Author Notes: This was certainly a new exercise in writing. :D

State of Mind
A Fullmetal Alchemist Zoofic by Elric 'Hunter' Ward

Copyright:
The Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) and all its respective work and ideas are copyrighted by Hiromu Arakawa and her distributors.

Comments and critique welcome.

Chapter Twelve

Flash led the exhausted Edward back to the den, walking slowly enough so that he did not need to hurry. Ward was too tired to feel insulted and instead appreciated the sentiment. They were coming up to the den, a large hollow stuck into the side of the hill with a strong door closed to the weather. All he looked forward to was getting inside and out of this.

He jiggled impatiently as the Hughes knocked firmly twice, froze, then once more. 'Come ooooon, what's the holdup?' he whined, huddling up to the warmer body. He wanted in.

The door was shoved open and Havo grinned down at him, fire stick twitching. 'You bought the [pup]! He'll be safe here.' An arm around his and the Edward was hauled into the den. He sighed and relaxed in the warmth, a grin reaching across his face. It was almost like his old den – except it actually had many pelts all over the floor and in piles. Following the gunbu, they headed in towards the centre and its pile of wood, the Hughes fussing over Ward's state and attempting to dry him off as they walked. The Elric half-heartedly defended against the intrusion. This wasn't too bad.

A dark head lifted itself out of a pile of pelts, the eyes narrowed. 'So the little runt decided to join my pack.' The Mustang sniped. Ward hissed at him. He came, did he not? Stupid temperamental Mustang bastard.

'Aaaw, don't be like that boss.' Havo hummed, 'The pack is bigger now and you have more [subordinates].'

'Indeed.'

An awkward silence filled the air as Ward sulkily sat on the other side of the circle, wrapping some pelts around him. He'd joined, hadn't he? What was with the cold reception? Sting was eying him uneasily from his pile before giving a quick snap of his fingers, the Edward jumping as the centre with its pile of wood came alight.

'Get dry,' replied Sting to his accusing glare, 'You're no use ill.'

Companionable silence this time as they all sat around the fire in varying states of relaxation and listened to the pop and crackle of the flames contrasting with the soft silence outside. The only interruption to the silence was the pack leaders occasional mutter to the air and rearrangement of his nest, the Hughes lurking nearby. Ward nervously groomed his ears and gave his tail a few stress-releasing twitches as the odd silence and sudden presence of so many others promised to vex his nerves.

His entire body gave a reflexive twitch as the Havoc lowered himself down beside him, long body sprawling and fire stick clenched between teeth. Eyeing Havo warily, he forced his body to relax just a tiny bit.

'Hey.' Havo gave a half smile.

'…Hey.' was the muttered reply.

'You want a fire stick now?'

Ward blinked.

'Eh, you're right. The boss'll get a bit upset. When you're older, I'll show you the adult ways.'

The Edward blinked hesitantly at the other, ears twitching, before he returned his gaze and frown to the muttering 'boss' and Hughes.

'Ah yes. Our [commander]' A trail of smoke trailed its way out of Havo's mouth and towards the roof. It danced there for a few moments before slowly fading, only to be replaced by the next breath of smoke.

'What's wrong with him?' Ward blurted out quietly, unable to hold onto his curiosity and slight concern. He really was only concerned because this was his…pack…not for any other reason. Really. It was no benefit to him if a pack-mate was ill. Even if the ill pack-mate could still fight very well and probably blow him up with only a faint snap.

'We're not sure,' Havo said grimly, 'It comes and goes. There's no wound that we can see or smell.' He chewed on the fire stick, making it dance in his mouth. 'Human-predators have come before, with their hidden traps and bang-weapons. Last time they came a few seasons back.'

The Havoc let loose a quiet sigh, 'We lost many pack-mates to them. Many pack-mates. We used to be such a big strong pack with a large territory. We were a proper pack; we had a Hawkeye, a Falman and two Furys. We had pups who grew and left.' He waved a hand, 'Then they came and killed them all, brought our pack down to just Flash and I.'

Yellow eyes stared intently up at Havo, unblinking as they watched.

'Ward,' Havo gave him a sideways glance, 'You're an Edward. You're not very good at it, but you're still an Edward. You don't have [subordinates]. You have mates and sometimes a pack, but Edwards aren't [commanders]. Edwards are hunters, protectors and searchers. Sting is a Mustang. Mustangs are also protectors and hunters, but they are [commanders] first.' He paused. 'Mustang's are only without a pack for two times in their life. The first time is when they leave their birth-pack. Mustangs group together or find a Hughes, then take over an old Mustang's pack. The second time is when they're old and forced away. A Mustang without a pack is a dead one.'

'What…what about Sting? He still has a pack,' The Elric whispered, 'He still has you and Flash, he's alive.'

