::I touched the fish's skin with my fingertip and shrieked "Ow!! OWOWOWOW!" a tear rolled down my cheek as I stared at my burning finger. My stomach mumbled and I punched it again, almost knocking myself out "Uhnn...knock it off.." My finger throbbed and i sighed, wishing I had ice. I ignored the woman behind me and looked to Ed, showing him my finger "Does this look infected to you?" i sniffled and my eyes teared up "It hurts.."::

Edward shrugged and turned her hand over.
"I dunno." With a sigh Kiri rolled over and wiped her face on her shoulder.
"It's going to blister if you don't do something for it soon." She wriggled her arms and nodded her head.
"I can help if you'll at least give me motion of my hands."

::I glared at the woman "No way i'm risking losing our hold on you for my finger..." I stood up and walked to the side of the bank and clapped my hands and transmuted the dirt into a cup, then scooped some water into it and dipped my finger in the water "hmm..." i sighed and sat down again next to Ed. I looked to him and whispered "So...why do you insist on me bing with you?"::

Kiri glared. She had just about had enough.
"It's not so much that we want you to come with us...but you're in need of someplace to stay right? And your automail has got both feet in the grave. We'll drop her off, and then take you to Resembol. Is that alright?"
Kiri couldn't reach her hands..not to put them together....but there was always something she could do...the rock was still only hardened mud...drawn from the creek bank. She smiled and hopped to her feet. With a cry she'd leapt off the bank and into the water, sinking further and further the longer she was down there.
"AL!" Edward cried, but it was too late, Al missed his chance to grab her, and the brothers stood just off the bank, neither one wanting to go chasing after her.

::I look to the ground, I guess he didnt like me after all. I sighed "Yeah..how much will this cost? ill have to scrounge up something.."
I saw her get free and I pulled off my coat and ran past the brothers and jumped in after her "WHY YOU GUYS JUST STANDING THERE!" I reached for her foot but it slipped though my grasp and i stopped, as wet as a cat and cold. She vanished into the murky water. I looked back at them, my clothes now muddy and I was freezing. It was spring, but there was still a chill in the air. I sneezed.
I dragged myself back to the bank and sat next the the fire, shivering. "D-damit.." i chattered my teeth and i clutched my coat close to my wet skin, but it didnt help any::

"I don't think that she's gone just yet Shiba...you might want to move back..." And just like that, Kiri's blonde head emerged from the water.
"Morons...all of you." She muttered walking to the shore. She clapped her hands and a wound that had opened on her shoulder, with a pass of her hand, closed.
"I'm not the one that's going to kill you, you've caught the lizard by the tail." She stepped past Edward and Alphonse, awestruck at her boldness.
"I'm not letting you take me to the Military...I can assure you of that." She plunked down by the fire and wrung her hair out beside it.
"But you are my best bet of finding Aniki again, so you're going to have to deal with that."
"....Waita--....Justa--....WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!"

::I looked over at her as she sat down beside me. "What are you doing??" You tried to KILL us earlier!" I yelled and I stood, still shivering. I Looked to Ed, my teeth chattering "i-im gonna freeze..." I looked back at the woman. Her beauty was masked by night before and I looked her over. She was a remarkable beauty and I sighed, and walked to the waters edge.
A crisp wind picked up and I chilled again and closed my eyes tightly. I looked back and yawned "Well...its getting late, i think Im gonna hit the sack..." I put my coat down and clapped, and touched the ground with my fingers, the one still throbbing and made a small igloo-like cave again and before crawling inside I grabbed my fish and went in.
"Edward, youre welcome to come in here when youre ready to sleep, it is big enough for two.." I transmuted my coat into a blanket and curled into a small ball. I was too cold to sleep. The crisp air filled my lungs and I shivered harder than ever. I thought the igloo home would contain heat but i wasn't producing enough of my own to make a difference. The stray cat came in and curled up beside me and purred softly::

Kiri shot her a warning glance.
"Idiot...I only attacked you because you attacked me first...I told you and the Armor to stay out of it."
"Uh...sure...wha....whatever.." Ed shot his brother a confused glance and Alphonse met it with a shake of his head.
"Don't try to think on it too hard Brother...I learned long ago...it's better just not to try to understand women."

Kiri had watched their companion move and shiver most of the evening...ever since she'd dove after her. She shook her head and moved beside her hut to peer in.
"If you wait to dry out in there you're going to catch cold...Aniki did it once and I spent three weeks trying to get his fever down." She smirked and moved to stand beside a tree, leaning against it's trunk.
"But then again...you certainly don't want my help do you?"

