The Jungle Book Effect (part 9)
The Jungle Book Effect
Title: The Jungle Book Effect
Author: Blue_Stem_cell
Pairing: Ed/al (sort of) ;D
Genre: Zoofic/Romance/Drama
Rating: 13+
Summary: An adolescent Elric pair are found injured out in the streets. The Alphonse covers the unconscious Edward protectively but a closer look reveals something not quite right with it. Is that really an Elric?
A/N: A whole year later…*cough* I’ve been wanting to update this for months/years-ish but other thing’s such as life, university and work kept getting in the way. I’m so sorry to the few people who wanted me to update this. Since Icebane was updated, I have felt nothing but this fan fiction niggling away at the back of mind. So thank you to Cryogenia for inspiring me to write more. =3
It seems I’m addicted to crack after all…
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The Hayes Alchemical vet practise was only a small thing, attached to the house with a few enclosure built onto that. They where secluded in a little patch of tree’s, a housing estate not three miles down the road. As Bambi was always with him, Jack knew he’d need an enclosure just for him and his mate but they generally had free run of the house. The animals they usually received where wild, ready to release back into the forests not long after. He didn’t believe it correct to keep all the animals that came his way. Bambi and Ally where the exception and he supposed now that so was the Alphonse and Forrest.
A week later and the cast on Forrest’s arm was due to be removed. His social worker had scheduled for an interview a few hours after it’s removal which did not give Jack very long to sort out what he was going to suggest. That the boy would stay with him and his wife permanently even if it meant dragging himself through the court system. It would prove beneficial to both the boy and the Alphonse, separating them would be cruel. However, he seemed to find no problems with what he was proposing but first thing was first, he had to catch the little thing.
The boy, though small for his age, had a much greater will of stamina than of the young doctor or any of his assistant’s. Their problem had been when they let the boy out of enclosure without an escort or a leash; he was very hard to entice back into it. Though one word in Elric from the Alphonse would have him running back in with a panicked expression, it seemed the Foe was not being quite himself of late.
“Forrest! I swear if you don’t get down from there mister-” Though Jack’s effort’s went highly unnoticed by the human-Edward who stuck out his tongue and climbed further still up the tree. The boy was not stupid, there was tension in the air and the word “hos-peetal” and “Dok-tore” had crept up once again. Forrest knew that whenever those words where mentioned he’d be carted off in human pelt’s without Alphonse to the place that smelt of death and decay. No! This time he would be staying put, even if he had to spend all night up in the dammed tree.
“Do you think it was a bad idea letting him outside?” Beth asked with a sheepish smile, rubbing at the back of her neck. When the little boy had strode up to her and pointed at the back door, her first idea was that he had simply wanted fresh air, to run around in the garden. But he had shot out and straight up the tree and now would not be persuaded to come down. Jack had thought about scolding his apprentice momentarily but knew that it was not her fault. Really, it was his own for not seeing something so problematic crop up.
“It’s not your fault Beth, really.” He smiled at her but it slipped from his face when Forrest proceeded to throw a large stick from his high perch. They ducked under the porch, the wood clattered from the top of the roof. “How long did you say it was until his appointment?” She asked, biting down on her lip. Honestly, the red headed girl really did think it was her fault, she just couldn’t help the boy’s large pleading eye’s. It really was like looking at a child and getting upset at the thought of making it cry.
“Not for another two hour’s, but if we don’t get him down within the next twenty minutes there’s no way we’re going to get him ready and out to the car.” Jack frowned and rubbed his chin as he tried to desperately think of a strategy. The Alphonse was no help, it was being just as moody and uncooperative and had bitten Sonny again for the first time it weeks.
“You don’t think they‘re still fighting, do you?” The girl questioned, listening as the little boy climbed further still up the tree. It was not really an Edward trait, but they did tend to live in large forests after all. Besides, even as a child she would climb tree’s even higher than her own house, any child could do it.
Jack sighed and gave an open palmed shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know, maybe. They’ve been acting odd since Daniel went to see them. I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone with them.” He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, all their hard work had evaporated into nearly nothing because of one silly little gesture. Really, Jack knew it was his own fault but he had the feeling Forrest was taking the blame for it.
The little Edward boy sighed as he wrapped his arm’s around the trunk of the tree and rested his cheek against it. It was scratchy and uninviting but everything else had been that way to for the last few day’s. All he had ever wanted to do was make his Alphonse happy, to find him food and make him smile. Then he was hit by the metal box and they both wound up in the hand’s of humans. It was his fault, he knew that. So why did it hurt when Alphonse had shouted at him for it?
Three day’s previously, the two Elric’s had been sat happily with each other, chattering away as they did pouring over book’s and the idea of where to go once the Jack human had let them go. It was then that Daniel had appeared and the mood had turned sour.
“Hey there little guy.” The college boy entered the room as he usually did, cheerful but cautious and sat closest to the door should the Alphonse change his mind. He was ignored for the most part, he posed no threat. This time though, the boy closed the door, something he had never done previously. Forrest heard the sound of the lock click by paid it even less attention than the fawn haired human.
<“We should head East. That way we won’t be back tracking. We’ll head towards the forests and away from the towns.”> Said Alphonse with his authoritative little tone, taking the lead like he always did. Edward shrugged, he wasn’t really fussed. <“But…What about Jack?>“ He questioned, turning the page of the large book in his lap, causing Alphonse to frown. <“What about him? Your arm will be fixed, and he’ll have to let us go. That Edward said so.”>
Edward shrugged his shoulder’s softly, flicked the page and let his eye’s dart up towards his mates. <“But what if…what if we stayed here?”> He asked timidly, keeping his gaze with his mates.
Alphonse regarded him for several seconds before scoffing and getting to his feet. <“Sometimes you sound more like a kitten than an adult Nii-san.”> Edward watched as Alphonse circled around him, his eye’s fixed upon Daniel before resting behind his younger mate. He began to un-braid his hair, to fix it properly so it would be neat and shinny like normal, not sleep tussled like it’s current state. Edward fell silent for a few second’s before he turned and swatted his mates finger’s away from his hair. <“I can do it myself!”> he snapped and shuffled away from his bemused mate and began to comb out his hair with his fingers. In his attempt to be on his own, he had shuffled closer to Daniel but still regarded him as a forgotten piece of fruit.
<“Not with your arm like that! Get back over here Edward!”> The Alphonse stamped his foot but Edward only stuck his nose up in the air and stubbornly began to try and braid his hair. Not that he could do very much with his left arm still potted up in plaster, making the angle of his elbow awkward and painful.
“Are you two fighting over hair? Honestly?” Daniel rolled his eye’s and leaned forward, his finger tip’s brushing through Forrest’s wavy hair. The Edward boy froze suddenly, his shoulder’s becoming rigid as Daniel shuffled closer and began to comb through his hair with his finger’s.
Alphonse was up in a flash and a blur. <“DON’T TOUCH HIM!”> he shouted, an angry howl coming from his throat as he lunged towards the human boy. The boy had seconds to act but froze upon the spot, his eye’s wide in fear as the wild animal back handed him hard across the mouth. It sent him to the ground, skin splitting against his gums and teeth, blood spilling into his mouth, trickling over his lips. Dazed and confused he stared at the ceiling, at the animal that towered over him with it’s fist curled into a ball. It reared it’s arm back, ready to strike when an anguished little voice cried out and Forrest threw himself onto Foe’s arm. The Edward boy cried his strange Elric language, with his wide green eye’s turned upwards towards his mates golden ones. But it tossed him aside to the corner, snarled at him and turned his back towards Daniel who blinked several times.
It was then he realised just what danger he was in and unfroze from his terrified state. Dodging the Alphonse’s fist, the boy scrambled for the door, rattled the handle but found that it wouldn’t open. He had stupidly closed it, stopping his only plausible escape.