'For awhile, it was like he was dead,' Havo said bluntly, 'Sting…he stopped hunting, he stopped fighting. He stopped. We tried to keep it together but it wasn't working. He talked a lot.' He spread empty hands. 'It wasn't us he was talking to. He says it is our pack-mates, but they're gone. They can't talk. So he talks to them and for them. Sometimes it is good, but most of the time it is bad. It can be very bad.'

Ward frowned as he turned his head and assessed his new 'master'. He did not appear too ill now, leaning against Flash in half-sleep brought on by the cold weather. The Hughes was just as relaxed, with an arm flung easily over the Mustang.

'He seems okay now.' He said, mostly to himself.

'I know. [Commander] Sting is quiet now,' Havo nodded, 'One day it got so bad he left. Flash went after him to help while I protected [base]. I don't know what happened, but I think maybe it helped him a bit. I don't know. What I do know is that he could fight like a Mustang again and almost acts like a real [commander].' He puffed some more smoke out into the room. 'Yeah, he's still hurting. He has a wound inside, but we're fixing it. Not straightaway, but a little more each day. A Mustang is his [subordinates]. A pack is its [subordinates] and its Mustang. He still has us two, so he didn't die. We still have a Mustang, so we are a pack. As long as there are [commanders] and [subordinates], there is a pack.'

A cocked head and flicked ear. 'But pack losses – when someone is killed, it's like a bit of the Mustang is killed. A pack that grows helps its Mustang grow.'

Havo leaned closer to the Edward, his breath hot and smoky with stubbornness, 'You are now part of the pack. You have made our pack stronger which makes our Mustang stronger. A strong Mustang makes for a strong and healthy pack. It is a circle. Mustangs look after the pack. He will protect you; he will feed you and teach you how to hunt. He will make you a strong Edward. What Mustangs don't know is that [subordinates] also look after the Mustang. A circle, you see?' He puffed out some smoke rings from his fire stick. 'We need you. You make the pack bigger and our Mustang stronger. You be you and he will be strong because of it.'

Ward swallowed nervously, trying to keep up with the Havoc. This was a lot to take in, a lot to understand. He knew so little about his own type and even less about others. 'There is a lot I don't know - about Edwards – about everything. I -' He caught himself and tried to strangle his worry, 'I don't know how to be a pack mate. I don't know.'

'We know.' Havo nodded, 'You are just…a big [pup] and [pup's] need to be taught. Some stuff – some things you just know and they'll come to you, like the clapping. Other things we can teach, because a pack teaches its [pups] to be pack and to be themselves. You will learn how to be an Edward. It will come to you.'

Ward frowned down at the earth. Come to him? How would it come to him? He didn't know anything, the Masters had taught him all the wrong tricks.

Wait. He had survived so far. He had taught himself some new tricks. New tricks had been taught to him.

Fons. He couldn't transmutate, but he had explained how. Ward had followed Fons and his instinctual desires – now he could fix holes and make defensive walls.

He could learn to be a proper Edward and his new pack-mates and Fons – he didn't know what Fons was but he liked being around Fons – they were helping him learn his new survival tricks. He just needed to change his mind a little to learn them.

Stop thinking about the masters. They weren't here anymore. It was all about him, his pack mates, his Fons and the world.

Grinning to himself, Ward curled up closer to the fire and ignored the showy growls from Sting. Maybe being in a pack wasn't too bad. He helped the pack, which helped the [commander] and in return he was helped. It was an equal share of help.

He sighed happily as he watched the flames and night pass through lidded eyes. It was really all right; he was alive and surviving.

A sleeping Havo kicked him in the side.

Okay, it was mostly all right and it was maybe even better than his previous life. He could be content.

He kicked the Havoc back for good measure.

Surprise in National Park

Never before seen in the wild, authorities are startled and amazed by a sudden change in the local Mustang pack present at the Amestris National Park.

In a check-up on all known animals present after the devastating illegal poaching present on the weekend, the rangers were surprised to note a new addition to the pack.

"Our pack has gone through many changes in recent years, most notably the death of most of its members. We were quite surprised when the checkups revealed that our notoriously temperamental Mustang had welcomed the bus-fighting Elric into the group." Says Miss Fowell, the Park Manager.

While never witnessed in their natural environment, Mustangs and Elrics can coexist peacefully in captivity. As they are predators of different niches, they typically leave each other alone except in dire circumstances. When well fed in zoos and privately licensed locations, they will interact with each other relatively peacefully with only minor scrapes.

Contacted scientists have suggested the theory that the unique situation of the pack combined with the presence of reduced resources induced by recent changes in the environment have encouraged the predators to band together. Mustangs are known to occasionally force others into their pack to increase size. It is likely this is what has happened here.

The Amestris National Park is open 9:00am to 5:30pm every weekday with special night viewings available at request.