Alphonse/Edmund: The one where they're furries

[ironysoul]

One hundred years in feline form, and now walking on two legs feels stilted. There was a knot between his shoulders that Al knew he could stretch out if he switched to fur. He could hunker down on his haunches and reach his front paws out far, sinking into a bow that would make every nodule of his spine pop. But while King Peter hadn't expressly banned fur, Al (and for that matter, the rest of the pride) still felt like it was something frowned upon now. Lesser, than their human form. At the very least that they should be grateful for it being restored.

He flexed paws (hands) and reminded himself again that his claws wouldn't unsheathe from the tips of his fingers. A hundred years in fur, and after almost a decade being able to change, he still felt wrong in this one.

At least, in the years since the age of winter, the pride had been restored to Cair Paravel. They'd served as stewards for generations, until Jadis had banished them. Not, Al was forced to admit, that he'd have been a particularly deft housekeeper with four paws. Maybe he could have dusted with his tail. The thought made him giggle.

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[ironysoul]

Edmund had said he'd be here. And while Al had many flaws, lack of loyalty had never been one of them. He couldn't leave someone waiting for him, not when he knew they'd be there. Leaving Edmund alone on the beach, at night, waiting? Doomed to disappointment? Al could never do that.

But his presence here, hovering uncertainly at the edge of the sea-rock, wasn't acquiescence either. He hadn't changed his mind about any of the things Edmund had wanted, had asked for, that day they'd met in the halls. Maybe he was loyal, and honest, and beautiful, and all those other things Edmund said. But how could he hope to have a relationship with a king of Narnia? Things couldn't be equal between them. And Edmund, king or no, could never understand what Al had lived through in a hundred years of Jadis's rule. What all the lions had lived through. What the pack needed from each other. Leopards weren't lions. They didn't depend on each other the same way. They didn't depend on anyone.

But Edmund, hugging his knees in the moonlight, didn't look fiercely independent. Or any kind of independent. He looked lost. Al knew he'd done that. Maybe he didn't agree with Edmund, but he'd hurt him. He hated that.

Al cleared his throat softly, taking a cautious step forward. He didn't want to give Edmund the wrong idea, or lead him on, but he wanted -- he wanted the king to have a friend.

"King Edmund?"

[just_edmund]

Long before Al cleared his throat, Edmund caught the soft sound of footsteps approaching, hardly able to hold out hope that it was really Al. He forced himself not to turn and gawk. He simply kept his gaze looking out to sea. He let Al speak, and even then he did not move a muscle. A long moment of silence passed. He wasn't sure what to make of Al being here. Maybe he didn't have to make anything of it. But Al was right about one thing. His path as King was lonely, and a friend would be a precious thing indeed. It was a shame they had a snowball's chance in Aslan's spring of being simple friends. When he spoke at last, it was quiet and musing against the hushed crash of the waves. "The sea has heard so many secrets. How does it bear the weight of them all? Do you suppose storms rise up when the waves can no longer stay still with a thousand heavy hearts?" The moon threw Edmund's profile into relief, the proud yet boyishly vulnerable angles of his cheeks and forehead and lips, the thoughtful darkness of pensive eyes sweeping the sea's horizon, inky curls spilling over his forehead. Here he was no unapproachable King or fierce predator; simply a man with a great many things in his heart, perhaps even secrets.

[ironysoul]

Of course Edmund heard him approaching. Al was well aware of the king's abilities. And he certainly wasn't trying to sneak up on the other boy. That would just be foolish.

Out here in the moonlight, Edmund looked much younger than Al. Well, he was much younger; Al had lived a century under Jadis's spell before Edmund had arrived. Maybe it wasn't just youth; it was the sense of isolation that radiated off the young king. Al had never thought that panthers might be lonely. They were solitary creatures. But seeing Edmund like this...

Al wasn't really a poet. He was much more scientifically minded. He picked his way over the rocks to come and sit beside Edmund, trying to figure out an answer that would satisfy the king. "Storms are a result of changing baromentric pressure and the intersection of hot and cool air" probably wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"If that was true, the sea wouldn't constantly be moving. It's so big. I think it just moves our secrets through it, constantly finding new places for them."

[just_edmund]

Al was wise not to give the most literal answer to Edmund's rhetorical question, for that would only have earned him a withering look from the contemplative King. Instead, his reply drew a thoughtful glance and the beginnings of a smile from him. "A fine theory. And the breakers...perhaps they are the whispers of words breaking through and slipping away before we can catch them."

His gaze flicked back to the quiet waters stretched out before them, and his thoughts dwelled for a moment on how faithfully this place had kept his secrets and his hidden doubts, when elsewhere he must be the strong King. "I come here often," he continued, conversationally, almost confidential. "I find it wonderfully peaceful. There is nothing I like better than to change and run the beach north, then curl in a patch of moonlight and drowse to the sound of the shore."

Edmund ran his fingers over the powder-soft sand. One would think that the rocky outcroppings behind them would leave the sand coarse and harsh, but such was the magic of Narnia. Maybe the ocean gods and their people had some hand in it. "What of you, Alphonse? Where do you go when you long for peace?" He turned his head to look at the man beside him, and his lips curved a little more broadly. "If it is not a secret place, you know."

[ironysoul]

This time, Al couldn't help but answer literally. He glanced down at his hands uncertainly, doubting that Edmund would find his answer very comforting. "I go to my pride. That's what they're they're for. They're my family." Truthfully, not Peter. Not that there was anything wrong with the king; he was their alpha and Al was bonded to him. But not in the same way he was bonded to Ed and Winry, or the other lions. They'd been through so much together. Al just couldn't imagine a world in which he couldn't turn to them. That... that definitely wasn't a secret.

