Ed flushed, clearly getting flustered. "Shut up," he grumbled. "They're just staying here for a few days."

Osanna looked at the woman, her lips twitching in amusement. But she didn't even try to comment. She just watched them.

"Well, come on in, there's plenty of room for everyone," Pinako said, stepping aside to let people in. She went over to the stairs. "Winry!" she called. "We have guests!"

Naomi tentatively stepped into the house, and immediately moved off to the side, out of the way. She always felt a bit awkward in other people's homes.

"Thank you for inviting us into your home," Kurama said politely to Pinako. Pinako waved off the thanks.

"Think nothing of it," she said. "It's good to see Edward and Alphonse making friends, and it's too quiet around here as it is."

"What?" Winry thumped down the stairs, and paused for a moment when she saw Ed. Then she glared at him. "Where have you been?!"

Ed paled and backed away, looking rather nervous. "It wasn't my fault!"

Osanna bit her lip to hide her grin, looking over at Pinako instead. Oh this was going to be fun.

Al also had a bit of a nervous grin on his face, although he was definitely not hiding behind his brother. At least Winry seemed to have left her wrench upstairs.

Naomi fought off a grin, as well, although she was having a bit of a hard time with it.

"It's a bit of a long story," she said, giving Ed a little bit of an excuse.

Winry stopped and looked at them. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment. "I didn't realize we had company."

Ed jumped at his opportunity. "They're just here for a few days. They're why I was gone." He looked at them all.

Osanna bit her lips but just watched.

"Winry, dear," Pinako broke in easily, "why don't you take Edward and see how well his automail has held up this time?" That would keep Winry busy for a little while, and give Edward a chance to try to explain.

Naomi didn't recognize the term 'automail.' It sounded almost like email, but that made no sense in context. She would have to ask about it when she got a chance.

Winry and Ed walked off to a different room so Winry could check his automail, and the others stood there for a moment.

Until Osanna spotted the dog. Then she went to go say hi, absolutely delighted. Sometimes she was so easy to please.

Naomi noticed the dog, too, but the first thing she really saw was that it had a metal leg. That was really, really strange. She opened her mouth to comment on it, but closed it again. There was no real way to ask about that without sounding clueless.

"Well, make yourselves at home," Pinako said. "I've got a project to finish, so I'll be in the next room. If you need anything, give a holler." Turning, she went through a different doorway and out of sight.

Osanna started playing with the dog, rubbing his ears and belly when he rolled over. She was having a grand ole time. But she was admittedly easy to please.

Hiei snorted at that and immediately vanished outside to do some exploring of his own. Yusuke just rolled his eyes and stayed where he was.

Kurama went outside a moment later. It was better than being inside the house the entire time, and there was a wonderful tree out front that he wanted to take a look at.

Naomi went to pay attention to the dog with Osanna. Once the novelty of the metal leg wore off, the dog really was cute.

Al, on the other hand, went to see what his brother and Winry were up to.

Ed had just explained everything to Winry while she checked on his automail, and she still looked very dubious. "That's crazy," she said, eyeing him.

"It's true," Ed said.

Osanna grinned at Naomi, just taking her time having fun with the dog.

Naomi rolled her eyes at her friend and grinned.

I could tease you and say something about foxes and dogs, but I won't, she spelled with her fingers.

"What's crazy?" Al asked, going in and pulling a chair over. He wasn't surprised to see Ed lying on a couch with his automail arm outstretched, draped across a table. The outer casing was in pieces next to the arm itself, exposing the inner workings. Al ignored it. He had no real interest in how automail worked. As long as it would take Ed's near-constant alchemy, it was okay with him.

Osanna just stuck out her tongue at Naomi and went back to playing with her new friend.

Yeah, well, one day I'll get you a cat just so you can be thankful for us canines.

"Universe-skipping," Ed replied blandly. "Or whatever it is we've been doing."

Winry looked up from her work, glancing between the two, and then shook her head.

I am totally okay with a cat," Naomi replied, grinning and returning the gesture. "Mom had a cat for a while, when I was really little, you remember it." She snickered. "That cat hated whenever you would come over to play."

Al nodded, understanding.

"Yeah, it's been really crazy," he agreed. "But it's really interesting, too. Like, one of those girls out there is part fox, it's fascinating."

Osanna rolled her eyes. I can commune with cats if I have to, she said with a sniff. But they're such snobs I generally don't.

Winry stopped, looking over at Al at that comment. "Part fox?" she repeated, clearly incredulous.

"Yeah. And another one of them can control ice, just make some whenever she needs." Ed was still fascinated by that.

Naomi snickered.

"No, the cat still hated you," she said. "I remember she would just sit on the top shelf of the hall closet and just stare and growl." She grinned. "And she was just so sweet to everyone else, it was just so bizarre."

"Without even so much as a simple transmutation circle," Al added. It was clear that both brothers would just love to be able to figure the girls out.

Osanna just rolled her eyes. Yeah, yeah, she muttered. One day I'll find an animal that loves me and hates you.

Ed nodded, looking a little distracted as he tried to figure out again how they did it. Then he shook his head.

"We'll see," Naomi replied. Getting up, she brushed off her pants and tentatively started to explore the neighboring rooms, to see what there was to see. She made sure not to touch anything that looked important or breakable, but she was too curious not to take a look around.

Al didn't know how they did it, either, although he resolved to ask when he got a chance. Sitting back, he watched Winry tinker with Ed's arm. It was always easier to help his brother keep the arm in shape if he knew approximately where everything was supposed to be.

Osanna grinned and went exploring herself, having fun just looking around the house. She was content to just kinda laze for the moment.

Winry finished with her tinkering and shook her head, leaning back. "Alright, you're done. You're too hard on that automail." She gave him a look.

Ed got up, grumbling something unintelligeble, but nodded his thanks.

Al rolled his eyes at Ed's grumbling.

"He'll try to do better next time," he assured Winry. Not that she would really believe him, given Ed's past record with his automail, but he could always try.

"I don't know about you," Naomi said when she happened to run into Osanna as she poked around, "but this place almost feels kinda like home. It's weird."

Ed went to go see what the others were up to, looking forward to having a few days off in his home town. He glanced around to see where the others were before he headed outside.

Osanna nodded. No demons, but kind of like home. It's... kind of nice, actually.

"It's quiet," Naomi agreed. "I don't know why, but I kind of like it." She blinked when her attention was grabbed by a blonde head passing by the window. "Oh hey... I don't know if that was Ed or Al that just went by, but they're outside now... Maybe we could tag along and see what there is around here?"

Al waved to Winry, and then followed his brother outside. It felt good to relax in Risembool for a while.

Osanna nodded and slipped outside after them, pausing when she saw Al follow Ed outside. Then she shook her head, watching them and creeping closer.

Ed flopped himself on the ground, stretching out before relaxing.

Naomi let Osanna do her sneaking. Instead, she took a walk around the house to see what was on the property. She paused when she passed under a tree and sensed the fire demon. She glanced up into the branches, but was barely able to see him at all. After a moment, she continued on her way. No sense in pissing him off somehow. She rather liked living at the moment.

"Feels good to be home, huh brother?" Al asked, sitting down next to Ed.

Hiei glanced down at her, watching her and keeping track of her. She seemed very relaxed, which rather surprised him. Then she moved away again, and he snorted, settling down again.

Ed nodded, humming his agreement as he got comfortable in the grass. "Yeah. It's nice."

Osanna wandered around, getting bored with the brothers once she realized they were just laying in the grass, and moved away from the house. She paused for a moment when she felt a familiar youki, glancing over to find the redhead near a big tree.