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Eventually I will learn how to color worth a shit

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1,092

Edward hated this room already, and he'd only been here for maybe 10 minutes.  It had felt like an eternity, but he knew for sure that it had only been 10 minutes as they had helpfully provided a large, round clock on the opposite wall whose ticks and tocks echoed painfully loud in the uncomfortably silent room.  He was sat in a sharp wooden chair, his handcuffed arms tucked behind him and secured to the chair by means of a latch that he couldn't quite make out.  In front of him was a large, plain table - empty except for a crisp manila folder sitting directly in the middle.  There was another chair there as well, empty for now.  A large mirror covered the expanse of the back wall, just under the annoyingly ticking clock.  He was fairly certain that it was a one-way mirror and that someone was staring at him from just on the other side.  His burns were throbbing and the room felt like an oven.  The salt from his sweat was only aggravating the pain.  

Tick.  

Tock.

He really hoped that they weren't going to keep him waiting here all day.  While he was fairly certain this was some kind of interrogation technique, he didn't think that the Colonel would be enough of a Bastard to leave him alone in here for any significant period of time.

Tick.

He really hated being alone.

Tock.

He wondered if Al and Winry were doing okay.  They had separated the brothers as soon as they had reached the run-down looking military headquarters and he hadn't seen Winry at all just yet.  He'd heard her voice on the radio though, so surely she was fine.  Winry was the kind of person who would probably be able to charm her way into the VIP treatment, so she's probably not sitting in one of these stupid uncomfortable rooms like he is right now.

Tick.

She was probably doing just fine.

Tock.

Alright, Edward was beginning to lose his mind.  In between the clock and the silence and the burns and the uncertainty, he could feel the familiar anger bubbling up in his chest.  How dare they try to hold him here when he had done nothing all that wrong?  He was just trying to set things right again.  He didn't deserve this.

Tick.

If the idea was to leave him alone with his thoughts in order to make him more pliable, boy.  Were they going about this the wrong way.

Tock.  

Tick.

Tock.

"Urghhhhhh!" Edward threw himself forward in the chair, handcuffs jerking harshly against his wrists.  "Let me out of here or come talk to me, you sadistic bastards!" He shouted in the direction of the one-way mirror.  He threw himself forward again and succeeded in tilting the chair forward, but not knocking it over.  It fell backwards onto all four legs with a heavy whump that made him see stars for a moment.  Maybe it would be best not to do that again.

Tick.

. . . Tock.

There seemed to be no answer from the other side.  Ed was furious.  This was ridiculous.  They couldn't keep insisting that he was a child (and he wasn't) if they were just going to leave him here to rot like some kind of criminal.  He'd done nothing wrong!  Okay, so maybe he'd blown up a couple of buildings in the name of gathering up the old Xerxian research materials, but they belonged to him and Al more rightfully than anyone else and besides - he'd always put things back when he was done with them.  No one seemed to think anything odd about a couple of wide-eyed alchemist kids wandering around and helping the citizens to repair the damages left by the raiders from the night before.  It worked out pretty well for everyone, honestly.  

Tick.  

Tock.

. . . Alright, if things were going to go on like this, he wasn't about to let them know that they were getting to him.  He just had to distract himself with something.  Hydrogen.  Helium.  Lithium.  Beryllium. . . . He ran through the periodic table, and then did it again backwards.  He then went through, naming the atomic weights.  He ran through a quick list of the elements contained in plant life, and then the elemental concentrations of the atmosphere.  He wondered how much time was passing.  He glanced up.

Fifteen minutes.  Shit.

Tick.

Tock.

It was another thirty before the door next to the mirror swung open, and a very grumpy looking Colonel appeared.  Ed smiled.  He wondered if they had tried to interrogate Al first.  That was probably fun for everyone involved.  Al was impossible to drag any kind of information out of if he didn't want to tell you - something Edward knew from first hand experience.  Plus, he had a way of looking at you with those big eyes of his that honestly made you feel bad for even asking or assuming that he might be guilty of something.  Ed couldn't help but grin a little bit.  Al was, after all, perfect.  He couldn't ask for a better brother.  

The Colonel dropped into the chair opposite him with a heavy thump and a sigh.  He ran his hands through his hair and across his face, looking wearily at Ed through the gaps in his fingers.  They sat silently for a moment, looking at each other while the damned clock clicked out its steady beat in the background.

Tick.

Tock.

Finally, the Colonel straightened himself up, took a deep breath, and grabbed the manila folder in front of him.  He picked it up and flicked it open sharply before setting a small black recorder on the table.  "What is your name?" He asked, and Edward could hear the weariness in his voice.  

Ed smiled.  "Now why would I tell you that?"

Colonel Mustang sighed and fixed him with a sharp look.  "Because the sooner we can get to the bottom of this, the sooner we can get you medical treatment."

"Withholding medical treatment from a minor, Colonel?  Harsh.  I'm pretty sure there are law about that."

