[fic] State of Mind - Chapter Four
Panting, the Elric leant against a tree further down the river. His leg was aching and he had concluded that this day sucked as well. He wanted to go home and sleep for as long as possible. Huddle up in his den all nice and warm and just doze off, pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
His stomach growled.
Cursing, he glared down at the gurgling belly that demanded food and not safety in the den. It was all that damn, arrogant, fire-making Mustang bastard’s fault. The day was new and it hadn’t been all that bad really, but no. It was ruined all because of a clean, smug mutt who was obviously not right. Now he was in a bad mood AND hungry with no idea of where food might be.
<‘Crazy, the whole world is cazy!’> Ward snarled as he pushed the last few branches out of the way and stepped forward into the clearing ahead. Well, what he thought was a clearing ahead, but was really below and he had just stepped into thin air.
<‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ooooooowww aaaaaayip!’> he went as he rolled head over heels down the hill before landing with a whuuuMPHH face down in the dirt. Ward lay there for a second in his faceplant, resignedly breathing in bits of dirt as he worked out that he had stopped moving and managed to keep all his body parts intact. Slowly lifting up his sighing head to get a view of where he’d ended up now, he froze. Something resembling a smile stretched across his face.
He’d landed in front of a berry bush. A BIG berry bush with lots of berries. Nice, juicy edible berries in red and green and colours inbetween.
<‘Food!’>
Victoriously, he reached up and started shoving the nearest ones into his face. They were sooooo good. He’d never tasted food this good before, but oh were they good. They were bursting with juices in his mouth, sweet and bitter. He could even take some back to the den for morning-eatings. He could survive! He’d just keep eating these berries, stuffing as many into his mouth as he could for the rest of his life.
<‘Don’t eat the green ones.’>
Startled and choking on the berries he had inhaled, Ward whipped around and crouched, ready to protect his berries from being taken. He managed to make a gurgling hiss come out through his mouth as a warning. Or maybe it was more of a slurping-hiss but hopefully this new stranger would get the message and leave.
<‘If you eat them, you’ll get ill.’>
Ward swallowed the berries in his mouth, green and red, defiantly. The new stranger didn’t look like the Flash or Mustang-bastard. He looked like an almost-Elric, but his tail was short and stubby and his eyes were blue, not gold. He smelt like comfort-warmth-safety. Ward immediately distrusted him. Smells could lie. Nothing would really smell like that. Nor would something he could trust look like an Elric-but-not-Elric.
<‘What are you? Are you the Havoc?’> he asked warily. <‘These are my berries, I’m not giving them to you…You’re not allowed to eat me, the Mustang said so!’> he added quickly, just in case.
The stranger whuffed under his breath and smiled at him. <‘I’m not a Havoc. I’m an Alfons.’>
Ward narrowed his eyes at the stranger, <‘I’m not stupid. Alphonses look like me but are not me. You are not like me!’>
He was whuffed at some more. The young Elric had the slightest suspicion that this was how the stranger laughed. <‘Stop laughing at me!’> he snarled. <‘You are NOT an Alphonse!’>
<‘No, I am not an Alphonse,’> the stranger agreed quietly, <‘I am an Alfons.’>
<’Uhhuh…’>
<’I am a Heiderich. Both my sires were Alphonses and they made me an Alfons.’> The Heiderich smiled reassuringly at him.
Ward stared back at him uncertainly, tail twitching slightly. So, everyone around here was crazy, dangerous or just plain weird. Okay then.
<‘Riiiiiiiight. I’m…going to eat now. You can go.’> he quickly turned around and presented his back the Heiderich, shoving more berries in his mouth at a slightly slower pace.
A quick glance backwards had him jerking backwards slightly, cheeks bulging. The newcomer had moved closer and was sitting right next there, smiling at him. <‘Whaahhhgttt?’> the Elric managed to get out. The stranger may not be dangerous like the Mustang, but he was annoying.
<‘There’s not many Edwards around here. None really. Are you [searching]?’>
Ward stared at the Heiderich blankly. What the hell was he on about now? Searching for what?! Couldn’t he see Ward was busy with his food?
<‘Heiderichs are good for Edwards.’> The stranger was looking at him expectantly, right ear flickering back and forth. Ward stared at the weird soft and brown ear. It was even smaller than his, which pleased him. Wait, what had the stranger said? Something about Heiderichs and Edwards?
<‘What?’> he grunted. <‘Whaddya on about? I’m eating. FOOD.’> he grumbled petulantly.
Blue eyes stared back at him. Ward rebelliously shoved some berries into his mouth to prove his point.
Brown ears lowered and a finger wiggled in the dirt. <‘Not [searching].’> the Heiderich sighed. He sounded almost sad…or resigned.
<‘Waiting for Master. Not searching for anything.’> Ward replied suspiciously. The stranger was watching him with a gleam in his eyes.
<‘My name is Fons. What’s yours?’>
<‘Ward…’> he responded cautiously before presenting his back again quickly. <‘Go away.’> What did this stranger want?! He peeked over his shoulder. Nope, still there. Damnit. His ears flattened in annoyance as he directed another look over his shoulder. This one accompanied with a glare. <’Whaddya want?’>
<‘I can help you learn to find food.’> Fons offered, <‘I can fix your den for you.’>
Ward bristled, <‘My den is FINE! I am fine! Everything is fine! Go away before I bite you!’> He punctuated this with a snarl and a half-lunge at the Heiderich who cocked his head in reply, soft brown ears flickering.
<‘Okay. See you around’> The Heiderich unfolded legs and stood up. Fons was taller than him, damnit! By at least a head! Ward growled up at him and watched as he gracefully stepped away and into the forest, quickly disappearing from sight.
With a heavy sigh at relief from the uncomfortable conversation, Ward finished his meal and brushed himself off. Using the waning light as a guide, he made his way to his den - which was perfectly fine thankyou - and settled down to rest. He was almost drifting off when he heard some rustling outside. Shoving his head out, he looked around. It better not be that Mustang or he’d be throwing more than dirt at those pristine pelts…
There, where the apples had been those days ago, was a piece of bark with more of the berries and…was that meat? Nearly tripping over in his haste, he gave it a sniff. It was! A nice leg of rabbit. Pulling the food-laden bark into his den, he looked around uncertainly. A quick sniff to the air confirmed the smell of berries and something warm.
Frowning in confusion, he curled back up in the den around his morning-eatings. He didn’t understand why the food was given to him.
Soon all was silent.
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