20Golden Dominion
Disclaimer: I Don't Own FMA in Any Way.
Rating: PG—PG-13 Due To Bad Language, Blood and Graphic Scenes.
A/N: I wrote this when my internet was down XP I was bored. Please be somewhat open-minded.
WARNING: Minor spoilers to chapter 77 (or earlier but still in this area) of the manga and much earlier chapters.
F-M-A
Blood was dripping down his neck, face and chest as he walked with a half-busted Automail leg and a flesh arm covering the injury on his chest. He could easily feel the crimson liquid seeping into his clothes and sliding, leisurely, down his skin. The very smell of it was filling into his nostrils and making him slightly sick. There was blood on the tips of his fingers but he dare not stop. Not now when he was so close.
The teen's golden eyes stayed tense as he groaned from all the pain his body was enduring. Time was of the essence, however. It was the middle of the night and he had already lost far too much blood. If he didn't get to his destination soon, he would pass out from exhaustion before dying from loss of blood. That was an option he didn't wish to take. He had been through enough and just had one thing in mind.
Nothing mattered to him at this point. Only if he would make it before his body shut down. His Automail limb, although in one piece, had a few snapped wires and a few nerves that had disconnected. Even now, he could feel a few that wanted to disconnect but were straining to hold on. His metallic arm was in the same condition; the plate over it had broken in half, exposing all the wires that had wrecked or were struggling to stay connected to the beat and battered arm.
In simple, he looked like he had been to hell and back. Ironically, that's what he was telling himself. He didn't want to think about the incident that had caused this nor did he wish to have to explain it later. To neither his friend nor younger sibling. He knew, however, that when he would get home it would be the very opposite; he'd get a mouthful from both.
The night couldn't have possibly gotten worse at this point for him. But, of course, he knew that things could always get worse for him. It began to rain, first a light sprinkle before transforming into a huge downpour. The young man shrugged and forced his body to continue. His muscles ached so much from the hard work; he had already pushed his body over the limit but was still going.
If that had not been enough, he began to hear a loud growl from behind him. His golden orbs widened and he forced his head to look over his shoulder. He could see a large form, at least half his own size, on four big paws, each armed with shining claws that looked ready to tear him limb from limb. It had glowing yellow eyes and looked at least four or five feet long, from the tip of its nose to the end of its long, dark-furred tail. The blonde young man's breath became heavier than what it already was but he dare not move. He couldn't show fear; the beast would probably sense it.
The large silhouette growled and snarled its large fangs at the young man before it. The muscles in its front legs were firm, as were its back legs, not willing to be brought down so easily by whatever tricks the blonde may have. Its long snout was filled with one main smell; blood. Blood and open flesh, just waiting to be torn open further. The thing's claws and fangs were already a light crimson, indicating it had recently preyed on something but was probably looking for a snack.
Whatever it was, it surprised the golden blonde in more ways than one. Since when was there such a creature in his hometown? Did it arrive recently? Was it killing others? The last thought made the young Alchemist quiver but also glare slightly.
He forced his entire body to turn around as he kept his head lowered, his bangs creating a shadow over his eyes. He, himself, snarled his own teeth at whatever it was and he also seemed to growl lowly. The wolf-like creature engraved its front claws into the wet ground below it, preparing to pounce on the young human before it if need be. Its broad shoulders tensed and its snarl intensified in volume. Even the hair on the back of its spine rose on edge, trying to appear itself more intimidating.
It was now that the young blonde finally revealed his eyes to the beast; his golden eyes glowed with anger and hatred as his eyebrows tensed as much as they could. His upper right lip lifted in even more anger towards the thing. His eyes, however, burned with more pure loathing than anything else; a hatred unidentified by neither man nor beast. The moment the wolf-like being peered into the amber eyes, its legs seemed to go weak as its yellow eyes widened and it restrained the urge to cry silently. This was no human to mess with; he was none other than the great Edward Elric.
It was the Elric's rare golden eyes that made this canine go weak at the knees. Instead of falling, however, it lowered its head and folded a front right leg below itself; it bowed, honored to see those eyes and feel their gaze upon it. It let itself into complete vulnerability as it offered itself to him. Edward was slightly confused, to say the least. He groaned from some pain at his chest before brushing it aside and, carefully, limping towards the darkish form.
Edward's glare had softened now as he felt the rain pelt upon his skin, causing the blood over his body to roll down until it fell off and onto the ground below. Grunting rather painfully, he managed to get down on one knee before the large canine. Nervously but courageously, he brought down his flesh hand and placed his palm, gently, upon the creatures forehead. In response, the large-pawed animal hummed lowly, in a seemingly happy tone. Ed rubbed his hand on its forehead.
"Good dog," he mumbled silently, continuing to gently pet the large, black wolf-like thing as if it were a well-trained puppy. He recoiled his hand to the harsh injury at his chest. "If you can understand me," Ed said in a stern but humble voice. The yellow eyes of the big canine lifted and looked into the golden orbs. "I need a favor," Edward struggled but then shrugged, once again, in pain.
