(Thank you for following me and the story, it means a lot to me! I haven't actually read this chapter in a while, since i wrote the first two chapters about a month ago, so please tell me any problems, or if you think i'm going to fast! R&R!)
They went up the steps, Ed almost hopping up them while Havoc walked calmly and casually. Ed was still childish in many ways, but she was also very smart. Havoc watched her as she looked up at the tall building, already at the top of the steps. Pointing at the building, she looked back at Havoc. "And this is only the building that civilians aren't allowed in? This thing is freaking huge!" she said, in a state of awe.
Jean chuckled, nodding to her Question. "Yep, this is it. Pretty impressive, isn't it?" When all Ed could do was nod, he chuckled again, ruffling her hair as he passed her. She hurried after him so as not to be left behind. But her hurrying didn't last long, for as soon as she was inside, she stopped again. Her jaw dropped as she gaped at her surroundings. There were so many books! She couldn't believe her eyes as she looked at row after row. Ed felt like she was in heaven. She was pulled out of her musings when she heard her name being called by Havoc. "I am guessing you want to know where the Alchemy section is, right?"
"Yes!" she said, following him to the front desk. Once there, she saw a young woman with thick glasses and short brown hair and messy bangs.
"Hello Jean, who would this young lady be?" asked the woman with a kind smile.
"Sheska, this is Edlyn. I have a feeling that she will be here quite often, won't you Ed?" Ed nodded her head again, still looking around.
"Well it is nice to meet you Edlyn." Sheska said kindly.
"It's nice to meet you too. Can you show me where the Alchemy section is please?" the young blonde asked, practically jumping on her feet.
Jean laughed, shaking his head and ruffling Ed's hair again. "Calm down kid, I can show you the way, Sheska is busy manning the front desk as you can clearly see." Ed started pulling at his sleeve in a childish manner.
"Then let's go, come on!" she said, putting on her puppy dog eyes without her own knowledge."
"Alright, alright, didn't I tell you to calm down? Geez…" Jean said, with no harsh intent. He started heading to the back right corner, near the tables and desks. "Here we are, and hey! Look whose here. Russell, Fletcher, come over here and meet the new kid!" he called out to 2 blonde boys. The boys looked up, the younger one getting up and rushing over. "Ed, this is Fletcher, the younger Tringham brother. The rude one over there that didn't come to greet you is Russell."
"Hi! It's nice to meet you, are you the other alchemist that we were told was coming?" asked Fletcher. He was a nice looking kid who was, sadly, taller than her by about half a foot. He had gray eyes, and wore a green headband with flaps over the ears. He also wore a white shirt with green overalls. The overalls had only one strap, going across his chest.
Ed nodded, putting on a friendly grin. "Yeah, it's nice to meet you too. What kind of Alchemy are you looking at?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I am going to leave now Ed; I am not one to participate in alchemy talk. Try not to stay here too long." He said, ruffling her hair and walking away after Ed waved and said goodbye.
"Well, we are working on-" fletcher was interrupted by the teen that was still sitting down, holding up his head with one hand and looking at them.
"We are working on a type of Alchemy that doesn't concern you. We aren't going to let you rip off our ideas." He said, looking bored. "Fletcher, come back over here so we can continue working. We don't need outside help from an amateur." After that was said, Russell looked back down and started reading his book.
Ed huffed, crossing her arms. "Just because you're older doesn't mean you can boss him around. And besides, if he is helping you, shouldn't he get a say in those types of decisions?" she asked, glaring at the older blonde. This had a little pink come to Fletchers cheeks, no one really stood up for him like that.
"I don't think I asked for your opinion. Last time I checked, alchemy was meant for men, not little girls. Now run along before you hurt yourself with a faulty alchemy circle." said Russell, not even looking up from his book.
Fletcher wanted to protest about such words, but stopped when he noticed that Ed was clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. "So you think only men can do alchemy, and that girls are weak? I guess you don't remember who General Armstrong is that protects us at the Drachman border. Or that there are plenty of women walking around in the nearby buildings! You know what, I think you are just scared of being shown up by a girl!" said Edlyn, her glare still fixed on Russell.