Hammering on the door, he called for anyone that would listen. “JACK! HELP…SOME ONE-” Out of the corner of his eye he watched as the Alphonse made it’s move to clap and he shut his eye’s so tight that spot’s began to float against his vision. The sound of the clap never came though, only the noise of two thing’s scrapping.
Daniel opened his eye’s and watched as Forrest tackled the older and larger Alphonse, pinning him to the ground by his shoulder’s. They snarled at each other, Alphonse trying to swipe his hand’s at his little mate but to no avail.
<“See! See! This is why we have to leave!”> Alphonse snarled, brought his leg up and kneed the poor little blonde in the back. It sent him to ground, spread across his mate as he grasped for breath. The older Elric swiftly jumped to his feet, grabbed his smaller mate by the scruff of his neck and yanked him to his feet.
<“The humans are doing something to you! You where never like this before…before that dammed box hit you!”> The Alphonse took his Edward by the shoulder’s, thought if he could shake the stupidity out of him he’d see sense.
Daniel watched in horror, his hammering on the door momentarily paused. Foe had taken Forrest by the shoulder’s, was shaking him so hard that when he stopped, the little boy’s head simply rolled to the side, unsupported by his neck.
“L-Leave him alone!” Daniel tried shouting, but only a thin trail of word’s poured out of his mouth.
Alphonse dropped his mate to the ground and made his move to storm over to the human boy. To knock him around the ear’s, to show him whose territory he was in and how dare he touch his Edward! But he never made it that far. The door was opened quickly and a blur of brown pelts and a flash of blonde hair shot through the room. The adult Edward pinned Alphonse to the ground, knocking him down and out weighing him in both size and strength.
“The hell!” Jack appeared in the door way, panting with Sonny in toe. The college boy scrambled to his feet and was out the door in a flash, sprinting down the corridor as fast as his long giraffe like leg’s would carry him.
“Bam. Bam let up. Come on, up.” Jack strolled into the room, seized his animal by the pelts and pulled him back, leaving the Alphonse both confused and dazed. “Out side. Go Edward!” it was rare when Jack had to address Bambi as Edward but the Elric looked at him, panting with wild eye’s before it nodded his head and stalked from the room. He grabbed Ally around the shoulder’s, the younger Alphonse had wanted to see what the fuss was all about, and pulled him towards their own enclosure.
<“But what happened?>“ Ally asked, trying to keep up with his Edward who had greater strides than he did. Bambi said nothing and pointed down the corridor at the college boy with his back pressed up against the wall. Breathing, it seemed, was a hard thing to accomplish and the smell of blood smeared across his face only made Bambi growl.
Foe jumped to his feet, ready for round two if he had too. Growling at Jack, he made to attack him but stopped when a small blur shot passed him. Looking down, he watched with wide eye’s as Forrest jumped in front of Jack with his hand’s spread out wide.
<“If you touch him Alphonse, I’ll…I’ll fight you!”> The little boy took deep breath’s, still trying to gain his breath back from being shaken silly. Looking upwards, Alphonse gave a small gasp. It’s eye’s travelled across the bruises on the boy’s face, across and down his neck. Had he really done that to his own mate? Was being around humans really making them like this.
“Forrest?” Jack asked quietly, lowering his hand’s to the boy’s shoulders. Flinching, Forrest quickly brought his good arm up and brushed away the man’s advances. He was not a kitten. He would not be coddled like one. Looking up at the Fuery human, something flickered inside the boy’s eye’s, a look Jack knew oh so well.
Leave.
“Sonny, go check on Daniel.”
“But Jack-”
“Please Sonny.” Jack began to retreat slowly from the room, like he would with any distressed animal and made to close the door behind him.
“Come on, you can’t seriously leave the kid in there with him.” Sonny frowned, even made a move to step back in the enclosure, but the Doctor firmly shut the door behind him. “He’s not a kid. He made his choice now please, check on Daniel.” With his hand still firmly around the door handle, he made no other move until his assistant had moved down the corridor and past the two resident Elric’s.
He watched through the little window as Forrest turned his back towards him and faced his Alphonse. They stared at each other for several second’s before a high chorus of chattering broke out between them. He’d leave them to argue it out until feeding time.
“All right Forrest! Play time in the tree’s is over. So get your tiny but down here and in that tub!” Jack called out from under the porch, only to have to hurriedly retreat when pine cones where hauled at him instead of twigs.
Sighing, the man was just about to give up when the back door swung wide open and Bambi strode out with a Ling eating grin upon his face. “See if you can get the little blighter down?” Jack asked, pointing up at the tree. The brown pelted Elric nodded his head and marched across the garden towards the tree.
Forrest squeaked upon seeing the adult stroll towards him. So he tried to climb further up the tree, but the branches where starting to become sparse and brittle.
Jack and Beth grinned down from the ground, finally finding it safe to step out of the safety of the porch. They watched as Bambi wrapped his arms around the trunk of the tree and pulled him self up the branches and towards the rather stuck little boy.
<“Kitten! What are you doing so far up the tree?>“ Bambi called upwards towards the odd Elric whose only response was stick his tongue out. <“I’m not a kitten! And I could ask you the same thing, now go away!”>
<“No. Jack wants you in the tub and you’re younger than me, therefore you’re just a kitten. If you grow a few inches-”>
<“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL! You’re about as big as this pine cone!”> And Forrest pulled back his arm and threw the plant material as hard as could, which was quite hard, at Bambi’s head. The elder Edward growled, but being smacked in the face didn’t distract him from getting hold of the boy.
<“Well you’re no bigger than an ant, kitten!”> And with that, he scrambled further still up the tree and grabbed hold of the boy’s pelts, pulling him into his arms.
“I think they just insulted each other.” Beth said with her hand on her hip’s, staring up at the little scuffle that broke out amongst the branches.
<“Get off me!”> Forrest kicked out with his feet and let go of the branch at the same time. Gasping, he very nearly fell from the top of the tree. However, Bambi wrapped his arm’s around his waist and pulled the smaller form into his chest.
<“No.”> Bambi grinned, holding the boy like a kitten as he made his way down the tree. Having almost slipped to his death, the little boy did nothing but cling to the Edward as not to tempt gravity again. Not that he was very pleased to find himself now back on the ground and still in Bambi’s arms.
<“You can put me down you know.”> He growled but the brown pelted Edward looked down at him with that same Ling eating grin and he gulped.
“Thank you Bam, you can put him down now. Bam? Bam put Forrest the right way up!”
The adult Edward hauled the boy over his shoulder and marched him into the house, looking over his shoulder at Jack and Beth before a firm “No” past his lips.
Jack blinked looking on stunned as his resident Elric marched off with his resident wild child.
<“PUT ME DOWN!>“ Forrest screeched at the top of his voice, banging his little fists on the back of Bambi’s top pelt, but the adult only shook his head of golden hair. <“No. Jack said he wanted you in the tub so that’s where I’m taking you kit. Now stop whining about it, you’re giving me ear ache.”>
Jack hurried along down the corridor after the pair, wincing when Forrest began to punch and kick as hard as he could, but his own Edward was more stubborn than any child he knew.
“Bam be careful with him.” He knew Bambi was trying to be helpful and that he wouldn’t hurt Forrest, but the boy didn’t know that. After a few minutes, the boy hung from the Edward’s back with puffed red cheeks, panting from exhaustion. He glared at Jack as he was carried to the bathroom but the man couldn’t only find it within himself to hide a smirk behind his hand.
Stepping into the middle of the room, Bambi turned to stare at Jack before pointing to the door they’d just come from. “Yes Bam, I’m going to close it.”