"I'm pretty sure there are also laws about destroying city property and stealing research materials, Elric."

"Hey!  Who told you -"

"Ah."  The Colonel smiled at him and Edward kicked himself mentally.  Of course he hadn't actually known that yet.  Idiot.  Obviously, Edward was going to need to be more on his guard with this man.  "I can't seem to find any Elrics in the local records, so you must be from out of town, correct?" The Colonel continued.  

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Working on the Emperor.  He’s yellow. 

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Just wanted to see them together for fun.  Looking good, I think? 

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I actually spent an hour working tonight - gotta play catch up from my anxiety weekend, bleh. 

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1,022 words

"SHIT!"  Edward swore, desperately turning in a circle as he tried to look for an escape route from the climbing walls of flame.  They were completely walled in, the flames towering far overhead, impossible to jump over.  Ed could feel the heat burning against his skin, worsening the already painful sting from his last encounter with the fire-wielding Colonel.  He coughed as the super-heated air began to burn his lungs as well and retreated back into the grocery store, pulling his younger brother along with him.  

"What are we going to do?"  Al asked him.  Ed glanced over at his brother, taking in the look of fear in the younger boy's eyes.  He took a deep breathe and shoved his own fears down.  He wasn't about to let his little brother down like this.  He had to be the one with the plan.  After all, he was the one who got them into this whole mess in the first place - he was absolutely going to be the one to get them back out of it again.

"Get out of here, obviously."  Ed gave his brother his fiercest of smiles before settling his mind to the task at hand.  They could try tunneling out of here, but it was difficult to say how stable such a tunnel might be - he simply didn't have the time needed to calculate the density of the earth above and around them and he wasn't about to risk dying in a cave in.  They could try to go over the flame walls, but again - it was hard to tell exactly how sturdy the ground was beneath their feet and that option also came with the added danger of falling right into the Colonel.  Well.  That left just one more option that Ed could think of.  Al was most certainly not going to like it.

"Alright, Al.  Follow me and get ready to run like Teacher is on your heels at my signal, yeah?"

". . . What exactly is the plan here, brother?" Al asked.  He wasn't entirely sure that there was time to be having this argument, but he knew that look. . . Ed was grinning in that particularly toothy way that normally meant he was about to do something both spectacularly impressive and incredibly stupid.  Al wasn't sure that he liked that look.

"What?" Ed asked, feigning his most innocent look as he once again pushed open the back door.  "Don't you trust me?"

". . .No."  Al admitted. "Not when you look like that."

"Well, good.  One of us has to be the voice of reason around here."  Ed laughed and ran out the door, knowing without looking that his little brother was right on his heels.  He got as close to the flames as he could stand before clapping his hands, wincing as the heated automail scalded his left arm.  "3!" He shouted, eyes darting around as he made some quick calculations.  "2!"  He shifted his footing, noting the solidity of the ground around him.  He could just barely make out the outline of the other buildings through the flames if he squinted.  If he could just aim it in that directions then. . . "GO!"

He slammed his hands to the ground and in a fantastically loud and bright crackle of alchemical energy, the earth sprung up in a wide wall that broke the wall of flames. Almost before it had finished forming, the two brothers ran forward, both of them knowing that they had no way of knowing just how long the break in the flames would last. Ed slammed his automail shoulder into the earthen wall, collapsing it just enough to allow his brother and him to pass.  He plowed forward through the cloud of dirt and smoke, the super heated air making each breath feel like agony.    He reached back and grabbed for his brother's arm, yanking him forward over the wall as the flames began to close in again, scrambling to get the two of them out of the way in time.    

After a second of struggle that seemed to last an eternity, they broke free into the open air.  They hit the ground running, half-blinded by the light of the flames and adrenaline thundering in their veins.  They charged forward and Ed allowed himself just a moment's flash of elation for having escaped Colonel Bastard once again.  No one could stop him.  No one could hold him!  It was just him, his brother, and -

Ed felt himself yanked abruptly backwards, the neckline of his shirt slamming painfully into his neck.  He fell backwards with a startled choking noise, grabbing at his throat as lights danced before his eyes.  He could hear Al's voice shouting at him from what seemed like a great distance.  He turned to swing at his attacker, only to have his wrist grabbed too.  In a move far too quick and disorienting for him to comprehend, Ed found himself face down in the dirt with his arms pinned behind his back and a distinctly blue knee holding down his legs.  

"Did you think I was going to let you go that easily?"  an annoyingly calm voice asked from somewhere close behind him.

"Sir.  Do you really think this amount of force is necessary for such a small kid. . .?"  Another infuriatingly calm voice asked while Ed attempted to thrash his way out of the Bastard Colonel's grip.  

"WHO YOU CALLING SMALL?!  I'M STILL GROWING YOU MILITARY IDIOTS!?"  Edward snarled fighting even harder against the Colonel and earning himself a sharp knee to the back for his efforts, knocking the wind out of him.  Above him, the Colonel raised an eyebrow at Lieutenant Hawkeye, who currently had hold of a similarly struggling child.  

