Number of words: 6,929
Published date: November 26, 2012
Began chapter: November 18, 2012
Finished chapter: November 26, 2012
Chapter 16: The Untainted Child
The chase didn't last very long.
Despite the insult, it was hard for Envy to imagine beating on his eldest brother, powers or no powers, and his enthusiasm died considerably once he remembered that Pride's Stone was also his own connection to life. Threatening to kill someone whose death would kill him too didn't hold a whole lot of appeal.
And then there was the fact that, in the middle of chasing him, he noticed that Pride had been telling the truth.
Grumbling under his breath over yet another human inconvenience, Envy stomped (and with his new puny weight, even that wasn't very satisfying) to his bedroom to take a look at the clothing Alphonse had made for him.
"Geez, I never had to care about this stuff before," he muttered to himself, holding up what had to be the most boring shirt he'd ever seen. "I thought Greed said the tin head had good taste. This stuff is so plain! Even the pipsqueak was more creative!"
The shirt was unceremoniously crumpled into a ball and thrown across the room. It was promptly followed by two dreadful pairs of pants (far too constrictive for his tastes), some socks (he preferred going barefoot, thank you very much!), a few more shirts of varying colours and cuts and fabrics, and a brown vest (when exactly did they expect him to attend a formal event anyway? and in the summer at that!). Is Alphonse trying to make me look lame on purpose?
Before, changing clothes to do laundry had been unnecessary. His 'clothes' were as clean as his body because they were his body. And when one had such a superior form, there was no need to worry about cleaning it. Human bodies constantly broke down, shedding dead skin cells, excreting oils, and producing a wide variety of gross liquids and oozing mucus. True, the Homunculi's bodies hadn't been completely different from those of humans. They had needed to breathe, eat, drink, use the bathroom, even pick their noses from time to time. They differed because of their need to be connected to their Stone. As soon as a part of their body was separated from them, it disintegrated. Their clothing could get dusty or splattered with blood (Not their blood, of course! That would disappear too.), but without those disgusting biological discharges like sweat clinging to the fabric, cleanliness was a Homunculus's natural state.
And now he smelled? It was like the world was conspiring to make this situation as unpleasant as possible.
What's that saying? Something about only appreciating something once it's gone? Of all the ways we were superior to humans, it's pretty stupid to be missing something as simple as not stinking…
His crumpling and chucking grew more violent at the irritating reminder of his lost Homunculus-hood, anger shifting to the innocent clothing.
These better not to be all the choices! I spent too much time perfecting this look to spoil it with regular clothes. I'd rather go naked than wear- Hello! What's this?
Hiding at the bottom of the pile, loudly speaking to Alphonse's hope that he would give the regular clothes a chance yet recognizing the improbability of it when considering Envy's preference for standing out, was a second change of his regular outfit.
Another new experience, simple though it may have been for anyone else, had been figuring out how to pull his clothes off manually in order to have a shower rather than just shape-shifting from one outfit to another. His top in particular gave him trouble; tight as it was, he got stuck with the thing halfway over his head and had to struggle several times before remembering the trick of keeping his arms stretched over his head to wriggle the thing off without ripping it.
Damn humans and their damn clothes and their damn stinky bodies and ugh! Damn you, Pride, for doing this to me! Selfish little bastard! How can he honestly think we'll get used to this? I don't want to get used to this!
Working himself into a pleasantly foul mood, Envy finished changing (but not in the way he was used to changing), gathered the dirty clothes in his arms, gave a near murderous glare at the regular human clothes now scattered around the room, and stalked off to find Pride's 'mother'.
In late sun, the river and hills are beautiful,
The spring breeze bears the fragrance of flowers and grass.
The mud has thawed, and swallows fly around,
On the warm sand, mandarin ducks are sleeping.
Ms. Bradley sighed at the lovely images. Pausing for a moment, she looked up to appreciate her own natural setting, noting how the mountains in the west could be considered the hills mentioned in the poem, how the breeze indeed carried the fragrance of flowers and grass, and how there were a few small birds flitting from tree to tree.
True to what Selim had told Lust before being dragged away for their 'talk', Ms. Bradley was sitting on the bench in the backyard, a small book open in her lap.
