Young Writers Society

Envy glanced down at their thigh.

"It's the philosopher's stone," they said. "When I change my form, I tap into its alchemical power. My..." Their voice faltered for a second - whether it was out of a bad memory or reluctance to say more, Robin wasn't sure. "...family has the same things happen with their individual transformations, when they have them."

Robin nodded to show she was listening, the darkness growing in size and speed as she continued to play around with it.

Staring down at the wound, Aegeas grimaced. "Could you cover it up?" he said. "I don't like looking at it. The sparks are a little creepy too, but you're stuck with them, so that's fine."

They did as requested. The wound quickly healed itself, skin covering the philosopher's stone with an Ouroboros tattoo before their form shifted to the one they had originally been using. They still liked the form they had taken several minutes before, but sometimes the nostalgia was something they wanted to ignore.

Aegeas turned around as Envy patched up the wound - that wasn't something the otter wanted to see.

"I guess we better tell the others what happened," he said. He handed the staff back to Tristan, who took it a little too quickly. Aegeas ignored Tristan's frown and walked over to the staircase. Aegeas would have to apologize later, but he was getting a little too tired of shapeshifting and magic and the smell of barf to want to stay in the basement any longer.

Still, he stopped next to Kellach, who had stuffed his head in a barrel. "Is he going to be okay?" Aegeas said to Fyrsil, the other otter busy patting Kellach on the back.

"Give him a minute," Fyrsil said. "He's just a bit freaked out is all."

Aegeas nodded. "And are you two coming with us?" he said, glancing back at the newcomers. "We need to figure out where we are."

Envy and Robin started to exchange a look, only to stop when they both caught themselves in the middle of the act. They barely knew each other, and the time they had spent together was a mixed experience. But something about the other felt trustworthy; it seemed wrong not to include them in the decision.

"I'll come," Envy said.

"Me too!" Robin cheerfully added, already returning to Envy's side. They waited at the base of the stairs for the rest of the group to go up.

"We are on a ship," a voice said from up above. Deep, masculine - this one hadn't spoken as much as the other ones had. "It must be a fairly large one, given the size of the rooms and halls that we have encountered."

"They didn't mean like that," a woman cut in. "They meant the actual place. Anyone who's ever been on a ship could tell that we're not in a regular old building."

"...Zogin-"

"Don't Zogin me," she interrupted. "Janos is being stupid. And Magestorrow is too, seeing that he's off in the corner now."

"It smells," came the quiet voice. "I'm not standing near the stairs."

"Hey, I don't smell," Kellach said. He stood at the middle of the group, Aegeas having taken the lead when the newcomers said they'd join. Fyrsil helped Kellach up the steps, while Tristan took the rear. Arlais, who'd been closest to the top of the stairs, was already standing next to the humans.

"I hate to break it to you," Fyrsil said, trying to hold back a laugh. "But you do."

While Kellach grumbled, Arlais turned to the person in the suit of armor. A little intimidating, but not really something she hadn't seen before. And none of these strangers were that harmful. "Do you have any idea where the ship might be?" she said. "Or if there's any way to get to the deck?"

"And do you know where we can get Kellach a bath?" Aegeas said, reaching the top of the stairs.

"I don't really know," Soul awkwardly admitted, watching Zogin stare down the homunculus and unnamed woman out of the corner of his eye as they climbed up the stairs. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and finally tore his gaze away. "We must be somewhere big enough for this place to sail, but I'm not sure where it could have be..."

The calamity made a ship like this impossible, so how was it still functional?

"Fine," Aegeas said, stepping out of the way to let the other otters pass. "We better split up. Maybe groups of two or three? If there's anyone else on the ship, I want to be ready for them."

Janos nodded in agreement. "That would be a wise idea."

"I call Soul," Zogin declared. Janos looked over at her - her response was expected, but he was always amazed at how quickly she was to team up with him in any situation remotely resembling this. "Janos and Mage can be together."

"What?" Magestorrow asked. He looked startled; Janos tried not to feel hurt, seeing that one of them was a demon and the other was an angel. "I want to go with Soul."

"I called dibs," Zogin shot back.

He pointed at Janos. "I can't be with him!"

"Well, I can't be without Soul!"

Janos glanced over at Soul. For someone whose face was hidden behind a helmet, he managed to look quite uncomfortable.

"Let's compromise," Aegeas said. He pointed to Zogin and Mage. "Neither of you get to be with Soul. Janos is with Soul, you two can team up with Arlais, I'll be with Tristan, and Fyrsil stays with Kellach."

Tristan perked up when Aegeas said his name. "Hey, it's fine, you can go with Kellach and Fyrsil if you want," he said.

Aegeas looked over at him and smiled. "I think I'd like to hang out with my favorite brother," he said.

"I'm your only brother," Tristan said, but smiled back.

"If you don't mind, can I go with you?" Robin said, joining Aegeas and Tristan. She could go with Envy, but it made more sense to have larger groups. It was Horror Movie 101, and she also wasn't half as worried about Envy taking care of themself as she was about these guys.

A short distance away, Envy walked over to Kellach and Fyrsil. "I'll come with you," they said, giving the two an awkward, almost forced smile.


"I don't want to go without Soul," Mage said, crossing his arms and scowling underneath his makeshift cloak. Zogin shot him a glare in response.

Soul desperately wished the two of them would just get along already, but Mage was just too afraid to reveal the one thing that would make Zogin actually like him. He looked over at Janos. He wouldn't lie to himself - being with him made him feel really uncomfortable, seeing that Janos had tried kidnapping him and caused him to look like this instead of his old appearance.