The largely-built wolf dared to place its snout next to Ed's face and gently lick him caringly, hoping to soothe the pain that was evident in the young teens body. The Elric looked up into the yellow eyes of his apparent animal ally. He felt another soft lick to his face before smiling fondly. The wolf stepped horizontally before Edward and then lay down, giving the Elric a chance to get on his back. The Alchemist took the offer before carefully pulling his flesh leg over the body of this mysterious creature.
Ed then lay his body down, giving the onyx wolf permission to stand once more. Of course, it carefully came to its feet and looked over its shoulder to make sure Edward was alright. The golden-haired teenager looked up.
"At the end of the trail," he said in a wounded voice. "There's a house…I need you to take me there." The beast seemed to nod at the struggled order before nuzzling its snout with Ed's face and then looking ahead. "By the way," Ed apparently had one more request. "Try and get there fast but not too much…I won't be able to hold on like this. But I need to get there ASAP," he explained.
The wolf began walking before it trotted to a faster speed, careful but still listening to the orders of the golden-eyed Alchemist. It could see the house that Ed had been speaking of and tried to get there as fast as it could but still making sure that its 'master' was safe every so often. Edward, on the other hand, nuzzled his face into the warm fur of the big wolf carrying him. The fur was damp from the rain but surprisingly soft; it reminded him a bit of the coat he would wear during the winter that had white faux fur on the rim of the hood. He allowed his rare golden orbs to close and rest as he waited for the canine's arrival.
F-M-A
Winry sat at the small table that sat next to a window which looked out to town. A hand was supporting her face as she, worriedly, looked out, hoping to see a familiar silhouette walking, even under the terrible rainstorm, towards her home. She sighed sadly. She could hear the rain pelting hard on the window. The blonde brought up her free hand and began trailing along the unusual pattern of the raindrops on the glass.
Doing this small act could only preoccupy her for so long before her mind strayed, once more, towards her friend, Edward Elric. He had been gone for a few weeks now, due to some business he needed to get done with. He had gone alone, especially after getting back the body of his younger brother, Alphonse Elric. Edward had explained that he didn't want to live though the hell he lived through again, therefore it was completely necessary that Al stay behind where he was safe. It only left the younger Elric and her pained.
Winry had even resorted to yelling at the elder that he had promised when they were younger that the next tears she cried would be of joy. She called him a liar and a bastard for promising that and then leaving, making her cry once more; tears of sadness. She knew she had hurt him more than she would've liked because he left the very next day, barely saying a word to her. Which was exactly why she was so worried now; she was afraid he would never speak to her again, or worse, never come back. She was positive he'd come back, however; the elder still had a young sibling to think about, whom he still needed to care for.
The younger Elric, of which, was currently asleep upstairs, as was the Rockbell's grandmother. Winry was the only one awake; she had lost much sleep over the past few weeks, due to the ordeal of Edward's leaving. She managed to get sleep but very little, as her nights were filled with nightmares and much tossing and turning. Her eyes drooped sadly; she would be heading up soon, to another hopeless night of trying to get some proper sleep. Another sigh escaped her lips.
She, once again, looked out the window. Her cerulean eyes were met with darkness and heavy rain. Finally accepting that Ed would not return tonight, she stood up and walked towards the living room. As she was about to shut off the lights, a slight scratching noise came from the front door. Winry raised a curious brow as she walked towards the alcove of her front door.
She stood still and waited for the sound to come once again. After a few seconds, the scratch came; it was slightly louder and accompanied by what seemed to be slight cries of a dog. Finally, Winry, cautiously, placed her hand on the doorknob before unlocking the door and opening it. When her eyes landed on a large, dark form, she gasped and took a few steps back before tripping and falling. Her eyes were filled with edginess.
"Win…Winry," a struggled voice came from the large creature and Winry could somewhat recognize the sound. The large wolf stepped inside, making Winry tense further. Once the creature was completely inside the Rockbell home, it lay down on the floor completely; the blonde Rockbell could easily see that it was panting and looked exhausted. What caught her eye, however, was another form that was lying on the back of the canine. Nervously, she stood up and her eyes widened; she could see blonde hair behind the creatures head. Not just any blonde; golden blonde.
Rapidly, she closed and locked the front door before coming to the large dog's side and placing her hand nervously, on the shoulder of her friend.
"Ed…Edward, is that really you?" she nervously asked. It was then that the young man opened his eyes and carefully looked up to the Automail tech.
"Winry…" the elder Elric struggled to say as he forced his body to roll off the back of the wolf and onto the ground in front of Winry. The Rockbell's eyes widened at the condition the elder Alchemist was in. Jumpily, she reached a hand down towards his soaked chest. Once her hand landed on his black tank top-covered chest, she could easily feel the dampness in the material and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. That is, of course, until she pulled her hand back in front of her face; her eyes widened further at the sight of crimson blood.