It wasn't like a regular book. The pages were thicker and of a material she couldn't identify. The spine was held together with rough cord. The letters on the cover were quite foreign; the boxes and lines and dots of Xingese were aesthetically pleasing but remained completely indecipherable to the old woman. Even so, the texture of the ink showed that the calligraphy had been done by hand. Inside, flowing lines of Xingese script were interspersed with delicate paintings of mountains, trees, and flowers.
It was a lovely gift Alphonse had given her. Ms. Bradley knew he had many friends in Amestris and he was always bringing back exotic souvenirs, but all the same, it touched her that he remembered her so much as to produce such thoughtful gifts as thanks for her hospitality.
The book she was holding, for instance, was a collection of popular poems by Xing's most famous poets. Knowing that she couldn't read Xingese and yet certain that she would like it, Al had purchased the book and then translated the poems himself, printing their meaning in his own small, neat hand wherever there was room. The overall effect was quite personal even though the poems weren't his. Another gift he'd presented her with had been a set of fine porcelain dishes, now proudly displayed in a cabinet in the dining room, far too precious to use at everyday meals.
Ms. Bradley turned her attention back to the next poem.
She hadn't even begun reading again when a black and shapeless something dropped into her lap.
She couldn't help it.
With a startled cry, she jerked back on the bench, sending both her book and the mysterious object tumbling to the ground.
"Nervous much?" Envy asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously at her reaction.
Ms. Bradley was much too old to become embarrassed or flustered the way a younger person might, but even so, her face flushed from the unexpected shock to her system. She put a hand over her heart and sank slowly back down onto the bench, closing her eyes briefly in an effort to calm herself.
"I'm sorry, Envy. I didn't hear you. You startled me."
When she opened her eyes again, he was still looking down at her, seeming more amused than apologetic, one hand held sassily on his hip.
In all honesty, she still wasn't comfortable with him, still felt nervous around him. After his odd threat on that second evening, he had only spoken to her when others were present, and even that was less speaking to her and more about her, as if she was just another piece of furniture or a pet (which recalled his reference to her as Selim's 'pet human'). Selim's other siblings were treating her with respect, and if it was a far different type of respect than that which she wielded as the past Fuhrer's widow, at least it was still something. Envy was the only one being disrespectful and she was frankly at a loss as to why he was acting the way he was and what she could do about it.
As if reading her thoughts about his lack of manners, Envy condescendingly gestured to the item on the ground.
"Pride said you're the one who washes stuff, so there you go."
She looked down at the black pile, but made no move to pick it up.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Can't you tell?" he replied sarcastically.
Internally, Ms. Bradley frowned, but she kept her features schooled to calm and folded her hands in her lap, a finger marking her place in the book. Envy was a teenager. She wouldn't be rash, but this was a matter of wills. Her patience versus his rudeness. He'd learn soon enough to treat her with respect and he wouldn't even notice the change. She just needed to work on him patiently.
"No," she said with neither irritation nor diffidence.
He growled and muttered what sounded like something derogatory under his breath, then stomped forward and scooped up the bundle and thrust it back into her lap, all while wearing an incredibly annoyed expression.
"My clothes! Geez, what are you? Dense? What else would I want you to wash?"
"Ah," she simply responded, tucking in one of his cut-off socks so that it wouldn't fall out of the pile. "I just did the laundry yesterday, so it will be a few more days before I do another load. The laundry basket is in the first-floor washroom, so if you put these there, they'll get washed the next time-"
He cut her off by laughing and turning away, waving a hand lazily over his shoulder.
"I don't think so," he scoffed. "Do I look like a laundry maid? You're the woman, so it's your job."
Well I never! she thought indignantly, watching him walk away and placing the bundle of clothes beside her on the bench. I should just leave these here and if they get ruined, it won't be fair for him to blame me. But that wouldn't be a very nice thing to do… I guess I'll take them in when I go inside. But if he can't put them in the laundry basket himself next time, I'm not washing them!
She would have returned to her book, but Envy made a sauntering beeline for the pond on the left side of the garden. Curious, Ms. Bradley pretended to read but kept an eye peeking up to watch him.
It wasn't a large pond. She didn't know if it was natural or man-made, for it had been there when they'd moved into the mansion. She had only improved upon it, adding a decorative ring of round river stones around the edge and hanging a few birdfeeders in the overhanging tree branches. Shaded from the midday sun by the surrounding forest, it was a mossy spot, home to at least one turtle and numerous frogs. They had even had a few deer visit the previous summer; she dearly hoped they'd return, though the addition of more people might scare them off.