"I see."  She said simply as she wrest Al's hands into a pair of handcuffs.  "So these two are our bandits, then?"  She glanced over at the still smoldering path of destruction the two children had left in their wake.  "They certainly seem to fit the bill."  

"We're not bandits!"  Al insisted, twisting in her grip to give her the angriest glare that he was capable of.  "You've got it all wrong!"

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1,084

Just some angsty Taban garbage since I’m too tired to really think about plot and such, but hey.  I wrote a thingggg. 

I wasn't supposed to fall in love with her.  I mean, it wasn't something that was ever explicitly stated during training, but then again, I don't think they ever really considered it to be much of a possibility back in training.  After all, who would be stupid enough to fall in love with Death?

I was always intensely aware of the feeling of the aphotic creese hidden in my tunic, when she was near by.  The metal seemed to burn slightly against my skin, reminding me of my purpose.  Foolish.  I was so foolish.  I know what I am meant to do and with each passing day, I become more aware of my inability to perform my duty should the need arise.

Should I discuss this with the Blades Master?  Should I voluntarily step down from my position?  Surely there would be questions asked and I wasn't sure that I would be able to answer them.  I know that they sent me here to fail, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to face up to a failure of this magnitude.  They meant merely to take me down a notch, to show me that even if I was the most promising fighter in the Blades that I could be defeated.  They were right, I guess.  They just never expected me to fall to such a weapon as the kind light in the Moon's eyes.

Wesa.  She had even allowed me to call her by her personal name.  Such a sacrilegious act to hold the name of one so lofty on the tongue of one that was born so low.  If she ever heard me saying something like that, she'd probably yell at me again.  She really wasn't much for the traditional, that much was true.  And maybe that meant progress for the rest of our world. . . But it certainly meant destruction for me.

I just couldn't help it.  I had been told all my life to ward myself against every possible attack.  To watch my back at all times.  To never let my guard fall and to never sleep in an unlocked room.  I was taught to steel my heart before a kill, to hunt those that were weaker than me and to fight those who were stronger.  But I was never taught how to guard my heart from kind intentions, soft looks and encouraging words.  I had no defense against kindness and so it slipped past all of my defenses, leaving me utterly helpless before her.  

In the end. . . I don't think I really minded.  Perhaps it was an abandonment of everything I had ever trained for, but it was also the beginning of an entirely new kind of life.  The Moon never seemed to stand on ceremony, she didn't care for the traditional words and rituals and much preferred actual conversation to following the steps of the ancient dance of language that we had all since lost any meaning of.  I felt. . . Free, perhaps, for the first time since my childhood.  It was like the world was new for me again and I had never felt the pressure of traditions and memories not my own weighing down on me and deciding for me my future.  Around her, I was allowed to just be Taban, instead of the Blade.  

I wonder if this is how our people felt in the Time Before?  Were we all allowed to just say what was on our minds and do as we pleased?  Or do the traditions run deep enough that the Moon and I were forging something entirely new?  My memories didn't go back that far before they hit the blackness of the Corruption, so I couldn't say for sure.  I hoped it was true. If it was true, that would mean that what the two of us were doing here was simply a return to the way that things were supposed to be, rather than a violation of everything our people held sacred.

Sometimes. . . I wonder just how far back Her memories go, but I know that she'd much rather not go there.  Perhaps it is this distance from her Bonded that has allowed her to so easily cast aside the bonds of traditions. She always holds herself to be quite separate from Somna, so much so that she refuses to respond to her traditional royal name unless the Sun himself is angered enough to call her to it.  Though they see each other rarely outside of their dawn and twilight meetings, I can't help but notice that they do not seem overly fond of each other, even if they are consorts.

And there was another problem.  What if the Sun should find out that I held feelings for his Moon?  Surely I would be cast out of the castle, if not out of existence entirely.  What an affront, to desire something that rightfully belonged to the King.  Surely he would not suffer my soul to be returned to the Pool after execution - it wouldn't be the first time that someone had to be purged.  I could think of only a handful of times that were recorded in my Memory, but the affronts for which they had been cast out seemed minor in comparison to mine.  Perhaps the True Death would be too kind of a punishment for me.  

Of course, he would have to convince the Moon to allow him to do it, and she might at that.  Despite her kind actions and words, there was no way she could ever harbor feelings towards such as myself.  I know that.  I know who I am.  I have no real want for her to return my affections or even to acknowledge them.  I feel that I have violated things enough simply by having them, I would not want to drag her into this mess as well.  

But. . . Sometimes, for just a moment, I allow myself to imagine.  I think of how her face lights up when she greets me as the sun goes down and I imagine telling her how I feel.  She smiles at me and calls me by my true name and says, "Ahhh, Taban.  You always worry too much.  You've known all along that I have loved you too."  I imagine that she'll take my hand, laughing, and lead me down the hallway to her throne room as we begin the Night's Watch and for just a moment, I can pretend that nothing about my love for her could ever be wrong.  

