Chapter 1: The Fox and the Hound

Crowe sat proudly in the breaks of the crimson through the amber and other lovely prisms. He yawned deeply, taking in the fresh air of their valley village. His attention was drawn toward what appeared to be a dispute. His crimson eyes fixed on a young man near his window.

“You’ll never be smart enough or brave enough to set out on your own.” A woman snarled.
With a closer look, Vulten, the town’s beauty was at odds with William, the infamous “dreary duke”. He took a personal liking to William and was compelled to interfere.
In less than a minute, Crowe was in his pewter cloak and behind William. “Does nobody in this town see the positives in others?”

“How can I see the positives in a moron?” Vulten snapped.

“She could use a more open-minded approach and a more compassionate view on life. We shouldn’t have to deal with her complaints because she hates her own life!” William growled back.

“Why don’t you try to see that you can both get along?” Crowe asked.

“Because that is the impossible.” They both replied.

“See, you can agree on something.” Crowe pointed out.

“We can agree to disagree.” William muttered.

Vulten stared at William with a sheepish smirk on her face as

Crowe observed them both curiously. “Maybe you two should manage a heart-to-heart?” Crowe teased. 

Vulten started away from them the second that those words hit her ears. “I don’t have to deal with this…” she growled.

William’s eyes were quite obviously on Vulten as she continued away. “Sorry to awaken you. That woman just irks me.”

“…In more ways than one.” Crowe taunted.

“What is that supposed to mean?” William had the same sheepish smirk as Vulten disappeared into the crowds of the village.

“In a language that you can understand: you are hot for that fox.” Crowe grinned, because he knew that he was right.

“Maybe my temper.” William quickly covered his tracks with a witty comment.

“Okay, you’re not infatuated with your anti-thesis. I am wrong, don’t know anything and can’t see anything in your crystalline eyes when they dazzle when you fight with her.” Crowe crossed his arms sarcastically.

“Do you mess with anybody else’s stomach like this?” William quirked an eyebrow at the alchemist.

“Well, for one, that is the butterflies that she gives you. If I’m giving them to you, step five feet away, now. And two, I mess with Vulten like this about you.”

“And she hates me too, so I have nothing to worry about.” William declared.

“She hates you as much as you hate her.” Crowe replied as he walked away from William. William’s eyes had an odd shame in them. His blonde hair fluttered in the zephyr as Vulten was running through his mind once again.

Crowe shook his head of black hair amusingly as he spotted Vulten in her usual sulking area. She was lying against the wind mill, sitting on her knees, playing in the dirt. She was deep in thought, and doodling with a stick. Crowe stood above her and read what she had drew in the dirt. “He affects you that badly?”

She gasped, startled, “Crowe…”

“He does, huh?” Crowe smiled warmly.

Vulten nodded.

“Then, why not just tell him?” Crowe knelt down beside her. “You obsess about him and it can get very creepy.”

“He hates me and the only attention I can get from him is just knit-picking and getting yelled at.” Vulten sighed deeply.

“Then strive to do something different. Did you ever try to be nice to him? You mostly criticize his poems. Try listening to them.” Crowe hugged the girl and let her thoughts wander.

“I suppose not.” She shrugged honestly. “Where is he now?”

“Sulking, trying to get you off of his mind.” Crowe replied.

“Who am I kidding? I can’t talk to him. I’m not compassionate enough.”

“I bet that I can help.” Crowe helped her to her feet and began to walk with her back to his home.

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In a Bottle 2