1923
He enjoyed playing piano most. His skill was unmatched, even by the top students of the most elite schools. What stunned most was that he had never been trained, that is one of the reasons she had asked her father to let her travel. So she could witness his tour. He traveled all around Amestris playing his music. Usually all she had was a pair of clothes and her violin with her, nothing else but the papers she needed for her citizenship. Being that she was Drachman.
OoO
She sighed, the train was taking a little longer than needed be to arrive, she was going to be late to his next performance. Then she heard it, it was pulling into the massive station. She smiled brightly, and ran to the boarding area. But a person caught her eye. A man with a long black braid, it was cool, the braid. It nearly went to his hip. She boarded the train and reluctantly sat in a booth on her left. It was relatively empty, save for one person, the man with the braid. She scooted to the window and shed her jacket, placing it upon her lap.
She put her right hand over her left one, being that it would hurt the other way; her left was automail. Her violin in its case lay before her on the table as she pulled out bread from her coat. it was a day or so old but still tasted right, not entirely stale.
Her pale violet eyes wandered over to the man who was looking at what seemed to be a small pocket-sized notebook. She sighed once more, and not the last time, that day, and brushed her fiery hair out of her face. His gaze lifted and she moved her hands to her sides, placing them on the wooden seat. The man seemed to react to an unheard sound, and looked at her face, her porcelain skin shimmering in the rainy day's remaining light.
"May I see your hand?" he asked in a calm voice, his eyes seemed curious, golden iris swirling with molten amber.
"Why?" she replied, her voice an octave higher than normal.
A smile played at the edge of his lips. "Your automail, it didn't make much of a sound. You've had it what-three, four years?" he prompted the statement, ignoring her question.
"Three and a half." she spoke calmer now. Her right hand grasping the black laced glove over her metal hand. "I can't move it well though." she told him.
"You want to know a secret about controlling it?" he asked her, his smile finally breaking free.
"How?" she looked him in the eye. He smiled and stood, stretched both arms and placed his hands on the table.
"Let me see your hand first." he said and she gave, to be able to control her hand more was a good thing. She slid her glove off and extended her arm to him. He smiled and sat next to her, his hands gently held hers, as if that if he wasn't careful it would break. He looked more serious now that involved her hand. "Why do you carry around a violin if you don't have the self esteem to play?" he asked.
"I-I don't know, I used to place before I lost my hand. That was when I came to the country." she looked down in her own shame.
"But that's, the secret to controlling your hand. You need self confidence. Something that'll tie you to the mundane strength in you." he gave her hand back. "I know, I had to learn the hard way and had little time to do so." he slid out of the booth and went to sit across from her.
He pulled his braid from behind him and twirled the end in his left hand. She didn't understand what he had meant. "What do you do?" she asked him and he glanced up from his reopened book.
"I'm a journalist. What about you?" he uttered and went back to his book.
"I guess I'm a traveler, I haven't stayed in one place long enough to do anything. I get money from what I can do around a small town and leave on the next train." she began to slide her glove on, "I plan on someday being able to play again." she looked at her violin in longing. "I was kinda popular in western Drachma. I was really good." she admitted to him.
"Maybe, someday." he mumbled the words. He looked focused on what was in his notebook, like it was really important. He mumbled something that wasn't directed at her before he stood, "You should have someone looked at your wiring soon, I think you've a bit long without a check. Tearing wires could mess up your progress." she smiled at him as he smiled back as he retreated down the isle and she heard the door open, suspecting he had left. She pulled her own pad from her coat pocket and complied to drawing with her dull pencil.
She listened for hours as it made stops in the towns between her destination in East City. People got on and off, talk with one another, and move from seat to seat. She shifted in her seat from time to time, get restless or numb in places.
It got oddly quiet when a man in military uniform entered the car. He sighed and sat across from me, being that my booth was closest to empty and near the door.
He had raven hair that was very messy and fell in his face. The newly arrived man appeared to be in his early thirties, couldn't be much older than that. His onyx eyes dulled with exhaustion, and his breathing uneven as if he had ran to the station. He unbuttoned the top of his uniform and tugged around the color of the black shirt he wore under it.