Bambi stamped his foot and shook his head before pointing a little more firmly this time. Once at Jack and then again at the door. The Doctor received the message loud and clear but shook his head this time. “Oh no, thank you for your help Bam but you need to put Forrest down now.”
Again Edward stamped his foot and let Forrest slip from his shoulder’s only, to hold the tiny five footer at his side like a parent hiding it’s kitten. Jack frowned, even when Bambi and Ally had their first littler he was never swatted away like a threat. His stomach tangled itself in knot’s and he realised he felt hurt by his old companions actions. Still, Jack knew very well who was in charge and so did Bambi.
“That isn’t your kitten Bambi. Now leave him alone and go find Ally, I’m sure he wants some-” A loud clap echoed through out the room and the blue flash of the adult Edwards alchemy shot through the room.
The floor tiles shot upwards, whacking Jack from the room until he fell in a tiny heap outside. The door was slammed shut and sealed from the inside.
It took the Doctor several seconds to realise he’d just been kicked out his own bathroom by his own animal.
“That little fuzz ball!”
Forrest only stared in both awe and terror as Bambi returned the bathroom to it’s original state, but kept the door locked. He turned towards the little Edward boy like some great giant beating down upon a tiny village. In reality, the older Edward was only a head or so taller than the boy but in that instant it felt as if really was the puny ant he felt like.
<“But…Jack told you no.”> Forrest whispered quietly, backing up against the wall as Bambi crossed his arm’s over his chest and peered down at the child.
<“And do you always do as you’re told Kit?”> He asked and the little boy thought for a second before shaking his head timidly.
Bambi unfolded his arms and sighed, letting the drop down to his side’s. <“You don’t have to look so scared. I only want to talk to you, if you’ll let me?”> The adult Edward offered but he turned before Forrest could give him and answer and started to run the bath. Really, he thought he was a clever Edward and had no problem in showing off how well he’d come to know how his own territory worked.
Forrest blinked before slowly scooting over to the side of the tub. He didn’t like being in it on his own without Alphonse there to keep him company.
<“You…You know how to get the warm water?”> Forrest asked, staring up at the older blonde with wide green eye’s. Bambi grinned and brought the bubble bath from the shelf. <“I know how to do lot’s of thing’s like the humans.”>
<“Really?”>
<“Yup and I bet Jack would teach you all kind’s of thing’s if you’d let him.”>
Forrest gave a shrug of his shoulder’s and a small “pff” noise. <“I don’t need to know how to do thing’s like a human.”> he said tartly and turned his nose up at the thought.
Bambi sighed and shook his head, but a smile graced his lips. <“But then if you learnt what the human’s did, you wouldn’t have to be sad about not using alchemy.”> He turned to look at Forrest but the smile slipped from his face when he saw how sad the little boy suddenly looked. Forrest gripped the side of the tub, watching as the water splashed and began to make the room hot and stuffy with the steam.
<“Hey now…Come on Kit, don’t cry.”> Bambi leaned down, nuzzling his nose next to Forrest’s cheek.
<“I…I’m not crying.”> Forrest sulked, his shoulder’s stiff when the older Edward leaned down to nuzzle at him. <“And I’m not a kit!”> he battered Bambi away and stubbornly wiped at his face with his good hand.
<“You’re a Kit if I say you are.”> Bambi said matter of factly before shrugging of his top brown pelt and rolling up the sleeve of the under white pelt. <“Now get in the tub.”>
<“No!”>
<“Jack wants you in the tub Kit, so get in.>“
Forrest scowled and shook his head firmly. <“Why do you always have to do what Jack says? Why not use alchemy and brake out of this place?>“
Bambi blinked several times and leaned over to turn the tap’s off when the bath threatened to over pour. <“I could ask your Alphonse the same thing.”>
<“He…He won’t until my arm’s better. But really though?”>
Bambi sighed and shrugged his shoulders softly, a lazy gesture if there ever was one. <“Because he’s a good human, he takes care of us, he always has. If I didn’t have Jack then I wouldn’t have my Alphonse. Besides, he’s a good human to have around…now…the tub Kit and I won’t ask again.”>
<“What are you going to do, throw me in it?”> Forrest scoffed and turned to grin up at the Edward but the little boy gulped. <“Ok.”> He said quietly and started to remove his pelt’s.
Jack had been banished from his own bathroom. By his own animal. In his own house. Was he going to get mad about it? No, no he wasn’t…
…
“BAMBI OPEN THIS DOOR!” He pounded on it with his fist’s but there came no response from inside other than the soft splashing of water and the chirp’s of Elric chatter.
“huh…” The Doctor smiled, his forehead resting against the wood. “You got him in the bath?”
The sound of pattering footsteps came down the hallway and Jack raised his head ever so slightly and smiled when he saw a perplexed Amy with Ally at her side, Beth following in toe. It seemed that with Bambi following him around for years, Ally had taken up the same role with Amy.
“What’s all the noise? I thought you where giving Forrest a bath, we need to be at the hospital in a hour?” And just for good measure she tapped her wrist watch and set her hand’s on her hips. “I told her about the tree incident.” Beth murmured and Amy frowned, not sure what to expect from her husband in response.
“Bambi sort of kidnapped him. He er…alchemised the door.” He admitted sheepishly.
From inside the bathroom the muffled sound’s of “He did what!” could be heard. The adult Edward shrugged his shoulder’s and rolled his eye’s before turning back to his little blonde charge. The boy was watching the bubbles swirl around, sending the toy ducks below the surface to their watery demise.
<“Tell me Kit, where did you come from?”> Bambi lay with his head on his arm’s, using the edge of the tub as a make shift resting place for his tired old head. Twenty three wasn’t that old for an Elric, he knew they could live for double that…maybe more. But still.
Forrest frowned for a moment, looking up from behind a curtain of soaping wet hair, sucking in his breath when Bambi made a move to part it to the side. <“What…what do you mean? Alphonse and I came from the west, we’re heading east.>“
<“No kitten, I mean you.”> Bambi poked his little nose when Forrest frowned and peered down at the water once again. <“From Edward Papa…and Alphonse Papa, where else would I come from?”>
<“There was no one else?”>
<“…No. I…I remember when I was little. When I really was a kit and I was cold and Edward Papa was there and he wrapped me in his pelt’s, like yours and I wasn’t cold anymore. But…”> Forrest frowned, there was something in the back of his mind that told him he could go further back than that, he was sure of it.
<“But what?”>
Forrest shook his head, it didn’t matter. Even if he did he couldn’t remember it. <“What are you getting at! I’m an Edward like you.”>
And Bambi raised his head and slowly sat back on his heel’s. A look of pity crossed his face with the twinge of sorrow, raising his de gloved hand to scratch behind the little boy’s ear. <“Ok…”>
There came a crack from the door, blue alchemic light shattering through the lock before the whole thing swung open. Ally stood there like a storm had arrived and marched straight into the bathroom.
Without a word he took his Edward by the ear and pinched him in the arm.
<“W-What was that for?”> Bambi protested, trying to batter his mate away with his hand’s. Ally huffed, gave one sullen glance at the soaking wet boy still sat in the bath and stormed away without another word past the trio of humans.
<“Mate? Mate!”> Edward grabbed up his pelt’s but for a second he seemed torn between Forrest and Ally but a roll of eye’s from the boy secured which way he should go and he hurried out of the room.
Jack tutted. “That’s Bam sleeping at the end of our bed again-” He was cut off by a gasp from Beth, the girl suddenly averting her eye’s to the ceiling. “What’s wrong.” But he only had to glance out of the corner of his eye’s to see that the boy had stood up and true to his word’s, he had stripped of all his pelt’s. Not that he showed any shame, pulling himself out of the tub dripping wet and without a care in the world.
