A/N: Sorry, again, for the wait. This chapter gave me troubles, but I like the outcome, so I won't complain much. I ended up rewriting the end of the chapter, but I added a page in the process, so it's all good.

Warning: This chapter, and the rest of the story, has spoilers for the Fullmetal Alchemist manga up to chapter 64, and the rest of the story will have spoilers beyond that, because it will, to some extent, follow the events of the manga.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. I own the dragons and everything that has to do with them, including names and stuff. Steal them and you will, again, be fed to the more ravenous ones. Most of them wouldn't stoop to eating humans, after all. I could probably convince an Aquofa to…

Chapter Three: Rush Valley

Amaiy decided quickly that she didn't like trains. They were small, for one, though not as small as the rooms in Winry's house. But, unlike Winry's house, trains often held many noisy humans in close proximity. Their ceaseless chatter was beginning to get on her nerves, and she was already irritable enough at having to be cooped up in a large zippered cloth bag Winry had found. Not to mention the constant movement, and the fact that her wing had started aching. She ducked her head farther into the bag, stifling a sigh of irritation. The only thing that consoled her was the thought of arriving in Rush Valley.

According to Winry, the large town was much like a desert, dry and brown, with only the occasional plant. Even if it wasn't home, Amaiy knew that she would feel better if she could get somewhere away from all the green, and with a more familiar sky over her head.

"We're almost there," Amaiy heard Winry say quietly, but she didn't dare answer. They had to be careful, with as many people as there were in the car now. If they weren't, there was a possibility that Amaiy could be seen. Amaiy hadn't understood why they needed to be so sneaky, not until Winry had explained to her that humans don't like things that are not familiar to them. And if they encountered something they didn't understand, they wanted to understand it, even if it meant destroying it. Amaiy wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but she didn't think she wanted to find out, either.

She found it surprising that Winry had adapted to the idea of dragons existing so quickly, even if Amaiy hadn't told her much about dragons yet. Maybe it was yet another sign that she was a Dragon Speaker. Along with everything else, it began to make more sense, even if she was the first in who knew how long. Amaiy had been lucky to meet her when she did.

Just as the train began to slow, a loud voice echoed through the train, causing Amaiy to jolt out of her thoughts in surprise.

"Now stopping in Rush Valley," it drawled dully. Amaiy felt a gentle tug on the cloth above her as Winry zipped it, leaving only a tiny space for air, so as not to let anyone get a chance look inside. The girl picked up the bag with care, doing her best not to jostle it. The two exited the train without any mishaps, and were soon out in the open air.

Through the hole in the top of the bag, Amaiy got a wonderful glimpse of the sky. Clear of clouds, it shone a bright and flawless blue. She itched to spread her wings, to glide effortlessly high above the world and troubles far below, but knew she couldn't. She was still too tired to get into the air, even with her rest at the Rockbell's home and on the train, and her wing would never support her weight. Thinking of flying brought another pressing matter to her mind—she hadn't eaten since she left the desert, and she was definitely starting to get hungry. She couldn't get Winry's attention now, though, so she'd just have to wait until they got to wherever it was they were going.

Oblivious to her friend's thoughts, Winry walked through the streets of Rush Valley with practiced ease. She had become very familiar with the place and the people during her stay there. She returned smiles, though was glad that no one stopped her to chat. She wanted to get back to her workroom at Garfiel's shop with Amaiy before anyone noticed the little dragon hiding in her bag. It was risky, keeping her practically out in the open. Winry hated to think of what might happen to her if anyone but Ed and Al were to find out about her.

She recognized the shop owned by her mentor instantly. There weren't any other shops in town with flowers painted on the sign, but then, Garfiel was hardly your regular automail mechanic, if you could ever find a stereotype. She found the buff yet feminine man working on a half-built leg as she opened the door. He lifted his head as the bell tinkled. His dark hair was cut short, but meticulously styled, as was his goatee. He held the wrench in his hand almost tenderly as he coaxed a bolt into its proper place.

"Winry!" He said delightedly, though surprised. "You're back? I thought you were going to stay for a few more weeks."

"Well, as it turns out, two of my regulars are stopping by for a visit," she replied. "I can't very well disappoint them, can I?" Garfiel smiled knowingly.

"The Elric brothers?" Winry nodded, and he continued. "I thought so. Do you know when they'll arrive?"

