Spirit Animals

Chapter 13

As optimistic as the feeling Ed had in his gut was, it didn't stop him from feeling tired, stiff and sore from the train ride when they finally arrived in Liore. Either Al's sixth sense was working overtime or Ayala had told Chester who'd told Al that Ed wasn't in the best of moods because his younger brother had taken it on himself to talk to the first train station employee they'd come across for instructions to the hotel they were booked into. Directions were given promptly and the woman thanked and the Elric brothers and their Animals soon found themselves in front of the correct building.

While it didn't look impressive, it certainly wasn't the worst they'd seen however they soon found themselves pleasantly surprised by the inside of the building. The atmosphere was quiet and almost too warm but that may have been a combination of the big fireplaces and the fact that it was nearly 2 in the morning. Ed was a lot friendlier towards other people now that he was so close to a bed. Their room was basically the standard room the military always booked them. Two beds, a small kitchenette, a small bathroom and smaller dining room, if a table and two chairs counted as such. They did get another pleasant surprise when they saw the beds were two doubles as opposed to the regular king-singles they got. This meant both humans and Animals had more room to spread out, something Ed took immediate advantage of. He kicked his boots off, took off his leather pants (having discovered how uncomfortable they were to sleep in) and removed his two jackets and collapsed onto the closest bed.

Al, far too used to this behaviour, simply gathered his brother's discarded items and placed them next to his suitcase. Ayala thanked Al in her own way, rubbing up against the armour equivalent of his knee and lower thigh, before she joined Ed on the bed and curled up on him. Al gathered his reading material from the suitcase and carefully placed it on his bedside table before he turned to his brother. Ed had curled onto his left side; Ayala resting her massive head on his flesh arm and had tucked herself up underneath his automail arm.

Al carefully watched his brother's face to make sure he was well and truly asleep and, once satisfied he was, carefully tucked both wolf and boy into the bed properly. Ayala barely cracked a golden eye open at Al's slight manipulation of her and Ed's bodies, far too used to the manhandling. Once he'd tucked his brother in and had checked the locks, he sat next to the only light source in the room and settled in for a night of reading. Chester had already claimed his side of the bed and Al rested one of his massive gloves on the leopard's ribcage, pretending he could feel the rise and fall of every breath.

Ed awoke slowly and comfortably, if a little overheated thanks to Ayala's thick fur coat pressing on half his body. As comfortable and content as he was, he really needed to use the bathroom. Disentangling himself, he headed for the small bathroom. It was only when he emerged that his brother spoke to him for the first time since they checked in.

"Good morning, Ed. Did you sleep well?" Al asked, chipper as usual. Ed blinked the last of the sleep out of eyes.

"Yeah, actually. The beds are pretty comfy. If this was a normal, boring military mission, I'd be tempted to drag it out a few more days than needed," Ed half-joked. The dorm beds he rarely slept on weren't exactly great. Ed almost preferred the times they'd had to camp outside when motels had been booked out or they'd been in the middle of nowhere. Ed scratched the back of his head and stretched. "What time is it?" he asked, stifling a yawn with his flesh hand.

"Uh, a little past 10:00am. I asked one of the employees as they made their morning rounds. There's a little coffee shop not far from here that serves a good breakfast. We can go once everyone's up," he said, glancing pointedly at the sleeping forms of Ayala and Chester. Ed was surprised to realise that neither Animal was awake now that both humans were. Normally, Ed was the last of the four of them to wake up, on the nights he actually went to sleep.