::i growled, sitting up and I transmuted a door in the doorway to block her off. i rolled over and curled up into a tighter ball. The flow of air stopped and i poked a hole thorough the ceiling to let air in and some light from the stars[about the size of a mug, the hole]. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes tightly "what does she know..hmph." The cat meowed at me and I smiled, petting it softly. I sat indian style and ate my fish, and gave some to the cat too.::

While Edward sat next to Shiba's hut, Alphonse moved beside Kiri.
"Why did you attack Edward to begin with?" He asked softly.
"I follow Aniki..where he goes I follow."
"But don't you have a home, family?" Kiri cocked her head.
"Family? No...I can't even remember anything before I was found...nothing of a family...nor a home exists."
"So...you copycat Scar?"
"No I don't 'copycat' him. I do what he asks of me...and wait for him when he decides to leave." She turned to look at Edward.
"From what Aniki tells me...you and I sound a lot alike."
"How so?"
"We both want to protect what we believe most in."

::i listened to their conversation carefully, hearing every word and i finished the fish and threw it out the hole in my roof and sighed, keeping the blanket on my damp body. I finally laid down and my eyes grew heavier as I drifted off to a light sleep.
My dreams were shrouded with pain..memories... I tossed and turned and finally awoke in a cold sweat. I looked around me::

Edward fell asleep outside where he'd sat down, not wanting to bother Shiba...she seemed pretty angry when Kiri had mentioned helping her...but he really couldn't blame her...he'd be a little pissed if the same person that had just tried to kill him turned around and wanted to keep him from getting a cold.
He snuffled in his sleep as he heard Shiba move inside.

Kiri was by the bank, stirring the water with a limb..it was a little cold..but she didn' mind..not all that much. She smiled back to where Alphonse sat with his back to her and she nodded.
"Yep...you and I are more alike than you know..."

((Gomen, got to go home...need food BADLY! See you tomorrow if not soonerXD))

::My heart was racing, I breathed heavily. I stood, only to hit my head on the ceiling and make my hut collapse. It was still night, but a bit lighter. I looked around and forgot where I was for a moment and looked down and saw the back of Edward's head. I sighed and fumbled out of the hut and looked down at him apologetically.
"Im sorry If I woke you.." i whispered, unsure if he was consious or not; his eyes were still closed.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead onto my arm and went and sat down next to the dead fire; I didn't want to invade his space, or wake him if he was still asleep. I looked over and saw Al's body, or his armor, motionless. I figured he was asleep and I leaned back on my hands and looked up at the sky, sighing deeply.
"I hate those reoccurring dreams..especially the painful ones..." I muttered to myself. I was now in my tank and long pants and shoes, my transuted coat was buried under the dirt of my hut. I was glad to see the kitten escaped unharmed.::

Edward merely fell back into the dirt that had collapsed and continued snoring.
"Are you alright?" Alphonse asked after a moment looking across to where Shiba was.
"You don't look so good."He smiled at the kitten that she'd brought with her, and let a hand run along it's spine.

Kiri hugged her knees. She had went unoticed, and that was exactly what she wanted. She sighed and leaned back against the tree and looked over the water ahead of her. She couldn't understand how memories could be painful...or if they were how you could hate them. She supposed though that if she kept following these three...she'd find out soon enough.

::I almost jumped out of my skin hearing Al's voice. "Alphonse.. Im sorry if I woke you..yeah im alright..." I was sweating bullets and i looked back to the dead fire and poked it with a stick."Just... bad dreams Al.."
I sighed deeply. My clothes were still damp. I couldn't go back to sleep now, even though my eyes told me I was exhausted, my body was awake, my head wasnt clear enough to go back to bed...
I looked over at Al again "What are you doing awake?" His voice didnt sound groggy at all, as if he just woke up and I wondered if he slept at all.::

He tilted his head and with a silent nod, cracked a peice of flint against a nearby rock and slowly the flame started again.
"I keep forgetting that you and Ed need heat." He fanned the blaze until it was large enough to cast light and heat around the small camp.
"I wouldn't worry about me...I can't sleep...literally..." He shrugged and tossed a limb onto the fire to keep it going.

