Furry Madness

Part 3

There were five bedrooms in the Mustang residence. Hawkeye took one, Fury roomed with Havoc (hide would be the proper word – he was still very nervous about the three felines) and the two hamsters - Farman and Breda - didn’t complain about being left together. All they really cared about was to sleep right then. They went in their room and didn’t come back out. Mustang logically took the master’s and the brothers were ushered to the bedroom beside it, which also was conveniently on the farther end of the right wing, far from the others. For safety, it was agreed that Hawkeye would keep an eye on the crew while the felines tried to keep to themselves and curb their instincts. Roy would not tolerate any more Fury-chasing, from himself less than anyone else.

Edward and Alphonse weren’t thinking about running after anybody at the moment. What interested them was the house. It was old, full of intruiguing smells and dark corners. They wanted to explore it inside and out. They wandered, sniffing at every wall, every decoration. Occasionally they would nudge furniture, and Roy even had to sharply remind Ed he would have his tail if he dared to claw his couch. Edward snarled back but he kept his claws and teeth to himself.

The porch was a nice place to be too, decided Al. He pawed at little bugs, sprawled all over the sun-warmed wood, and watched a dog run across the street with mild worry. A few people strode up and down the street, minding their own business. Nobody glanced at the cat-boy on top of the stairs of a fancy old house.

It was a big surprise, but the blond soon recognized a passerby just as it was growing chilly. He cried out, delighted - “Scar!” - and bounced down the stairs and to the street even though he was, technically, not allowed to leave the propriety.

“Alph-“ The man paused in the middle of his greeting, expressing some surprise. “What happened to you?”

“Somebody made a mistake. They’re going to fix it,” explained Al, even as he stretched himself to attempt to rub his nose against the man’s.

“It’s not your brother again, is it? What are you-“ Scar caught Al and steered him away.

“Sorry. Cat instincts,” sheepishly said the boy, his ears twitching. “Scratch me? Please?” He snuggled back, pouting cutely.

Quite lost, the Ishvarith complied, raising a strong hand to rub behind the pair of sand-colored ears. “I’m only here for medicine,” he said.

“Oh? Is somebody sick?” The boy managed to sound concerned amidst the purrs that left his throat in waves.

“We have the beginning of an epidemic, but not enough medication for everybody,” explained the bulky man. “Central is the best place to find a good pharmacy.”

“I’ll help,” offered Al without a second thought. Mustang had clearly said they were not to wander in town but helping Scar was more important.

“ALPHONSE!” An irked Edward dashed toward them, ears flat on his skull. “Get back here, Al!”

“Why? I’m just talking with Scar.” He purred again, fighting to keep his eyes open. Scratchies were good. So very good.

“That’s the guy who likes to kill people like us, moron!”

“Don’t worry so much, Niisan,” drawled Al. It wasn’t possible to worry at all under Scar’s hand. He could have spent the whole day there, just purring like mad until he lost his voice.

Edward stared and fumed silently, gold tail swinging wildly. Scar first took it for hostility toward him, but as Ed’s ears twitched in his direction, listening to Al’s content sounds, he decided it was actually jealousy. Dear Ishbala, what was going on in here? The man impulsively raised his other hand in an inviting gesture. Edward tipped closer, wary like a wild cat but unable to resist shoving his head in the stretched hand. It was a very confusing situation. Not long ago the Ishvarith would have called them abominations, but it wasn’t like that anymore. There had been enough killing and enough pain. And besides, Alphonse seemed confident it was a temporary situation.

When Roy emerged to his turn, worried because he had not heard a thing from the boys for a while, he was quick to take up an hostile stance to his turn, ears flat, teeth bared and claws at the ready. He called the brothers, growling for them to fall back.

“It’s fine,” mumbled Edward, busy fighting the urge to snuggle against Scar like his brother was doing.

Roy stalked closer, ready to jump at Scar’s throat if he even looked like he was thinking about using his cursed arm and hand, which Edward was willingly pushing into. What the hell was Ed thinking?

