YCH for  MuadHaderach! Eddie belongs to him and Elric belongs to me ^^

Thanks for picking up my first ever SFW YCH! I feel it's another important milestone in my writing career so it felt great to write this one. I hope that you will enjoy reading <3

Traveling Alchemist

The world is filled with mysteries and curios. It's easy to look at them and view them as insurmountable challenges, or things we'll never understand, but it was the same for knowledge that we now take for granted in our daily lives; take fire, for example. Discovery only takes a bit of faith that answers are waiting to be discovered as well as a willingness to try discovering them; the rest comes in time. These are days in which people find the most promise in alchemy. The study of this field is a common pursuit for men and women of all ages and is littered with amateurs seeking prestige from their peers. But there are those who wish to discover, with the faith and drive necessary to succeed, and they are the ones who stand a chance of reaching alchemy's greatest height; the Philosopher Stone.

One such alchemist roams the world in search of this goal. Eddie knows the achievement is out there somewhere, which leads him from city to woods to cavern to lake without ever losing hope. Today he stops in the town of Redwind. It is mostly populated by humans so the sudden appearance of a bird with the ears and tail of a bunny is jarring for the people. But Eddie is adorned in a typical fashion of tunic, small cloak and utility belt, and, like many such alchemists, his tunic and cloak are bright flashy colours that draw attention; cyan and purple respectively. His red fur and feathers only make him flashier. All of this leads the citizens to easily recognise him as a traveling alchemist. They have nothing to offer him for his questions of the Philosopher Stone but they do point him in the direction of wisdom and hospitality from an older and more experienced alchemist; one Elric of Redwind Dependable Alchemy. The traveling alchemist will not find his answers here but perhaps he will find another worthy goal to pursue in the world of alchemy...

Eddie gazed up at the rickety old sign on the building before him. "Red... wind? Dependable..." The words were hard to read and he mumbled them under his breath. The last word was almost erased but he could tell it once said 'Alchemy.' This was definitely the right place, though he had not expected such a rundown. But perhaps he should have; the people who sent him here mentioned it was in the poor parts of town, after all. A rough cough jumped from a woman's mouth just a few buildings down the road as she left her home as if to emphasise this fact.

The bird rabbit shrugged and stepped forward, opening the door to walk inside. The shop had an old smell of books and mixtures; some of which were probably spills that soaked some into the floor boards before they could be mopped up. Some might find the smell off-putting... but that was in regards to people on the other side of town. Compared to what the people on this side of town were accustomed to? The smell was non-existent and visually, the shop was shockingly organised, cozy and completely clean.

An elderly man with gray hair was currently on the shop-keeping side of the counter, sending a couple of customers away with a red potion in hand. As the customers left, Eddie reckoned that this was the 'Elric' he was told about and he approached. Elric greeted with a warm smile. "Here's an alchemist, if ever I saw one! You're one of the wandering types I wager?" Eddie nodded, about to speak, but was immediately blocked as the old man continued. "Ah, but I wonder what brings you here. You can't have come for the same reason as most of my customers. You'd know how to cure sicknesses."

As Elric finished speaking this time, Eddie quickly interjected. He'd met plenty of eccentric types in his travels and knew how to get words in. "I'm actually tracking down information that can help me discover the Philosopher's Stone. Other than that? I was hoping to find a cheap place to stay while I'm in town preparing for my next journey. I hear you've recently lost your helping hand?"

"Ah... Able." Elric frowned. "I admit it's been a bit more of a strain since the boy left town." What surprised Eddie was the lack of time between these words and the next. There was not a second of consideration put into it at all! "I accept your proposition! The basement is very livable with a shower, kitchen and dining room! Oh, there's a bed too. You can stay without paying a penny for as long as you decide to help me around here. I'll even provide you with meals. I'll enjoy eating with company again."

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "You live here too?"

"No, no," answered Elric. "I stay until the evening and usually eat dinner here. I live on the outskirts; have to grow and collect my herbs somewhere." A woman entered the store now and Eddie turned his head to recognise her as the one who coughed in the street upon his arrival. She was much closer now and he could see that she looked very sickly. Elric greeted her. "Good morning Miss Oakes. I have your potion ready for you." And pulled a vial of red liquid from under the counter, much like the couple carried from the shop a minute ago. Eddie recognised it as a watered down vitallis potion. Was this old man scamming the poor of Redwind?

She staggered over and reached for the potion before speaking hoarsely. "Thank you, Elric." She coughed. "I will have the money for it any day now."

Elric frowned. "Hang on a minute now." He put the potion away and went to a shelf at the back, fiddling around with various things to get to another vial at the back. "You... are not doing so well and it's worth spending one of these to get you better." He produced a new potion, red again but intensely dark. This was concentrated vitallis.

Miss Oakes shook her head. "No, that's far too expensive for me to afford and I am not that sick... really." Her point was destroyed as she violently coughed.

Elric held the potion out for her. "No extra charge. You need it."

The woman looked at him with teary eyes and weakly took the potion. "Thank you... I promise to pay the moment I can." And then she left.

Eddie crossed his arms. "You just gave that away? Vitallis that concentrated takes days to distill! And here I thought you were scamming people." Elric simply smiled so Eddie continued. "Are you sure that you are cut out for alchemy? You have no heart for profit nor self-interest. How do you plan to find the Philosopher's Stone like this?"

"The Philosopher's Stone..." Elric spoke it under his breath. "One creation is not all that alchemy amounts to, my child. I will not speak ill of people for seeking to achieve it but perhaps I can tell you what I believe about finding it after all. At dinner! First you'll have to help me brew some more potions. You sound knowledgeable about vitallis."

"I should hope I am," said Eddie. "It's the most basic herb we use. I'll grind the herb and set it to boil for a few hours. I assume you're seeking a replacement for what you just gave away."

"Exactly," said Elric. "Thank you!"

The hours passed by until the shop closed for the evening. Eddie had seen more interactions like the one with Miss Oakes but he was no less confounded by the old alchemist's generosity. Elric cooked dinner and they sat down to eat... and, as agreed, he began to speak of his thoughts on the Philosopher's Stone.

"The discovery of the Philosopher's Stone will be the culmination of every potion ever made. All of our works have a purpose. Some strengthen, others heal... the list goes on. The point is that Alchemy helps people in all sorts of ways and I believe that is what it is for. I doubt I will be the one who discovers the pinnacle of Alchemy but I still use it to its fullest." Elric took a bite of his food and continued. "I do not know how long you will stay or if you can accept this way of thinking... but I will continue to live as an example of how Alchemy should be used. And I hope that you will agree with me because a traveling alchemist that behaves as I do? You would be a blessing on many communities."

Eddie ate, silently, and carefully weighed the words. Most alchemists were self-interested and this was not a view he'd heard before. If he would agree? Well, it was left entirely up to him. For now he would watch this old man as they worked together in the coming days. He'd certainly seen the happiness in his customer's today and it warmed his heart to say the least.