Equivalent Exchange

[Ben]

Shara's muscles tensed, but she didn't flinch at his sudden appearnce. She'd learned that it wasn't a good idea to go jumping around when people sunk up on you. She looked over her hsoulder at him and then looked back at her watch and then held it up so he could see how she'd detailed the military emblem on the front. "Making it look better" She said after a bit 'and putting down the names of five people that mean the most to me....' she added in her thoughts.

She turned around and then stuck her watch in her pocket and smiled mischeviously "But i've written something inside as well, would you like to know what it says?" She asked and her smile turned to a teasing one. She poked his forehead and then backed off while putting her over coat on.

[Evoth]

Edward felt the impression of her finger on his forehead and watched her back slowly away, "Only if you wish to share with me." His thoughts carried to his own watch. The date inscribed in it was a personal one that he didn't share with anyone. Ed didn't know if what she had written within the confines of her watch was something personal like his was.

Sticking his hands in his pockets his gaze went from the ground and up to her eyes. Those auburn eyes studied her for amount. Something about her had seemed to change over the time they had come to know each other. But for some reason Ed couldn't place his finger on it. Brushing his hair from his eyes he studied her face. It was tensed as if something were wrong, "What is it?" the look of concern creased across his face.

[Ben]

Her hand was twisted backwards and under her shirt har fingers lingering on the scar hidden under the plating on her back. "Why didn't they say anything..." she looked up from the ground at Ed and then shook her head "I remember Sothe saying something about homuncului having a tatto that identifies them as such, what dose it look like?" Ske asked softly and sank to her knees.

Her world went black as she got hit over the head by her father's fist. Between her shoulder blades sat the tatto, in order to keep her safe they had to remove it. The doctor carefuly cut around the tatto and then cleaned the wound and stiched her up. "She'll be in pain for the next couple of days, but she should be fine after it heals." The doctor said and handed the tatto to her father "Burn it" And her father did. Shara awoke after the tatto had been removed and was bed ridden for the next several days with only an un-noticeable scar as a hint to who she really was.

[Evoth]

Edward ran his hands through his hair as he rack his mind for any trace of what the mark looked like. He had only seen it a few times when he fough the humunculi. His thoughts seemed to pass to the books he had read in the library about the Humunculus. The image came to mind.

It was but an outline in his thoughts but slowly became bolder until he had the full image. Ed gave a weak laugh. He didn't know why she would be asking. "Well, it's red with the image winged serpent consuming its own tail. The books in the library say it represents the cycle of life and death through which the Homunculi constantly pass." He tilted his head slightly, "Why do you want to know?"

[Ben]

Shara got to her feet and looked sadly at Ed "It seems I'm not who I thought I was..." Seh said softly and walked past him. "I have to go see something Edward, I'll be gone for sometime. Don't worry about me I'll be fine." Seh caleld back to him and skipped taking the steps compeltely. She packed her book and found Pinako "There are a few things I have to go check into, I'll be back in a few days."

She said softly and then walked to the front door and took her watch out of her pocket and lay it on the table next to the telephone and walked swiftly out the fornt door and headed roughly in a North East direction. It took her most of the day to reach the vine coverd house and she left her bag on the steps and walked into the house and instinctively went down into her fathers bolt hole and searched through his desk.

[Evoth]

Alphonse called Ed in for dinner. The night was quiet afterword. Edward seemed to question himself to the reasons behind Shara leaving. "What did she mean by 'I'm not who I thought I was'?" he questioned himself in the darkness of his room.

He lay on his bed with only the moon as light. With a small sigh he pulled himself to the side of his bed and sat. What had he done to cause her to go off like that. All he did was say what the symbol on the humunculus looked like. He couldn't see the connection between that and her going off. Ed lay back down on his bed, only to get a sleepless night.

[Ben]

Shara spent the entire night searching for what she wanted badly to find. It took her till late afternoon the next day she remberd where she'd seen the same symbol. She raced up to the room she and Eve had shared and broke the lock on her chest and pulled all the old, mody clothes from it and left them to the side and there in the bottom of the box, wrapped up in a blood coverd cloth was the peice of skin that was missing from her back.

Shara un-wraped the skin and then quickly wraped it again and spent the rest of the afternoon crying. Come night fall Shara lit a candle and packed herelf a suitcase of things that'd be useful to her and left the house. She headed for the road and when she got to the road she headed for the Rockbell's house. She got there about four in the morning and she quietly tip toed up the stairs and into the house and over to the couch. She lay down with her eyes open and staid up the rest of the night waiting for morning to come.