It was clear that Envy didn't care one wit about the pond itself. He had another objective in mind.
Ms. Bradley was not the only one enjoying the garden, after all.
Sloth was sitting underneath one of the trees. Alphonse had made new clothes for all of Selim's siblings and she could see that the weird tights and suspenders combination had been replaced by a far more ordinary white shirt and brown pants. For a moment, she wondered idly how Major Armstrong would react to meeting someone so similar in size and musculature. She doubted the Major had ever met anyone who could match him height-wise before. Sloth was too far away for her to make out his face (her eyes weren't what they used to be), but if Ms. Bradley had to guess, his expression was probably the same as it always was: vacant and staring.
On the one hand, she liked that he spent so much time in her garden. It was nice to have someone else appreciate and enjoy the care and effort she put into her hobby.
On the other hand, she was becoming concerned about him. The giant man didn't do anything! In the four days that she had been home, he had spent almost the entire time sitting and staring.
In the living room.
In Selim's study.
In the kitchen alcove.
Outside in the garden.
She'd tried to engage him in conversation, but Sloth's monosyllabic answers clearly showed his apathy for getting to know her or for being known. At first, Ms. Bradley had found him rude, but after her first few attempts, she'd re-evaluated that first impression. The others didn't seem at all concerned by his behaviour, or at least no one commented on it. And it wasn't like they were ignoring him either. He wasn't excluded from dinner conversation, but there seemed to be an unspoken conviction that he had nothing to contribute. His detachment was taken for granted.
She was curious, therefore, to see how Envy would interact with his giant of a brother.
Envy's voice carried clearly across the backyard to her ears.
"Still happily doing nothing, I see," he said to Sloth with a chiding tone. "You're so lazy, Sloth. Is this all you're planning on doing?"
She couldn't hear all of his words, but Ms. Bradley thought Sloth responded with, "Envy… Don't wanna'… do anything."
Envy scoffed, placed his hands on his hips, and looked out over the pond. From the distance, he looked unhappy, but Ms. Bradley couldn't be sure of that. The frown on his lips might just have been a shadow.
"… You're spending an awful lot of time out here, but I don't see anything special. I figured you're so lazy, you wouldn't even bother getting out of bed. It's a lot of effort when you always just complained about wanting to sleep."
"… It's nice… out here… Didn't get to… see sun… while digging hole."
Gluttony mentioned something about that, Ms. Bradley thought. I wonder what digging he's talking about…?
"Oh, I guess that's true…" was Envy's reply. "A hundred odd years underground, so if you spend a whole human lifespan out here, it'll balance out, huh? Do you even understand what being a human means?"
There was a jeer in his voice, but Sloth didn't respond and, for a moment, Envy continued to stand and looked about as if at a loss for what to do next. Ms. Bradley got the impression that he was frustrated about something and perhaps wanted to vent, but Sloth either didn't notice or didn't care enough to ask about it. Envy's piercing eyes fell on her for a moment and Ms. Bradley quickly put her head down, pretending to be engrossed in her book. When she looked up again, the snarky teenager had dropped down to the ground beside his brother, apparently settling in for a bit of relaxation as well.
Sloth gave no indication that he cared one way or the other about Envy's presence, but at the very least, Ms. Bradley was happy to see that he had someone to join him. Even if that person wasn't the most pleasant of company.
"Pride? Are we disturbing you?"
Selim glanced up from his work at the desk, somewhat surprised that Lust was coming to see him so soon after their little… He would call it a fight only because he couldn't think of a better word.
"Lust," he greeted. "Gluttony," he added as he caught sight of his brother peeking around Lust's waist in the doorway, apparently still acting as his sister's shadow for the day. "What is it? I thought you were…"
"You thought I was what?" she asked.
Selim looked away with a reluctant uneasiness that was pure child.
"I thought you were mad at me," he admitted. "For not having a plan…"
Lust eased the door open the rest of the way and entered Selim's study, Gluttony close on her heels. She had seen his child 'act' numerous times in the past week and now Selim understood that she had been holding out hope that it was just an act. Now she knew it wasn't. His sister hesitated before speaking and Selim felt a stab of realization that she wasn't sure how to treat him now that she knew his behaviour was genuine.
"… I'm not mad," she allowed in a gentle, reassuring voice. "It is not your fault."