"Are you okay?" I asked him and his eye flickered towards me.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he said and began taking deep breaths to calm himself. At the other end of the car, the door slammed open. "Mustang!" another man yelled. The guy across from me yelled. "Here!" The other man arrived, panting as much as the first.
"Damn, Major General, you need to slow your ass down." the man with dirty blonde hair sighed as he put his unlit cigarette behind his ear.
"You know if I did that Colonel would kill me, crazy chicks and their guns." the black haired man, presumably Major General Mustang, spoke.
"Um, miss, you don't mind if we sit here, do you?" the blonde man asked.
"No, go ahead." she mumbled and leaned closer to the window.
"So Mustang, are you sure he's in east city. You know these types of things aren't necessarily handed out to military officers. What if someone said this to move us away." the blonde asked.
"I doubt that, Havoc." Mustang turned to her. "Martin Law is playing his piano concert in East city today isn't he?"
"Yes, two days." she said and looked at the two men. "Why? You know you can't stop the concert just because you're military. There are masses that would stop you. Anyone would understand that, especially musicians who know his talent. It's hard to get where he is, and to be untrained, it's remarkable." she told them and blushed at her small outbursts.
"Yeah, we doubt that." Havoc muttered.
"I don't, Havoc. It is our motto, 'Be thou for the people', its only natural." Mustang told the blonde. "How long have you had that alchemic array on your automail?" he asked the girl, who was a good ten years younger than his thirty-three.
"I've always had it." she told him.
"Who are you?" Mustang asked.
"I'm Celeste Bankov." the girl told the man. "I'm twenty-two." she said as if she had read his mind, and listened when the rusty speakers came on.
"We'll be arriving in East City soon." the speaker made a shuffling sound before it was cut off. Celeste smiled scooted herself out of her seat and turned to the men who had sat across from her.
"Don't stop it. You can get him after the fact. Too many people love, or need his music." she said and walked to the door. One of the conductors were already out there, keeping too many people from trying to get off early. As soon as the train stopped however, the conductor moved out of the way for the impatient people. Celeste tried to take my time and not get knocked over in the process, after not succeeding a few times she quickened her pace and got off, out of the way of people, and towards one of the pillars to lean on.
Once she had caught her breath she began her trek to the nearest inn. It wasn't long before the sun began to set, she ran hurriedly to the inn down the way. She got a room and put down her bag before pulling her coat on, a prepared to leave for the night. She grabbed her violin and exited the room and ran down the stairs, and out of the inn. It was in the middle of East City, and only in a few hours.
Mustang fidgeted at the table where he and Havoc sat. They had called Hawkeye half an hour ago and she'd yet to arrive. The names swirled around in Roy's head. Then one stood out among all.
"Damn it all!" Mustang shouted and stood to leave, Havoc following suit though a little confused. The two were walking down the street before the blonde lit a cigarette and spoke to Roy.
"What's wrong, sir?" he asked Roy and the man shook his head and sighed before he spoke.
"That girl on the train. I thought here name sounded familiar, so I've been thinking about it. She's Celeste Bankov, the famous violinist, daughter of Mikahel Bankov, General Mikahel Bankov. The one who covered up the Drachman bombing a few miles west of Fort Briggs, and the terrorist attacks in Creta." Mustang explained. Havoc listened before he took in another draw.
"So basically what you're saying is, that a very dangerous Drachman's daughter may try to kill the Chief?" Havoc mumbled.
"Basically, yes." Roy turned his head to Riza, who apparently heard their talk. "So what we need to do is have Havoc try and find the girl, and Roy and I will go try and find Chief." she said and tossed Havoc a brown paper package, "Undercover please." Havoc saluted the two superior officers and jogged off.
Roy watched Havoc leave, but before Havoc even rounded the corner Riza was pulling him in another direction. "We need to go look for the Chief." she said and snarled when Mustang mumbled something about women being control freaks.
The two walked down a busy street before Mustang asked Riza, "Do you know where we're going?"
"Yes, unlike you I have ways of getting things without causing too much trouble in the public." Riza told him and turned a corner. "You see, I knew there were no big enough stadiums. So I looked on roofs." she said, indicating the roof of the city hall, with lights a really tall stand, and on top of that- a piano.