“I…I Uh,…” The red head, whose face was slowly turning the colour of her hair, mumbled something about feeding and left the room without another word. Amy rolled her eye’s, grabbing up a towel to drape around the boy’s shoulder’s and cover everywhere else.
“Honestly, you’d think she never went to college.” Jack shook his head slightly.
“She isn’t that much older than Forrest.” Amy felt it was partly her duty to watch over her husband’s apprentice, between him, Sonny and the other Elric’s, she wasn’t sure which was worse. Certainly not the Elric’s.
Forrest frowned at the rough pelt draped around him which he didn’t think would be necessary if his Alphonse was there to dry him off. Or if he could use alchemy himself…He shuffled on his feet and began to shiver. Sandy blonde hair slowly started to wave half way down his back and he pushed his bangs to the side.
“Hack…” He whined, looking up with glazed green eye’s. “Cold.”
***
Maybe he was getting soft. Maybe his Alphonse was right and being with the humans was doing nothing good for them. Not that they where really talking to each other and it was starting to hurt the boy’s chest something awful. What if Alphonse just upped and left without him one day, then what would he do? He was hopeless on his own, he knew that.
But something else nagged at him, something the adult Edward had said. Why did he have to keep on pushing at his memory’s, of who he was. He knew perfectly well he was Edward and he had been for as long as he could remember. But that was just it, there was something he didn’t remember.
<“A-Alphonse…Al, mate? They’re taking me to the sick human place now. To take the heavy white thing off my arm.”> he knelt outside the den, calling to the sleeping form who answered him with a raise of one shoulder.
<“Made me take off my pelt’s again…and…and she tied my hair wrong.”> His bottom little jutted out ever so slightly, threatening to wibble.
Alphonse looked up from his comfortable little spot and sighed. A smile came to his own lip’s as he sat up and pulled himself from the nest of blankets. <“Want me to do it properly for you?”> he asked, resting with his hand’s on his knee’s so he could lean forward, nuzzle at the little Edwards cheeks.
Forrest buried his face in his lover’s top pelt, grasped it with both hand’s and let out the biggest sob he had told himself that he wouldn’t do. <“I…I’m s-sorry!”> He cried and felt Alphonse finger’s running through his hair, brushing down his neck and shoulders and to the odd human pelt they where making him wear.
<“I’m sorry too. Don’t cry though, I don’t like it when you cry.”> Alphonse spoke softly, the way he used to before the human’s took him. He wasn’t always so dominant, but it seemed this strange place was taking his Edward away, he had to something.
<“W-want…want you t-to…to come with.”> He choked between pitiful sob’s and almost kitten like mew’s and all the while Alphonse shhed him and nuzzled his cheek.
<“I know mate, I know. But it’s a human place, I can’t go.”>
<“So why are they taking me!”> He choked out, hiding his face away in that soft scent of warm day’s and smiling faces. If only he could take Alphonse with him, then maybe everything wouldn’t seem so bad. Stripped of his pelts, smelling of soap and human cleanliness and his mind suddenly awash with all the thought’s of his previous conversation.
Fifteen minutes later, with his hair Alphonse perfect, he sat in the back of the car with his mate’s top pelt wrapped around his shoulders. He had protested, stomped his foot and ever threatened to not move himself from his rigid position on the porch. In the end, Jack had to pick him up and buckle him in the back himself, never once coaxing a smile out of the little thing.
“Come of Forrest, just one little smile?” He asked from the back seat to which the boy looked up, without a scowl or much else. Just a blank expression and said one thing.
“Edward.” That was his name! That had always been his name. They had taken his pelts, his mate and now they wanted to take his name.
The ride was silent after that. Several times Jack made an attempt to try and scratch behind the child’s ear’s but he batted him away and was scolded for his efforts.
“No. We don’t hit.” Though even in Jack’s head, it sounded a little pathetic. The boy only frowned and pushed his cheek up against the cool glass, staring at the tree’s as they drove down the little country lane. It would be autumn soon, and he and Alphonse still needed to make their way east where it was warmer in the winter. That was, if they ever got away from the humans…
Walking through the out patients department, Jack was suddenly aware at the amount of head’s that turned towards his little charge. True, the teenager was wearing a top Alphonse pelt, walking two paces behind with the wrist strap held taut. But there was something odd about it all.
“Jack, maybe we should go back to the car.” Amy muttered upwards to her husband, who shook his head with a frown. They needed to have his arm looked at, that way there wouldn’t have to be anymore unnecessary visits.
“Excuse me?” A little voice called behind them, making the couple stop in their track’s. But when they turned around, they saw a girl no older than twelve or thirteen addressing the boy who was at least three inch shorter than she was. “Aren’t you the Edward boy?”
Forrest stared at her, he didn’t like that she was suddenly so close to him.
“What’s the matter? Can’t he talk?” She raised her hand to top of his head, to run her finger’s through his hair. Forrest flinched, stumbling backwards into Jack who pushed him a little behind his back like an Edward protecting it’s kit. He supposed it was not far off what he would do if it was his own child being poked and stared at.
“Sally! Get away from him.” A woman marched over to her child, took her by the hand and gave a cautious look in Forrest direction. “You shouldn’t have someone so dangerous around people and children! He should be locked up.”
“What’s he ever done to you?!” Jack questioned suddenly and Amy rested a hand on his arm, squeezing it between her fingers. “Jack, leave it.”
“No. No I want to know what gives you the right to march up to a complete stranger and demand for them to be locked away. Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners, he’s never hurt anyone-”
“Oh and that boy in the paper happened upon his injuries by himself did he?”
“What boy? What are you-” But he stopped.
Daniel.
“Shit.”
A little heated debate broke out amongst the Doctor and a few other people who began to crowd around, but no one with the actual article at hand.
Forrest stood behind them, the noises growing louder and louder. There was no where to run, they were closing in on him pointing, shouting, looking down at him like he’d personally killed their kittens.
In a panic he tore away from the lead, snapping it with his strength before tearing down the corridor.
Back at the Hayes home and small sanctuary Sonny was busy trying to coax Ally into opening the enclosure and letting Bambi in. No such look, the broad shouldered young man patted the Elric on the head and shrugged, there was no changing the Alphonse mind sometimes. A small noise from the front of the house perked the Edward up and he shot off in the direction on the letter box.
“Bam, No! The last time you got hold of the mail-” Sonny groaned, what was the point. The silly thing never listened to him, only to Jack. Come to think of it, he hardly listened to him either. So of he went down the hallway to retrieve the good Doctor’s mail from his wayward animal.
The Edward was sat on the ground, collecting up the bills and various posted paper work the sanctuary got as well as the local newspaper. That was what Bambi wanted, he always took it before anyone else. Eager to read the new material as he had exhausted all of Jack’s medical books and everything else littered around the house.
“Bam give me that here.” Sonny reached down to take the paper but the Elric snored and turned his back towards the young assistant. Sonny rolled his eye’s but something caught his attention. There, on the front page of the morning paper (which was always delivered late to them, so far of the beaten track) staring up at the camera was Forrest.
He’d know that perplexed little scowl and green eye’s anywhere.
“Bam, you need to give that too me. Bambi!” He took the paper from the Edward forcefully, the animal chirping away in annoyance. “Look you silly thing.” He turned the paper around, pointed at the picture. “Forrest. Forrest is on the paper.”
The Edward stopped and stared at him, his eye’s trailing over the article and the picture. Frowning he looked up at Sonny and waited for the answers to fall from his mouth.
“Oh this is not good.”
A/N: Run Forrest Run! (not the only one thinking that...)
