The Multiblood Alchemist

Gone

     It was as though we could still feel Mustang's disapproval hanging over us like a cloud. After the encounter with Greed, my small group couldn't sleep. We all stayed up doing nothing but keeping our guard up. Under the blanket of night, you don't know what could be lurking, waiting for it's opportunity to attack.
      About midway into the night, I fell asleep. The temperature dropped drastically, and I lost feeling in my feet. I assume that everyone had the same problem because they all clustered up with me. Smothered in warmth, I sleep easier.
      Why can't I breathe?!? I fearfully think to myself. My lungs ached for oxygen, and I grope at my face to rid of what was suffocating me. My fingers find something furry and heavy, and I grab a handful of skin and twist. Assassin yelps and jumps off my face. "Assassin! You nearly killed me!" I angrily whisper. " What were you thinking?"
"I was trying to find a warm area, and your face looked cold," he innocently answers. I ruffle his thick coat.
"Don't do that again, got it?"
"Yes," he shamefully says back, and curls up next to me.
      Daylight broke shortly after the incident with Assassin. We woke up earlier than the rest of the troops to steal some food so we're not stuck with scraps.  Luckily, the people who were supposed to be on guard had fallen asleep, so we could sneak past them to snag our breakfast.
      We ate the evidence before anyone could see it. When we finished eating the bread, we ventured out into the woods to find berries.
     "Are these toxic?" Naomi calls out. Mason shuffles over to examaine the small handful of berries in her hand. "No. Those are mothberries,"
"What about these? They look okay," Ed calls out. Mason begrudgingly walks over and swats his hand. "No, they're pokeberries," Mason says in a harsh tone.
"Pokeberries? Did you make those up?" Ed asks
"No, that's their name," Mason answers. I roll my eyes and continue searching for berries to eat.
      When we finished, we each had a nice heaping pile of berries in our shirts that served as baskets. When we sat down and poured the contents of our search out, Mason started identifying them.
"We have some black currants, golden currants, gooseberry, hawthorn, and...... Who picked the nightshade, dogwood, and holly?" Mason sternly asks. Ed and Naomi both shrink down.
    "Are you trying to kill us?!?" he shouts a little too loudly. "We all could've died!" he continues.

     Seeing their faces, I stand up. Mason continues to scold them, and I try to stop him. I decide to pull the mom voice on him.

    "Mason Logan!" I practically growl. He looks at me, fear in his eyes. "Don't even think about yelling at them," I continue. He nods and faces forward. Feeling satisfied with my discipline, I sit next to him, messing his hair up.
     I look into Mason's face and see that he's biting his lip. Tears start welling up in his eyes as he harshly separated the poisonous berries from the edible ones.
      "Hey, let's go somewhere," I quietly say to my brother as I stand up. I offer my hand to him and he takes it. I hoist him off the ground and notice he has grown very light.
     We walk down a small trail as the sun rises. I take note of the amount of time we had to talk until we had to make our way back to camp.
      When we reach a small clearing in the woods, I bekon Mason to sit down on a log. When he sits, I turn towards him. "You okay?" I ask. I could see the red indent where he had bit down on his lip.
      "I'm fine," he responds while looking away.
     
      "No, you're not. You haven't cried in a long time. What's wrong with you?" I say, determined to get an answer
       "I said I'm fine," he snaps. I could feel my face heat up in anger.

     "What's your issue?!" I shout. "Ever since you met everyone else you haven't been yourself, so tell me what's wrong with you?!"
     Mason looks at me, tears brimming his eyes once again. I feel my chest ache when I finally realize what he was upset about. No one except our mother had used his middle name while yelling at him. I must have reminded him of our mother, and I felt the same.

      "Mason, I-" I start while stepping towards him. He bolts upwards, his once contained tears now streaming down his face. I did this, I hopelessly think to myself.

     "Get away from me," he says, his voice cracking.

"Mason-"
"I said get away from me!" he screams, and starts to run into the woods. "Mason!" I scream after him, and I chase after him.
      "Mason!" I call as I sprint in the woods, dodging rocks and swatting branches in my path. He doesn't respond to my calls. I could feel my legs starting to feel like lead, and I urge myself to run faster.
     When I reach a particularly thick area of the brush, I loose the tracks of my brother. The sun slowly creeps up the morning sky, lighting the woods up. I keep running until I trip over a branch. My ankle goes numb and then starts to burn. I try to push myself up to find my trail, and fall back down.
      "Mason........ Please come back," I plea to the ground. Then horror struck me and my stomach dropped. How was I supposed to get back to the group if I couldn't walk?
      I frantically search the area to find something to push myself up with. I reach forward and grab a large stick. I lift it up and drive it into the muddy ground. I then pull myself up and shift my weight onto my good leg.
    I follow my tracks back to the military base, and to my dismay, Mason wasn't there. I felt my heart drop once more when Mustang ordered us to move forward on our hunt. I know that I can't stay behind for my brother, so I follow the military, watching behind as we abandon Mason's horse.