OoO
Celeste stared at the piano atop the city hall. It was kind of unbelievable that they would go so far as to put a piano on top of that, but apparently he was just this big.
OoO
Martin Law walked across the roof, gravel crunching under his feet. His long golden braid swing on his back as he moved. The piano before him gleamed from the bright lights. He thought of how his black suit was a bad idea under the hot lights but his red tie kind of made it worth it. People shouted at they saw him, he chuckled to himself. He sat and removed his gloves, one automail hand gleaming in the light. He laid his hands on the ivory keys and let out his breath before slamming down on them.
OoO
Mustang and Hawkeye stood there as 'Martin Law' walked to the piano and began playing, no one had known he could play back in the military.
OoO
Havoc was a few feet away from Celeste when Chief started playing, his jaw didn't drop but his cigarette did fall from his mouth. Celeste somehow caught it and handed it back. "I wish I could still play," she told him and he nodded as he took the cigarette into his fingers.
"Yeah, I wish he had told us he could play." he uttered.
OoO
His finger glided harmfully across the keys, his closed eyes fluttering with each stroke. Music was his new passion, and he loved it. More than anything. He slammed down on the piano and listened to the crowd quiet. He couldn't hear anything else, only the music.
OoO
Mustang walked towards with Hawkeye to the building as people swayed to the sound of music. They went to the side of the building and climbed the escape ladder, every step careful, Mustang uneasy about his gloves causing him to slip. When he reached the top he didn't believe who he saw. From a distance it could have been, just a few inches taller. But this man had a young but wise face, no longer arrogant with eyes burning with determination, and his bangs only swept to one side and her tucked behind his pierced ear. Hawkeye went up after Mustang and stared at the barely familiar one.
OoO
He opened his eyes as the song ended and smiled at the two soldiers, "Hey," he said. He put his gloves on and stared at the alchemist and sniper. Old friends or foes, he did not know. But he knew they wanted him.
OoO
"FullMetal." Mustang mumbled the words.
OoO
Havoc did drop his jaw this time, and the cigarette. Celeste patted him back as she shook hew head. "That's inappropriate, you should have better manners."
OoO
Ed stood from his seat and turned to the masses, bowed and walked to the two officers. "What?" he asked. Riza looked like she was going to cry, Ed sighed when a tear spilled from her eye and held out his arms, Riza acknowledge the gesture and hugged the younger boy. Roy watched them, then looked out at the crowd and spotted Havoc talking to Celeste, the foreign musician.
"FullMetal, we need to go, it's important." Mustang said and Ed nodded, Riza backed away and let the two men start down the ladder before she went.
OoO
The three from the roof met with Havoc, followed by Celeste, in the alley next to the hall. The girl seemed pretty shocked to be so close, which made Ed smirk.
"Yo, Chief." Havoc saluted the man. Ed smiled and took the cigarette from the Lieutenant.
"They're going to kill you." he explained after getting an angry look. All eyes then went to Celeste. She looked a little flushed and opened her mouth to speak but Ed did so first.
"Celeste Bankov, sorry I couldn't properly introduce myself on the train." he smiled a handsome grin and held out his right gloved hand. Her cheeks reddened and she took his hand and her brow curled in confusion. The gentleness of the cold and hard hand confused her.
"Yes, thank you for your advice." she bowed her head as she held her fisted left hand at her side.
"It was all I could give to someone who had problems with it, it could've been worse though. The array was breaking, that could've been dangerous." he said and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Mustang, what's so important to pull me from my mission as a musician?"
Mustang glanced at Celeste and then spoke, "Your brother disappeared about a week ago. We thought you would want to help." Ed's eyes narrowed, and then slowly closed.
"Are you positive he's missing?" he said and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We're positive," Hawkeye said. Ed shifted his weight to the left leg and thought it over as he held his left arm with the right.
"I'll come with you, but why is Celeste here?"
"Bomb scare." Havoc mumbled while looking around like he was innocent or something. Riza swore under her breath and tried to ignore the smoker.
"I'm confused." Celeste exclaimed. "Why would a musician be involved with the military?" she asked the three.