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Finished my tarot card today! I’ll post it to my main blog later, but I’ve got to give my patrons the first look at it, so I need to wait.  (I am not good at waiting)

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30 minutes of drawing (I might do some more yet tonight) 

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There, got my words in already!  And hey, maybe I’ll write some more after work.  I technically even have time to get my drawing in before work, but I don’t want to risk being late and I wanna start some laundry and stuff before I go so I won’t be working on that.  See, self?  Piece of cake.  You can easily do this. 

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Today’s word count: 1,032

Chapter 2: Work Smart, Not Hard “My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.” -- William Golding

"They're my friends!"  Winry shouted, the beginnings of tears welling up in her eyes.  She clutched the radio in shaking hands, her entire body tensed up for a fight.  Riza had to get that radio back and she didn't particularly want to hurt a child.  

Riza raised her hands slowly, quietly calculating her options.  As it was, should the girl wish to harm her, she was currently at quite the disadvantage.  Her eyes flicked around the room, quickly locating several small but heavy objects that could be employed as a weapon if needed.  Her gun was completely out of the question - Riza was not about to use that kind of force on a minor, no matter the danger she was in.  Trapped as she was within the booth, she was not confident in her ability to  quickly slip out of the booth and subdue the girl without causing undue stress or damage to either the girl or the radio.  So.  Talking her way out of this seemed to be the best option at the moment.  "Winry."  Riza spoke calmly, making eye contact while trying to appear as unthreatening as possible. "I need that radio."

Winry took a step backwards, her posture and expression screaming defiance at the First Lieutenant. "No!  Not until you tell me what you were planning!" She scrubbed at her eyes as a few fat tears plunked on to the metal floor. "Not until you tell me. . . What happened to my friends!"

Riza took a deep breath, allowing silence to hang between the two of them for a tense moment.  This was a knee-jerk reaction to hearing about danger to her friends.  This wasn't any real attempt at hostility, but it could quickly turn into a fight if Riza did not navigate this carefully. "I can't answer that question until I have the answers for myself, Winry.  I only know that the Colonel intended to subdue the bandits however he deemed necessary."

Winry stared at her, considering her words.  It would make sense that this woman hadn't had any contact with her superior officer since the start of their attack.  She knew she was being unreasonable, but she still couldn't quite swallow the hard lump of anger in her throat.  Those idiot boys!  She had told them something like this would happen!

"He's a powerful alchemist, but he's not an idiot." Riza offered as she saw Winry begin to slow down and think.  After a moment's consideration on her own part, Riza amended her statement. ". . . Mostly, anyway."

"An alchemist. . ?" Winry finally broke eye contact, her posture slumping in defeat as the anger drained out of her.  She looked down at the worn radio, focusing in on the small scratches and dents that revealed it as a well-used object.  She ran her finger over one scratch, tracing its path.  An alchemist was meant to be for the people, weren't they?  The military alchemists had proven themselves to be brutal, living weapons during Ishval though.  What if this alchemist had killed Ed and Al?  What would she do if the military took them from her too?  She felt hollow and tired.  She almost didn't want to know. The radio crackled back to life, bringing her back into the real world.

"Riza?  Riza, are you there?" The voice on the other end sounded concerned, breaking the last bit of Winry's resolve.  Those idiots had certainly gotten themselves into this mess.  It was only to be expected.  The woman with her now didn't appear to be in a rush to hurt her and seemed calm and trustworthy.  Perhaps she could trust her judgement on this other man.  She slowly set the radio down on the table in front of Riza before collapsing back into the booth again, head in her hands.  Those idiots had better be alright.

Riza quickly picked up the radio, sparing the slumped over girl a glace.  Her heart ached for the young woman, but she had a job to do.  She clicked on the connection.  "The situation on my end has also been handled, sir.  I have a young girl in custody and there appears to be no other hostiles but a full sweep has yet to be performed.  Over."

"First Lieutenant!"  Roy's voice sounded relieved.  "Finish up on your end and alert the others to meet me in the warehouse district.  I need a medical evac. Over."  

Winry made a choked sound from her corner of the booth and seemed to sink even further into it.  Hawkeye's brow furrowed in concern.  "For you sir? Over."

There was a short pause and Hawkeye could almost feel the weight of it crushing down on herself and the young girl.  She almost reached out to touch her, but thought better of it.  

"There's been an error in judgement concerning the targets.  I'll discuss it more with you in person, not over the radio.  Over."

Winry slammed her hand on the table.  "What does that mean?  What is that even supposed to mean?!"  She turned to Riza, fixing her with a deadly glare.  "Are those idiots alright or not?"

"Sir.  The young girl in my custody requests clarification.  Are, and I quote, 'those idiots alright?' Over."

