• ❁Alchemic Scars [Editing]❁ •

Chapter 22 - Winry Rockbell Meets Maes Hughes

(art above does not belong to me)

Chapter 22 - Winry Rockbell Meets Maes Hughs.

Down the winding halls of the hospital, a ward sits peacefully in the quiet afternoon. The curtains are drawn to the sides in this room, pinned open by small strings attached at the furthest wall. The light from the sun outside shines in, in golden rays. The place is almost silent, apart from the small creaks and tweaking sounds from tools put to work. Laid on a small table is a silver, metal toolbox, the contents of it spilled out over the wooden surface. A gloved hand reaches for a spanner, knocking aside small nuts and bolts as it picks up its target.

"Now that I think about it," Winry ponders while whipping the sweat off of her forehead, abruptly going back to servicing the arm in front of her. "When you left our shop, you said, 'Once I get my old body back, I'm not gonna need Granny or Winry anymore!'. But you still have the Auto-mail. No luck with the stone, huh?"

Edward grumbles as he shifts slightly, finding the position of his right arm uncomfortable when Winry lifts it upwards to examine it.

"Shut up!" He demands. "There's a lot of stuff that's getting in our way! It looks like I'm going to be stuck with this Auto-mail for a while. Al's gonna have to stay the way he is, too..." Edward takes a moment to think, pondering over something. "Al's... Been acting kind of strange lately."

"Strange?" Winry questions.

"Yeah, He doesn't talk much. It's like he's lost in his own thoughts."

"Oh!" Brosh intervenes from Edward's left. "Maybe he's in shock from when I punched him?!"

"Please. As if he'd be in shock over such a little thing. He's not that wimpy."

"...I wonder what's bothering him." Winry questions out-loud, hitting the spanner against her bottom lip.

"You can't figure it out either, huh, Winry?"

"You're always with him, and you don't know what's wrong. How would I know?"

"You know what I think?" Sergeant Brosh asks while blushing ever so slightly. "I think he's love-struck!"

"Don't compare him with you, you love-obsessed freak," Edward yells at the soldier.

I feel a corner of my lips lift slightly as I watch Brosh fall to the floor, injured by the insult. He mumbles Edward's words over and over, just loud enough for us to make out the sentence.

"Okay!" Winry exclaims happily. "The repairs are all complete."

"Hm? Thanks." Edward says, lifting himself up from his laying position. He swings his arm back and forth to check the movement capability. "Yes! Good as new! Right on!"

"Now you have to let the rest of your body heal."

"Yeah, Yeah." Edward shoos her comment off as he fastens his hospital robe over his chest.

"Now, Elleah, let me have a look at your-" Winry cuts herself off when she turns around to my corner of the room. She looks from left to right hurriedly trying to find something - supposedly me. Eventually, she looks down and notices me cross-legged on the floor, tucked away peacefully in the corner. "What's with you and sitting on floors?!"

"I like it down here," I state with a blank look. "Do you have something against me doing it?"

"How the hell can you-you know what, never mind. Stand up so I can look at your auto-mail."

I protectively grab my arm. "Why do you need to? There's nothing wrong with it."

"Don't lie to me Elleah. I heard it earlier. There's something wrong, and you know it!"