Howling for the Cold

Proud of them?

Oh, oh they were so very glad that they weren't a chimera with a tail right now. That compliment was going to be bouncing around their head for the rest of the day, maybe for the next week.

"Thank you, sir."

They cleared their throat, picking up their cup to sip from as they marked off on a case report and placed it aside.

"Still, it'd be my treat! You're one of my employees, and you know how I am with little celebrations!"

Was it probably from being a father and wanting to capture every moment and every achievement? Yeah, probably, but these assessments aren't easy, and frankly, if someone passes with flying colours? It's a reason to celebrate in his eyes.

In Zenith's eyes, Hughes was far too kind for his own good, it was sweet and they were grateful for the offer. Would it hurt to let the man treat them? Probably not.

Dinner sounded good and it was just for passing the assessment, what was the harm in it?

"Alright, if you insist! But the dinner is on me tonight!"

Maes beamed even brighter as he seemed to have second wind, quickly going through the papers as he stamped through the more unresolved cases and putting them in a different pile.

"Alright, very well.. I can agree to that."

Just as long as Zenith could return the favour then they were happy to go along with it, they'd just have to figure out what they could do for Hughes as a thank you to him for his kindness.

He had been so nice to them since they had been working for him. It was only right to repay him.

"Hm.. I should've figured you wouldn't let me pick something a bit more affordable.."

They let out a small chuckle, rolling their eyes but thinking on the question. It wasn't often that they were out to eat, making their own meals usually worked for them, but..

Proud of them?

Oh, oh they were so very glad that they weren't a chimera with a tail right now. That compliment was going to be bouncing around their head for the rest of the day, maybe for the next week.

"Thank you, sir."

They cleared their throat, picking up their cup to sip from as they marked off on a case report and placed it aside.

"Still, it'd be my treat! You're one of my employees, and you know how I am with little celebrations!"

Was it probably from being a father and wanting to capture every moment and every achievement? Yeah, probably, but these assessments aren't easy, and frankly, if someone passes with flying colours? It's a reason to celebrate in his eyes.

In Zenith's eyes, Hughes was far too kind for his own good, it was sweet and they were grateful for the offer. Would it hurt to let the man treat them? Probably not.

Dinner sounded good and it was just for passing the assessment, what was the harm in it?

Zenith could only nod in agreement with that statement, they were more than happy to experiment on them. To take them after the war and turn them into a monster, there weren't other wolf chimeras that they knew of, if anything, they were sure that they were the only one that had been made.

Alongside others who had been fused with different animals. They.. didn't remember much of that time, maybe some blind rage and attacked a few staff with alchemy, they remember the biting frost and blood. Then.. there were others.

A snake girl.. Maybe man fused with a dog.. Crocodile.. And a list of others. They were sure they were the youngest there at the time, barely nineteen and going through another, more personal, kind of hell.

Even now, the memory made them sick.

"I don't remember much of my own, but I prefer it that way.. I don't know if those memories will kill me in the process of remembering them.."

And they could only relate to Tim, who knew what kind of pain he must have been through.

He couldn't even say remembered much of his escape, adrenaline, fear. He wouldn't be their puppet. Their slave. Their Weapon. So when an opening presented it self he ran, running more on instinct then anything letting the animal take control not backing down against anyone.

Timaeus sucked in a cold breath of air shivering. if they knew what it was like maybe he could trust them? Uncertainty lingered.

"So as you can imagine I've no place to go, gotta keep moving you know...otherwise" He held himself tighter, the best case scenario if they found him would be a swift and hopefully painless death but who knows what they'd do. Would they really keep searching for him for so long? Did they remember? Timaeus didn't know and he wasn't about to risk it.

Zenith could imagine that. Unfortunate as it was, they were seeing the proof before them and they didn't like it, didn't like the idea of leaving them out here to defend for themselves. Not when it was raining and the temperature was plummeting from the sheer cold winds of the rain storm.

It just.. didn't sit right with them.

There was an idea.

"You don't have to agree with this, but I do have room in my home.. I live on the outskirts of Central, a two story.. I have a spare room if you want it?"

"Come onnn, Zenith! Have a bit of fun! And you need to see this cute little photo of Elicia when she finally got her hands on her dream pet!"