I apologise for any gramatical errors or spelling mistakes you come across. I've proof read but have no beta who would touch this. XD
Title: The Jungle Book Effect
Author: Blue_Stem_cell
Pairing: Ed/al (sort of) ;D
Genre: Zoofic/Romance/Drama
Rating: 13+
Summary: An adolescent Elric pair are found injured out in the streets. The Alphonse covers the unconscious Edward protectively but a closer look reveals something not quite right with it. Is that really an Elric?
A/N: A whole year later…*cough* I’ve been wanting to update this for months/years-ish but other thing’s such as life, university and work kept getting in the way. I’m so sorry to the few people who wanted me to update this. Since Icebane was updated, I have felt nothing but this fan fiction niggling away at the back of mind. So thank you to Cryogenia for inspiring me to write more. =3
It seems I’m addicted to crack after all…
---
The Hayes Alchemical vet practise was only a small thing, attached to the house with a few enclosure built onto that. They where secluded in a little patch of tree’s, a housing estate not three miles down the road. As Bambi was always with him, Jack knew he’d need an enclosure just for him and his mate but they generally had free run of the house. The animals they usually received where wild, ready to release back into the forests not long after. He didn’t believe it correct to keep all the animals that came his way. Bambi and Ally where the exception and he supposed now that so was the Alphonse and Forrest.
A week later and the cast on Forrest’s arm was due to be removed. His social worker had scheduled for an interview a few hours after it’s removal which did not give Jack very long to sort out what he was going to suggest. That the boy would stay with him and his wife permanently even if it meant dragging himself through the court system. It would prove beneficial to both the boy and the Alphonse, separating them would be cruel. However, he seemed to find no problems with what he was proposing but first thing was first, he had to catch the little thing.
The boy, though small for his age, had a much greater will of stamina than of the young doctor or any of his assistant’s. Their problem had been when they let the boy out of enclosure without an escort or a leash; he was very hard to entice back into it. Though one word in Elric from the Alphonse would have him running back in with a panicked expression, it seemed the Foe was not being quite himself of late.
“Forrest! I swear if you don’t get down from there mister-” Though Jack’s effort’s went highly unnoticed by the human-Edward who stuck out his tongue and climbed further still up the tree. The boy was not stupid, there was tension in the air and the word “hos-peetal” and “Dok-tore” had crept up once again. Forrest knew that whenever those words where mentioned he’d be carted off in human pelt’s without Alphonse to the place that smelt of death and decay. No! This time he would be staying put, even if he had to spend all night up in the dammed tree.
“Do you think it was a bad idea letting him outside?” Beth asked with a sheepish smile, rubbing at the back of her neck. When the little boy had strode up to her and pointed at the back door, her first idea was that he had simply wanted fresh air, to run around in the garden. But he had shot out and straight up the tree and now would not be persuaded to come down. Jack had thought about scolding his apprentice momentarily but knew that it was not her fault. Really, it was his own for not seeing something so problematic crop up.
“It’s not your fault Beth, really.” He smiled at her but it slipped from his face when Forrest proceeded to throw a large stick from his high perch. They ducked under the porch, the wood clattered from the top of the roof. “How long did you say it was until his appointment?” She asked, biting down on her lip. Honestly, the red headed girl really did think it was her fault, she just couldn’t help the boy’s large pleading eye’s. It really was like looking at a child and getting upset at the thought of making it cry.
“Not for another two hour’s, but if we don’t get him down within the next twenty minutes there’s no way we’re going to get him ready and out to the car.” Jack frowned and rubbed his chin as he tried to desperately think of a strategy. The Alphonse was no help, it was being just as moody and uncooperative and had bitten Sonny again for the first time it weeks.
“You don’t think they‘re still fighting, do you?” The girl questioned, listening as the little boy climbed further still up the tree. It was not really an Edward trait, but they did tend to live in large forests after all. Besides, even as a child she would climb tree’s even higher than her own house, any child could do it.
Jack sighed and gave an open palmed shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know, maybe. They’ve been acting odd since Daniel went to see them. I knew I shouldn’t have left him alone with them.” He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, all their hard work had evaporated into nearly nothing because of one silly little gesture. Really, Jack knew it was his own fault but he had the feeling Forrest was taking the blame for it.
The little Edward boy sighed as he wrapped his arm’s around the trunk of the tree and rested his cheek against it. It was scratchy and uninviting but everything else had been that way to for the last few day’s. All he had ever wanted to do was make his Alphonse happy, to find him food and make him smile. Then he was hit by the metal box and they both wound up in the hand’s of humans. It was his fault, he knew that. So why did it hurt when Alphonse had shouted at him for it?
Three day’s previously, the two Elric’s had been sat happily with each other, chattering away as they did pouring over book’s and the idea of where to go once the Jack human had let them go. It was then that Daniel had appeared and the mood had turned sour.
“Hey there little guy.” The college boy entered the room as he usually did, cheerful but cautious and sat closest to the door should the Alphonse change his mind. He was ignored for the most part, he posed no threat. This time though, the boy closed the door, something he had never done previously. Forrest heard the sound of the lock click by paid it even less attention than the fawn haired human.
<“We should head East. That way we won’t be back tracking. We’ll head towards the forests and away from the towns.”> Said Alphonse with his authoritative little tone, taking the lead like he always did. Edward shrugged, he wasn’t really fussed. <“But…What about Jack?>“ He questioned, turning the page of the large book in his lap, causing Alphonse to frown. <“What about him? Your arm will be fixed, and he’ll have to let us go. That Edward said so.”>
Edward shrugged his shoulder’s softly, flicked the page and let his eye’s dart up towards his mates. <“But what if…what if we stayed here?”> He asked timidly, keeping his gaze with his mates.
Alphonse regarded him for several seconds before scoffing and getting to his feet. <“Sometimes you sound more like a kitten than an adult Nii-san.”> Edward watched as Alphonse circled around him, his eye’s fixed upon Daniel before resting behind his younger mate. He began to un-braid his hair, to fix it properly so it would be neat and shinny like normal, not sleep tussled like it’s current state. Edward fell silent for a few second’s before he turned and swatted his mates finger’s away from his hair. <“I can do it myself!”> he snapped and shuffled away from his bemused mate and began to comb out his hair with his fingers. In his attempt to be on his own, he had shuffled closer to Daniel but still regarded him as a forgotten piece of fruit.
<“Not with your arm like that! Get back over here Edward!”> The Alphonse stamped his foot but Edward only stuck his nose up in the air and stubbornly began to try and braid his hair. Not that he could do very much with his left arm still potted up in plaster, making the angle of his elbow awkward and painful.
“Are you two fighting over hair? Honestly?” Daniel rolled his eye’s and leaned forward, his finger tip’s brushing through Forrest’s wavy hair. The Edward boy froze suddenly, his shoulder’s becoming rigid as Daniel shuffled closer and began to comb through his hair with his finger’s.
Alphonse was up in a flash and a blur. <“DON’T TOUCH HIM!”> he shouted, an angry howl coming from his throat as he lunged towards the human boy. The boy had seconds to act but froze upon the spot, his eye’s wide in fear as the wild animal back handed him hard across the mouth. It sent him to the ground, skin splitting against his gums and teeth, blood spilling into his mouth, trickling over his lips. Dazed and confused he stared at the ceiling, at the animal that towered over him with it’s fist curled into a ball. It reared it’s arm back, ready to strike when an anguished little voice cried out and Forrest threw himself onto Foe’s arm. The Edward boy cried his strange Elric language, with his wide green eye’s turned upwards towards his mates golden ones. But it tossed him aside to the corner, snarled at him and turned his back towards Daniel who blinked several times.
It was then he realised just what danger he was in and unfroze from his terrified state. Dodging the Alphonse’s fist, the boy scrambled for the door, rattled the handle but found that it wouldn’t open. He had stupidly closed it, stopping his only plausible escape.
