Hiddie-ho Readers. Sorry I just sat through a five hour Home Improvment mariton with my parents. It was funny but so not worth the 'bonding time'. All right now everyone, were on the ninth chapter, on the tenth let's have a reveiw party. Any way this is a big big BIG day for me. I've been submitting this story for a week to day, this is unpresidented for me. Normally I would have wimped out and removed this story from my web-thingy, but your reviews are helping me to keep my confidence.

I need to get going and work on some later on chapters. Read, Review, and Enjoy.

I sat in the train completely bored. For the past hour I'd practiced a mental piano in time to the clacks of the train. With nothing left to do I asked Ed to start explaining Alchemy. He'd finished what he could explain, with out doing alchemy, twenty minutes ago. Al had gone to get something from another car. Now I wished I had one of my sketch books. "Hey, Ed can I beg a favor of you?"

Ed looked at me from the window, "Sure, what do you need?"

"A sketch book." He gave me an odd look, "when we get to Resenbool, I was hoping you'd make me a sketch book."

"Ok, no problem." He answered.

"So… why is it Al is so much taller then you?" I asked.

Ed blinked.

"I mean, from what I've been told he's a year younger then you, and you only come up to his elbow." I added, knowing how some people could be about their height.

"Well uh…"

"And why does he wear armor? I thought you were the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"That is my title, my arm and leg is the reason I'm Fullmetal." Ed finally answered one question. He didn't seem to want to answer any of the others.

"What happened to you any way?" I reached out and caressed the back of his gloved, metal hand.

He blushed deeply, and turned away, "Nothing," He mumbled.

"If that's the story you want to stick to. I'll find out eventually, I always do." I leaned back and stared out the window picking up my mental piano, and playing on my knees. Al came back and handed both of us sandwiches. He sat down next to Ed, as I unwrapped my sandwich, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." Al answered half heartedly.

"You two are both oddballs." I glanced back and forth between them.

It was another three hours before Ed and Al said we'd arrived. I was in need of a stretch so badly. We unloaded, the brothers kindly taking all the baggage, and I hobbled along after them. The further we got into the town the more I fell behind until Al finally stopped and piggybacked me the rest of the way. Ed led the way to a house just out side of Resembool. It was warm and friendly looking, a large dog with a metal arm was in the front yard. He started barking at me when we entered. At the sound of the dog an old woman came out, she smiled knowingly and yelled back into the House, "Winry, Ed and Al are back."

A pretty blond girl no older the Ed came rushing out side, in a black tube top and Jump suit, she nimbly through a wrench at Ed. "EDWARD!!! What did you do to my Auto-mail, this time!!?"

Ed ducked, I wasn't so lucky. It hit me square in the stomach and the next thing I knew I was looking up at two blondes and a metal helmet. "Anybody get the number of that Bus?" I asked trying to be light hearted.

"I am soo... sorry." The girl repeated several time as I stood up. "I didn't see you until I'd thrown the wrench. Are you Okay?"

I stretched, my back popped in several places, "I'm fine, nothing damaged that can't be repaired, and besides, I should have used Ed as a shield rather then standing there like an idiot." The girl laughed, "My name's Dalka, pleased to meet ya." I offered my hand.

"Winry Rockbell, The honor's all mine," She shook my hand firmly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I looked down, "I've got all my fingers and toes," I lifted my shirt showing of my stomach. There was the beginning of a dark bruise, Winry and I paled, "A little bit of bruised pride," I laughed and put my shirt back down and looked down, "Everything else looks fine. I'm in better shape then I've been in."

"I'm really sorry." She said one last time," Ed how many times do I have to tell you to call before you come in for repairs?"

"I'm not here for repairs," Ed countered.

"We're here to teach Dalka," Ed added.

"And WHO would Dal-ca be?" Winry raised an eyebrow.

I raised my hand slowly, "Me?" I risked, did you forget my name that quickly? I wouldn't have pegged her as a scatterbrain.

Winry turned on me, she looked me up and down. I felt like a piece of meat on display. "Who are you suppose to be? How old are you? Where are you from? Why is Ed teaching you? What is he teaching you? And when did this happen?" She said quickly.

I blinked. What? My mind screamed. The old woman walked up and stopped the third degree line of questions, "Winry, don't you think it would be polite if we invited our guest inside? She is on crutches," Winry looked down and noticed them for the first time. Her mouth formed a silent, ohhh… "Why don't you come in, young lady, and rest." I limped after the woman.

She offered me a seat at the table, and a cup of tea. Winry sat across from me, and the brothers silently took seats on either side of the table, accepting mugs of tea as well. The old woman sat down. I took a deep breath and answered Winry's questions in order, "Dalka the hopeful alchemist, Sixteen, America, because he was ordered to, Alchemy, and two days ago?"

"What?" Winry and the woman said at the same time.

"I'm suppose to be Dalka an alchemist in training, I'm sixteen, I'm from American, Ed's teaching me alchemy because he was ordered to, and this happened, actually, yesterday. Don't make me repeat that again, please," I begged.

"So how'd you hurt your leg?" The old woman asked.

I looked down at it, and tried to joke, "Oh you know… I was trying to beat Ed to a pulp. I aimed a kick at his head, and that metal arm of his got in the way."

"Its called Auto-mail," Ed and Winry said at the same time.

"Right… well any way. The doctor said I can take off the wrappings today, and start walking around unaided by the end of the week." I smiled at the old woman. An idea popped into my head, "Hey, Ed if I kicked your arm hard enough to make everyone think I'd broken my leg, what happened to your arm?"

Ed spit his tea back into the mug, "Well uh… Winry, we're not entirely here just to teach Dalka." He pulled back his sleeve revealing a rather large dent in the forearm. "I need to fix this too." He smiled.

Winry was smiling back, Al and I had to turn away as she beat Ed into a gooey mess. "So Ahhhh… Who are you?" I asked to old woman, trying to ignore Ed's screams of pain.

"Oh… this is Granny Pinako," Al answered for her.

I downed the rest of my tea, "So I guess I should call you… Ms. Pinako?" I asked, my southern manners taking over.

"You can, or you can call me Granny, Granny Pinako, or even just Pinako." She smiled kindly.

Winry sat back down her temper a little better now, "Did you at least leave my teacher alive?" I asked her. I didn't want to chance a look at the bloody mess that use to be Ed.

"We'll see." Was Winry's only reply.

I pulled up my courage and turned around to take a look at the damage.

I turned back, Feeling a little queasy. "Yeah we'll see if he can move tomorrow. You two don't mind if I stay here, Do you?"

"Of course not, any friend of Ed ad Al's are always welcome," Granny said. I couldn't think of any reply except to smile softly.

Winry showed me up to one of the spare rooms and helped me settle in. Once she saw how little I had, she insisted on loaning me some of her mother's clothes, because her clothes were too small. I changed into them, but they didn't fit right, and they were too bright and happy. I didn't dare ask her if there was anything darker. I put away my white clothes in the dresser and Winry offered to wash my other clothes. So I came down for dinner in a pink sweater that was too tight and a pair of blue jeans that were too loose and short. Winry, and Pinako offered to take me shopping the next day but I declined. The problems with my new wardrobe could be fixed with a needle, thread, and some fabric, and maybe a gallon of black dye. Dinner was simple but good. Afterward I spent an hour starring at the ceiling in my room, learning the sounds of the house, before I rolled over and decided to go to sleep.

Ok, violent chapter I know but tell me you liked it I still need to hear people say they like my writeing every now and then. Check out my other stories if you do like my writing, no one's even read that one as far as I know

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