"One idiot unharmed, one idiot alive but in need of medical attention." Roy replied, amusement leaking into his tone.  "Requesting haste, Lieutenant, we're exposed out here.  Over."  

---

Roy grunted with exertion as he worked with the young boy to drag the elder out of sight.   "What has this kid been eating, rocks?  He weighs a ton for someone his size!" He couldn't quite keep the astonishment off of his face as they worked - there was no reason why this pipsqueak of a boy should weigh even half this much.  Was he wearing armor? Was that what that glint was from earlier?  

The younger boy smiled at him, his round eyes lighting up in amusement.  "I'd not let brother hear you say that, if I were you. About his weight and size, I mean."  The boy paused.  "Especially his size."

They propped the elder brother up against a wall of the alley, out of the reach of the angry sun.  His head lolled slightly to the side and he appeared to be mumbling something under his breath.  The younger brother leaned close to him, frowning slightly as he listened to the mumbling. He fussed over him a bit, straightening the elder brother's coat as they got him settled in the shade while Roy looked on in concern.

"I'm serious though, he doesn't look like he should weigh that much.  Is there -"

"My name's Alphonse Elric."  The younger brother interrupted, sticking out his hand.  "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh. .  " Roy hesitated for a moment, caught off guard.  Was there something he was hiding?  He looked at the boy, all open honesty and smiles.  Surely not.  He clasped Alphonse's hand firmly and shook it.  "Colonel Roy Mustang, at your service.  I do hope you understand that I will be needing to ask you and your brother some questions."

Alphonse's face darkened for a moment and he glanced over to where his brother sat.  "Yeah.  I suspected as much." He sighed and looked up at the sky.  "Winry is going to kill us both when she finds out."  

"Well.  Then I'll have to make sure you answer my questions before she gets here."  

Alphonse looked a bit shocked at that, but let out a sharp laugh.  The elder brother jerked away, glaring between Alphonse and Mustang through his cat-like eyes.  

"Sorry brother, they caught us." Alphonse said, giving his brother a soft smile to reassure him that they weren't in any danger at the moment.  He blinked twice and glanced towards the alley, tilting his head a bit.  The elder brother gave him the slightest of nods before letting out a large, dramatic sigh.    

"Yeah well. . . Not your fault, Al."  The boy muttered, looking away from the two of them and off to the side, looking for all the world as if he wished to melt into the wall and get away from here.  "I'm the idiot who couldn't run fast enough."  He lowered his hands to the ground, fingers idly trailing in the dust as he looked off into the distance.

"I guess we can't just run fast enough to escape these guys. . . "Alphonse sighed, but couldn't quite keep the slight smile off his face. He shifted his weight, kicking up a small cloud of dust that he stared intently at.  It hung in the air for a moment before dissipating evenly, not blowing in any particular direction.  

Roy watched the two of them suspiciously.  The boys were acting strange.  But surely, they were just kids and they wouldn't -

"You know what that means though, right?"  The elder brother asked, a vicious looking grin spreading across his face as he raised his hand out from the dirt.  

"Ah!"  Al replied, clapping his hands together. "You're right brother!"

"It means we've just gotta be smarter rather than faster." The elder brother caught Mustang's eyes as the array he had been drawing in the dirt sparked alive with alchemical energy, the light darting up the wall and forming the shape of a doorway.  He leapt to his feet, wincing heavily as he turned to dart into the building.

"Goodbye, sir!  I'm sorry for all the trouble!"  Alphonse apologized before slamming his hands to the ground, tossing up yet another cloud of dirt to obscure them from view before Mustang could reach the boys to stop them.  There was another crackle of alchemical energy, sealing the wall behind them.    

The brothers laughed wildly as they ran through the building, throwing up walls behind them as they passed just in case the Colonel happened to be following.  "Winry is going to kill you, brother!"  Alphonse laughed, breaking through one wall to reach the outside of the building.  

"Not if this burn gets me first."  The elder brother grumbled, his pace slowing as they reached the outside.  Alphonse glanced back at his brother, his own pace slowing as well.

"We need to keep going, Ed."  Al pointed out, but concern made his voice rather soft for a reprimand.  

The elder brother grunted in response.  He was looking rather pale and sickly.  Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea.  The Colonel had seemed genuinely sorry for hurting him, after all.  Al glanced back the way they had come, wondering if the Colonel was following them.  He would have to run around the apartment building if he didn't stop to draw an array on the building to break down the wall and try to follow them that way. . . Which would give them some time, but not a whole lot.  They needed to get out of sight.  

"This way!" Al called, grabbing his brother by the arm and leading him over to the building just across the street.  Carefully but quickly, the climbed through the shattered store front window and into what appeared to have once been an old grocery store.  Faded advertisements for produce still hung grayly on the wall, corners peeling down with the weight of time and dust.  A few shelves still stood in disorderly rows throughout the building, some toppled over, some still standing, all displaying nothing more than dust and cobwebs for wares.  