[Evoth]

"Get up!" came a familar voice. "Let me sleep for five more minutes." muttered Ed. There came a slight nudge against his body. Edward rolled over and cursed. "Give me a minute!" He felt his body get set up, "Get up now brother!" Ed opened his eyes slowly. He winced at the bright morning light.

Ed sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, "What is it that is so damn important that you had to wake me?" Alphonse picked Ed up to his feet, "Shara is back." Edward's eyes jumped opened, "She came in early this morning. I heard her go to her room."

[Ben]

Shara lay on the bed, her fingers running over the double edged knife of her fathers. It hadn't gone dull after all these years, she wanted to die but she knew she couldn't. The knife reflected light on her celing as the morning sun hit the flat of the blade. after a bit she sheathed it and rolled over on her side and lay there with her back to the door. She would pretend to sleep, but she knew eventually that the dark circles under her eyes would give her away.

She hadn't slept in the last two days and now she just wanted to die. When she heard foot steps she tried to relax and slow her breathing so that it looked like she really was asleep, but her eyes staid open and thinking fo last night she began to cry again, the tears dripping down onto the pillow.

[Evoth]

Walking down the hallway, Ed made his way to Shara's room. He gently knocked at the oak door before entering her chamber. There he found her laying on the bed. Edward's body began to relax at the sight of her. She was safe and sound. Shara looked fast asleep with her back turned to him. It wasn't neccessary for him to wake her.

As he closed the door behind him, the faint sound of Shara sobbing reached his ears. Turning around he took a second glance at her. Was she really awake? "Shara?" he spoke gently. The last thing he wanted to do was to wake her if she was asleep.

[Ben]

Shara's voice waverd when she spoke, making her soft voice harder to hear "If all Homuncului arn't human, then why am I so human?" She asked more herself than him. She rolled over and pulled the cloth from her pocket and un-wrapped it and held up the dyed out skin the the tatto on it and showed him it. "I have a scar between my shoulder blades that matches the shap of this, I fear I can't deny what this means." She said and wrapped the peice of shin back up and stuck it back in her pocket.

Shara sat up and stared down at her feet awaiting what Ed would say. After a minute or two she grabbed the sheathed knife and studied the sheath carefuly. She took a deep breath and then lay back on the bex and stared at the celing not caring what reaction Ed would have. If she was right he'd probably either try to kill her or completely freak out.

[Evoth]

Laughter bellowed from the chest of Ed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His mind assumed it was all a joke. A mere misconception of words. Shaking his head he dismissed the notion, "You're not a Humunculus! You're a human, just like me and the others." Within the confines of his mind the words battled around. It just didn't seem possible. She was human. Shara was like everyone else. She didn't crave for the death of anyone. She didn't want the philosopher's stone. It was wasn't possible.

"Quit kidding around Shara. The joke you're play isn't funny. You're nothing like the humunculus that I've seen."

[Ben]

Shara un-sheated the blade and studied it and then with a sigh she laid it down on the bed and shed her shirt and overcoat and laid them aside so they would get torn or bloody. She hefted the blade and then looked up at him "Houmncului can't die easily can they..." She looked back to the knife and quietly slid the knife through her ribs and wrenched it around a little and brought it back out coverd in blood.

She passed out and the kife dropped from her fingers and stuck point down itto the floor, within fifteen seconds and the wound completely healed over like only a homnculus could. After about another fifteen seconds shara's eyes flickerd open and she sat up "See?"

[Evoth]

Ed gasped as she plunged the blade into her ribs. The sound of the blade scraping against the bone caused him in cringe. As she pulled the blade out from her ribs Edward let out a small cry. What was she doing? Better yet, what was she thinking. Shara was trying to kill herself.

He ran to her side and looked at the self inflicted wound and placed his hand over it in hopes of compressing the wound. Seconds passed and a strange feeling came from beneath his hand. Lifting it up, he could see the wound heal up as if it were magic. She was right.

Ed got up and looked at his blood covered hands. They shook vigorously. Weither it was fear or shock it didn't seem to matter. His friend, the one he had grown to trust, to love, was a humunculus. The enemy that he and his brother had to face constantly.

[Ben]

Shara silently donned her shirt and over coat and picked the knife up off the floor and cleaned the blade. She sheathed it and got up and walked off. She hefted the suit case and opened the door "AL!" She found him and spoke to him quietly "I'm sorry, I have to go. Please take care of your brother for me okay?" she looked around and then said softly so only Al could hear "He means more to me than anythign esle."

With a curt nod she backed off and walked over to the telephone and picked up her watch. "I'm heading back to central if you need me. If I'm not there when you arrive follow the North star and eventualy you'll find me..." She sighed softly and then mumbled "I want to die..." and then walked out the front door and headed down the road for the train station.