"Ed, what happened to you!?" she asked worriedly. The Alchemist shrugged in pain before looking up to her.
"I went to hell and back…again," he replied silently. Suddenly, the large wolf stood up and nuzzled its snout, once again, next to the Elric's face, trying to comfort him. Ed forced his flesh arm to reach up and pet the beast behind the ear. Winry was just shocked that Edward somehow had some kind of dominion over this creature when it should be tearing both of them limb from limb. She was left speechless until it finally hit her.
It wasn't Ed that held the dominion but what he had; his eyes, that is.
Those golden eyes hold dominion over all wild beasts. She understood now; the wolf was under Ed's control only because his eyes were the color they were. Winry let out a shaky breath as the muscles in her body began stiffening. The black wolf lay down next to Ed and continued licking his face or giving him a sweet nuzzle; it was like it was a mother trying to protect her cub when it was already injured. Winry swallowed a large lump in her throat.
"Ed," she dared to speak. "If you were so beat up…why didn't you go to a hospital?" she asked nervously as she carefully came closer to him. Edward looked up and brought up his flesh arm while his elbow supported it. He shrugged from the pain, once again, before brining up his flesh leg as well and replying.
"I wanted to see you…just to let you know I was OK…or semi-OK, technically," he explained before grimacing. Winry's eyes fell, saddened but also the tiniest bit surprised that the Elric would go through so much trouble just to let her know he was alive. Without thinking, she took his flesh hand in her own and forced a smile to appear on her face.
"You didn't have to do that," she told him softly.
"Actually, I did," he denied immediately. "I'm sorry I made you cry when I left Winry…I didn't want to but it was my fault, I know. What you said about me was true; I've been a lying bastard to you and you didn't deserve that…I'm sorry I broke my promise and…I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon. It doesn't matter how many times I apologize, I know I can never fix what I've done to you. I don't hate you for what you told me…I could never hate you for something as minor as that," he explained sadly, forcing the muscles in his flesh hand to tighten around Winry's hand.
The blonde Rockbell widened her eyes at his words before daring to reach over with her other hand and gently brush aside his damp hair from the front of his eyes. The wolf at Ed's opposite side cried lowly before gently licking his neck once. Edward himself dare not tear his gaze away from Winry's; he wanted to read whatever it was that was going on in her head and didn't want her to let go. He even tightened his grip on her hand, begging her to respond. So that's what she did.
"You never did anything wrong to me, Ed. I shouldn't have put so much pressure on you; I knew you were just trying to protect me but…all I wanted to do was help you. I'm the one who should be sorry and I am," she began, lowering her head so that her bangs created a shadow before her eyes. "It was never my intention to add more stress to your life, Ed. It just frustrated me so much that you and Al never told me anything…I'm sorry," she forced herself to hold back the tears in her eyes but her shoulders trembled anxiously.
Ed gave his friend a saddened look before shrugging and letting go of her hand. Agonizingly, he forced himself to sit up so he could look her in the eye more easily.
"Winry, please," he pleaded with a hint of jumpiness in his voice. "Don't cry, I don't want to see you cry…not like this." Winry stayed silent as she forced the tears away. She knew what Edward had meant with those words; he didn't want to see her sad. He didn't want to break his promise any further.
The young Automail tech brought her wrists together at her knees as she continued to stare downward and away from Ed. Her shoulders were still trembling as she struggled to hold everything back. Not only her tears but the things she wanted to tell Edward so badly; the things she had been holding inside of her for a long while now.
"Winry," Ed mumbled as he forced his body to kneel in front of his friend. Gently, he brought up his hands to her shoulders, hoping to stop her nervous shaking. The young woman looked up to him finally before quickly embracing him by wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into the wet crook of his neck. She held onto him tightly and, surprisingly, began to feel his arms snaking their way around her small waist. The female blonde could feel his breath in her head as he was burying his own face into her hair.
The mechanic could feel some blood on her fingertips and even on her chest as she hugged him. She didn't want to pull away, however; she wanted this moment to last. She hadn't gotten so close to the Elric in a long while. Sadly, it would be short-lasted. Ed, unwillingly, pulled away from the young woman in his arms and placed his left hand over his injury once more.
"Everything hurts…" he mumbled before, finally, his muscles locked and all signals from the brain failed. The Elric blacked out and let his body fall, unconscious, to his side. He was too exhausted to keep going and had lost more blood than he would've liked.
F-M-A
A/N: Dang it, this was supposed to be a one-shot! DX Me and my big imagination, making everything more complicated than it should be XP Anyway, please R&R, constructive criticism, no flames ;) thanks!
By the way, I did not just write this today; I actually wrote this a LONG while ago when my internet was being bitchy XP Also, sorry for the randomness of it; I had gone about two or three days without internet and was really bored DX
And, just so you all know, I am not, for the life of me, sure if I will continue this story :P It was just something I typed up to satisfy my complete and utter boredom DX