Was the king of Narnia really so lonely? Al knew that things were sometimes stressful between the four siblings -- especially between Edmund and his older brother, but he couldn't believe it was truly that bad.

Why else would the King invite him here, if it was really so private? Unless he had no one else.

"No one calls me Alphonse. Not unless they're yelling at me. Al is fine."

[just_edmund]

Edmund sighed. He should have known. But he also couldn't blame Al for the things that comforted him. "I can believe that," he said, a small smile conceding his mouth. "Certainly, on matters pertaining to the realm, my royal sisters and brother are the first ones I consult. We are united on that front."

He fell silent. Al wouldn't understand, with how close he was to his own family, that Edmund's was not always a source of peace for him. And so he left it unsaid, brows darkening unconsciously, wondering if Al really was just like the rest of them, blindly loyal, stubbornly clinging to his own faction at the expense of others, petitioning for laws that helped them and only them.

Damn. He'd tried to get away from this subject with something lighter to talk about. Edmund's frown deepened. For a little while, he'd like to pretend that Al was someone he could be friends with.

"I should need to know all of your names to properly yell at you," he said solemnly, and only the intent behind the joke gave it away as such. "Until I am so privileged - Al it shall be."

[ironysoul]

Well.. maybe Al could understand a little. He loved his brother more than anyone in the world, but there were definitely times they didn't see eye to eye. Those fights could be messy. (And generally ended with Al cleaning up after Edward.)

He smiled slightly, looking to the side to meet the young King's eyes. "Obviously you don't know me well at all," he said slyly. "I never need to be yelled at. You're thinking of my brother."

Ed's antics were legendary. Certainly, if they were searching for a less laden topic, and one able to bring Edmund relief, that was a safe one. After all, Ed was known far and wide for wreaking havoc on Cair Paravel and its inhabitants. The leopards had even been his victims, once or twice. Not that he ever hurt anyone. He just bred madness wherever he went.

[just_edmund]

Edmund tilted his head to look at the man sitting next to him, and it struck him again, just how kind Al's eyes were. The kindest he'd seen in a long time. "Why," he said thoughtfully, "do I get the feeling you get out of a lot of scrapes just by looking innocent?" Amusement twitched at the corners of his mouth. "And that your brother gets into a lot of them just by looking like trouble?"

The elder Elric's antics were legendary - it wasn't a great wonder that Al was easier to overlook when he had such an infamous brother sucking up all the attention. Maybe Edmund's attentions made Al uncomfortable because he simply wasn't used to it at all.

Well, he'd have the opportunity now. Edmund shifted next to him and arched his back, rolling his shoulders back and feeling the muscles pop from their prolonged slouch. His mouth relaxed into a smile. "Tell me, just how much time do you spend cleaning up Edward's messes in the average day?"

[ironysoul]

"Average?" Al's lips twitched up slightly, and he grinned at Edmund for just a moment. "Most of it." Edward, after all, did get into a lot of scrapes. But the truth was Al had gotten into his fair share, over the years, and Ed was always there to back him up. They were brothers -- that was what brothers did. It was a stronger bond even than pack.

"You can look innocent and still be innocent, you know," he said instead, ducking his head. Most of the time, he was. Al tried hard to be a good person. It wasn't just about looking innocent. It was about doing the right thing, even when the right thing wasn't innocent.

Edmund was right about one thing -- Al wasn't used to attention. At least, not this kind of attention. People were generally interested in him because of his brother, or because they'd figured out he was an Alpha. Most people weren't interested in Al for his own sake. At first he'd thought Edmund was one of them, but now... now, he wasn't sure.

"What about you? You've got a reputation for mischief too, you know."

[just_edmund]

Edmund chuckled, nodding. "That's what I thought."

He found himself looking once more at Al, as the young man looked down and loose wisps of golden hair curled around his face and shoulders. He was beautiful and didn't even know it. Beauty was easy to come by, though. An honest, pure soul like Al's...

"Of course. Looks, impressions, hunches...all these have very little to do with one's true innocence. Actions, history...these are the only sure thing."

His voice dropped to a soft note of approval. "You have served Narnia faithfully through the whole Winter, haven't you, Al? Through the leanest of times and the most dangerous of days? There are not many who can say as much. It...speaks very well of you."

For all his flirtatious exterior, Edmund recognized and appreciated character just as much if not more than his brother or any of the others. He'd had time to do some thinking since Al's frank rejection of his advances. He hadn't wanted the bareness of friendship when more than that dangled right in front of him, but... "I could do worse than to have such faithfulness in a friend."

The way he spoke it, there were perhaps not so very many such people in Edmund's life.

He shrugged and looked back towards the darkened sea at Al's insinuation, and his hand ran idly through his hair, ruffling it even more than the wind had already. "Reports can be greatly exaggerated," he said with a dry archness, as though he wasn't sure it would help his case to confirm or deny the rumours.

[ironysoul]

Embarrassed, Al looked away. Edmund made his service sound like a great feat. The truth was Al had done no more and no less than the rest of his pride. "I am a steward, your highness," he demurred, glancing briefly at Edmund, scanning his face for some sign of understanding. Edmund wasn't Narnian by birth. But surely he understood duty and responsibility. The watchwords of Al's life. "Any would do the same. Many did. I'm not special."

Nor was he an appropriate friend for royalty, but that seemed to be a lost cause. Al could feel his cheeks heating up, blushing again. He looked to the side once more, quickly.

At least teasing Edmund was something he could feel almost comfortable with. He hassled his brother often enough to know what to say, even if the concept of saying it to the king was terrifying.

"And often are. But the stewards hear more than anyone expects, and our sources are more reliable."