This had Russell's attention right away, his head snapping up to fix Ed with a glare of his own. "Why would I be scared of girls? They are weak and meant to stay at home while the men work. I bet your dad was the one who got all the money to pay for you and your family!" he said, standing up and slammed his hands down on the table.
Hearing that caused Ed to flinch, not going unnoticed by Fletcher. Ed's hands tightened more, fists shaking. Fletcher was about to yell at his brother, but was beat to the punch by said person.
"What, was I right? Are you mad that you are wrong, that men overpower woman? I bet you just don't like your dad, are jealous! Jealous that he is so much better then you!" he said, not seeing the affect the words had on the young girl. She had clenched her hands so hard that her nails had dug into her palms, blood slowly trickling off her knuckles. She hide her face with her bangs, her shoulders slumped as she stared at the ground.
Suddenly two people rounded the corner, one looked at Ed and when saw her state, and he rushed over. Kneeling down and holding her shoulders, he looked up at her. "Ed, are you alright? What's wrong?" asked Alphonse. Al became worried when he saw how lifeless her eyes were. That was how she got when she shut down, hiding inside herself. Then he heard a snicker from behind him, causing him to turn his head, looking back at Russell.
"So not only one, but two guys have to look after you? Shows how little women can do by themselves! Are you not only jealous of your father, but him too?" the blonde asked, a sneer covering his face.
This had Al glaring at Russell. "What the hell did you say to Ed before I got here?" Al asked with venom clear in his voice. Fletcher stood there awkwardly, wondering if he should help his brother or help the stranger who was probably Ed's older brother.
"Only what's true, that women are weak, and men are in control. And judging by how she reacted when I said that your father was in control at your house, I'm guessing I was right!" said Russell, crossing him arms. Fletcher was close to punching his brother. This wasn't how he normally acted! His brother was being a jerk for no reason!
Al saw red, he was so pissed off. How dare this guy not only insult Ed, but bring up her bad past?! He stood up and stomped towards Russell, only to be stopped by the other person who had come with him. Roy held Al's arm, fixing Russell with one of his coldest looks.
"I would advise for you to work on your sexist attitude, Mister Tringham. With what I have learned, her knowledge on alchemy is that of someone of my level. You should also learn that her training leaves her with enough strength, excuse my language, to kick your ass. Might I also add that you just lost respect from all of my men, for my second in command is a female? Alphonse, help me bring Ed back to the office." With that said Mustang spun on his heels and headed towards the door.
Al gave one last glare at Russell and kneeled by Ed again, brushing her bangs out of her face. "Edlyn, are you listening? We're going back to the office. Here, come on." Al turned around and helped Ed onto his back, using the style they walked into HQ with. Al then looked at Fletcher. "With how you're glaring at him, I am guessing you didn't have anything to do with the insults. I saw your picture in the file, your fletcher, right? When my sister is near that asshole, please make sure he doesn't speak to her." With a small smile to Fletcher, Al walked off after Mustang.
Once they were out of sight, Fletcher marched up to his elder brother, who was standing there with his mouth slightly agape. "What the hell was that all about, brother?! When did you turn into such an ass! All she did was stand up for me, your own brother, and you go and be a jerk?" he said, fuming.
Russell rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his little brother with a frown. "I don't know why I said it, Fletch. I guess she just made me… mad." He finished lamely. Russell sighed, plopping down on his chair and slouched. "I really did turn into an ass, huh?" he asked, looking up at his still standing brother.
"No, I was being sarcastic while yelling at you." said the young blonde, rolling his eyes. After a minute of silence, he sat next to his brother with a sigh. "Just make sure you apologize next time you see her, okay brother? She just got here and you already made her your enemy." he asked, watching Russell's face for any reaction. When his brother simply nodded, he picked up his book and continued reading, leaving Russell to his thoughts.
