Chapter 1

Prologue

No one knows the true origin of a Spirit Animal. No one knows where they come from or why. The earliest of history books have always mentioned them and there are numerous theories about how a Spirit Animal comes to be but no one knows for certain. All anyone knows is that when someone is between the ages of 10-13, they get their Spirit Animal. Of course, there are those who get them earlier or later in life but every single person gets a Spirit Animal at some stage.

A Spirit Animal is the physical manifestation of someone's soul. No one gets to choose the form their Animal takes and no one truly knows what their Animal will be until they get their Dream. For up to a week before their Animal appears, a human will have a reoccurring Dream that shows them the form of their Animal. The favoured theory for why this Dream occurs is that it is a warning so that the person can prepare for their Animal and so that they don't panic when they are approached by an animal like a tiger or snake that humans are hard-wired to fear.

As mentioned, the form the Animal takes depends on the kind of spirit their human has. A hardier spirit will have an Animal that suits it, just as a meeker spirit will have an Animal that suits it. However, if someone's spirit was to change for some reason – trauma, for example – the Animal can change forms to reflect that change. Should their human's spirit heal, the Animal will change back to their original form. Spirit Animals always appear fully grown and mature, though they cannot reproduce with the opposite gender of their species, whether it is a Spirit Animal as well or not.

Spirit Animals have no real need to eat or sleep as they survive off of a special energy contained inside their human. It is, however, common practise for an Animal to eat and sleep alongside their human and preserve the energy held by their human for emergency situations. The energy also helps the Animal survive in extreme environments. For example, a lizard in a snowy environment can rely on their special energy to keep them warm. However, Animals rely on that energy to survive and since their human is the one to hold it what this means is that the Animal will die if their human does. The opposite is not true, though. A human can survive without their Animal but because the pain of losing their Animal is so great, the human is likely to commit suicide.

During several studies conducted on the bond between humans and their Spirit Animal, scientists and alchemists alike discovered that humans and their Animals share physical pain. Though they share the pain, they do not share the physical wound. The human is able to use their Animal's special energy to heal the Animal of any wound they receive, providing their pool of energy is large enough. If the human overestimates the amount of energy they hold for their Animal, the Animal can die from it being used up.

By using the Animal's energy to heal them, the human sacrifices their own energy as well. The longer it takes for them to heal their Animal – something that directly correlates to how severe the Animal's injury is – the more exhausted the human will become. Because of this, most humans and Animals don't bother healing any injury this way unless the Animal's injury is more likely to result in death. Humans cannot, however, utilise their Animal's energy to heal themselves.

In extreme situations, an Animal is able to use their energy to shapeshift into a form more suitable for the situation. The Animals cannot maintain the form for an extended period of time as they risk using all of their energy, however – just as it does for the amount of healing an Animal can do – the length of the shift depends on how much energy the Animal has at its disposal. While in a shifted form, Animals cannot feel any pain their human is in, which is helpful for the Animal.

Something everyone is told as they grow up is that you must trust your Animal's instincts. Spirit Animals have the uncanny ability to sense if their human is about to put themselves in a dangerous situation or if someone who means their human harm approaches. There have been reports on humans being able to sense when their Animal is in danger throughout history however those reports are few and far between so those who have dedicated their careers to studying the bond cannot prove whether it's possible or not.

The bond between a Spirit Animal and a human also provides the pair with a link. This link offers the Animal and their human a few abilities. These abilities include telepathic communication. The strength of their telepathic ability depends on how closely bonded the pair are. A human who has just met their Animal may be only able to communicate through images or short messages whereas a human who has had their Animal for several years can hold full conversations. Another ability this link offers is sight-share. This means that once the sight-share is triggered, an Animal can look through their human's eyes and vice versa. The link also helps the Animal or human to find their missing bond-mate if they get separated from each other.

Because of how special Spirit Animals are, there are many laws that apply to them. The important ones are as follows:

- You must never injure yours or another's Spirit Animal on purpose

- You must never kidnap or take hostage another's Spirit Animal

- You are never to take a Spirit Animals life

- Fighting amongst Spirit Animals is forbidden, as is encouraging the fights. The only exception is if the fighting is in self-defence

- Spirit Animals are given the same rights as humans. They are permitted in hospitals, all shops and stores and anywhere else their human may go. The only exception to this rule is if their human is undergoing surgery as the Animal is not sterile and the infection risk to their human is too high

Breaking any of these rules will result in fitting punishment.