Maes held a photo up to Zenith, it showed Elicia hugging onto a bunny that just seemed very content on where it was. Perfect loaf of bread, as one would say.

"She named him Loafy cause she likes to loaf a lot arounf her! Aren't they the absolute cuteeeest??"

"They are very cute, sir, I'd love to hear more about it, however–"

Zenith placed down a stack of papers onto Hughes' desk, a pen laid on top as a silent 'please start them' toward the man as they looked up at him. Making eye contact.

They didn't mind hearing about Hughes and his family, it was sweet in their mind and it made for good noise when they worked during the tellings. But these papers just needed to get done.

Maes truly was caught off guard of the stack of papers, a look of shock before it melted into a pout. Though, he immediately perked up at Zenith stating that he could ramble about his family if he got his work done!

"Of course, sir, It should be quick work at the very least."

Zenith presented a small smile to the man, happy that he was getting the work done. The last thing they wanted was some pretentious higher up having a go at them for not making sure the work was done. They'd have happily zoned out for it but getting into that as a whole just wasn't worth the hassle.

With a nod, they step away. Stepping toward a small station for coffee making that investigations finally had implemented recently.

Zenith only took minutes before they were back at Hughes' desk, placing the coffee onto it.

"Thank you kindly, Zenny! You truly are a gem and a wonderful employee to have ♡"

Maes grinned as he pulled the mug closer, but still away from his hand so he wouldn't knock it over.

Compared to Roy's work, the investigations files were both a mix of easy and yet most excruciating work on earth. There are plenty of little details that could be missed if you so much glance over a paragraph, and it would cost him quite a lot if he didn't properly stamp off proper cases that have been closed, or still in the process. So, with that note, he got to work on stamping cases that were completed, thankfully, he CAN multitask.

"It's a pleasure to work for you, sir, I quite enjoy it."

Zenith could feel their exterior soften, they didn't mind being able to be more free around Hughes, he had proven to them to be reliable and nothing like most of the staff in the military. It was refreshing and it made them not feel as 'uptight' as some would put it.

They took their seat at a nearby desk, still having some of their own work to do. And pleasantly, the continued chatter from Hughes was welcomed.

"Oh yeah? That must have been exciting! Tell me, was it you who won? I bet it was you!"

As much as Maes didn't care for alchemy, often calling them "alchemy-freaks", those he cared about really knew their craft in alchemy. Roy, the Elrics, and now, here was Zenith, who found a way to curl up in his ever-too-big heart in his chest. He's said it millions of times before, but he really was proud of how far Zenith had come, from becoming an experiment of the military to being seen as disposable, he truly couldn't have been more lucky to have scored someone who was so passionate about their craft and help keep him in check when things went too far.

"Of course I won, I wasn't nicknamed 'The Frozen Frontier' for nothing, the alchemist was skilled but lacked the ability to think ahead."

Zenith couldn't help the smile on their face, the encouragement and praise was nice to hear. It was better than the judgmental stares or the flat, repetitive 'good works' from those who didn't really care.

So, Hughes was a nice change to that pace.

"Come onnn, Zenith! Have a bit of fun! And you need to see this cute little photo of Elicia when she finally got her hands on her dream pet!"

Maes held a photo up to Zenith, it showed Elicia hugging onto a bunny that just seemed very content on where it was. Perfect loaf of bread, as one would say.

"She named him Loafy cause she likes to loaf a lot arounf her! Aren't they the absolute cuteeeest??"

"They are very cute, sir, I'd love to hear more about it, however–"

Zenith placed down a stack of papers onto Hughes' desk, a pen laid on top as a silent 'please start them' toward the man as they looked up at him. Making eye contact.

They didn't mind hearing about Hughes and his family, it was sweet in their mind and it made for good noise when they worked during the tellings. But these papers just needed to get done.

Maes truly was caught off guard of the stack of papers, a look of shock before it melted into a pout. Though, he immediately perked up at Zenith stating that he could ramble about his family if he got his work done!

"Of course, sir, It should be quick work at the very least."

Zenith presented a small smile to the man, happy that he was getting the work done. The last thing they wanted was some pretentious higher up having a go at them for not making sure the work was done. They'd have happily zoned out for it but getting into that as a whole just wasn't worth the hassle.

With a nod, they step away. Stepping toward a small station for coffee making that investigations finally had implemented recently.