While Mustang led the way back to his office, Al was still trying to calm down. He hated when something like this happens, it would take a few days to get Ed to start acting normal again. She didn't take lightly to conversations about their father; she would hide away inside herself. Sometimes she wouldn't even eat, which is really bad for someone with automail. Another thing that happens when she gets like this is she gets really clingy, as if everyone she knows will up and leave her. Even if it's someone she has only just gotten to know she will always make sure that there is contact in some form, be it holding a sleeve or sitting in their lap. He frowned, it should be weird that she can still easily fit in peoples laps, but one side effect of their father's experiments caused her growth to be stunted.
He sighed when he noticed how tightly her hands were holding onto his shirt. "It's okay Ed, everything is fine, no need to worry." he said with the calmest voice he could use. When he heard mumbling coming from the young girl, he turned his head to look back at her. "Are you saying something?" Al asked.
"…I'm sorry…it's my fault… she's gone…I'm really sorry…I didn't mean too…" she said softly. Al mentally groaned. Of course, not only was she reminded about their father, she had to go and remember about mother. That was the part that he had left out in the explanation. Not only Edlyn was taken during it. So was mother, but she didn't just loose a few limbs, she lost her life. And Ed was there when it happened. He doesn't know the details, but he can understand that is was a terrifying experience for the young girl.
"Ed, no one blames you. You have nothing to be sorry for in the first place." he said. Alphonse was mad, but this time at himself. He knew why she blamed herself; it was because of him himself. When he was told about his mother's death he blamed, blamed everything on her. He was so harsh, so now Ed has gotten into the habit of taking all the blame. All because Al told her upfront that he hated her, that it was her fault that their mother was dead. He took it back an hour later of course, but it didn't help any. He hated himself for what he said, but he would never be able to take it back again.
"…Sorry, Alphonse… I took your mommy away…sorry…" she repeated those lines for the whole walk to the office. Luckily Mustang was far enough ahead, giving them their privacy. Once in the office, Jean hastily walked over, looking at Ed.
"What happened? Is she okay?" he asked, worry etched into his face. Alphonse gave a faint smile, Ed was able to get people to care for her so easily, they barely had to know her and they would become mother hens.
"There was a little incident at the library with the older Tringham brother." Al said, shaking his head and kneeling down, letting Ed get off his back. "He was being a sexist jerk, and happened to bring up our father in the insults." Al looked down when he felt a tug on his sleeve, seeing Ed start her clinging face. When she saw he was looking at her, she hugged his arm.
Meas scowled, walking over to stand beside Havoc. "Russell likes to cause trouble, we should have warned you." He said, taking off his glasses to clean them.
Al simply shrugged. "I should tell you now that Ed has stages after being reminded about her past… She will be very clingy, she probably will get like this with Mister Havoc and myself." He said, motioning with his free hand towards the young blonde still holding Al's arm.
Jean raised an eyebrow. "Why me and no one else?" he asked, the confusion evident in his voice.
"She knows you the most beside me. Whenever she gets into this stage she doesn't really know what's going on, so she clings to what is familiar in a good way. And since you haven't yelled at her or anything like that, you would be the next person to cling to if I were to leave the room." Al explained, petting Ed hair gently. "But yeah, she will be like this for a while, sorry."
"It's perfectly fine Alphonse, we understand" said Meas, giving a warm smile to the siblings.
Riza walked up to Mustang and said something that went unheard. When mustang gave a nod, she walked briskly out of them room. Jean noticed when Riza left the room though, and asked mustang why.
"She is going to show one Mister Tringham how bad it is to be sexist." Mustang said with a smirk. This had a few people chuckle, the room soon going quiet afterwards. AL sighed and looked towards Havoc.
"Mister Havoc?" when the blonde man looked over at him, he continued. "I kind of need to use the restroom, can you watch Edlyn for me please?" he asked.
Havoc nodded and walked over and took one of Ed's hands, she immediately taking his arm and hugged it. This made him give a small sad smile. Alphonse thanked him and left the room. Everything went quiet again, the silence making people uncomfortable. Havoc sighed and looked to Mustang. "Mind if I take a break from work? I can't really write like this and all…" he trailed off, seeing that Mustang had already nodded. Jean slowly walked over to the same couch she had sat on before; he sat down, her following the example. Once they both sat down, she kicked her shoes off and pulled them up onto the couch. She was half lying down, still hugging his arm so that she was sitting up. Havoc started petting her head like Al had before, thinking that she would like the familiarity of it.
