn't die!" Arthur replied.
Before the argument could continue, Feliciano ran up to Arthur, asking, "Why don't you stay with us?"
Arthur seemed caught off-guard. He seemed to be having an internal argument. He agreed to send Roderich and Antonio help to fight Francis, yet here were the Italian siblings. Arthur looked up and spotted the suit of armor and the young boy who appeared to be their bodyguards. He sighed, smiling at Feliciano and saying, "Fine, we'll stay with you guys." It didn't look like those two would be able to handle Francis if he did find them, so it was better to be with them anyway.
Edward didn't look pleased, but he didn't make any kind of argument, so Feliciano's cheer was the only thing that spawned recognition of Arthur's agreement.
"I'm sure we'll get along great!" Alfred said, coming out from behind Arthur to properly greet Feliciano. Peter followed quickly behind, smiling at Feliciano.
"Yea," Feliciano agreed, smiling at the two.
Rose told Edward, "You can stay with me for tonight. I've got plenty of space for all of you."
"Hey, thanks," Edward replied. He was just glad to see that she was doing so well after everything that had happened.
Feliciano, Arthur, Peter, Lovino, and Alfred rejoined the group and they were about to leave when Rose asked, "Would you like to come with us?"
They turned back to the alley and found that there was a boy that looked very much like Alfred standing there, holding a polar bear cub. "Ah…yes," he replied, running up to the group.
"And who are you?" Rose asked him.
"Ma…Matthew," he replied. He looked like a nervous wreck, and by the time the group reached Rose's house, he was all but forgotten again.
Rose was getting sleeping places ready while Feliciano showed Alfred, Peter, and Arthur some of her new drawings. Edward and Alphonse were helping her while Lovino was just sitting on one of the couches.
"So why'd you come back?" Rose asked.
Edward replied, "We heard that there were more traces to the Philosopher's Stone here, so we decided to come."
"It was also the perfect excuse to visit," Alphonse added, grabbing some more blankets. What none of them seemed to notice was that Arthur tensed slightly when they mentioned the Philosopher's Stone, but he quickly relaxed again and continued talking with Feliciano.
"Well, I can't be of much help there, but maybe someone else in town would be able to give you some information," Rose said.
Edward nodded. "Would you mind…?" He looked at the group of kids sitting there.
"Oh, it's fine," Rose replied, smiling at them. "I'm sure they'll be better off staying here anyway, especially the two you came with. They look exhausted."
"Yea, now that you think about it," Alphonse said, chuckling when he caught sight of Lovino. Somewhere in their conversation he had nodded off and started sleeping. The other four managed to find a marker somewhere and were drawing on each other's faces. Alfred was sporting a star around one eye and various dots on his cheeks, Feliciano had cat whiskers and her nose had been colored, Peter had two swirls on his cheeks with a line running down the middle of his face, and they were working on Arthur. When they pulled away, Arthur had a spot around his right eye and a very curly mustache that stretched from one side of his face to the other.
They were all laughing at each other, and Feliciano even went 'mew' once which sent them into fits.
"Ok, that's enough," Rose said. She finished setting up their beds and walked over. "Let's get your faces cleaned and then you can get some sleep."
Feliciano nodded as Rose picked her up. Rose found a rag and dipped it in some water, washing away the spot on her nose and the whiskers before setting her down. In a few minutes, the group had been wiped clean of the marks on their faces and had all been tucked into bed. Feliciano insisted on sleeping next to Lovino, and they weren't getting anywhere by arguing.
"Night," Feliciano muttered as she feel asleep.
"Good night," Alfred and Arthur responded.
Matthew took the last bed and was about to fall asleep when his polar bear asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Matthew," he replied sleepily.
/AN
Thanks for all the reviews everyone!
Chibi Japan is coming, so don't need to worry. I had fun writing up this chapter. :D And please, keep requesting more characters! I'm also working on placing Hong Kong, Russia, and Prussia in the story. Ed's going to have a lot on his hands, but don't let that stop you from requesting more chibi countries from showing up!
R&R Please!
AN/