Avalanche
By: Song
Chapter 3, Day 1
A/U: Yeah I know I lied. It's been ages. Shit happens, don't get a spine injury.
Enjoy the story and please leave a review!
Mustang slept restlessly. Dampened by a layer of snow the wind still occasionally screamed shrilly outside the car, though thankfully now becoming less and less frequent. The ambient light changed from dark to grey, signalling the switch from night to daylight.
He rose with the sun in survival mode, like he had with the war.
The only things that really seemed to separate this from his experience in Ishbal was the climate and lack of distant gunfire - replaced instead by equally worrying rattling breaths and the thunderous silence of a snowy wilderness.
Ed, at least, would need some nutrients soon. As an adult Roy had some extra body fat stored, but a teen in the middle of the growth spurt (though he'd never say so aloud to Fullmetal) had little of anything left to spare. Simply maintaining body heat in such temperatures required massive amounts of energy, and the nutritional intake of a amputee was much higher than that of an able bodied person, and Ed was a double amputee. While the automail had been removed, he still had to deal with pain and constant nerve impulses being sent out to the non existent limbs. In the little time they had been stranded, the small amount of body fat he had seemed to be melting off of him. Ed was small enough as it was.
Roy stood, stretching his weary limbs as much as he could in the cramped compartment to get the blood pumping through the nearly hypodermic flesh. He could feel dehydration creeping in. And if he was starting to feel thirsty- damn.
Hurriedly he check on Ed. Ed's face was cool to the touch and his breath clouded the cool air in shallow pants. Taking off a glove he rested two fingers against Ed's carotid artery, checking his pulse which was sluggish and slightly erratic.
Removing out a stub of chalk Roy drew a simple transmutation circle, and placed a scrap of metal in the center. Double checking his calculations he pushed the alchemic energy into the array and reshaped the scrap into a sad looking tin cup.
He took a moment to assess the situation ultimately deciding against the trek into the elements. Sliding open a window Roy carved out some of the compacted snow and set the cup down next to the dwindling fire and added another coal.
As the snow melted he carefully stripped the needles from one of the branches he retrieved. After the needles were separated he took one of the larger branches and began pealing away the outer bark to reveal the soft white inside. With his knife he sliced off the white layer, carefully placing it next to the needles. After the branch was stripped- yielding a depressingly small pile- he checked the cup. The snow had melted into a clear warm liquid state. Roy took the needles and deposited them into the water, pushing it again next to the fire. He took another scrap of metal and rested the white bark on top of the smouldering coals.
Roy sat and watched as the tea steeped and the bark crisped into a golden brown.*
When sufficiently prepared Roy removed the crisped bark and tea, sipping a small amount before taking a strip of bark and chewing on it- admittedly not the tastiest of meals but he was glad for any sustenance. Roy ground some of the remaining crisped bark into a powder and mixed it with some of the tea, creating a milky, off white liquid. Carefully maneuvering the Ed into his lap he began coaxing him to take small sips, careful not to choke him.
Soon the cup was finished and Ed settled back into a fitful sleep.
As Ed slept Mustang worked, plundering the car of any remaining useful materials such as fabric and insulation.
However the more time that passed, the more restless Ed became.
Dammit all.
He knew this was going to happen. It was just like Ed too, and after he'd cleaned his cloths with alchemy the previous night. Even unconscious he managed to place his superior in awkward situations. Sighing heavily he made his decision. In a survival situation there was no room for modesty, personal space or embarrassment.
And if that meant he helped his subordinate to relieve himself, so be it.
Contemplating his options he decided that the best course of action was to open a window and punch a small hole in the snow to piss out of. Ed was in no condition to make outside. The tunnel was barely big enough for one, and with only half the normal appendages there was no way Ed could crawl out on his own.
Even if he could, the fact that Ed had yet to regain full awareness troubled him more than he cared too admit. By his estimates, Ed had been out for at least 16 hours. He hoped it was simple exhaustion related to injuries sustained, and not brain damage. He didn't know what he'd do if Ed ended up brain damaged... or how he'd tell Alphonse... if they even made it out of this frozen hell.
Shaking himself out of the spiraling thoughts Roy stood his subordinate up and manhandled him to the window.
The change in position caused Ed to whimper pathetically, curling in on himself and pressing his legs together. Roy unzipped Ed's pants, positioning him and muttered words of encouragement until Ed finally released.
Zipping him back up Mustang deposited Ed back on the makeshift sickbed.
The way he saw it, there were two distinct options: one, wait for rescue and die months before any expeditions could even be launched to try and rescue them, or two, get down the mountain themselves.
Realistically if they had even a hope of survival the only choice was the later.
* Again, actual survival techniques. Certain parts- in this case the needles and inner bark- of trees like spruce, juniper and Douglass fir can actually be eaten. The author has never been in such a situation necessitating this nor do I ever plan to. Respect the planet and don't use this kind of technique unless you absolutely have to. Be kind to trees, they give you oxygen.