But he wasn't going to argue when the groups were already decided, and he just hoped that Zogin and Mage wouldn't get into a fight while he was gone.

He walked over to Mage and grabbed him by the wrist.

"I just need to talk to Mage for a minute, and then I'll be ready to go," he said. Ignoring the irritated look Zogin gave him, Soul led Mage over to the other corner of the room.

"Can't we convince them to let us be in a group together?" Mage asked, looking up at him with nervous red eyes. "I can't be with Zogin. She hates me, and..."

He puffed out his cheeks.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

"Zogin's not exactly the best at comforting," Soul agreed.

Mage nodded. "That's why I wanted to be with you. And you shouldn't be with Janos, either..."

"I'll be okay," Soul reassured him - even though he didn't really believe that himself. "Do you want a hug?"

Mage nodded again, then scooted a little closer to him. "But only if you make it look like you started the hug and I didn't."

"Of course," Soul agreed, leaning down and giving his friend a comforting squeeze. They stayed like that for a few more moments before Soul finally let go. Mage trailed behind him as they returned to the group, but no more words were shared between them.

"I'm ready when everyone else is," Soul said.

Hng, one of the strangers wanted to join his team. Well, Aegeas didn't like her too much, but he didn't have any reason to distrust her (or, not too many reasons). And it looked like he was better off than any of the other teams; Kellach and Fyrsil were stuck with the person who'd ripped their own leg open, Arlais had to work with two people who hated each other, and Soul and Janos didn't seem to be all that friendly to each other, if all those pensive glances were anything to go by. But these teams wouldn't last too long, and everyone looked like they could fight if things got dangerous.

"Let's get going," Aegeas said, gesturing for the others to follow him as he went down the nearest hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the other groups choosing their own paths, all heading in different directions.

Hopefully they'd be alright.



Fyrsil wished he had a clamp to put over his nose.

It was bad enough wandering down a wood-floored, brass-paneled, dimly-lit hallway, opening doors and peering at the bedrooms or piles of metal gears and bolts or whatever else was in this abandoned place. Keeping close to a shivering otter that smelled like pickles and barf was another story entirely. To say nothing of Envy, who'd been right behind them, completely silent. Kellach hadn't been looking at Envy, and Fyrsil was tempted to do the same. Envy ripping his leg open had been all the excitement Fyrsil had needed.

Opening yet another door, Fyrsil breathed a sigh of relief - there was a bedroom with actual bedsheets. Kellach had been shivering the last couple of minutes, and he really needed to dry out.

However, Fyrsil hesitated at the entrance. Other than the bed, the room was completely empty. No decorations, no lamps, no tables, no sign that anyone lived here. Even the bed looked perfectly made. It felt too empty and sterile to be normal.

"Is it safe?" Fyrsil said, looking back to Envy as he pulled Kellach back. "Is that something you can check?"

They weren't really liking this turn of events.

They hadn't enjoyed any of the time they had spent on this ship, but they especially didn't like the walk so far - the two they were with had been looking away from them. Which was to be expected, but it didn't make Envy feel any better. It just made that horrible knot in their chest and stomach grow. They didn't like Envy now; the homunculus didn't want to think about what their reaction would be if they realized that Envy wasn't even remotely humanoid.

And now the only time they were being talked to was because one of the two thought Envy had some magical trick up their sleeve.

They let out a quiet sigh and strode into the room. They weren't like their brother - they couldn't send shadows out to investigate an unfamiliar area. They had to do things the old-fashioned way: observing and keeping alert.

"It looks safe," they said. They tried not to sound frustrated, but it was difficult. They wished one of their brothers was here - they wouldn't even mind one of the Elrics, especially if it was Alphonse and not Edward.

Ergh, Envy didn't sound too happy about that request. Which was fair, since Kellach and Fyrsil had been avoiding them. Fyrsil didn't know if the whole leg thing was normal or not.

Still, Fyrsil had no reason to distrust Envy, so he walked towards the bed.

"C'mon, Kellach," Fyrsil said. He started tugging at the bedsheets. "Let's see if we can get these blankets on-"

He felt something grab onto his foot. A second later, Fyrsil found himself on the floor, covered in blankets and being dragged under the bed.



Zogin and Mage really didn't like each other. It was obvious in the number of glares that they shot between each other, or how much time Arlais had to spend walking between them. They were barely making any progress on this ship, what with her having to keep an eye on both of them while struggling to open doors, climb stairs, and navigate all the different rooms and hallways.

Arlais wondered what Marisol would do, but quickly pushed the idea aside. Marisol would probably pull out an axe and threaten them to get along or else, and Arlais didn't have an axe on hand. She decided to come up with an icebreaker instead.

"Have you ever been on a ship before?" she said, looking up at the others.

Instincts kicked in before they could even begin to evaluate the situation. Their hand shot out and grabbed onto the mass of person and blankets that Fyrsil had become, giving a strong tug back with a burst of inhuman strength in an effort to fight back against the threat lurking under the bed.


"I've been, once," Zogin said. Her gaze hadn't left Mage yet - she didn't trust the demon in the slightest. She didn't get how Soul could, given what he was or how he acted, but he was certainly a threat.

"I've been on ships many times," Mage quietly said. There was a distant tone to his voice that she hadn't expected - a nostalgic, reminiscent one. "Not a ship like this - it would never have withstood the heat. But my...my parents used to have ships that traveled on hot pools in Infernum. They would always take me when they went out, and there were days that we spent on the lakes together, just going around and around the lake's rim and telling stories about our days."