I've been the oldest child since before you were born

[mysteltinn]

 Who: Owen and Winry Thalberg
When: March 9th, Sunday, evening
Where: Their home
What: Owen rushes home after being healed to make sure his sister is okay
Warnings: Sibling sads, probably talk of family death

The sun was starting to go down when Owen finally made it home. The roads were blocked and the police were out... he lost his dufflebag, so he made to use alleyways and backstreets so no-one saw Misstletainn. And even with the healing his chest hurt like a bitch.

But he had to get back. He had managed to get signal long enough to call his aunt and uncle, who were still stuck at work due the disaster, but otherwise fine. But not Winry. Bursting in the door he at once yelled out for her, rushing about like a decapitated chicken, tossing his battered sword away. She HAD to be here. She wouldn't have had any reason to be in the Business District on a Sunday, right?!

"Pleasepleaseplease..."

Comments

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Winry was very much of the same mind. While she had not been at the center of all the chaos, she still knew what had happened. As luck would have it her phone's battery had died so she hadn't anyway of receiving the texts that Owen had sent her, nor a way to try and get in contact with him.

Home had been her first priority once she had seen to a few of the people on her way that looked like they needed help and when she had seen it empty her thoughts had turned towards the worst.

It wasn't often that Winry let her emotions get the better of her, but in that moment she did. Just the very idea that Owen might be out there, might...

It was fortunate that the sound of the door sounded in her ear and she whipped around, running towards the front entrance.

"Owen?!"

[mysteltinn]

He stood there for a long moment, eyes huge. His hoodie was ruined, torn and filthy, his jeans having a hole at the knee crusted with blood, dust covering his face. He shook, tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes.

"W-win!!" finally the tension snapped and he charged, wrapping her up in his arms and sobbing.

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What had happened to him? She took in the sight of him--clearly he had been there was so much had gone wrong. A choking noise escaped her as she struggled to keep from crying before she just let it go and ran towards him.

"You're okay. You're okay." She didn't know how many times she said it. Didn't care. Even with him there with her, her arms wrapped around him she needed reaffirmation.

"I was so scared." She didn't know what she would do if she had lost him too.

[mysteltinn]

"I-i tried to call... god." He squeezed, hiding his face in her shoulder. His thoughts echo'd hers closely: what if she was killed? What if he was all alone? He couldn't. he just couldn't.

"There was... a snake. A giant snake just wreaked everything..."

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She had to get herself together. She had to make sure he was okay and figure out what had happened.

Still she just held onto him for a moment longer, gathering strength in the knowledge that he was still alive before drawing back.

"Here, lets sit down. Lets patch you up and tell me about it."

[mysteltinn]

"S'kay... it's not my... my blood." He stared down at himself, and at his torn knee. Oh, oh that was his. Oops.

He did sit though, knees folding and body slumping as exhaustion caught up with him and adrenaline faded.

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That only slightly alleviated Winry's worry. Just who did it belong to then? Just what had happened? She didn't press him for answers quite yet, feeling it more important to make sure that all his injuries were tended to. Once he sat down she rushed to get their first aid kit, a glass of water and a wet towelette.

Winry felt whoozy herself. The adrenaline and worry that had been pumping through her nonstop since the chaos had begun was finally waning, and her body was beginning to feel the effects of all her running and rampant emotions.

"Here, drink this." She handed him the glass of water, and began to clean off his knee with the towel.

[mysteltinn]

He drank like a man dying, chugging the entire glass. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton and sand- not to mention all the dust and smoke. Even so, he hissed around the glass when his sister touched the small injury.

"'Kay... 'kay, alright. So, are they showing anything on the news? I called the office: they're okay, but..."

Who knew if another attack could happen anytime? Their relatives had taken them in when no one else would, after all. And they were innocent in all this mess.

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"I don't know. I only got here a little bit before you." Checking would be a good idea though. After this, hiding would be incredibly difficult. She and Owen were lucky in that they still appeared to be human but who could be certain if that would last? She still hadn't gotten any echos since her first one and while there had been humans in her vision, that meant little.

The news of their aunt and uncle came as a relief though and it helped her keep her cool. That had been a bigger concern. They would deal with the rest as it came.

"I was outside--not in the Business District but I saw what was out there." Given the size of the thing it would have been difficult not to.

oh shit I thought I tagged this

[mysteltinn]

"It was a monster..." He pauses, looking scared and awestruck. His games and stories were one thing, but this was something else. He wants to scream and run. Escape.

"Shit Winry I though you might be dead."

Re: oh shit I thought I tagged this

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"I thought the same thing about you." It was said quietly, in a tone quite unlike her usual. It was hard to believe just how little time had actually passed since she first caught sight of the creature and the ensuing chaos, and since she had seen her bother alive and well.

Once she finished cleaning up his knee, she applied some disinfectant and wrapped it up.

She shoved herself up to her feet only to collapse on the couch next to him.

"This is all really real. I mean I know it was but reading about it and seeing it, it just. People are going to know, but I get the feeling this is all just going to get bigger and more out of hand."

[mysteltinn]

"Well, I mean, we're still pretty.... normal."

His voice was soft and low, something his new Numbered friends would never recognize. Not boisterous Owen. Never him, he'd be charging in guns blazing. But to Winry it'd be obvious-

'We could stop, we could back off and not get involved anymore'