Hammering on the door, he called for anyone that would listen. “JACK! HELP…SOME ONE-” Out of the corner of his eye he watched as the Alphonse made it’s move to clap and he shut his eye’s so tight that spot’s began to float against his vision. The sound of the clap never came though, only the noise of two thing’s scrapping.
Daniel opened his eye’s and watched as Forrest tackled the older and larger Alphonse, pinning him to the ground by his shoulder’s. They snarled at each other, Alphonse trying to swipe his hand’s at his little mate but to no avail.
<“See! See! This is why we have to leave!”> Alphonse snarled, brought his leg up and kneed the poor little blonde in the back. It sent him to ground, spread across his mate as he grasped for breath. The older Elric swiftly jumped to his feet, grabbed his smaller mate by the scruff of his neck and yanked him to his feet.
<“The humans are doing something to you! You where never like this before…before that dammed box hit you!”> The Alphonse took his Edward by the shoulder’s, thought if he could shake the stupidity out of him he’d see sense.
Daniel watched in horror, his hammering on the door momentarily paused. Foe had taken Forrest by the shoulder’s, was shaking him so hard that when he stopped, the little boy’s head simply rolled to the side, unsupported by his neck.
“L-Leave him alone!” Daniel tried shouting, but only a thin trail of word’s poured out of his mouth.
Alphonse dropped his mate to the ground and made his move to storm over to the human boy. To knock him around the ear’s, to show him whose territory he was in and how dare he touch his Edward! But he never made it that far. The door was opened quickly and a blur of brown pelts and a flash of blonde hair shot through the room. The adult Edward pinned Alphonse to the ground, knocking him down and out weighing him in both size and strength.
“The hell!” Jack appeared in the door way, panting with Sonny in toe. The college boy scrambled to his feet and was out the door in a flash, sprinting down the corridor as fast as his long giraffe like leg’s would carry him.
“Bam. Bam let up. Come on, up.” Jack strolled into the room, seized his animal by the pelts and pulled him back, leaving the Alphonse both confused and dazed. “Out side. Go Edward!” it was rare when Jack had to address Bambi as Edward but the Elric looked at him, panting with wild eye’s before it nodded his head and stalked from the room. He grabbed Ally around the shoulder’s, the younger Alphonse had wanted to see what the fuss was all about, and pulled him towards their own enclosure.
<“But what happened?>“ Ally asked, trying to keep up with his Edward who had greater strides than he did. Bambi said nothing and pointed down the corridor at the college boy with his back pressed up against the wall. Breathing, it seemed, was a hard thing to accomplish and the smell of blood smeared across his face only made Bambi growl.
Foe jumped to his feet, ready for round two if he had too. Growling at Jack, he made to attack him but stopped when a small blur shot passed him. Looking down, he watched with wide eye’s as Forrest jumped in front of Jack with his hand’s spread out wide.
<“If you touch him Alphonse, I’ll…I’ll fight you!”> The little boy took deep breath’s, still trying to gain his breath back from being shaken silly. Looking upwards, Alphonse gave a small gasp. It’s eye’s travelled across the bruises on the boy’s face, across and down his neck. Had he really done that to his own mate? Was being around humans really making them like this.
“Forrest?” Jack asked quietly, lowering his hand’s to the boy’s shoulders. Flinching, Forrest quickly brought his good arm up and brushed away the man’s advances. He was not a kitten. He would not be coddled like one. Looking up at the Fuery human, something flickered inside the boy’s eye’s, a look Jack knew oh so well.
Leave.
“Sonny, go check on Daniel.”
“But Jack-”
“Please Sonny.” Jack began to retreat slowly from the room, like he would with any distressed animal and made to close the door behind him.
“Come on, you can’t seriously leave the kid in there with him.” Sonny frowned, even made a move to step back in the enclosure, but the Doctor firmly shut the door behind him. “He’s not a kid. He made his choice now please, check on Daniel.” With his hand still firmly around the door handle, he made no other move until his assistant had moved down the corridor and past the two resident Elric’s.
He watched through the little window as Forrest turned his back towards him and faced his Alphonse. They stared at each other for several second’s before a high chorus of chattering broke out between them. He’d leave them to argue it out until feeding time.
“All right Forrest! Play time in the tree’s is over. So get your tiny but down here and in that tub!” Jack called out from under the porch, only to have to hurriedly retreat when pine cones where hauled at him instead of twigs.
Sighing, the man was just about to give up when the back door swung wide open and Bambi strode out with a Ling eating grin upon his face. “See if you can get the little blighter down?” Jack asked, pointing up at the tree. The brown pelted Elric nodded his head and marched across the garden towards the tree.
Forrest squeaked upon seeing the adult stroll towards him. So he tried to climb further up the tree, but the branches where starting to become sparse and brittle.
Jack and Beth grinned down from the ground, finally finding it safe to step out of the safety of the porch. They watched as Bambi wrapped his arms around the trunk of the tree and pulled him self up the branches and towards the rather stuck little boy.
<“Kitten! What are you doing so far up the tree?>“ Bambi called upwards towards the odd Elric whose only response was stick his tongue out. <“I’m not a kitten! And I could ask you the same thing, now go away!”>
<“No. Jack wants you in the tub and you’re younger than me, therefore you’re just a kitten. If you grow a few inches-”>
<“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL! You’re about as big as this pine cone!”> And Forrest pulled back his arm and threw the plant material as hard as could, which was quite hard, at Bambi’s head. The elder Edward growled, but being smacked in the face didn’t distract him from getting hold of the boy.
<“Well you’re no bigger than an ant, kitten!”> And with that, he scrambled further still up the tree and grabbed hold of the boy’s pelts, pulling him into his arms.
“I think they just insulted each other.” Beth said with her hand on her hip’s, staring up at the little scuffle that broke out amongst the branches.
<“Get off me!”> Forrest kicked out with his feet and let go of the branch at the same time. Gasping, he very nearly fell from the top of the tree. However, Bambi wrapped his arm’s around his waist and pulled the smaller form into his chest.
<“No.”> Bambi grinned, holding the boy like a kitten as he made his way down the tree. Having almost slipped to his death, the little boy did nothing but cling to the Edward as not to tempt gravity again. Not that he was very pleased to find himself now back on the ground and still in Bambi’s arms.
<“You can put me down you know.”> He growled but the brown pelted Edward looked down at him with that same Ling eating grin and he gulped.
“Thank you Bam, you can put him down now. Bam? Bam put Forrest the right way up!”
The adult Edward hauled the boy over his shoulder and marched him into the house, looking over his shoulder at Jack and Beth before a firm “No” past his lips.
Jack blinked looking on stunned as his resident Elric marched off with his resident wild child.
<“PUT ME DOWN!>“ Forrest screeched at the top of his voice, banging his little fists on the back of Bambi’s top pelt, but the adult only shook his head of golden hair. <“No. Jack said he wanted you in the tub so that’s where I’m taking you kit. Now stop whining about it, you’re giving me ear ache.”>
Jack hurried along down the corridor after the pair, wincing when Forrest began to punch and kick as hard as he could, but his own Edward was more stubborn than any child he knew.
“Bam be careful with him.” He knew Bambi was trying to be helpful and that he wouldn’t hurt Forrest, but the boy didn’t know that. After a few minutes, the boy hung from the Edward’s back with puffed red cheeks, panting from exhaustion. He glared at Jack as he was carried to the bathroom but the man couldn’t only find it within himself to hide a smirk behind his hand.
Stepping into the middle of the room, Bambi turned to stare at Jack before pointing to the door they’d just come from. “Yes Bam, I’m going to close it.”
