Quiet….
That was precisely the air around them right now up in Briggs, even as Marcoh, Yoki and Mei slept soundly off to the side with some soft snores and loud, double decker bus snores in the middle of the dwelling silence; it was welcomed, but somehow not and they wanted to stick a sock down Yoki's throat. And yet at the same time the two Ishvalans who were sitting around the campfire didn't mind it, it kept the silence between them at least filled until they decided to at least talk to one another- about what? There was no question in their right mind about what they should talk about; they were from two different walks of life yet of the same race. Scar- the vengeful monk who hunted the State Alchemists for their wrong doings now on a path towards finding his brother's research and saving this country, and Larana- a woman who came from nothing and lost everything on a path of revenge for those who've been slain by the military.
Larana shook her head after looking back at them, her red eyes darting from Scar to the fire in front of her while she shifted to get closer and comfortable, gloved hands coming out to get warmed in it's orange glow; the expression on her face changing from cold focus to almost innocent wonder and childlike softness. She leaned back to press her hands against her face and there was an exhale of absolute comfort once warm leather touched cold flesh and it didn't take long for her to do it again to keep herself from getting cold, her knee gently bouncing while she preoccupied herself.
Even Scar had gotten a little closer to the fire to warm himself up, a quiet noise of amusement rumbled in his throat watching the young woman clearly enjoy warming herself up, he would never understand the young people and what they would do with their lives; which begged the question: why did she look so tired? Despite the war on their country and the extermination of their people, he wondered what had happened in her life to make her that way. Though he had no room to talk, seeing as how he was killing State Alchemists for the sake of those they murdered in the past; nevertheless Scar simply put his hands out to warm them, the silence starting to envelop them once more before he finally spoke.
"Sister?"
It took Lara a second to realize he was talking to her and she leaned away from the fire back onto her hands, an eyebrow raising in question while she nodded to him, lifting a hand and firing a finger gun in his direction.
"Shoot, What's up Scar?"
"...Your life, What was it like?" Though the feedback he wasn't expecting, she looked almost taken aback by the question, as if someone just asked her something she was uncertain about and she didn't know what or how to respond- there was sadness behind those eyes and that faltered smile, he could see it as plain as day and she made no attempt at hiding it. "Forgive me if this prys into any-"
"It's okay." Lara was quick to answer, criss crossing her legs and resting her elbows on them, her chin sitting on her hands, "Don't apologize, you asked- I only see to it you answer as well." She waited for him to respond but with the nod and gruff noise of approval she began again.
"I should start with...different from yours to say the least." She shrugged her shoulders and stared at the fire, taking the branch and gently stroking it to keep the heat going while they talked; they'd be at this for a while, "My mother was never there and my father….was the best and the only person who cared about me in my life, and I was seven when he died and well- when you're seven, POOR, and you don't know what to do you kind of…" There was another stroking of the fire though it was probably to hide the angry tears welling up in her eyes and the hesitation on her part to continue, "why don't you talk? That'd be….that'd be good."
He hadn't expected that reaction out of her but it came and it was beginning to put how starkly they were raised into perspective, Scar looked to his hands and he tilted his head to the side just a bit and began speaking himself.
"The church was...a heavy burden in our home, while brother was studying his Alchemy and the word of Ishvala, I was studying the word-" He gave Larana a stern look when she rolled her eyes, "Your pretty standard home…..And I wouldn't be saying any of this if our companions were awake. But, my own mother dabbled in the art of Alchemy with my brother, it was their bonding in a sense, she taught him what she knew and he applied it to other studies he found across his time-" Scar stopped when she held up the branch.
"Your mother? I thought Ishvalans looked down on the practice of Alchemy." Came her question. Of course that's what would pop up, but nevertheless Scar simply gave her a rare and tiny smile as he pressed a finger to his lips as a way to keep all his secrets from getting out then he lowered his hand and motioned for her to continue with a head tilt. Giving a reluctant grunt in response she continued and finally laid back on the ground.
"I grew up on the streets- when I was thirteen of course, the bitch who raised me when my father died was just….awful, she hated me with every fiber of her being and I honestly didn't think there was a lot there to begin with." There was a snort from her and that little smile began to form, "Oh I was trouble as a kid, JUST like my dad, I stole to get by, just to live, just to eat and survive...you don't really see the true nature of people until you see them behind the eyes of someone who's sunken so low they don't see the good in people anymore…"
The way she spoke of her life, the more he listened, it was almost….sad in a sense, he could see her resentment towards the people in her gaze, he could hear the bitterness in her voice the way she spoke of them and the events that happened in her life. And yet, that brimstone burning brightly behind those garnet eyes was shining brighter than anything in the world, almost as if she had something to live for past their country; Scar wondered how far it'd take her before it was completely diminished.
Larana didn't even pry into his life after she stopped talking but the second a silence enveloped them again she spoke up once more to break it, a yawn in between her words, waving her hands to keep herself from yawning further- as if that would stop something natural like yawning.
"Scar, why did….why did you murder those alchemists? They did nothing to y-"
"They murdered our people, Larana. Do you think I would just sit by and let them walk around while our blood soaked OUR sands?"
There was silence at his answer and Larana simply pushed herself to her feet and stared at him, she wanted to leave and take a breather but she sat back down and spoke again. "Scar. Do you hear yourself? Now what if I asked you why you were looking for your brother's notes?"
He stared at her, swallowing past a lump in his throat as she asked her questions, he sat up again and spoke in response, hands folded neatly on his lap.
"I'd tell you to save this country for certain doom."
"You've changed, you're different than from when you first began your journey after the war, it was bloodlust...but it changed, you want to save this country now….I'm honestly sure your brother would be positively proud of you. Your whole family, in fact." She gave him a gentle smile, hesitating in reaching over to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and opting against it deciding they weren't that close for reassuring hand touches.
There was more silence and then the two just found solace in it, it was enough for now before they had more topics for one another to talk about; Scar going to meditate on memories and Larana playing with the zipper on her coat with pursed lips, it wasn't anything big or overstated but at least they were entertained until Larana opened her mouth again only with the big question.
"So what do we do from here?"
A/N: WOWIE ZOWIE I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN SUCH A LONG TIME BUT HEY 1,500 WORDS IS A LOT AND IT'S 2AM WHEN I'M POSTING THIS SO GO ME AND MY WRITING ALSO I REMEMBER I EXIST HERE WHAT'S UP GOODBYE ALL CRINGEY WRITINGS FROM 2013 HELLO NEW FRESH START
But a brief summary- Larana is my FMA OC (There's more information on her on tumblr) and this was one of the wishlist items I wanted to write someday. It got a little mediocre near the end because I'm exhausted but the beginning's kinda strong? I dunno
I hope you enjoyed it!