Ed smiled and shrugged, his pocketed hands gesturing outward, as if he was deliberately trying to show the red inside of his blazer, "Because I am the infamous FullMetal Alchemist, Miss Bankov." he bowed sarcastically.
"Elric!" Hawkeye grunted. She was obviously frustrated at the men. The younger alchemist flinched at the angry woman's voice, "Be serious, you're brother's missing." the boy stood up straight, already a few inches taller than Hawkeye, Roy's height.
"Yes ma'am." he said and slouched his shoulders before walking down the alley away from the crowds at the other end. "Celeste, let's go. I need to sleep before I go anywhere and by your lack of baggage I'm guessing you have a place." he called back and the red haired girl walked quickly after him, her black dress making as much sound as her silent shoes. Hawkeye watched after him as Roy and Jean talked.
"…and I mean, yeah Rebecca's nice and all but she's…what's the word?" Jean rambled on while Roy listened from a far away place in his mind.
"Controlling?" Roy suggested.
"Yeah, that's it!" Jean declared.
OoO
"Um, Edward, why are you coming with me?" Celeste asked the young alchemist.
"Because, unlike the others, I kinda know your dad and know you have a place to sleep tonight." he said, his voice seemed distant, like his mind was on something else entirely.
"Oh, how do you know my father?" she asked Ed.
"I met him some while ago in Creta, actually. He was a nice man, I guess." he said and almost ran into a tall man, Celeste pulling him out of the way seconds before. "Nice reflexes." he told her.
The other man looked at the two, and continued on his way. "Yeah, I guess." she said and began walking beside him once more.
They reached the inn soon and were going up the wooden stairs. Ed let her unlock the door and walked in before she had a chance to. She sighed, again, and walked in slowly after him. Once she had locked the door behind herself she finally got the chance to survey the room. It was an average inn, one bed, vanity, chair, window, dresser, and door to the bath.
She took off her coat and placed it on the hook at the back of the door, walked to the bed so she could sit and take off her shoes. She turned to the alchemist; she'd heard that he was a hot tempered child with an adult's job a while back but hadn't heard anything of him in a while, like he had disappeared. That would explain a lot, having a false name and nothing to do with alchemy.
Edward was totally ignoring the girl. Busy undoing his braid from the string that held it, and using that string to tie it up. As he removed one arm from his blazer, he used the other to start undoing his tie. He looked slower, maybe, than he had on the train. Like his brother's disappearance really meant that much.
She chose to push that thought out of mind as she pulled the pin that was holding her hair up, out, causing her hair to fall down to the middle of her back. As Celeste took off her gloves she remembered when she shook his hand, how it was obvious he hadn't a real hand there but it was like her hand had been crushed by automail, maybe self confidence did help control it.
Her eyes wandered to the man once more and he looked busy and intent on reading his notes. Oddly enough, he probably had chosen to go with her because she couldn't stop him from staying up. She had no intention of making the alchemist rest, it would find him, but she still feared that if he overdid it he may have problems waking up to start looking for his brother.
"You should get some rest, Edward." she said, finding it awkward to say his name after believing it to be Martin for quite some time.
"I'm thinking." he said and pulled at leg up onto the chair, resting his heel on the edge. He stayed like that for a moment as if he was thinking about whether or not it was even possible.
OoO
It was a while before Roy realized Ed was no longer present. Or the foreigner. Or Jean. "Riza," Roy whispered, Riza gave him her attention, "Where'd they go?"
"We dispersed, I guess you were too busy thinking to realize." she smiled at his mishap.
"Oh." Mustang followed the woman who seemed to be walking with a destination in mind. It wasn't long before Mustang was following her while thinking about infinite possibilities of where the young boy could be.
OoO
Ed glanced at the clock on the wall that declared to be around one in the morning. Moving across the room he found that the girl had fallen asleep. Her violin was at the foot of the bed, the keys on the dresser. He found himself walking to pick up the case and keys, before heading to the roof to see what kinda of sound he could produce in the stillness of a windy night.
OoO
It was faint, but it could still be heard. A rhythm carried by the wind, drifted through the crisp breeze, and fell upon the ears of restless sleepers, waking them but only enough to witness the beauty of magnificence.