Zenith only took minutes before they were back at Hughes' desk, placing the coffee onto it.

"Thank you kindly, Zenny! You truly are a gem and a wonderful employee to have ♡"

Maes grinned as he pulled the mug closer, but still away from his hand so he wouldn't knock it over.

Compared to Roy's work, the investigations files were both a mix of easy and yet most excruciating work on earth. There are plenty of little details that could be missed if you so much glance over a paragraph, and it would cost him quite a lot if he didn't properly stamp off proper cases that have been closed, or still in the process. So, with that note, he got to work on stamping cases that were completed, thankfully, he CAN multitask.

"It's a pleasure to work for you, sir, I quite enjoy it."

Zenith could feel their exterior soften, they didn't mind being able to be more free around Hughes, he had proven to them to be reliable and nothing like most of the staff in the military. It was refreshing and it made them not feel as 'uptight' as some would put it.

They took their seat at a nearby desk, still having some of their own work to do. And pleasantly, the continued chatter from Hughes was welcomed.

"Come onnn, Zenith! Have a bit of fun! And you need to see this cute little photo of Elicia when she finally got her hands on her dream pet!"

Maes held a photo up to Zenith, it showed Elicia hugging onto a bunny that just seemed very content on where it was. Perfect loaf of bread, as one would say.

"She named him Loafy cause she likes to loaf a lot arounf her! Aren't they the absolute cuteeeest??"

"They are very cute, sir, I'd love to hear more about it, however–"

Zenith placed down a stack of papers onto Hughes' desk, a pen laid on top as a silent 'please start them' toward the man as they looked up at him. Making eye contact.

They didn't mind hearing about Hughes and his family, it was sweet in their mind and it made for good noise when they worked during the tellings. But these papers just needed to get done.

Maes truly was caught off guard of the stack of papers, a look of shock before it melted into a pout. Though, he immediately perked up at Zenith stating that he could ramble about his family if he got his work done!

"Of course, sir, It should be quick work at the very least."

Zenith presented a small smile to the man, happy that he was getting the work done. The last thing they wanted was some pretentious higher up having a go at them for not making sure the work was done. They'd have happily zoned out for it but getting into that as a whole just wasn't worth the hassle.

With a nod, they step away. Stepping toward a small station for coffee making that investigations finally had implemented recently.

Zenith only took minutes before they were back at Hughes' desk, placing the coffee onto it.

"Come onnn, Zenith! Have a bit of fun! And you need to see this cute little photo of Elicia when she finally got her hands on her dream pet!"

Maes held a photo up to Zenith, it showed Elicia hugging onto a bunny that just seemed very content on where it was. Perfect loaf of bread, as one would say.

"She named him Loafy cause she likes to loaf a lot arounf her! Aren't they the absolute cuteeeest??"

"They are very cute, sir, I'd love to hear more about it, however–"

Zenith placed down a stack of papers onto Hughes' desk, a pen laid on top as a silent 'please start them' toward the man as they looked up at him. Making eye contact.

They didn't mind hearing about Hughes and his family, it was sweet in their mind and it made for good noise when they worked during the tellings. But these papers just needed to get done.

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[ tuck ] sender stares at receiver and quietly reaches up, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind receiver's ear

[ yank ] sender yanks receiver closer to them, ending up in semi-suggestive close proximity

[ steady ] sender grabs receiver's arm to steady them before they fall over

[ walk ] sender moves around receiver and walks closest to the street as they travel down the sidewalk, keeping receiver away from any potential danger in the roadway

[ untied ] sender drops to their knee and starts tying receiver's shoe for them

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[ handheld ] sender slips a hand behind their back and grabs receiver's fingers as they stand behind them

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[ reload ] sender reloads receiver's gun for them in the middle of a fight

[ shelter ] sender uses their body to shelter receiver from an explosion or attack

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[ toss ] from a secret hiding spot only receiver and sender can see as they avoid an enemy, sender silently gestures to receiver to toss them (their gun, something valuable, etc.)

[ stairs ] sender offers out a hand to help receiver ascend or descend a staircase

[ cover ] sender covers receiver's eyes so they don't witness something gruesome

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Alternatively, send 'reverse + 🗡' for my muse (receiver) to hold a blase to your muse's throat.