The relief that washed over him was completely undignified, but he let it show on his face all the same.
"Thanks, Lust! That means a lot to me. So? What is it?" He looked around the room and noticed that the other chair, set in the corner by the bookshelf for him to stand on to reach the books on the higher shelves, was taken up by the stack of alchemy texts Big Brother had picked for him the day before leaving.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I'll move those, just wait a minute."
Lust started to tell him that it wasn't necessary, but he ignored her, already happily moving the books from the chair to the floor.
Over his flurry of activity, Lust asked, "I want to know more about this… alkahestry. You've mentioned it several times and no one else seems confused by it, but I've never heard the term before and-"
"Oh, that's right!" Selim exclaimed. "You died before the Xingese arrived to interfere. I forgot about that!"
"-I'd like to understand the basic principles, especially since they pertain to our… resurrection. If you're studying, it can wait until later-"
"No, no, I'm not that busy. Post-transition metals are interesting and all, but I could use a break. Explaining the basics to someone else is always helpful for one's own understanding."
Lust crossed the room and looked down at the desk while he finished with the chair. He had left Quintessence open and there were some papers with practice arrays and notes scattered about. She picked up a random sheet, studying it so intently that it seemed as if she meant to intimidate it into giving up its meaning.
"Okay," he chirped, patting the chair, and she set the page back down and took a seat, crossing her legs with her usual poised sensuality. Gluttony settled on the floor beside her. Sensing that the topic would be boring for him, Selim opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a sheaf of blank paper and a pack of crayons.
"What's this, Pride?" Gluttony asked when Selim placed the objects on the floor in front of him.
"I've got lots of paper, so if you want, you can draw instead of listening to us. What we're going to be talking about is kind of boring and technical. I ran out of black, though. Sorry."
Gluttony considered the supplies and Selim climbed up onto the desk, letting his feet dangle over the edge. In the style of his teachers, he quickly adopted a lecturing tone and Lust settled more comfortably into her chair to listen.
"Alkahestry is a style of alchemy from Xing. From what Teacher has explained about its history, we think that it's actually something Hohenheim developed. The Xingese have a legend about a sage from the West teaching them the ways of alkahestry, and the sage was said to have golden hair and eyes, so at the very least, he was a Xerxian. Since Father was the 'Philosopher of the East' who taught alchemy here in Amestris, Hohenheim could easily be the 'Philosopher of the West' who taught alkahestry to the people of Xing. That's what the timing suggests, anyway.
"Alkahestry most differs from alchemy in that it doesn't draw its energy from tectonic shifts like alchemy does. Instead, alkahestrists rely on a power that they call 'the Dragon's Pulse'. There is an energy, which they call 'chi', that flows in the ground much like blood flows in the body.
"Unlike alchemy, alkahestry doesn't rely on formulas to effect the transmutation. You know how we have to write runes and symbols around the edge of a transmutation circle, right? Well, alkahestrists don't do that. Instead, they rely solely on the chi's flow and their own will to determine the results of the transmutation. Their circles never vary. Their one circle is used for every type of transmutation."
Lust sat forward, intrigued. Gluttony had picked up one of the crayons, engulfing it in his huge hammy hands, and was beginning to draw, though Selim couldn't tell yet what it was supposed to be.
"But if alkahestry doesn't require symbols, doesn't that make it much stronger than alchemy?"
Selim shook his head.
"It might seem that way at first, but there are pros and cons to it. Alkahestry is definitely quicker to use. That is, unless you've seen the Truth and can do the clapping transmutation. Come to think of it…" Selim paused thoughtfully. "I've never asked Teacher if anyone in Xing has tried to perform human transmutation before. I wonder if they'd be able to open the Portal… Hmm, maybe I'll ask the next time he's here…"
Selim remained silent for a few moments, evidently considering the possibility before snapping out of his contemplation and continuing his explanation.
"Anyway, it's very versatile and can do everything that alchemy can do plus more. Alkahestrists can use their knowledge of flow and apply it to the human body, letting them heal wounds and sicknesses. They can also perform long-range transmutations by making the energy 'ride' the chi's flow through the earth to a distant location. Alchemy can't do either of those things.
"However, alkahestry has certain restrictions too. In order to access the flow, an alkahestrist needs to apply pressure to the earth in five concentrated points. Teacher's alkahestry teacher carried kunai knives and she used them to create the required points and form the basic pentagram."