Bambi stamped his foot and shook his head before pointing a little more firmly this time. Once at Jack and then again at the door. The Doctor received the message loud and clear but shook his head this time. “Oh no, thank you for your help Bam but you need to put Forrest down now.”
Again Edward stamped his foot and let Forrest slip from his shoulder’s only, to hold the tiny five footer at his side like a parent hiding it’s kitten. Jack frowned, even when Bambi and Ally had their first littler he was never swatted away like a threat. His stomach tangled itself in knot’s and he realised he felt hurt by his old companions actions. Still, Jack knew very well who was in charge and so did Bambi.
“That isn’t your kitten Bambi. Now leave him alone and go find Ally, I’m sure he wants some-” A loud clap echoed through out the room and the blue flash of the adult Edwards alchemy shot through the room.
The floor tiles shot upwards, whacking Jack from the room until he fell in a tiny heap outside. The door was slammed shut and sealed from the inside.
It took the Doctor several seconds to realise he’d just been kicked out his own bathroom by his own animal.
“That little fuzz ball!”
Forrest only stared in both awe and terror as Bambi returned the bathroom to it’s original state, but kept the door locked. He turned towards the little Edward boy like some great giant beating down upon a tiny village. In reality, the older Edward was only a head or so taller than the boy but in that instant it felt as if really was the puny ant he felt like.
<“But…Jack told you no.”> Forrest whispered quietly, backing up against the wall as Bambi crossed his arm’s over his chest and peered down at the child.
<“And do you always do as you’re told Kit?”> He asked and the little boy thought for a second before shaking his head timidly.
Bambi unfolded his arms and sighed, letting the drop down to his side’s. <“You don’t have to look so scared. I only want to talk to you, if you’ll let me?”> The adult Edward offered but he turned before Forrest could give him and answer and started to run the bath. Really, he thought he was a clever Edward and had no problem in showing off how well he’d come to know how his own territory worked.
Forrest blinked before slowly scooting over to the side of the tub. He didn’t like being in it on his own without Alphonse there to keep him company.
<“You…You know how to get the warm water?”> Forrest asked, staring up at the older blonde with wide green eye’s. Bambi grinned and brought the bubble bath from the shelf. <“I know how to do lot’s of thing’s like the humans.”>
<“Really?”>
<“Yup and I bet Jack would teach you all kind’s of thing’s if you’d let him.”>
Forrest gave a shrug of his shoulder’s and a small “pff” noise. <“I don’t need to know how to do thing’s like a human.”> he said tartly and turned his nose up at the thought.
Bambi sighed and shook his head, but a smile graced his lips. <“But then if you learnt what the human’s did, you wouldn’t have to be sad about not using alchemy.”> He turned to look at Forrest but the smile slipped from his face when he saw how sad the little boy suddenly looked. Forrest gripped the side of the tub, watching as the water splashed and began to make the room hot and stuffy with the steam.
<“Hey now…Come on Kit, don’t cry.”> Bambi leaned down, nuzzling his nose next to Forrest’s cheek.
<“I…I’m not crying.”> Forrest sulked, his shoulder’s stiff when the older Edward leaned down to nuzzle at him. <“And I’m not a kit!”> he battered Bambi away and stubbornly wiped at his face with his good hand.
<“You’re a Kit if I say you are.”> Bambi said matter of factly before shrugging of his top brown pelt and rolling up the sleeve of the under white pelt. <“Now get in the tub.”>
<“No!”>
<“Jack wants you in the tub Kit, so get in.>“
Forrest scowled and shook his head firmly. <“Why do you always have to do what Jack says? Why not use alchemy and brake out of this place?>“
Bambi blinked several times and leaned over to turn the tap’s off when the bath threatened to over pour. <“I could ask your Alphonse the same thing.”>
<“He…He won’t until my arm’s better. But really though?”>
Bambi sighed and shrugged his shoulders softly, a lazy gesture if there ever was one. <“Because he’s a good human, he takes care of us, he always has. If I didn’t have Jack then I wouldn’t have my Alphonse. Besides, he’s a good human to have around…now…the tub Kit and I won’t ask again.”>
<“What are you going to do, throw me in it?”> Forrest scoffed and turned to grin up at the Edward but the little boy gulped. <“Ok.”> He said quietly and started to remove his pelt’s.
Jack had been banished from his own bathroom. By his own animal. In his own house. Was he going to get mad about it? No, no he wasn’t…
…
“BAMBI OPEN THIS DOOR!” He pounded on it with his fist’s but there came no response from inside other than the soft splashing of water and the chirp’s of Elric chatter.
“huh…” The Doctor smiled, his forehead resting against the wood. “You got him in the bath?”
The sound of pattering footsteps came down the hallway and Jack raised his head ever so slightly and smiled when he saw a perplexed Amy with Ally at her side, Beth following in toe. It seemed that with Bambi following him around for years, Ally had taken up the same role with Amy.
“What’s all the noise? I thought you where giving Forrest a bath, we need to be at the hospital in a hour?” And just for good measure she tapped her wrist watch and set her hand’s on her hips. “I told her about the tree incident.” Beth murmured and Amy frowned, not sure what to expect from her husband in response.
“Bambi sort of kidnapped him. He er…alchemised the door.” He admitted sheepishly.
From inside the bathroom the muffled sound’s of “He did what!” could be heard. The adult Edward shrugged his shoulder’s and rolled his eye’s before turning back to his little blonde charge. The boy was watching the bubbles swirl around, sending the toy ducks below the surface to their watery demise.
<“Tell me Kit, where did you come from?”> Bambi lay with his head on his arm’s, using the edge of the tub as a make shift resting place for his tired old head. Twenty three wasn’t that old for an Elric, he knew they could live for double that…maybe more. But still.
Forrest frowned for a moment, looking up from behind a curtain of soaping wet hair, sucking in his breath when Bambi made a move to part it to the side. <“What…what do you mean? Alphonse and I came from the west, we’re heading east.>“
<“No kitten, I mean you.”> Bambi poked his little nose when Forrest frowned and peered down at the water once again. <“From Edward Papa…and Alphonse Papa, where else would I come from?”>
<“There was no one else?”>
<“…No. I…I remember when I was little. When I really was a kit and I was cold and Edward Papa was there and he wrapped me in his pelt’s, like yours and I wasn’t cold anymore. But…”> Forrest frowned, there was something in the back of his mind that told him he could go further back than that, he was sure of it.
<“But what?”>
Forrest shook his head, it didn’t matter. Even if he did he couldn’t remember it. <“What are you getting at! I’m an Edward like you.”>
And Bambi raised his head and slowly sat back on his heel’s. A look of pity crossed his face with the twinge of sorrow, raising his de gloved hand to scratch behind the little boy’s ear. <“Ok…”>
There came a crack from the door, blue alchemic light shattering through the lock before the whole thing swung open. Ally stood there like a storm had arrived and marched straight into the bathroom.
Without a word he took his Edward by the ear and pinched him in the arm.
<“W-What was that for?”> Bambi protested, trying to batter his mate away with his hand’s. Ally huffed, gave one sullen glance at the soaking wet boy still sat in the bath and stormed away without another word past the trio of humans.
<“Mate? Mate!”> Edward grabbed up his pelt’s but for a second he seemed torn between Forrest and Ally but a roll of eye’s from the boy secured which way he should go and he hurried out of the room.
Jack tutted. “That’s Bam sleeping at the end of our bed again-” He was cut off by a gasp from Beth, the girl suddenly averting her eye’s to the ceiling. “What’s wrong.” But he only had to glance out of the corner of his eye’s to see that the boy had stood up and true to his word’s, he had stripped of all his pelt’s. Not that he showed any shame, pulling himself out of the tub dripping wet and without a care in the world.