Ed clapped his hands, alchemically repairing the shop window behind him before sneaking towards the back room of the store.  This was perfect - surely that military idiot wouldn't think to go looking for them in here, especially so close to where they had left him choking in their dust.  Besides, the employee room might still have some old medical supplies in the office - he could really use something to take the sting out of these burns. . . They were beginning to blister up and he wasn't quite sure that he liked the idea of dealing with that later rather than sooner.  

Al made to follow Edward, but paused, looking back at the path they had made through the building.  The window looked fresh, much cleaner than the rest of the storefronts in this area and he could clearly see the path of their footprints in the dust on the floor.  He frowned.  That was just too obvious.  Thinking quickly, he grabbed a pile of papers from off the store counter and walked over to the window, shaking the dust off of them and onto the unnaturally clean glass, dulling the shine somewhat.  He tossed the papers on the ground as he headed towards the back to hide his path.  What would his idiot brother do without him, anyway?

---

Mustang sputtered with indignation as the young boy's dust cloud burst up from the ground, crackling with alchemical energy.  Of all the dirty - ! He tried to run after the sounds of their footsteps, finding himself running straight into a solid wall instead, which he resisted the urge to punch as he heard the distant sounds of children's laughter from inside of the building.  He fumbled for his radio, eyes burning with anger as well as pain from the renewed dust storm that assaulted him.  He hastily retreated to an area of clear air before dialing up Hawkeye once again.  

"First Lieutenant!  What is the status on those reinforcements, over?" He snarled as he began making his way around the building, staying out of the dust cloud as much as possible.  

"They're on their way, sir.  Is there a problem, over?"

"The kids pulled a runner and I need more eyes and bodies on their trail, NOW." Roy snapped, before shoving the radio back into his pocket.  He ran for a few paces along the side of the building before he frowned, pulled it back out, and shouted "Over!" into it before pocketing it once more.  

Damn kids!  He grit his teeth as he came around to the front of the building, pausing to look for any sign to indicate which direction they had run too.  And damn, they were kids.  Which meant that he couldn't just go about blasting them again and they probably knew that.  Which meant that they had the advantage.  Damn KIDS!

Roy paced slowly up and down the street, glaring into the dusty store front windows as he waited for his team to arrive.  He should have been more prepared for something like this to happen.  They were children, after all, and children that appeared to be without parents.  Dangerous children.  And he had let his guard down like some wet-behind-the-ears private.  Well.  He certainly wasn't going to make that same mistake again.

It felt like hours before the others arrived, but in reality it had only taken minutes.  They spread out and searched the area to no avail - it was as if the children had vanished completely into thin air.  No footprints, no tell-tale hasty alchemical marks aside from those inside of the building they had originally darted into, not so much as a broken twig to mark their passing.  Mustang's hair became more and more disheveled as the day went by from him constantly running his fingers through it in stress.  By the time that the sun was setting, he was soaked in sweat, covered in dust, and was looking as if he had never even heard of the word "comb," let alone let one touch his spiked hair.  The men were beginning to avoid making eye contact with him when they spoke - afraid that if they looked too long they would burst into laughter and then immediately die from retaliatory immolation.  

In an act of desperation, Roy radioed Hawkeye and told her to bring the girl that she had found, hoping that maybe she would be able to figure out where they went.  He hadn't really known what to expect, but the blonde and lanky girl he saw walking towards him certainly wasn't it.  She certainly didn't look like any bandit he had seen before.  In fact, she looked like a normal teenage girl - aside from the grease stains and the mechanic's overalls she was wearing.  

"This is Winry, sir."  Hawkeye informed him, giving the Colonel a crisp salute.  "She was the only other person in the. . . vehicle and seems to be its sole mechanic."

Roy leveled his most charming smile at the girl and extended his hand for a handshake.  "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, ma'am.  It's nice to meet you, Ms. . . ?" he trailed off, hoping that she would supply her last name for him even though she'd been rather tight-lipped with Hawkeye by all accounts.

She stared at him, not even glancing at his offered handshake.  She was already in this deep enough.  Her vehicle was confiscated, she was in military custody, and worst of all she was separated from her friends.  She wasn't about to give this man any more information that could be used against her. The two locked gazes for a moment, neither wanting to give way in this silent test of wills.  Finally, it was Hawkeye who sighed and broke the tension between the two.

"Winry, it seems to me that you and your friends are in need of some help.  And while I can certainly understand that you might not trust as members of the military, surely you know as well as we do that we need to find your friend so that his injuries can be treated."

"What, so you can throw them in jail and let him rot?"  Winry scoffed, crossing her arms.  "I'm not stupid.  And I'm not about to help you, even if they are idiots who got their own idiot selves into this mess." As the two officers watched her in stoney silence, she swallowed hard and looked away from them.  She wasn't about to give her friends up.  She just wasn't.  Still, when she thought of Ed running around out there somewhere all burnt up and Al with no one to really watch out for them. . . Well.  Even if they were idiots, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves.  She was just going to have to trust them to take care of themselves and then to help her get out of this mess.  