Selim could see Lust didn't understand that, so he fumbled around on the desk and produced a fistful of pencils.
"I'll show you," he said, pushing the textbook out of the way to clear a flat space on the desk. Quickly, he drew a circle on a scrap of paper, then held the writing utensils point-down around the circle's edge. Or at least that was what he tried to do, but his small hands were hardly large enough to suspend all five pencils; the circle was too wide, and he only managed to hold four in their proper places, with the fifth slipping from his fingers. After three attempts, he gave up, feeling his point had been made.
"So alkahestry has a weakness in that it needs objects to make those pressure points. Knives are very common because they're easy to throw and dig into their target, making them ideal for long-range transmutations. Teacher has mentioned seeing needles used, and he once used sticks to heal someone in a pinch. But that wouldn't have worked if he had tried it on rock; he was lucky 'cause the ground was soft.
"Alkahestry also has the weakness of being much more difficult to learn. Looking at the populations of Amestris and Xing, there's a far higher percentage of alchemists than alkahestrists. Alchemy is a science; one just needs brains, a scientific leaning, and perseverance to learn it. But alkahestry is an art. Alkahestrists have no method for scientifically explaining how to sense chi. Practitioners are chosen out of those who show an early aptitude for the Dragon's Pulse. Self-study is impossible; you need a mentor to learn it. Whereas alchemy might seem hard because you need to understand all of the elements involved in the particular transmutation, alkahestry is equally difficult because you need to understand the unique characteristics of the land from which you're working as well as an understanding of the elemental properties."
Lust tapped her lips with a finger, digesting the information.
"And you're learning this art too?"
Selim grew a little red in the face as he admitted, "Well, uh, I am studying it, but it's a lot, um, slower to learn than alchemy. I mean, I'm not very good at it yet. I'm not very good at reading the flow and I can only do the simplest of transmutations and it's fifty-fifty if something even happens, but…"
"Give me a demonstration?" she asked in that rising lilt of hers that made men so malleable. And even though he was just a child, the same tone helped lessen his reservations and made him want to show off for his sister.
"Alright, I'll try."
He hopped down from the desk and paused to consider what he could do in the room. Without at least one circle in the earth, he couldn't even attempt a long-range transmutation, but he could do something simple with paper or wood if he could find some way to make the points. It wouldn't be special – he could easily do something much more complicated with alchemy – but at least she'd be able to see how alkahestry didn't need any formulas to work…
Aha! Those'll work! Breaking into a big smile, Selim remembered the thumbtacks in the top desk drawer. They wouldn't work with earth, but with paper they should be enough!
He dropped cross-legged to the floor, joining Gluttony and beckoning for Lust to sit with them as well, which she did, gathering her dress neatly as she sat on folded knees. Gluttony paused in his drawing to observe and Lust watched with sharp eyes as he took one of the sheets and a stray crayon from Gluttony.
Teacher's instructions echoed in his mind.
Step 1: Draw the circle.
Simple enough.
Step 2: Make the points.
Carefully, he measured the five points with his eyes and stuck the thumbtacks into the paper so that they were equidistant from each other, feeling them bite into the blue carpet underneath.
"See?" he said, tracing his finger from point to point over the page for Lust's benefit. "The points form a pentagram when the circle is activated. And there aren't any formulas or symbols."
Step 3: Read the flow and exert your will to follow that flow.
The hardest step by far. Selim's eyes slid around the room, spending a few moments studying the sunlight coming in through the window, studying the walls and floor and ceiling. In buildings, the flow was affected by obstructions, bouncing off walls and bright surfaces to follow the path of least resistance. Teacher had once said, in response to the poor boy's frustrated outburst at not getting it, that one rule of thumb was to look at how the light and air flowed. You couldn't always rely on that, but it was a good indicator of how the energy also flowed. Selim had performed alkahestric transmutations plenty of times in this very room, but as the earth moved on its axis, so did the energy. Each transmutation in alkahestry was different.
Well, here it goes!
He placed his hands on the edge of the circle. The circle lit up with a blue light – there was the pentagram, just like he'd said! – and the paper began to crumple and fold in on itself.
For several seconds, the light flashed and jumped and then it fizzled out. Selim hung his head in disappointment. The paper was left in a mutated and tangled mess.
