Sarah looked away as she thought about how to answer the question. "I just figured it would be nice to not be alone." She responded then smiled brightly. Soon enough, the two of them started working on the game and conversed as they did it.
...
"That was surprisingly easy..." Alphonse said as he set the game board down on the table.
"Agreed... I thought that since stone is a lot harder than the wood it would take me longer to make the stones, but I was finished much earlier than you..." Sarah said.
"Well, the stones are just small semi-spheres with a generally easy shape to create; and overall small total volume. The board only took around forty minutes, though it's a bit crude..." Alphonse said.
"True... Anyway, I think it's ready to be test played! Want to play one round?" Sarah asked with excitement in her eyes.
"Sure." Alphonse said with a nod as he placed each of the stoned in the inlets that he carved.
{Explanation: Mancala, for those of you who don't know, is a simple game. The board is typically 17.5 x 5.5 x 0.75 inches, with two rows of 6 holes, or inlets. on each end of the board, there are two wide holes, these are the goals. Your goal is to get as many stones in your goal as possible by taking turns to move the stones.} Prism began explaining.
'Prism... Who are you explaining this to?' Alphonse asked.
{Do not worry about that.} Prism responded. {My explanation has been interrupted, I will not be continuing it.} Prism stated.
'That seems a bit petty...' Alphonse thought to himself.
(Two minutes later)
"Oh... I won..." Alphonse stated blandly.
"Yep! By how many... One, two... Ten stones! That's a lot..." Sarah said.
"Yeah... In my past life, I remember winning only by two-four stones whenever I played against my siblings... Of course, that was if I won..." Alphonse responded.
"Anyway, we should go show this to Min Li!" Sarah said as she regained her excitement.
"Are you just looking for someone who will be easier to win against?" Alphonse asked.
"N-no!" Sarah responded with a slight twitch in her ear. (I almost forgot Sarah was also a Beastman...)
"Whatever... Let's go show her, I'll carry the board, will you be fine with carrying the stones?" Alphonse asked.
"Yep! I have a pouch on me so it'll be easy and I won't drop any!" Sarah said with excitement. Alphonse nodded as he picked up the empty board and walked to the door. Sarah picked up each of the stones as she counted and placed them in her pouch as she followed Alphonse who had already opened the door.
Alphonse exited the room and immediately walked towards the medical center, where he assumed Min Li would be. Within a few moments of walking, he had reached the medical center and Sarah was already knocking on the door.
Within a few seconds, the door was opened to reveal a surprised Min Li. "You guys finished quite quickly..." Min Li stated with a slight amount of surprise in her voice. Sarah smiled.
"Yep!" She said excitedly. "Do you have time to playtest?" Sarah asked. Min Li nodded as she opened the door.
"By the way, the woman you guys brought down here woke up, she was rather cautious of me, but I think she has settled down, for the most part, she's sitting over by the table we'll be playing on." Min Li said. Alphonse looked up with a neutral expression, though his eyes wavered a bit.
Sarah began walking in but paused momentarily as she looked back towards the motionless Alphonse. "Coming in?" Sarah asked. After a few moments, Alphonse nodded and followed Sarah into the room.
The medical center isn't anything special, it has a stone tile floor, and walls, with several beds and chairs. There is one coffee table where Edrit is sitting drinking a beverage of some kind. Edrit looked up for a moment, but only for that moment.
"Sarah, please set the board on the table over there." Min Li said as she pointed to the table next to Edrit. Sarah nodded and took the board from Alphonse. Once Sarah had walked away Min Li walked closer to Alphonse. "You've been quite hesitant ever since hearing that your mother is awake, something wrong?" Min Li asked.
Alphonse shook his head. "I just don't know how I should greet her with everything that's happened..." Alphonse said quietly.
"I think this is one of those things that just have to come out naturally, just do your best." Min Li said lightly. Min Li walked began to walk to the table and sat in the chair across from Sarah, leaving only one of the four seats open.
After a few moments, Alphonse walked over to the open seat slowly, then sat down awkwardly. By the time he had sat, Sarah and Min Li were already in the middle of a game. Edrit slowly looked up from her cup and looked at Alphonse, who was currently staring at the stone tiles.
"A-Alphonse..." Edrit said coarsely before pausing. Alphonse looked up with an expressionless face. "I'm..." Edrit paused again as if searching for the right words.
"Mo-... No... I don't quite deserve to call you that..." Alphonse mumbled. Edrit's ear twitched.
