The warrior's blunt words made Al fidget twice as much, embarassed to be caught lecturing a man who embodied the essence of experience. Though he personally disagreed, Al knew that the man was perfectly justified in his reasoning. Even Al did that; whenever Brother and he got into an arguement, Ed would raise his fists and Al would do so in return, preparing for the inevitable scuffle. But this was with real weapons! A fat lip and sore feelings were one thing, but death (Al couldn't help but think of Mother and shudder.) was something else! It still couldn't be right, not over something so petty.

Al bit his lip in a moment of indecision over whether to back down or not (Brother wouldn't back down!), then found himself babbling. "But would he attack someone defenseless? That's not fair. And, and, besides it's stupid to hurt or--or to kill someone over something so petty--"

"Does it matter, anyway? There was no fight."

Mid-sentence, Al stopped. He thought on it and relaxed a bit, noting a kinder tone of voice. "No," he said with a small smile. "No, I guess not."

He squinted at the gates, attempting to see if the teenager and strange boy were still there, but they seemed to be long gone. Al looked back at the tall man and gestured for him to stand together with him in the long line. "I'm Alphonse. Al."