"I'm sorry, Lust. I was trying to create a paper airplane. I thought that was simple enough for me to handle, but maybe the tacks weren't enough…"
"It's fine," she replied. "At least now I have some knowledge of it and what to expect. But I remember you mentioning that the younger Elric could sense your Stone. I don't understand how the two are related."
"They're not," Selim answered. "Or at least, not really. When I said that Teacher could sense the Stone through his alkahestry, I was fudging the truth a little. I really meant that he's developed the skill that many Xingese possess."
"And that is…?"
"Sensing the chi of living beings," Selim explained. "It's a special ability. Caused us a lot of trouble after you died. Basically, they can sense souls. And because of our Stones, they were able to find us and track us even in the dark. That's why Teacher is worried about Greed going to Xing: He's not sure if the Xingese would notice that Greed's soul isn't in his body. And it's why he would know instantly if my Stone got its power back. The increase in souls would give me away."
His sister frowned in thought, likely regretting her premature death simply because it had left her ignorant about so many things. But it wasn't like she needed to know about alkahestry or the Xingese ability. Teacher was the only alkahestrist to ever visit them. Immigration (legal and illegal) had increased in the past six years, but the Xingese usually chose to settle in towns closer to Amestris's borders. It was easier to establish contacts with the other countries and expand their businesses in the border towns, and any transfer students who knew Mrs. Curtis purposefully avoided Dublith, fearing even the hometown of the fearsome alchemy-teaching housewife.
It felt like the conversation was at an end. Bored, Selim rolled onto his stomach and glanced over at Gluttony and his work.
"Hey, can I see what you're drawing?" he asked curiously.
"Okay." His brother reached over, offering his drawing, and Selim accepted it and studied it while kicking his bare legs in the air behind him.
One of the objects was clearly a cake of some kind. The proportions weren't quite right, but there was a surprising amount of detail, with red berries and sprinkles and multiple layers and-
"What's this one supposed to be?" he asked, pointing to a brown, peach, and purple shape that had a few stray lines drawn over it. "These kind of look like whiskers. Is it some kind of animal, maybe?"
"It's Lust," Gluttony replied, too innocent to be offended by Selim's mistake. Behind him, Lust grimaced, but now that he knew, Selim could see the resemblance. She was wearing her purple dress, there was no black because he'd used it all up drawing shadows, and peach was the closest colour to her skin. Actually, white was the closest, but there wasn't much point in colouring a white paper white. Even Gluttony knew that! The whiskers must have an attempt to show her Ultimate Spear.
"Hey, hey! I just got a great idea! Why don't we have a contest?"
"At drawing?" Lust asked sceptically.
"Yeah! Aw, come on, Lust! It'll be fun! Pleeaaase?"
His sister, Selim decided, was an absolute pushover. Big eyes and pleading voice and cute smile and she gave in just like that. Just like Mother, in fact.
Not that he was complaining about it. He liked getting his way.
Maybe fifteen minutes later, Greed strolled in from his walk, boisterously asking what Selim's plans were regarding training and surprised to find the three of them laid out on the floor, papers and crayons scattered about.
It took more than his child act to get Greed to join in, but Selim knew the way to Greed's heart:
He enticed him with the promise of a cash prize for the winner.
Simple, he thought disdainfully as Greed joined them on the floor.
Not long after that, Envy and Sloth came into the study, Envy making some excuse about wondering what everyone was up to and forcing Sloth to tag along because he was disgusted by the big galoot's laziness.
Selim didn't even need to coax Envy into joining in; his little brother hated to be left out. And, well, there was no way to entice Sloth into doing something he didn't have to, but Selim placed some paper and crayons in front of him all the same. Maybe he'd surprise them by making a line across the page.
Selim was a diligent worker, so it was Ms. Bradley's habit to leave him alone when he was studying. At most, she'd bring him a mid-afternoon snack as a reward for his hard work, but she tried not to disturb him unless necessary. Going by the single-minded concentration that Edward exhibited whenever he was working on an alchemy problem, she felt that it was better not to interrupt her son.
That being the case, it was nearing late afternoon/early evening when Ms. Bradley grew curious enough to think about checking on him. The clock on the living room mantel read 5:30. Selim usually finished his studies an hour before dinner, so he was half an hour late in coming downstairs. Was he stuck on an especially difficult question?