Roy shoved down the urge to shout at her, running his fingers through his hair for what must be the millionth time today.  It did nothing to improve his appearance.  "Okay."  He said, more calmly than he felt.  "Okay.  So you have no intentions of cooperating with us.  That's fine."  He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, giving Winry a pitying look.  "Honestly, considering the ages of yourself and your compatriots, we were working under the assumption that you were a missing children's case rather than a group of bandits.  But that's fine.  We can play it your way too."

He turned sharply towards the rest of his men, who were searching the streets nearby.  "Second Lieutenant Havoc!"

"Sir!" Havoc responded, running up to his commander and giving him a salute. Roy nodded at him and gestured over towards Winry.

"Please escort our bandit friend here to the prison and get her booked in.  And bind her hands.  She hasn't shown any alchemical aptitude so far but. . . Its better safe than sorry."

". . . Yes, sir." Havoc looked a little hesitant himself, but he wasn't about to disobey a direct order from the Colonel.  He pulled the alchemical cuffs from out of his jacket - a modified design that pinned the fingers together as well as the wrists in order to prevent an alchemist from drawing an array that might allow them to escape.  He gave the girl what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he walked towards her.  "Alright, ma'am, you heard him.  It'll be easier on the both of us if you just come quietly."

"Ahh!  Wait!"  Winry took a step backwards, eyeing the heavy looking handcuffs in Havoc's hand.  "Listen, I'm not a bandit.  I'm just a mechanic, that's all!"

"But you have admitted to being an accomplice to Alphonse Elric and his brother." Roy reminded her, calmly.  

Winry tried to keep the shock off her face at the sound of Al's full name.  "Well. . . Yes.  They are my friends."  She admitted.  Where had they gotten that information?  It was entirely possible that Al had offered it up himself of his own free will, but it could also mean treachery.  She frowned.  This was all too much for her, to be honest.  Games within games. . . She just wasn't cut out for this kind of life.  But, she supposed that this is what she had gotten herself into when she chose to chase after the Elrics late that night. . . "But they aren't bandits either.  Well.  Not really, anyway."

"Is that so?  And how exactly does massive property damage, theft, and general mayhem not add up to being a bandit?"

"Look, they always put it back, don't they?  They always go back and fix the buildings and sometimes they even return the books when they are done with them."

"Wait. . . Is that true?"

[scene involving checking paperwork, yada yada]

"If they're going to go through all that trouble anyway, why not just ask for permission to access the books?"

"Oh right, because you military dogs are really going to let a couple of teenagers look at top-secret alchemy books without asking too many questions or trying to find their parents. Besides.  They did try that at first.  It went about as well as could be expected."

***

Edward could not get comfortable.  No matter how he sat or stood or leaned or even breathed, everything hurt.  He felt like his skin was pressed up against a hot iron, and to make matters worse, bits of his coat seemed near-fused to his flesh and if he was being honest with himself, he was a little afraid to try pulling it off.  Stupid Colonel!  What kind of crazy asshole used flame alchemy anyway?  He was pretty sure that he had heard of the guy before, some sort of bigshot from the Ishvallen "war" back in the day.  He was apparently really good at burning innocent people alive.  Figures.

"Would you stop fidgeting around?"  Al scolded him, somehow managing to sound stern despite his childish voice.  "You're only going to make it worse."

"Ugghhhh, maybe but that doesn't make it any easier!"  Ed whined, and did his best to hold still for a few moments before jumping to his feet and pacing around the back room again.  It HURT, dammit!  

"Ed!  Sit down!  Listen, it was your bright idea to run away in the first place!  If we'd just have stayed with the Colonel, you'd probably be drowning in aloe vera right now."

"Well, you followed me!"

"What, was I supposed to just leave you behind?!"

"Ugh!"

"Ughh!!!!"

Huffing loudly, Al flopped down on the cold floor next to his brother.  They were silent for a moment, staring up at the ceiling in the near-darkness of the forgotten room.  "I wonder how Winry's doing. . ."  Al mused quietly, thinking of how scared she must be to be in military custody right now, considering what had happened to her parents.

"She's fine, obviously.  I'll bet she's already told them our whole life stories and is helping them to track us down."

"Winry wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, you're right.  She wouldn't."

"She also probably wouldn't run away and leave one of us in the custody of the military police."

". . . Yeah."

". . . We're gonna have to go back and get her."

". . . Yeah."

Ed fell to the ground behind one of the aging displays, sending up a small cloud of dust as he fell.  He was breathing hard but smirking slightly.  He brushed some of his golden hair from his face with a shaking hand.  Adults were always such idiots.  They always drop their guard the moment that they think they have won. . . And never stop to think that maybe they shouldn't turn their back on a couple of kids.  Never mind whether they are alchemists or not.