"I'm sorry..." Edrit said abruptly after a long pause. Before Edrit could find her next words Alphonse had opened his mouth as if about to say something.
"Why?" Alphonse asked. Edrit looked at him with surprise as Sarah and Min Li turned to him with anxious expressions; as if saying 'Are you sure that's what you want to ask?'
"I... I failed my job as a mother... I-" Edrit had started but was interrupted.
"No... I mean... Why are you blaming yourself? I already weighed everything in my mind... I know there was nothing you could've done, not easily at least, and it's not as if you did nothing to try and help... So why are you blaming yourself?
"Wh-what do you mean?" Edrit asked hesitantly.
"Well..." Alphonse said as he paused to think about how to word things in a way that would be easy to understand. "By the time I was three, I already understood the difference in strength between you, and, well... You know..." Alphonse paused as if thinking about what to say next.
"What do you mean you understood!? I failed your siblings, and most of all I failed you and Cedra!" Edrit yelled as tears began to form at the edge of her eyes. "I'm a failure as a mother!" She said loudly as tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Sarah and Min Li shot each other a glance that clearly said 'we shouldn't meddle in someone else's family affairs unless someone's about to die.' Then slowly got up and walked to the other side of the room and started a conversation.
"Every time I saw you injured, all I could think about was 'I could've prevented that. I could've confronted Raeloph.' But I didn't! I didn't! I was too scared of what could happen, not just to me, but to you... To your siblings..." Edrit yelled as built-up emotions came rolling out.
"Edrit!" Alphonse yelled, which brought Edrit back to her senses. "I lost the right to call you mom a long time ago. That's because I failed as a son. I failed as an older brother. I failed to keep a promise that I gave to myself. I even failed as a younger brother!" Alphonse said sternly. "I knew the consequences you would have to go through if you confronted Raeloph, I know them, okay!? I never blamed you for anything. Not ever." Alphonse said as his eyes became a bit glassy.
Edrit looked at Alphonse, who had begun to breathe unsteadily. "I-" Edrit started, but stopped herself. Alphonse attempted to calm himself, then looked up at Edrit.
"Let's get off this topic for now... It would be unfortunate to cause a relapse after this much progress." Alphonse said as calmly as he could. Edrit nodded slowly. "What happened during the battle?" Alphonse asked.
Edrit was taken aback for a moment at how quickly Alphonse changed the subject but then responded. "I was hit by an arrow that was laced with some sort of poison that paralyzed the target." Edrit said. "After they killed Raeloph, they didn't even bother checking my body, I guess it's because the arrow was rather close to my vitals." Edrit stated as she looked at her cup as an attempt to calm herself down.
"Did you..." Alphonse paused and glanced at Edrit who had stopped crying and was only sniffling. "See them...?" Alphonse asked. Edrit nodded slowly.
"I... I did... I wish I hadn't... But... I suppose it's better than having false hope that they survived..." Edrit said as she fought tears. Alphonse nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry you had to see that... I wish I could've prevented it... but..." Alphonse said, then drifted into thought, though it was clearly a very delicate line of thought on a painful topic for more than just him.
"I'm fine for the most part now... Though I do think about it every now and then... Sometimes I can't stop the tears..." Edrit said quietly as she stood. "We should get your friends back over here... We should at least let them continue their game." Edrit said as she stretched a bit while wincing here and there.
Alphonse nodded and stood up. {This topic will likely come up again in the future, I would recommend preparing yourself for it.} Prism stated as Alphonse followed Edrit over to Sarah and Min Li.
"Yeah, as you can tell the game is simple, but there is a small bit of strategy required." Sarah said lightly. Min Li nodded.
"Yeah." She said as she turned her head over to the table, which is now quite quiet. "Looks like they've finished talking and are walking over here." Min Li stated as she watched Alphonse and Edrit stand up. Sarah agreed silently.
After a few moments, Edrit and Alphonse stood next to Sarah and Min Li. "I apologize for earlier... I had gotten quite loud and likely made you feel uncomfortable." Edrit said with a light, but respectful tone.
"Um... If you two want to finish your game... You can..." Alphonse said quietly as he looked at a downward angle.
"Oh! Yes, we'll finish it, thank you." Min Li said.
"Hey, Alphonse! After I finish my match with Min Li, want to go against me again? I feel more confident in my chances now!" Sarah said excitedly. Alphonse nodded slightly, then gave a bitter smile.
"Sure." He said.