"Any time now." Winry began to make her way towards a door that led to her own workroom, away from the commotion of customers. Generally, she only used it when she was working fast, and needed to stay up through the night. "I need to get some things together, okay? Tell me when they arrive." Without another word, she disappeared into the room. Garfiel watched the closed door for several seconds before looking away. She was acting strange, suggesting that something happened that forced her to leave early. He knew better than to press for information, though. Winry could be incredibly stubborn.

In the room, Winry gave a sigh of relief. Finally, they were away from prying eyes. After laying her suitcase on the small bed, she unzipped the cloth bag fully, and smiled when Amaiy's head popped out, quickly taking in her surroundings with curiosity. She set the bag on her work table, now empty aside from some stray tools. The dragon quickly wriggled free, and flexed her wings.

"I'm glad to be out of there," she said, with no small amount of happiness. "It's so, so… Ahhh…" She couldn't stifle a yawn, and her maw split wide, revealing a pink mouth and small, sharp teeth.

"Maybe you should rest some more," Winry suggested, sitting down on the edge of a small chair that was tucked into the corner of the small room. "You've had a stressful last few days." Amaiy just nodded, settling tiredly onto the soft cloth of the bag she'd been in moments before, looking very much like a bird settling into a nest.

"Do you need anything else?" Winry asked.

"Well, I'm kinda hungry…"

"Alright, what do you want?"

"Cactus would be nice." The dragon said, wistfully. Winry started.

"You eat cactus?"

"Well, yeah. There's not much else in the desert to eat." She made a shrugging motion with her wings. "We eat fruit, too, sometimes, but that's only when we can find it."

"You don't eat meat or anything?" Amaiy shook her head.

"No, my Clan doesn't, though the other Clans do. We're the only strict vegetarians."

"…Clan?" Winry gave her a puzzled look. "You haven't said anything about clans before."

"There're five Clans," Amaiy began, and Winry, recognizing the beginning of a long explanation when she heard one, settled into her seat. "Each lives in a different place, so we don't compete for food or space. My Clan, the Solarans, live in the desert. Another Clan, the Skeltics, live in the far north, while the Aquofas, live in the southern swamps. Endolars settle in seaside caves on the west coasts, and far in the east, across the desert, the Cypherns live in tropical forests."

"Wow, you guys are a diverse group, huh?" Winry commented thoughtfully. Amaiy nodded.

"Yes, and we are differing in more than just our habitats. Though we all consider ourselves dragons, and share a language, we are very different in appearance as well. The Skeltics, for example, are really big, compared to us little Solarans, and have four legs, but no wings at all!" She seemed truly startled by this, like she couldn't comprehend a life where a dragon couldn't fly. She was about to continue, until she was seized by another yawn. Winry laughed.

"You can tell me more about your clans and stuff later, okay? You get some rest, I'll find you some fruit to eat. I'll be back in just a while. Don't leave here, okay?" The girl stood as the dragon nodded tiredly and rested her head. It had been a very long day so far, and a nap sounded good. She heard the door close just as she drifted off into the comforting darkness of sleep.

---

Much to Ed's irritation, the train was delayed by troubles with the tracks, and so they were more than an hour late. He left the train station in a huff, with Al following not far behind.

The two stepped out into the dusty streets, the sun beating heavily upon them. Ed quickly shed his red coat and his black jacket, as well as his gloves. Rush Valley was the only place he felt comfortable not covering his automail. No one asked him what had happened to his arm, seeing as most of the people there had either had automail or were mechanics, and knew that sometimes that question could be a painful one. While Al still attracted glances, they were no longer because he was a huge suit of armor. Word had gotten around that he had 'full body automail'. The two quickly made their way through the streets.

The closer Ed got to the shop where Winry worked, though, the more he dreaded it. He just knew she was going to be furious, like she always was when they didn't call before arriving, and he didn't particularly want another wrench-induced headache. Finally, the flowered sign loomed before him. With apprehension, he stepped inside. He half expected to see the familiar blonde-haired girl slaving away over some project or another, but instead, he saw a rather muscular man (though certainly not as muscular as Major Armstrong) delicately working on an automail leg. He looked up as the two brothers entered, and smiled.

"Ah, hello, boys," he said, a little too nicely. "Winry has been expecting you, though she's out at the moment." He lay what he was working on back onto the desk.

"You mean, Winry was expecting us?" Al asked, surprised.

"But we didn't call her…" Ed added, feeling confused.

"That girl is very intuitive," Garfiel replied. "Perhaps, after all this time, she just knows when you're coming." The two boys exchanged disbelieving glances.