The justice system takes the guilty party's Spirit Animals into consideration during the sentencing. Those who have been found guilty of a crime will be forcefully separated from their Animal for the duration of their prison term. The Animal is locked in a sizeable cage where they are provided the basic necessities but are left alone for the most part until their human's release. Although numerous protests have been held throughout history regarding the treatment of a criminal's Spirit Animal, the punishment has not changed. In fact, the threat of a forced separation has deterred numerous would-be criminals from breaking the law.

"Dinner!" The call from their mother had Edward and Alphonse Elric slamming one of the only non-alchemic texts their father had left behind shut and scramble to their feet.

At the ages of 5 and 6, both boys were old enough to realise that every adult they'd seen always had one animal following them everywhere and that there was something special about said animal. Upon asking their mother, Trisha Elric, they soon learned all about Spirit Animals from her. She explained that her Spirit Animal was her sapphire blue-eyed, black-tipped ragdoll cat, Cleo, and – when Alphonse had asked – was told that their absent father's Animal was a large, black stallion. They also learned that Granny Pinako's Animal was her faithful border collie, Den. When asked why they and Winry didn't have a Spirit Animal, Trisha explained that they were too young for their Animal and would need to wait.

However, as much information as Trisha had, it wasn't enough for the two knowledge-hungry boys and they soon started going through their father's study and the tiny library in Resembool for any book that mentioned Spirit Animals and devoured them. They spent their days reading the books, with Ed sometimes reading the tomes for Al, then discussing what they'd read and what they'd already learned.

"Thanks for dinner!" The two boys chorused as they took their seats at the table, looking eagerly at the stew they could see sitting on the stovetop. Cleo rubbed up against their legs as she made her way to her spot as Trisha placed the dinner bowls on the table.

"You're welcome, my precious boys," Trisha said, smiling sweetly at them as she served Cleo before taking her own seat.

She smiled gently as she listened to her sons eagerly debate about what their Animals would be in between bites of stew. Ed was of the opinion that he would have something fierce, like a lion or a bear, while Alphonse was hoping for a cat like their mum since he adored Cleo as if she was his Animal. They wondered what kind of names their Animal would have but Trisha gently reminded them that they wouldn't get to name the Animal. They would be told their Animal's name when their Animal decided to initiate the link between them.

Dessert was served once their dinner plates were cleared. The moment his mum turned her back, Ed gave Cleo his glass of milk, much to the ragdoll's delight, and Ed gave his mother his best innocent smile when she turned around and eyed his empty glass with a raised eyebrow. Once dessert was done, the boys were sent upstairs for their baths before Trisha tucked them into bed with hopes for sweet dreams. She gave them a loving smile before she turned off their bedroom light and closed the door.

Trisha headed back to the kitchen to deal with the dirty dishes left from the meal. She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the little alchemic horse Ed had gifted her with earlier and placed it on the kitchen windowsill with a fond chuckle before she got stuck into the washing up. Her mind wandered to her boys, as it normally did, and how quickly they were growing in front of her very eyes. They'd only recently discovered their ability to perform alchemy and both of them were already transmuting arrays far more complicated than she had expected. They obviously took after their father in that aspect and she couldn't be prouder of them.

Her mood dampened as she thought of Hohenheim and she soon found herself looking out at the darkened horizon outside her kitchen window. She felt Cleo rub up affectionately against her leg before the cat jumped up on the kitchen bench and bumped her cheek against Trisha's shoulder before they shared a sad look. Cleo had sensed it long before Trisha started feeling the symptoms. These days Trisha was only feeling her disease in the way she grew tired a little quicker and how foods with too strong a taste had started making her nauseous but she knew she would be lucky to keep it from the boys much longer.

Trisha was dying. She sighed a little as she rinsed a plate and placed it in the drying rack. She hadn't told anyone, not wanting to risk someone telling her boys. Though she'd known before he'd left, she had kept the truth of her health from their father. She didn't want to be that selfish that she would use her disease to manipulate Van into staying here when he had things he needed to do away from them. Burying such sad thoughts, Trisha gave Cleo a light smile before she got back to her nightly chores. There was no point in worrying about something that likely wouldn't pass for a while yet and causing herself and Cleo pain before it was due. There would be time enough for that later and she still had two boys who needed her until that point. Besides, she was certain that when the time came and she was no longer here for the boys, their father would come back to look after them.

A/N - So, I read through 'Spirit Animals' after I finished the last chapter of 'Welcome to Amestris, Agents' and decided to revise the current chapters so I could get back into the flow of this story and continue writing chap 26 and work on more chapters and hopefully get this story finished. To give myself some time to get the chapters written, I'll be updating each revised chapter every Sunday after the new chapter for 'Welcome to Amestris, Agents' is posted. I would absolutely love to know what everyone thinks to the new chapters!