Al bent to check on him, cherubic face darkened with worry.  "Are you doing okay, brother?" Edward looked him over, feeling the familiar tinge of guilt in his chest for his ever-young brother.  Stuck in a body that was meant to be his, but still apart from it. . . He knew Al always told him that he didn't mind, that he was thankful to as least still be alive after that terrible night, but Ed could never quite bring himself to believe it.  Right now, Al should be thinking about girls and homework and maybe sports like a regular teenager.  Instead he was. . . Edward looked away from him, frowning.

"Yeah. . . I just need a minute. Ughhh, getting burnt hurts like a bitch, that's for sure."  Ed gently ran his hand over his throbbing face, feeling the heat still trapped within his skin.  He could feel his heartbeat beneath his fingertips and it was getting hard to think past the pain.  "We’re going to need to think up a plan to get Winry back, it looks like."

"Yeah, and our truck too."  Al said with a frown.  "We won't be able to go back into the desert without it.  And I don't think they like us here very much. . . "

Edward barked out a laugh.  "Certainly not after that!"

"Do you think we'll still have time to go back and fix everything. . .?"

"Well, we're going to have to make it.  We're not some damn bandits.  I don't want to make the people of this town's lives any harder than I have to, even if it would help annoy the military a little more than usual."  

Ed wiped some sweat from his brow.  Was it getting hotter in here? It was hard to tell when you were wearing a heavy coat and sporting second degree burns, he guessed.  As he stripped off his coat, his automail arm gleamed softly in the dusty sunlight that shone weakly through the storefront window.  It was scratched up and dented - the signs of a life hard lived.  And dusty too, he noted, glancing over it.  Winry was going to have a fit at him for getting dirt inside of the joints again.

He folded the heavy coat carefully, sitting it in his lap.  It might be too hot for such a garment, but he wasn't about to let go of it. The bright red cloth was probably not the best choice for staying hidden, but he couldn't help it.  He never was one to hide, after all.  Stealth was absolutely not his strong suit. . . That was more Al and Winry.  

Geeze though, it really was getting hot in here.  He shifted his position a bit, sending up yet another cloud of dust.  Coughing, he stood up, deciding to go look for the Employee's back room.  With any luck, they might still have some burn cream or something back there in the office's med kid. . . Well, probably not, but it was better to look and find out than to assume that there was nothing there and maybe miss out on it.  

He stretched lazily, feeling his shoulder joints pop as he stretched out the tired muscles.  After all of this was over, he wanted a nice cold bath.  And a 10 hour nap.  That's for sure.  He paused as he caught the glint of something red in the middle of his arm and turned around slowly.  Oh.  Oh no.  

"Al. . ?"  He said cautiously, looking down at the small boy who was sitting on the bottom shelf of the grocery display. "Al, we gotta go." He threw his coat over his shoulder and walked quickly to where his brother sat, his uneven fait more pronounced than usual in his haste.  

"Hm?  What for?  If we run out of here, we risk getting caught."

"Al, I need you to stay calm, but we've got to get out of here.  Right now.  Hurry, come this way."

"Brother?  You're scaring me. . . "  Al stood up, creeping warily over to his brother.  Ed grabbed him by the arm and pushed him out in front, making sure to keep Al's back to the store front window.  The two brothers moved quickly through the back of the store, Ed urging them on faster and faster.  

Al could feel his heart pounding in his chest, even through the numbness of his body. What was going on?  Did the Colonel find us?  Why the hurry?  He tried glancing back over his shoulder, but Edward kept blocking his view of whatever was behind them.  Honestly, he wished that he would just let him look.  The anxiety of not knowing was surely worse than whatever was back there.

They headed into the back of the house, heading through the empty stock room to the heavy steel door that was the back entrance of the building.  As they went, they were picking up speed until they were almost running full speed.  "Where are we going, Ed?"  Al asked, not really expecting an answer.  

"Away."  Ed slammed himself into the push bar of the back dock door and into the bright light of the afternoon sun.  He was hit in the face immediately with an intense wall of heat and his heart sank.  There was no way.  There was. . . No way.

A giant wall of flame surrounded the grocery store, far too high to jump over and much too hot to contemplate going through.  Sparks lingered on the air and a choking cloud of thick black smoke was beginning to roll out of the store.  

[quisquiliansquidilian]

So here’s the thing - I’m writing 1k a day and drawing for 30 minutes.  I was using this as my private diary blog and now it’s my WIP dump blog.  Enjoy, I guess?? Gonna use the tags 1k and 30min to differentiate the posts.  And. . . that’s all the rules I have for myself.  Draw for 30 minutes and post the progress.  Then write 1k words of whatever.  Probably gonna work on my fanfiction.  Might just write prompts.  Either way, we makin’ it happen.  Doing the things.  Hey, commit to something, will ya?