Come to think of it, she hadn't seen any of his siblings for a while either. What could they be up to? Gluttony at the very least usually made his way to the kitchen around this time to help her with the cooking. Already he was showing quite the knack for it. She didn't want to be selfish, but if he eventually took charge of making the meals, she for one would be quite grateful.
Shrugging lightly and in no particular hurry, she set her teacup down and made her way up the stairs to find out what her little boy was doing. As she reached the landing, she heard voices drifting down the hall from Selim's study. The voices only grew louder as she drew nearer.
"Ha! You call that good? The nose looks like a drunken tapeworm!"
"No it doesn't! I don't see you doing any better, you little freak!"
"Oh, really? Well here, I'll show you how it's done by drawing a picture of you next!"
"Oh no you don't! Give me that!"
"Hey Pride, hand me the pink and yellow ones."
"I told you to stop calling me that, but here. I was done with them anyway."
"If you're going to mutilate my handsome features, then fine! I'll do the same to you! Where's green? "
"Gluttony had it last."
"What, he hasn't eaten it yet?"
"Oi, Gluttony, hand it over. I want it."
"Don't bum it off him! You've already got your own right there. You're just trying to hoard them all for yourself!"
"It's not hoarding, it's collecting. Anyway, you know I don't share well. If you've got a problem with it, get me my own box."
What in heaven's name are they doing in there? Ms. Bradley wondered. The door was open a crack and she paused outside the room to listen. She could just see a sliver of desk, some of the bookshelf, and Sloth's broad back, but she couldn't see any of the others.
"Hey, wait a minute. What the hell is that?"
"Can't you tell? It's a dress. I always knew pink would look good on you."
"Bitch! Give that here!"
"No way, I'm not finished yet. I need to add Ed and that boyfriend of yours first."
"My what?!"
"You know, that Xingese brat whose body you're in. Had to be awful cozy, sharing a body like-"
"Damn it, we weren't-"
"I think I'll add a rainbow too, just in case the love and peace theme doesn't come across well enough from just the dress and the holding hands bit."
"Fine, you want to fight? Then take a look at this!"
"What, a green blob? Is that supposed to offend me?"
"Don't recognize your own ugly mug, huh? I'll give you a hint: What has eight legs and a tail and a hundred faces oozing off its-"
The answer was an inarticulate yell, followed by the sound of two bodies hitting the floor. Suddenly quite worried, Ms. Bradley pushed the door open and was appalled by what she found.
Selim, Lust, and Gluttony were sitting on the floor, surrounded by papers, and Sloth was sitting at the desk with his back to the group. Selim and Lust had their heads together; they were each holding a drawing and seemed to be comparing the talents of each artist.
"I'd say that Envy's the best at faces, you're the best at bodies, Gluttony's good at food, and I'm the best at scenery," Selim was saying. "And Greed just sucks at everything. Look at this: It doesn't look like Envy's true form at all- Oh, hello Mother!"
He beamed up at her, seeming entirely unconcerned that his two brothers were rolling around in the middle of the room. Envy was clearly furious, struggling for Greed's face with wordless hisses, and Greed was letting loose his own string of expletives.
"Let go!" "Take it back!" "Ow! You stupid-" "Make fun of me why don't you-" "Get off of me!"
What else could she do? No one else was trying to break them up and she couldn't just let them keep fighting.
"Greed! Envy! Stop this! Stop fighting! Someone's going to get hurt," Ms. Bradley begged, rushing forward and then hesitating to get too close because she didn't want to get hit by accident.
The two ignored her or, if she wanted to be generous (and she wasn't feeling like it at the moment), didn't hear her. Instead, they continued to roll and curse at each other and Ms. Bradley turned to her son frantically.
"Selim, help me!"
"Just leave them be, Mother. They'll get bored of it eventually."
"We can't do that! We have to make them stop!"
"It's better to let them get it out of their systems."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and from her own son at that! Desperately, she turned back to the two men, starting to become fed up enough to take a firmer hand with them, but thankfully it turned out to be unnecessary.
Envy and Greed rolled into the back of Sloth's chair, finally catching his attention and apparently disturbing him, for to everyone's surprise, he reached down, grasped the both of them firmly by their collars, and stood up, lifting the pair clear off the floor with no effort at all. It was an impressive show of strength.
