Fullmetal Alchemist: Fall Before You Rise.

Chapter 2: A Light In The Dark.

It was pouring with rain. Not to mention it was freezing cold out. I'd lifted Shadow back up into my arms a while earlier and wrapped him up in a part of my coat, So he wouldn't catch his death of cold. As for me, Well, I think I was already half-way there at least. It had to be getting late by now, Surely. The outdoors was beginning to turn into a beatiful twilight, And the stars- One by one bagan to appear, Illuminating our dull path through the growing darkness. We passed through so many alleyways, Twists and curves- Well, Let's face it, It may not be a luxurious place for a puppy and a Twelve year old to sleep; But where the hell else were we supposed to go? I've got no family, No friends... The only friends I have- Well, Had, Were in Lab 5. And they still are. I still can't get that poor Cat Chimera's almost lifeless face out of my haunted mind.

We passed luminous houses full of happy families too, Further into inner Central City, One of which there was a middle aged man sitting at the dining table with his two young children, And his wife; With a kind looking smile, Serving dinner. Seeing this scence should have made me feel the happiest feeling in the world, But it made me feel depressed and insecure; In other words, I wanted to cry my eyes out in the middle of the street; Of which I almost did, But me being me, I managed to hold them in, And kept on moving forward. Countless people returning home or just plainly having a nice moonlit stroll gave us such strange, Un-required looks. They looked at me as if to say; " What the hell is that freak thing?" But then again, If you saw a young girl walking around the moonlit streets with bird wings and holding a puppy, I suppose you might give wierd looks. But you'd think that people would at least have the decency to ask if we were alright, Or if we needed help, Or just a friendly " Hello." I suppose it's just something I'm going to have to learn to live with. Whatever, time to keep looking for a nice, Comfy little box for us to sleep in. Just as I turned a sharp corner in the pavement, I noticed that a whole big flock of people were pouring out of one small building. "How many people can that tiny place hold..?" I whispered quietly to Shadow, Who predictably; Replied with "Woof."

After lifting my eyes up from Shadow, I noticed that one of the people had stopped walking away from the building and was staring directly at me and my little pup from about five metres or so away. And to my surprise, She looked worried. I couldn't reallt tell where abouts on me she was looking, But as a guess, It was either my scratched and battered side from Lab 5, Or my wings. I went with the wings. I was shocked to see that she looked even the slightest bit concerned about us, So you can imagine how I felt when she dropped her little brown work folder to the floor carelessly and quickly bounded over to us, Her short, Neatly cut blonde hair dancing about in the wind. I was astonished. "You poor dear! Are you alright? What on earth happened to you? You're a Chimera... And you're hurt! What happened?" Her voice was soothing, And her eyes were deep and soft. She then suddenly put her arms around me, And held me tightly. And for once in my life, I actually felt safe. I felt like nothing in the whole world could touch me. No-one could hurt me, And all of my troubles drifted slowly from my mind. I could once more feel Shadow wriggling in my arms. Oh dear. I forgot. He's stuck inbetween us both. Whoops. I looked down at him, And seeing his facial expression, Hwasn't in the mostcomfortable place in the world. So I opened up my arms a little, ctreating a small hole for him to jump through; Whilst trying not to break the woman's kind, tender grip from me. She still hadn't let go. She placed her lips gently on my head. "Don't worry." She spoke softly. "Whatever happened to you both; You're safe with me." Is this what it felt like to.. To have a mother? Someone that cared for you, Looked after you... Either way; If felt nice. I wish I could stay like this forever, But unfortunatley, nothing lasts forever. Water began to well in my eyes, And I broke into a fast flowing river of tears. She made me feel so at ease, I hadn't even realised that I was about to cry. Her tender voice soothed my heart and mind, And her caring arms were like a wall; Protecting me from projectiles of the outside world. I threw my arms around her an began to wipe my soaked face on her blue blouse. She just gave me a reasurring smile, And whispered in my ear; "I'll be here from now on love, I'll look after you." She kissed my fore-head, And I began to weep even more desperately than ever before. Someone that cares about us. I was the happiest talking Chimera in existance.