"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.
He was kind of concerned for the state he'd get his pens back in. He knew Al would try to stop Ed from doing anything too damaging, but he also knew the older boy was very stubborn and very good at causing damage when he wanted to.
But again, he didn't want to add any sort of pressure to them right now. He'd let them do whatever they were doing in peace. He'd just have to hope he got his pens back in one piece.
"M'staeng! You wanted to see what we were working on, right? We finally finished!" Al's voice called out, entering his office.
"Oh, are you busy? I can come back later," he told M'staeng when he saw him typing on his computer.
"No, I just finished actually. Let's see what you've got," he said, a little too hurriedly. He was both eager to see what they'd been up to and wanting to get as far away from his paperwork as he could before it drove him insane.
"Brother and I have been trying to see how well we can work with electronics. It wasn't something we ever messed with too much before, but curiosity finally got the better of us," Al told him as he led M'staeng to Ed's room, where they'd been working. M'staeng paused at that. He wasn't entirely sure what they were doing with electronics, or why they needed paper and pens for that. Maybe they just preferred writing their ideas down, like he did. Yeah, that was probably it.
"Okay, Brother! We're here!" The boy called out as he opened the door.
"Took you long enough," Ed said, rolling his eyes. "Figured the bastard got lost or something."
M'staeng resisted the urge to bristle his fur at the little nickname Ed had given him. He'd been reassured by Al the first time Ed had used it that no, the boy wasn't genuinely insulting him, and that the insulting nickname was in fact a sign that Ed was warming up to him.
That had only solidified in M'staeng's mind the fact that humans were fucking weird.
Or maybe it was just Ed. Al certainly never called anyone names, and Winry only did that to Ed, who called her names, as well.
"I still don't get why the bastard needs to watch," Ed muttered. "He probably won't even get just how fucking complicated this is."
"Don't be rude, Brother. He wanted to see! Besides, we can always explain anything he doesn't understand."
M'staeng was getting more and more confused by the minute. What exactly was it they'd been working on this whole time?
They had two papers placed in front of them, intricate circles drawn in ink on both pages. They also had a tablet laying on one of the pages. M'staeng wasn't entirely sure what to expect from them next. He didn't have the slightest clue what they were doing.
The brothers simultaneously placed their hands on the circle with the tablet on it, closing their eyes in concentration. M'staeng's eyes widened, jaw dropping in shock as blue sparks surrounded the circle. What the fuck.
In the next moment, the tablet was gone. What looked like various components of it now lay in the middle of the circle. Only one thought was running through M'staeng's mind at the sight. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?
They quickly moved the pieces to the second circle, placing their hands on it once again. More blue sparks, then the tablet was somehow back together again. What the fuck?
Al picked up the tablet, turning it on. "Look! I know it probably doesn't seem like much..." What the fuck did he mean it didn't seem like much? "...but it's actually pretty hard to keep electronics working through transmutations! We spent a lot of time working on just this one. And now that we've got the basics figured out, we can work on more complicated stuff!"
M'staeng didn't know how to reply to that. He kept staring blankly, jaw dropped in what he was sure was a stupid expression. He didn't find himself caring as much about preserving his dignity as much as he usually did, though. He felt like his brain had short-circuited. What the fuck just happened?
"Hey, bastard!" Ed called to him, sounding a bit irritated. "What's with the stupid face you're making? If you think you can do better, then go ahead and show us!"
M'staeng finally found his voice again. "No, it's just...what the fuck was that?"
"Uh, alchemy, dumbass. What the fuck else would it be?" Ed replied, as if that was the stupidest question in the world.
Al smacked his non-metal arm lightly. "Brother, don't be rude! Not everyone's as used to alchemy as we are!"
"...What the fuck is alchemy?" M'staeng asked hoarsely. He received two blank stares in answer.
"You...don't know what alchemy is?" Ed asked. "Like at all?"
"No. To be honest, I'm not sure what the hell you two just did."
"That's...wait. Brother, do you think humans are the only ones with alchemy, then? I mean, I can't imagine someone who hasn't at least heard of it before," Al realized.
"Well, then, I guess we've got a lot more to explain than I expected. What's the simplest way to explain it?" Ed pondered aloud.
"No," M'staeng cut in before they could say anything else. "Don't simplify anything. You can't just show me all that and expect me to listen to the short version. I want to know everything."
Ed's face broke out into a grin, and M'staeng resisted the urge to flinch back at the sight. He knew by now it wasn't a threat, no matter how much his instincts screamed at him otherwise.
"Well, then, we should start with the basics. Let's begin with something our teacher drilled into us before anything else. What does 'one is all, all is one' mean to you? Take a wild guess, if that's all you've got right now," Ed began, more than eager to deposit his knowledge onto M'staeng.
After what ended up being a few hours of explanation, M'staeng left Ed's room with a bigger headache than he'd ever had before. He certainly hadn't gone in that day expecting to learn about a whole new branch of science, one apparently only humans had discovered. He was utterly fascinated by it, though. He'd always loved science of all kinds, but this was something different altogether. Something special. And he wanted more of it.
As eagerly as he had soaked in the information, he eventually slowed down. There was only so much he could handle at a time. Ed and Al had stopped teaching him at that point, but promised they'd show him more tomorrow. In fact, they'd offered to give him alchemy lessons for as long as he wanted.
It felt pretty strange, being taught by people so much younger than him, especially when those people were literal children. M'staeng certainly wasn't doubting their expertise, though. Being such a high-ranking officer at a young age meant M'staeng was familiar with being underestimated by most people around him, as if his youth made him stupid or incapable. He wasn't going to do the same to Ed and Al.
Besides, no way in hell would he turn down the opportunity to be the first non-human to learn alchemy. It was too good of an offer to pass up. Especially with how useful a science it seemed to be just from the basics the brothers had explained to him today. He looked forward to learning more from their lessons in the future.
And though he wouldn't say it out loud, he looked forward to getting to spend time with them and hopefully growing closer even more than he did the actual learning. He had definitely been right earlier, no doubt about it.
Spending time with his wards really had been the best decision he could've made.