"What a bother… Envy… Greed… Don't fight… Too much of a pain…"
Ms. Bradley imagined that being handled like a couple of squabbling children was both humbling and humiliating. Thoroughly chastened without any need for words, the two stopped their bickering immediately.
"Hey, Big Guy, sorry. Didn't mean to bother you. Put us down, 'kay?"
"Let go! Put me down, Sloth!"
Sloth lowered his arms and released his grip and the two stood for a moment trying to gather their dignity, of which there was precious little remaining. Greed tugged at his shirt collar, trying to get it straight, and Envy was holding a hand to his face tenderly.
"Look at this! You got blood all over me!"
"That's your own blood, stupid."
"That's not the tone to be taking with the person who just beat you."
"You didn't beat me! It was a tie-"
"Whoa sh-" Greed started, suddenly staring at the desk from under Sloth's armpit.
"Watch your language, please," Ms. Bradley chided.
"-it, Sloth! How'd you do that?! That's amazing!"
Envy looked past Sloth's other side and gasped. With collective curiosity, the others crowded around the desk too to stare at Sloth's work.
He had only one sheet of paper, but what he'd created on that one sheet was… Well, none of them could believe it.
It was a close-up of a bird perched on a rosebush. A small brown thrush, Ms. Bradley knew, by the speckles on its chest and the shape of its beak. The detail was incredible considering the medium had been a limited palette of crayons. There were the little claws, the black beady eye, the glint of sunlight off its beak and feathers. The roses were a deep red and the shadowing was remarkably realistic. The scene could have been taken directly out of her garden. No, it had been taken directly out of her garden.
"Wow, Sloth! I didn't know you even knew how to draw! When did you learn to-"
"So pretty!"
"Check that out! Is that dew on the petals?"
Sloth seemed unaffected by his siblings' praise.
"Is it… good?"
"'Good'?" Ms. Bradley repeated incredulously. "My dear, it's beautiful! I had no idea! I would have gotten the supplies out for you days ago if I had known! Which would you prefer? We have acrylics and oils and watercolour paints. I'd be happy to get them for you."
Sloth stared down at her for a moment, but he didn't answer. Ignoring her offer, he slowly turned and wordlessly headed for the door.
Maybe the noise bothered him? she thought. At least I'm pretty sure he wasn't being rude on purpose.
She turned back to the others, who were still talking about how surprised they were to discover their huge oaf of a brother had an artistic side. Greed's shirt, she saw, was indeed splattered with blood; his bottom lip was bleeding. And Envy's eye was starting to swell; clearly he'd taken at least one punch to the face.
She sighed and struggled not to sound wholly exasperated.
"I guess we'll be having dinner late tonight. Come on, you two. I have a first aid kit in the bathroom."
I thought Selim was the only child in the bunch, but clearly I'm going to have to rethink that little assumption…
Author's Notes:
To my anonymous guest reviewers: I wasn't expecting so many guest reviews. It is my own personal preference for authors to not respond to reviews in their stories, so I'm sorry if you were hoping to hear back from me that way. As a reader, I find that long author's responses detract from the story's flow. Nevertheless, I appreciate your comments all the same. If you desperately want to hear from me, I can post responses on my profile.
Poem: Written by Du Fu, a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty who lived in the 700s. There is no special meaning behind my choosing this particular poem, but I associate Xing with China, so I searched for a popular Chinese poet and took a short example with natural images.
Envy being sexist: I don't know why, but I just think it'd be funny if Envy held a lot of sexist gender stereotypes. In my head canon, he had a hard time learning about the differences between the genders. Therefore, in teaching him, the differences may have been exaggerated by the other Homunculi. In addition, even if Amestris has greater gender equality than our world did in 1915, it's still likely that the genders weren't as equal when the older Homunculi were born.
Sloth being artistic: So there's the big reveal of at least one of my ideas for Sloth. Sloth always reminded me of a person who had the wiring upstairs done a little differently than the rest of us. I'm thinking of people who are so absolutely incredible at one thing, be it music or art or numbers or what have you. And yet, at the cost of that incredible talent, they suffer in other skills that sometimes render them disabled or unable to live normally in society. I picture Sloth being really entranced by natural beauty because he had to live underground for so long. He seems to just be staring, but he's really absorbing a near photographic image of what he's seeing, and yet he still has great difficulty thinking or communicating. Anyway, I like the idea, so I hope it goes over well.