I’m an alchemist and currently also a chimera. There’s the guy who kills chimeras and alchemists with his cursed arm. Said guy also nearly killed me once. I should totally go push my head in his hand!

“Fullmetal, what do you think you’re doing?”

“How many of you are there?” questioned Scar, voice full of reproach.

“Just us,” lied Mustang. “It will be fixed soon. What are you doing here, Scar?”

“Needs medicine. For an epidemic. I said I’d help.” That was the most coherent Alphonse could be at the moment.

“You are not going anywhere and certainly not with that man,” snapped Roy. He was the boss here damnit. “We’re in quarentine until things are settled. No exceptions.”

“But-“

“I don’t require help,” interrupted Scar. “I can find what we need by myself.”

Al’s ears dropped a little. “But how are you going to carry everything back? You could get assaulted. I want to help.”

“I can have whatever you need brought over,” cautiously offered the panther-man. It was better to keep Scar happy and to send him back home as soon as possible instead of allowing him to wander in Central. “You won’t find remedy in great enough quantity in simple shops I believe,” he argued.

The Ishbal man stared back darkly a moment, but finally decided this was too important to refuse such help. “That would be kind of you. Can it be quick? Children are dying every minute I delay.”

“It’ll be quick,” assured Mustang, eying the boys nervously. He didn’t want to leave them around this guy, the guy who’d killed that chimera girl Nina, the one who despised alchemy but used it to kill. The brothers had to be crazy to forget the danger and act like a pair of, well, friendly kittens.

The man glanced at Roy with his red eyes, looking almost amused at his concern. “I won’t harm them.”

“Stop being a pussy, Mustang,” sniffed Ed. “Just go.”

Slowly, very slowly, Roy stepped back to his porch. He turned and disappeared inside in a blur, returning mere minutes later. As he had said, Scar had not killed or otherwise harmed the brothers. They’d moved to the lawn - and although Alphonse was still behaving like a cat in heat - Edward had pulled away to hold a serious conversation with the scarred man. Roy never knew about what, as they fell quiet at his approach.

“They have shots for a thousand. It should be more than enough to solve the problem.”

“We have gold to pay,” began Scar, reaching for the bag on his back. If there was really so much gold in there, it was no wonder they had chosen this man to make the trip, noted Edward. Nobody got in Scar’s way.

“No need for it,” said Roy dismissively. “I told them it was a matter of national security. We can’t have an epidemic nest like that, it could spread to a larger area and we won’t be able to eliminate the problem that easily when that happens.”

The two men were still politely – and coldly - arguing when a jeep screech to a stop near them a soldier jumped out, saluting. “Colonel Mustang, sir! We have what you requested, sir!”

Edward snorted. He could literally smell the soldier’s fear. He was too concentrated on being afraid to even look surprised that the colonel sported feline traits. “You didn’t have to threaten them, Mustang.”

“You have to admit it hasten the progress,” was the smooth, almost purred, reply. To the soldiers, Roy said, “Escort this man back to the Ishvarith camp and make sure the shots are well administrated to all who show any symptoms. Return when there is no more danger of epidemic. Clear?”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

Scar, realizing it would be much faster to return by car and that it would save lives, silently nodded to the three felines and climbed aboard after peeling Alphonse out of his lap. The boy looked positively crushed to see Scar leave, but he still waved goodbye with a smile.

“Scar has such nice hands,” Al sighed regretfully.

“Mn.” It wanted to be neutral, but the sound Edward made was also filled with regret.

“Go back inside,” ordered Mustang. “We’ve attracted enough attention as it is.” The boys were still hesitating so he literally nipped at their shoulders to urge them forward.

“Ow! You don’t have to bite! Get a grip, Mustang!”

“I wouldn’t talk,” sneered Roy with a superior curl of his lips. “I wasn’t begging to be scratched.”

“I wasn’t begging!”