The room was still quiet when Hawkeye came back, dragging Russell by his ear, the blonde repeating 'ow' over and over again. It was quite a comical sight. Fletcher came in after him, looking around. When he spotted Ed and how deflated she looked, he frowned at his brother.
"Yeah, Russell, you are a big ass. Thank you Miss Hawkeye for telling us about Ed." he said, looking at Riza with a thankful smile. She simply nodded and let go of Russell ear, he immediately rubbing at it and glared at the women.
Ed watched all of this with dead eyes. Al was only partly right about the fact that she wasn't very aware of her surroundings. She was almost perfectly aware; the only thing was that she didn't feel the need to participate with anything. She simply felt empty enough to feel like she wasn't actually there. But when she saw Russell, her hold on Jeans arm tightened. This didn't go unnoticed by him, and he suddenly felt very angry at the young man that had come inside the room.
Russell sighed when he saw the glare he was getting. "Havoc, I didn't mean to be such a jerk, she just made me angry." he said.
"That is a pretty lame excuse Russell. You should be more careful with what you say when you don't even know the person." Jean scolded.
The young blonde sighed again, about to talk, when he was cut off by Alphonse walking back into the room. When he saw Russell, he glared, walking past him to get to Ed, roughly bumping their shoulders as he went. He sat on the other side of Ed, the girl knowing who it was climbed into his lap, legs up to her chest as she leaned back against her elder brother. Al wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his chin on top of her head. "So what is he doing here?" Al asked calmly, trying to keep his voice steady even though he was still pissed off at him.
Fletcher stepped forward and gave a timid smile. "He is here to apologize. He knows he was wrong and would like to know if there is anything he can do to show how sorry he is. And since I knew he would only say sorry and not the second part, I said it for him so that he can actually pay her back for acting like he did." He said, giving a meaningful glare to his older brother.
Russell groaned and hung his head. "Fine, what he said." Jean chuckled at how similar that was to Ed when they were doing introductions. Al gave a small 'hm' and watched Russell. But then they were surprised when Ed actually spoke instead of keeping quiet like Al said she would.
"To make it up to me, you can be my sparring partner." she said, looking Russell straight in the eyes. "To show you how strong girls can be, and to show you that I can kick your ass." She crossed her arms, smirking at the shocked faces around her. "Sorry! Didn't mean to turn into a zombie again Al." she said, looking up at her brother. When Al saw that she looked alive again, he smiled back and turned his head to look at Russell.
"Yeah, a sparring partner sounds like a good idea. She could use the exercise and practice." He said, smirking just like his sister. He then looked down at the young blonde girl. "Ed, we'll have to get some padding to put around your automail so that you don't break any bones. He has to go on missions too, you know." Ed did a mock thoughtful face. The show the siblings were making had everyone in the office smiling except Russell and Fletcher. While Russell looked frightened, most likely about the broken bones part, Fletcher was laughing so hard that he had to bend over and hold his stomach.
"Wait, did you just say sparring partner? So that means you know how to fight?" he asked, shocked. He wasn't used to girls knowing that kind of thing.
Ed rolled her eyes. "Yeah, to help speed along my automail recovery, I learned how to fight from a girl in Rush Valley. And once Paninya couldn't teach me anymore, I signed up for lessons. Rush valley really is all about automail, because those classes were made especially for those who have it." Ed grinned and stretched her legs out, still sitting in Al's lap.
"Edlyn, don't be mean and leave out the part about you completing the whole class in two years even though it was a 5 year course. Or the fact that you were taking two classes a day instead of one like everyone else." Al said, his smirk turning a little evil. Everyone was impressed. They knew she was supposed to be good at fighting, but that good? Ed's cheek reddened a bit at the praise she got from Al.
"Alphonse, it isn't nice to brag! Besides, I'm not that good, they just went easy on me because I was young and a girl." She said with a huff.
