The Phoenix Alchemist

Shadows

I waved to Ed as the train zoomed off. I sighed and leaned back in my seat. The city turned into country, and the country turned into snow. I shivered and pulled my window shut. A few research materials were stached In my bag, so I went over them. A man with a ponytail, clearly foreign, jumped into my seat. "Hello! How are you? You look like you need a conpanion." I rested my chin on my hand. "I don't know. What do you do when you have a secret you're dying to get out but if you tell the only person you trust they will die, along with one of their loved ones?" He rubbed his chin. "I've never been in that situation before. Man, I am hingry." I got him some food. "So, where are you from?" I asked. "Xing. I'm the emperor's son." I spit out my milk. "Like, a prince?" He nodded. I laughed so hard I had milk coming out if my nose. I wiped my face and apologized. "Sorry. That's just the least expected thing I've ever heard." He put his face in his hands and smiled. "The emperor has 43 children. I'm the twelfth son." I nodded. "You look stramge. Would you happen to be an alchemist?" He asked. I nodded and oulled out ym watch. "Arielle, the Phoenix Alchemist." His eyes glowed with mischief. I quickly put my watch away. "I'm Ling Yao. I came to this country to learn about alchemy." A glass fell to the ground and shattered. I picked up the shards and put them on my tray. "Well, this is a prime example of my transmutation." I out my right hand over my left hand and rebuilt the cup in a blue flash. "Wow." He gaped. "Alchemy without an array. How did you do that?" I shrugged. "I just do it. There are only a handful of people who can do it: me, my teacher, his teacher, and we don't know any others. It's really weird that we all happen to be pupils of each other. It's not a learnable skill, exactly." He rubbed his chin and ate a chip. "Who is your teacher?" He asked. I laughed. The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. More like chibi alchemist, though." He gave a sad smile. "What are you planning to do now?" I shrugged and looked out the window. "Find out who I am. I woke up a few months ago with amnesia and found Ed. Well, more like he found me. Then, we trained for a while and I became a state alchemist. This is my first mission. I want to tell him my secret, truthfully, but if I do, a girl he cares deeply for and he will die." He nodded. "Tragic. Well, I'll see you around!" He darted out of the seat and down the eisel. "Hey!" I called after him, but he was already gone. I sighed and looked out the window at the falling snowflakes.

~

I trudged through the snow, leaving a trail of puddles behind me. My temperature was always much hotter than normal, so I melted the snow and ice. I spotted the nearby bar and made my way inside. I sat down at the bar and started the mission. "Have you seen anyone with thus tattoo?" I asked everyone while showing Ed's drawing. A man with dark red hair kept on staring at me. Before I could talk to him, a young woman gave me a lead. "I saw a couple who both had that mark come by here yesterday. I think they were headed for a motel nearby." I thanked her and left. I was in the northern part of the North City, and it was absolutely blistering freezing. I set my set on fire to warm away the cold. The motel nearby had a lobby with frequent activity. I used a tablecloth to make a hat to pull down over my face. A woman and man, whom I identified as Lust and Greed. I pulled my hat down and pulled in my wings with a wince. They moved towards the door and I waited a few minutes to follow them. They started preparing for a heavy blizzard as I left. "Ma'am, you shouldn't go out there. It's dangerous." The clerk warned. I grinned. "Dangerous is my middle name." I flashed my silver watch and opened the door. The wind picked up, and I couldn't see Greed or Lust. A cloak of white swirled around me and I lit a fire in my palm. I couldn't afford to be spotted by a full body flame. I caught sight if thwm a while into the storm. They were calmly walking through it. I put my hand over my eyes to shield them from the wind and snow. My extremely dark red hair, almost black, whipped in the wind. Something sharp and hard hit me in the back of the head and sent me to my knees, then onto the ground. The white snow turned red.