::Al was amazing at this camping stuff and I smiled at him as the fire started again.
I looked over at him "You dont need heat? Or sleep?"
I looked into the hollow eyes and quirked an eyebrow "If theres no body in there..how do you move?"
Sighing, I look over at the snoozing Edward "How old are you guys?"::::

On both accounts Alphonse shook his head.
"No. I don't need either. I move...because my soul is attatched to this armor....sort of like...a temporary body."
He turned to see where Shiba's gaze had went and smiled as his brother snorted and snuffled in his sleep.
"Ed....Ed should be about eighteen now....so...I'd be..either fourteen or fifteen..we don't really have time to keep track of things like that...we live one day at a time." He turned back to her.
"What about you?"

::I sigh "you.. must miss having a body...I guess the armor state has it's ups and downs..."
I smiled at Edward. He looked so peaceful, and relaxed. He always looked so angry all the time. "Wow, 18? He looks so young... it probably because he's so...you know..." she made a hand gesture to imply 'short' as to not trigger the alarm in Ed's head to kill someone.
I looked to Alphonse again "You sound so young... yet you act so much maturely than your brother.."
I smile, throwing a stick into the fire "I'm 18. I also live one day at a time... moving from one alley to another and doing small tasks here and there to get by.. Its good to know alchemy if you're...homeless... getting through school is a breeze though... my parents paid for it in full when I was 4. They knew I had a gift....i cant thank them enough for that..." I laughed to myself pathetically "BUUUT you dont need to know all that now do you?" I put my arms behind my head and stretched. Dawn was approaching slowly, the sky grew lighter::

He nodded, laughing at her implication.
"Yeah.." He looked between the two of them and nodded.
"I get that alot..Ed's always blowing up at someone or another. There are times I wonder who's the real older brother." He listened to her story quietly, and then shook his head.
"I don't mind, not at all. Your parents sound like really nice people." He stood and looked back at Edward, he was still rolled over on his side, wrapped in his coat.
"I guess we'd better wake him..he'll want to leave soon." He looked over at her...almost nervous.
"You want to do it?"

::"My parents were nice..from what I can remember..." I grew sad.
I looked to Al and kind of panicked, twiddling my fingers "Uhm, do you mid if i get a quick bath first? I feel like a mud pie from last night...." my clothes were stained and disgusting, my skin still had dirt particles on it. I point to Ed "I dont think he'll mind if I take a quick dip while he sleeps in. Ill wake him when I get out.." I grin.
"No peeking now Al.."
Walking to the bank, I don't even notice Kiri sitting there as I pull off my clothes. I walk slowly into the water and swim to the middle of the lake, a bit too far out for anyone to see anything anyway and transmuted another lily pad leaf and made it shampoo and lathered up.::

Alphonse hung his head as he realized her parents were dead.
"I'm sorry." He muttered. He shook his head, indicating that he would keep Edward away while she bathed and then turned away delcaring that he would never stoop so low.

Kiri was still sitting where she had most of the night as she watched Shiba move to the creek. She held onto a limb and drew circles in the water, bored out of her mind...it had been a while since she'd had time to relax and she didn't know what to make of it....she thought about asking Shiba..but the girl probably wouldn't want to hear from her at the moment...then again..since when had that stopped Kiri? She moved to stand behind a tree giving the other girl her privacy and clasped her hands behind her back.
"Hey...you mind a quick question?" She called looking at the bark over her shoulder.

::I ran my fingers though my hair and dunked my head under. Feeling a bit more clean I looked back to the bank, where Al had made his promise, and his back was turned. I heard the voice and cupped my breasts "What is it?"
The sun was now slowly rising; I had to get out before Ed awoke.::

"What do you do when you have nothing to do?" She looked into the rising sun and sighed.

Edward rolled over, curious as to why he wasn't sitting up. He blinked and looked around at the shambled hut.
"Shiba?" He mumbled.
"Where'd you go?" He shuffled back to the camp and waved a half-hearted good morning to Alphonse.
"There any fish left?" He grumbled as his stomach growled.

::I hadn't noticed Ed awoke and I moved closer to Kiri on the bank. She was a woman too, so I had nothing to hide from her. "When there's nothing to do... i think about the past...the present.. and my future..."
I smile at her "and I paint if I have the time, but that usually doesn't happen.." I came out, covering my breasts and crotch and knelt down to my clothes and clapped, touched them and they came clean. I smiled and slipped into them, still a bit wet from my bath.::
[Gomen...i must go... Ill pray that you'll be on later..ill get back on Mene when the speaker leaves...i have my web class til 330 anyhow... >.>]