Al rolled his eyes. "You just like to be modest." Al said. He then looked around at the people in the room. Fletcher was still laughing, and Jean was trying hard not to by covering his mouth with his hand. All the other adults were smiling. Some of the smiles even looked like smirks. Then his eyes landed on Russell, and oh how he loved the sight of the other boy looking like he was about to be sick. "Something wrong Russell? You looked shocked that she could have done all that. And yet you said that she was weak. With your definition of weak, I would think you will a new word for yourself after you fight my dear little sister." And that was the breaking point for Jean, he doubled over in laughter, much like Fletcher had.
Ed sighed, shaking her head. Al was enjoying this way too much. He loved making people pay for thing when they did something to her. And he had said that he was innocent? She looked over to the adults who were by the cluster of desks. "Miss Hawkeye? Can you show me the way to the training rooms? I need to practice with my new sparring partner. Especially after that long train ride here from Rush Valley."
Hawkeye nodded, and when she saw that it looked the older Tringham brother was about to make a run for it, she grabbed his ear again. When Russell sent a pleading look towards his brother, Fletcher simply shook his head and smiled a little too sweetly to be innocent. "You got yourself into this mess brother; I am not bailing you out! What kind of example are you setting for me anyway?" he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
When Hawkeye started pulling Russell out of the room, Ed hopped off the couch and walked over to Fletcher, smiling at him. "Thanks for helping me to get your brother to agree!" she said. Al shook his head when he saw Fletchers cheeks went a little pink and followed the others out of the room. Ed grabbed Fletcher by his wrist and started pulling him after Hawkeye. This had Al laugh, he felt bad for Fletcher, and Ed didn't even know that she affected him like that.
They walked out of the main building again, heading to a smaller one. Once inside, Ed let go of Fletcher, her eyes looking around at all of the equipment. Hawkeye let go of Russell's ear, he again rubbed at it and scowled at the lieutenant. "Can you please stop doing that? You are going to rip my ear off!" he said.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" said another teen, Alphonse seeing that it's Ling with Lan Fan following him.
"Brother got himself in trouble so now he is going to get beat up." Fletcher said casually.
Ling laughed and smacked his hand on Russell's back. "Well good luck, hope you don't mint the extra audience. I am excited to see how good the newbie is, aren't you Lan Fan?" ling asked, turning his head back to see the girl. She simply nodded in response.
Ed stepped forward so she was closer to the Xingese girl and boy. "Who are you guys?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I am Ling, and this is Lan Fan, it is nice to meet you." said the black haired boy, his hair in a low ponytail. He held out his hand and she shook it. Since he wanted to test her fighting ability, he grabbed her wrist with his other hand and threw her over his shoulder. But he didn't expect her to grab his wrist too, using the momentum to twist her body and kick him in the back, jump off and land on her feet while he staggered a bit. He turned around a looked at her, eyes actually open a little.
"You fight with cheap tricks, don't you?" she asked, slowly turning her head to look at him. She smirked at everyone's faces; they were all shocked again besides Al's. "Care to try it again?" This had Lan Fan make a dash for the blonde, she having insulted her master. Lan Fan went to kick Ed in the face, but Ed blocked with her wrist and grabbed her ankle, holding it. Lan Fan spun her whole body and went to kick with her other leg while being in the air, but Ed grabbed that one too. Ed then twisted her ankles around, having the black haired girl spin again and fall to the ground. After a minute of silence, Ed smiled and offered a hand to help her up. "You might want to work on keeping a cool head, even if Ling is insulted. It becomes your weakness." she said while helping the girl up. Lan Fan gave a timid smile while Ed full out grinned. "Well that was fun." She giggled and looked over to Ling, who started grinning back.
"I like you, you're pretty good." Ling walked over and stood next to her, putting his arm on one of her shoulders and leaning while he looked at the people who were still in the doorway. Al was chuckling and shaking his head while Hawkeye's eyes were wide in shock. The Tringham brothers also had wide eyes, but for two reasons. First, Ed just beat Lan Fan, and second, Lan Fan forgave her and actually smiled. Those were two firsts, and they couldn't believe either of them happened.