"I hope not," Ed muttered to himself, low enough that Garfiel didn't hear him, though Al did. The younger boy suppressed a laugh.

"Meanwhile," Garfiel went on, "is there anything I can do for you boys?" Both teens started, remembering the last time he asked if they wanted to wait for Winry with him.

"Er, n-no, that's alright, sir!" Al said quickly, waving his large hands.

"Yeah, we're fine waiting!" Ed continued. "Is there anywhere we can go to talk in, er private, maybe?" Garfiel looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, if you're sure… I suppose you could wait in Winry's room. I'm sure she won't mind." He pointed to a closed door.

"Thank you sir!" Al said hurriedly, and the two disappeared into the room.

"Thank God for that," Ed said in relief when they were inside. He leaned back against the door tiredly. "I didn't want to go back out into Rush Valley." A quick glance around revealed a small room, with white walls decorated only by automail blueprints. It was sparsely furnished, with just a small bed across from the door, a desk next on the wall beside the door where Winry could work, and a comfy chair tucked into the corner beside to it. Bright sunlight spilled past windows with closed white curtains.

"Yeah," Al replied with a nod. "I wonder where Winry went, though? And why she was really expecting us."

"What, you don't believe Garfiel's story about her intuition?" Ed asked with a sly grin.

"Don't tell me that you do."

"Pfft, of course not. You're just gullible."

"Oh, gee, thanks, Brother." Al's helmet tipped up slightly, suggesting that he was rolling his eyes. Ed just grinned, but the smirk fell from his face when he heard a noise, and he stood away from the door. It was a faint, squeak, like an animal. Both boys looked towards the source of the noise, the work desk beside the door. Lying in the middle of it was a cloth bag, and on that bag was one of the strangest creatures Ed and Al had ever seen.

It had apparently been sleeping, since its large amber eyes blinked sleepily. It raised its small head sluggishly and made another noise, a string of growls that sounded almost like it was speaking. In fact, Ed was sure it was some kind of language. Something about it clicked in his head, awakening memories he didn't know he had, like some kind of strange déjà vu. After thinking for several seconds, he deciphered the meaning.

"Winry? You're back kind of soon."

Al responded before Ed could completely make sense of it.

"You know Winry?" He asked, sounding surprised. The draconic creature blinked some more, then, realizing that Al was most definitely not Winry, she squeaked in fear and spread her wings. Ed immediately realized that there were far too many for any bird he'd heard of. After doing a quick count, his suspicions were confirmed; it had four wings. One, though, was bound in bandages, with a splint. The dragon realized at the last moment that it couldn't take flight because of the wing, and quickly folded them again and attempted to crawl into the bag it was laying on.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Al said, stepping forward with an outstretched hand. "I didn't mean to startle you!" Just before he could touch it, Ed grabbed his other hand and yanked him back.

"Al, don't!" He hissed. "We don't know what it is!" At hearing the name, the dragon poked its head back out of the bag, and spoke again.

"Al?" Ed translated to himself. "Are you Alphonse Elric?"

"Er, yeah," Al replied, confused as to why the dragon knew his name.

"Oh, good! Winry told me about you. She didn't tell me you were so big, though! You surprised me." Ed blinked as his brain processed the words. It was the weirdest feeling, like his mind was a mesh sifter sifting sand, and the more sand it got rid of, the bigger the holes got. He was getting better understanding the words better already.

"How do you know Winry? What are you? How are you speaking Amestrian?" Al asked, in quick succession. The dragon was about to reply when Ed cut in.

"Amestrian?" He asked, incredulous. "That's nothing like Amestrian! I have no clue how I'm understanding it, let alone you."

Before anything more could be said, the door opened, and a red sphere sailed through past it. It connected with Ed's head, both momentarily stunning him and knocking him off balance. He waved his arms feebly as he fell to the ground. Winry, standing in the doorway with a bag of fruit in one arm, her other hand balled into fist, glowered down at him.

"Thank you for completely screwing up my plans by not calling first, in spite of how many times I've told you to," she spat acidly, then picked up the apple she had thrown, inspecting it for damage. "And for bruising my apple."

---

Ending A/N: Hope you enjoyed the bit of humor at the end. Winry threw the apple because she didn't have a wrench handy, by the way.

Also, I am looking for someone to beta this story. If you are interested, please tell me either in a PM or in your review. Basically, I'm looking for someone willing to look over this for typos, and help me some with characterization. My only criteria is the manga and have a good idea of what it going on in it.