"If you're sure," Naomi said doubtfully as they approached the door. Almost before Ed could knock, the door was opened as Pinako let Den out into the yard to do his business. She blinked in surprise when she saw the brothers, and then smirked.

"It's about time, short stuff," the old lady said wickedly. "We were starting to think you might have actually taken care of your automail for once." She glanced over at the girls and gave a warmer, less wickedly teasing smile. "Ah, I remember the two of you. Welcome back."

Osanna smiled, pleased, and nodded to Pinako.

Ed grumbled a little. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here," he muttered. "Got held up a few towns back." Nothing major, of course, but still a delay.

"There you are! Took you long enough!" Winry glared at Ed, although she blinked in surprise when she saw the two females again. "Oh. I didn't realize you actually brought friends again."

"We just ran into them at the train station a little while ago," Naomi replied quickly. "They invited us to tag along... if that's okay?"

"Sure," Winry said with a shrug. "It's good to see some other people once in a while, too. Plus I'm amazed you can put up with them." She grinned.

Ed growled. "I am not that hard to get along with!"

"Your track record says otherwise," Winry teased.

Naomi just grinned.

"Small doses, that's all," she replied teasingly.

Ed puffed indignantly until Winry half-dragged him off.

"Come on. Let's see what kind of damage you've done this time," she muttered.

Osanna shot Naomi a grin, thoroughly amused by this all.

"Well, you girls make yourselves comfortable," Pinako said, going back inside with the dog. "I know you're no trouble, so we're glad to have you."

"Thanks," Naomi replied.

Osanna nodded and went to go greet the dog again, figuring she might as well.

While Osa went to play with the dog, Naomi went to look around a bit and came across Ed and Winry again. Ed's arm was gone from its mechanical socket and was on the table in front of Winry, already in more than a few pieces. Naomi didn't go into the room, not wanting to spoil what was clearly nigh on tradition for the two, but she was too fascinated with the automail to continue on her way.

Ed looked over at her and blinked. "You can come in if you want. She's just fixing a few things." He nudged a chair out for her. It wasn't like this was private or anything.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Naomi replied quickly, still standing in the doorway.

Ed shrugged. "She finished chewing me out early and now she's absorbed in her work. For another ten minutes or so. Besides, I don't mind." She wasn't the first person to be curious about his automail, and he'd sort of gotten used to it by now.

Naomi went into the room to get a closer look, although she didn't get anywhere near close enough to be in the way. She didn't understand anything she was looking at, but Winry clearly did; the mechanic's hands moved quickly and efficiently across the automail.

Ed was used to Winry working like that by now and merely yawned a bit. He didn't mind Naomi poking around some.

"So how does it work?" Naomi asked after a moment. "We don't have anything even remotely like this at home. Compared to this kind of technology, prosthetics at home aren't much better than a peg leg or something. And they certainly don't move like real limbs back home."

Ed shrugged. "I don't know all the details, but it connects to nerve endings and muscle tissue, so it can still receive the brain's commands."

Naomi blinked.

"I'm officially impressed," she replied. "How is it you people still don't have airplanes, again?"

"I don't know why we'd need them, from what you've told us." Ed shrugged. "Trains get us everywhere just fine." And honestly he didn't like the sound of flying metal deathtraps.

"You have robotics that connect straight to your brain, but no airplanes," Naomi said. She shook her head. "That just boggles my mind. It's completely backwards."

Ed shrugged. Hey, he liked the world the way it was. "We also don't have other things running around." He glanced at Winry and away again. She still didn't know everything, and he intended to keep it that way.

"Nope, you all fiddle with the chemical makeup of the world," Naomi teased. She knew what he meant, and followed his lead. She would make sure to try not to freak Winry out.

Ed just snorted at that. Alchemy was normal to him, and he enjoyed it.

"You still confused about how that works?" Because she sounded a little confused.

"A little bit," Naomi admitted. "I get that all the material has to be there, that's how it works for general chemistry and all that, but where does the energy to change it all come from?" That's what had puzzled her; there couldn't be a reaction without something to set it off, and the energy to do so had to come from somewhere.

"It's... a little complicated. Basically, an alchemist circulates energy through his body, and the energy goes into the circle when we transmute." Ed shrugged. "For me, the energy goes directly into the transmutation because of my arm."

Naomi thought about that for a moment.

"But that would require significant energy output," she pointed out. "Moreso than most normal hu--people would be able to produce." She managed to stop herself from saying 'normal humans,' barely, and she glanced at Winry to make sure the mechanic hadn't caught the slip.