Alchemy Lessons

"M'staeng? Hey, M'staeng?" Al questioned, peering into the living room where he was currently lounging lazily. "Is there something on this ship we could write with? And some paper to write on?"

"Yeah. There are some materials in my office. I'll show you where they are," M'staeng replied, standing up. Physical writing materials weren't too common anymore, but M'staeng had managed to get his paws on some. He much preferred writing things down on paper to typing them. It helped him think better.

It had only been a couple days since M'staeng had gained custody of Ed, Al, and Winry. It still felt very strange, but they seemed to be settling in okay. Ed had certainly had no problem immediately making himself right at home, though it looked like Al was finally starting to feel comfortable, too. He and Winry had both been reluctant to ask for things they wanted, unsure how to interact with M'staeng after the whole surprise guardianship thing. He was glad to see them finally adjusting.

He led Al to his office, pulling out some paper and pens for him to use. They were both comically large in the boy's hands, and M'staeng failed to suppress his laughter at the sight. He didn't think the size difference between humans and the rest of the galaxy would ever stop being so amusing.

"What is it you need them for, out of curiosity?" M'staeng asked.

"Oh, Brother and I have a project we've been working on! We'd been working on it before, on our old ship, but we haven't exactly been there to work on it in a while," Al answered, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. Another strange human gesture M'staeng would have to ask about at some point.

"Oh? May I see it when you're done?" He wondered what kind of project they were working on, but decided he may as well wait until they finished to find out. No need to make them feel pressured to do it a certain way, not when they were still clearly uncomfortable and unsure of their places here.

They were probably just writing or drawing something, anyway. He wasn't sure what else they'd be using paper and pens for, anyway. Of course, most people did those things online anymore, but humans probably didn't. Or at least, not so prevalently that paper was uncommon. Ed and Al were likely just more used to those materials, and who was M'staeng to take that small semblance of familiarity away from them?

He watched as Al ran off, quite literally, calling for his brother as he did. M'staeng flicked his tail behind him in amusement.

Whatever they were doing, Al sure seemed excited about it.

M'staeng would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little curious to see what they were doing. Hy'ues had, of course, immediately made fun of him when he realized what had M'staeng pacing around anxiously. Asshole. There was nothing wrong with taking interest in his wards' interests. Hell, it was probably for the best to do that. M'staeng was still new to this whole parenting thing, but he figured kits always appreciated important people in their lives liking the things they do. Especially from their parents.

That was still a very new thought to M'staeng. Him, being a parent? Of course, he wasn't so bold as to think of himself as an actual parent to them so soon after gaining guardianship - hell, so soon after meeting them - but he figured he still had a responsibility to play that role. Whether or not they'd eventually consider him an actual parent was up to them.

Some of the things he'd overheard them talking about while they worked on whatever their project was did concern him a little, admittedly. He'd heard Ed arguing with Al about how they should shrink the pens to be easier to use (and how the hell did they plan on doing that?), with Al answering that it would be rude to do that to someone's stuff without permission.