Ed crossed her arms and looked up at him, not complaining about his arm to Al's disbelief. "Maybe I should train with you guys instead of Mister Sexist over there." She said while pointing to Russell. This part had Lan Fan glaring at Russell. She already knew how much Russell tended to degrade women. Lan Fan looked over at Ed and they both nodded, confusing everyone. Then suddenly they were both running at Russell. They made as if to attack, but stopped before they made contact, leaving a surprised Russell with Ed's fist less than an inch from his face and Lan Fan behind him with her foot almost touching his ribs in a kicking motion. This made Russell curse and almost fall backwards into the black haired girl.
Both Ed and Lan Fan slowly began to stand normally. They then walked back over to Ling and high fived on the way there. Fletcher, Al, and Ling were laughing while Russell just stood there, his eyes wide. Riza didn't laugh, but she was smiling from the whole thing. She didn't think Russell would underestimate girls for a long while.
Al was happy though, because it seemed that Ed had made some friends. Ling, Lan Fan, and Ed were now talking in a little triangle in the middle of the room. Then Al noticed that they weren't the only ones in the room, it was the military's training room after all. All other military personal were just standing there and gaping at the display that was just performed. This had Al laughing all over again and elbowing Fletcher to show him.
Al's laughter died down when he caught a glimpse of the clock. It was two o'clock, time for his baby sister's next dose. Sighing, he walked over to her tapped her shoulder. She turned, confused as to why her brother was grim again. When he patted his pocket, her confused turned to irritation.
Ling raised an eyebrow at the scene. "Is something the matter Ed?" he asked, his eyebrows rose even further when he saw her paste on a smile. To anyone else they might not have caught it, but he and Lan Fan saw how strained it was.
"Oh, it's nothing! Come on Al, I'm thirsty, let's go to the mess hall for some juice." said the young blonde, grabbing her brothers wrist and dragging him out of the training room.
The two Xingese' walked over to where Riza, Fletcher, and Russell were. "Care to explain the sudden rush?" he asked the lieutenant.
"She has to take her medication." she said.
"Does she have a cold or something?" asked Ling.
Riza shook her head sadly, looking at the door the Elric's just left from. "She has issues with her health..." She looked over to all the teens that were around her. "She doesn't know that you know, and I would like to keep it that way. Also, do not mention it to anyone else; we don't want such information to leak out into enemy hands."
A few moments later, Alphonse came back inside, looking around. "Did Ed come in here?" Seeing the confused looks, he took it as a no. Sighing, he explained his question. "She dashed off after getting her drink, and I can't find her, I thought maybe she came back here." Suddenly, there was a streak of gold and red that stopped after hopping onto Alphonse shoulders. While everyone stood still, he smiled and clapped his hands, leaving the girl to cling to him with her arms and legs. "Well done Edlyn, you actually got on this time!"
"What the heck do you mean by that?" asked Russell, looking irritated and confused. His whole day had been turned upside down from these siblings, and he was getting frustrated. Fletcher snickered from his spot beside his older brother.
"She likes to practice her stealth, so to do that she will try to 'attack' me. It usually doesn't work; I have pretty good reflexes so I tend to move before she even touches Me." he said, looking back at her as she beamed. Then without warning, she lifted herself up and over his shoulders like you would in leap frog. She landed gracefully on her feet in front of her brother. She put her hands on her hips, looking at everyone before her. She already liked it here, not everyone was mean and the adults weren't bad either. She then looked at Russell and Fletcher, smiling. The smile was mostly for Fletcher, but that's beside the point.
She walked over and looked at Fletcher. "Want to go to the library? I haven't checked out the books yet because of, you know, reasons." Fletcher nodded and they started walking out of the training room. The older siblings both shook their heads and followed, waving to the people behind them. Riza also left, going back to the office. That left Ling and Lan Fan to think about the newest addition. They also wondered if Mustang had told Ed about the fact that she would have to take the State Alchemy exam.