“I…I Uh,…” The red head, whose face was slowly turning the colour of her hair, mumbled something about feeding and left the room without another word. Amy rolled her eye’s, grabbing up a towel to drape around the boy’s shoulder’s and cover everywhere else.
“Honestly, you’d think she never went to college.” Jack shook his head slightly.
“She isn’t that much older than Forrest.” Amy felt it was partly her duty to watch over her husband’s apprentice, between him, Sonny and the other Elric’s, she wasn’t sure which was worse. Certainly not the Elric’s.
Forrest frowned at the rough pelt draped around him which he didn’t think would be necessary if his Alphonse was there to dry him off. Or if he could use alchemy himself…He shuffled on his feet and began to shiver. Sandy blonde hair slowly started to wave half way down his back and he pushed his bangs to the side.
“Hack…” He whined, looking up with glazed green eye’s. “Cold.”
***
Maybe he was getting soft. Maybe his Alphonse was right and being with the humans was doing nothing good for them. Not that they where really talking to each other and it was starting to hurt the boy’s chest something awful. What if Alphonse just upped and left without him one day, then what would he do? He was hopeless on his own, he knew that.
But something else nagged at him, something the adult Edward had said. Why did he have to keep on pushing at his memory’s, of who he was. He knew perfectly well he was Edward and he had been for as long as he could remember. But that was just it, there was something he didn’t remember.
<“A-Alphonse…Al, mate? They’re taking me to the sick human place now. To take the heavy white thing off my arm.”> he knelt outside the den, calling to the sleeping form who answered him with a raise of one shoulder.
<“Made me take off my pelt’s again…and…and she tied my hair wrong.”> His bottom little jutted out ever so slightly, threatening to wibble.
Alphonse looked up from his comfortable little spot and sighed. A smile came to his own lip’s as he sat up and pulled himself from the nest of blankets. <“Want me to do it properly for you?”> he asked, resting with his hand’s on his knee’s so he could lean forward, nuzzle at the little Edwards cheeks.
Forrest buried his face in his lover’s top pelt, grasped it with both hand’s and let out the biggest sob he had told himself that he wouldn’t do. <“I…I’m s-sorry!”> He cried and felt Alphonse finger’s running through his hair, brushing down his neck and shoulders and to the odd human pelt they where making him wear.
<“I’m sorry too. Don’t cry though, I don’t like it when you cry.”> Alphonse spoke softly, the way he used to before the human’s took him. He wasn’t always so dominant, but it seemed this strange place was taking his Edward away, he had to something.
<“W-want…want you t-to…to come with.”> He choked between pitiful sob’s and almost kitten like mew’s and all the while Alphonse shhed him and nuzzled his cheek.
<“I know mate, I know. But it’s a human place, I can’t go.”>
<“So why are they taking me!”> He choked out, hiding his face away in that soft scent of warm day’s and smiling faces. If only he could take Alphonse with him, then maybe everything wouldn’t seem so bad. Stripped of his pelts, smelling of soap and human cleanliness and his mind suddenly awash with all the thought’s of his previous conversation.
Fifteen minutes later, with his hair Alphonse perfect, he sat in the back of the car with his mate’s top pelt wrapped around his shoulders. He had protested, stomped his foot and ever threatened to not move himself from his rigid position on the porch. In the end, Jack had to pick him up and buckle him in the back himself, never once coaxing a smile out of the little thing.
“Come of Forrest, just one little smile?” He asked from the back seat to which the boy looked up, without a scowl or much else. Just a blank expression and said one thing.
“Edward.” That was his name! That had always been his name. They had taken his pelts, his mate and now they wanted to take his name.
The ride was silent after that. Several times Jack made an attempt to try and scratch behind the child’s ear’s but he batted him away and was scolded for his efforts.
“No. We don’t hit.” Though even in Jack’s head, it sounded a little pathetic. The boy only frowned and pushed his cheek up against the cool glass, staring at the tree’s as they drove down the little country lane. It would be autumn soon, and he and Alphonse still needed to make their way east where it was warmer in the winter. That was, if they ever got away from the humans…
Walking through the out patients department, Jack was suddenly aware at the amount of head’s that turned towards his little charge. True, the teenager was wearing a top Alphonse pelt, walking two paces behind with the wrist strap held taut. But there was something odd about it all.
“Jack, maybe we should go back to the car.” Amy muttered upwards to her husband, who shook his head with a frown. They needed to have his arm looked at, that way there wouldn’t have to be anymore unnecessary visits.
“Excuse me?” A little voice called behind them, making the couple stop in their track’s. But when they turned around, they saw a girl no older than twelve or thirteen addressing the boy who was at least three inch shorter than she was. “Aren’t you the Edward boy?”
Forrest stared at her, he didn’t like that she was suddenly so close to him.
“What’s the matter? Can’t he talk?” She raised her hand to top of his head, to run her finger’s through his hair. Forrest flinched, stumbling backwards into Jack who pushed him a little behind his back like an Edward protecting it’s kit. He supposed it was not far off what he would do if it was his own child being poked and stared at.
“Sally! Get away from him.” A woman marched over to her child, took her by the hand and gave a cautious look in Forrest direction. “You shouldn’t have someone so dangerous around people and children! He should be locked up.”
“What’s he ever done to you?!” Jack questioned suddenly and Amy rested a hand on his arm, squeezing it between her fingers. “Jack, leave it.”
“No. No I want to know what gives you the right to march up to a complete stranger and demand for them to be locked away. Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners, he’s never hurt anyone-”
“Oh and that boy in the paper happened upon his injuries by himself did he?”
“What boy? What are you-” But he stopped.
Daniel.
“Shit.”
A little heated debate broke out amongst the Doctor and a few other people who began to crowd around, but no one with the actual article at hand.
Forrest stood behind them, the noises growing louder and louder. There was no where to run, they were closing in on him pointing, shouting, looking down at him like he’d personally killed their kittens.
In a panic he tore away from the lead, snapping it with his strength before tearing down the corridor.
Back at the Hayes home and small sanctuary Sonny was busy trying to coax Ally into opening the enclosure and letting Bambi in. No such look, the broad shouldered young man patted the Elric on the head and shrugged, there was no changing the Alphonse mind sometimes. A small noise from the front of the house perked the Edward up and he shot off in the direction on the letter box.
“Bam, No! The last time you got hold of the mail-” Sonny groaned, what was the point. The silly thing never listened to him, only to Jack. Come to think of it, he hardly listened to him either. So of he went down the hallway to retrieve the good Doctor’s mail from his wayward animal.
The Edward was sat on the ground, collecting up the bills and various posted paper work the sanctuary got as well as the local newspaper. That was what Bambi wanted, he always took it before anyone else. Eager to read the new material as he had exhausted all of Jack’s medical books and everything else littered around the house.
“Bam give me that here.” Sonny reached down to take the paper but the Elric snored and turned his back towards the young assistant. Sonny rolled his eye’s but something caught his attention. There, on the front page of the morning paper (which was always delivered late to them, so far of the beaten track) staring up at the camera was Forrest.
He’d know that perplexed little scowl and green eye’s anywhere.
“Bam, you need to give that too me. Bambi!” He took the paper from the Edward forcefully, the animal chirping away in annoyance. “Look you silly thing.” He turned the paper around, pointed at the picture. “Forrest. Forrest is on the paper.”
The Edward stopped and stared at him, his eye’s trailing over the article and the picture. Frowning he looked up at Sonny and waited for the answers to fall from his mouth.
“Oh this is not good.”
A/N: Run Forrest Run! (not the only one thinking that...)
I apologise for any gramatical errors or spelling mistakes you come across. I've proof read but have no beta who would touch this. XD