OoO
As he pulled the bow across the strings one last time he allowed himself to become aware of the presence of another on the roof with him.
"I guess you came to claim you instrument." he spoke to her as she stood near the door.
"Yes, I have." she told him, "But I must say, you are man of many talents." he smiled as he knelt and carefully lay the piece in the case. Closing it just as delicately.
As he handed her the case, "What of you, Miss Bankov?" he opened the door and held it there, "Ladies first." Celeste nodded and stepped inside, holding the case to her chest, shivering in fear.
They traveled down the stairs and Ed watched the girl. What were her talents? She must've had good hearing to have caught the sound of the music as the wing beat down on the outside. Her steps barely made a sound, she was almost like a ghost. What could she do?
OoO
Mustang and Hawkeye studied the documents and files into the wee hours on the morning. After scribbling out words and jotting down names, Riza finally passed out and almost fell out of her chair in the process. Mustang just barely catching her and sitting her into the chair in the corner, giving her something to lean on.
Mustang continued with the work as they went. One name stood out amongst the others though, Hakuro, Nathaniel. He was reported to had died in his cell, but in all of the file Hawkeye and he had looked at his name was neither marked out or covered with the letters from a stamp to express his death. He pondered the thought of waking up Riza or not, or to go to FullMetal to discuss the situation, but he didn't know where the boy was, or the girl he had left with. He didn't know where Jean was either, so all that left was Riza who undoubtedly knew where all three were.
He decided to make a stack, every file that Hakuro showed up in would be in that stack. He was their greatest suspect, but telling everyone would have to wait for morning.
OoO
Ed walked through East HQ, it had been a while but he was sure he knew where the office was. The nice girl who had just let him come in with her was probably looking for him if not in any trouble already. He had on a fedora that covered most oh his face and had tucked his braid into it. Nobody so far had noticed who he was, and hopefully wouldn't until he got where he wanted to be.
He knocked on the door of the room he believed with much of his being was the right one, waited and felt a little relieved when the door opened and he saw who he wanted, the Fuhrer, Fuhrer Grumman to be exact.
"Yes? Who are you?" the second question had more of a raised tone, loud and scared. The old man stood from his seat and put his hands on the desk. The lady who had been standing at his desk reached into her uniform jacket and pulled a handgun out.
"Forgive me Fuhrer, sir." Edward held a hand over his heart and bowed. His long brown jacket and usual man of the street clothing his him well, no longer wearing the unusually bright coat, and ridiculously tall shoes. He removed the hat that adorned his head and allowed the braid that has stayed with him since he began his journey as an alchemist, fall over his shoulder and slightly smiled a bit.
"You? You!" Grumman said excitedly. He ran around the desk and pulled his comrade up, "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Mustang came out east to tell me my brother's missing." he told the Fuhrer, the old man's dace fell.
"Yes, we've had some people out looking for him. The last place he was seen was in the east actually, Xing to be exact." Grumman informed the man and picked up a letter off of the desk. "Emperor Yao sent us this letter personally, that he would cooperate fully in the aide of finding Alphonse. Mostly by the nagging of Miss Chang, who is apparently fond of your brother."
"Yes," Ed paused, "do you think I could be reinstated?" the old man's eyes lit up.
"You never resigned, but I think you'll have to wear the uniform." he laughed evilly. The blonde sighed and nodded.
"Yes sir." he said. The woman stood there, watching the men, confused.
"Fuhrer, who is this?" the woman asked. Her long russet hair pinned back allowed a few bangs to fall out. Her brow curled in confusion.
"This, May Anne, is Edward Elric; the FullMetal Alchemist." the woman almost dropped her jaw, her brown eyes widened.
"Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist? I thought he had disappeared." she said, she slowly put her gun in the holster.
"I had left, after I got my brother back, I left." he told her. Grumman huffed and smiled at the woman.
"We should get you fixed up and put into the swing of things. I assume you're going to be in the field?" the Fuhrer spoke to the boy a good fifty years younger that he.
"Yes sir." the boy nodded and followed the old man as he exited the room and began leading Ed around his newly resumed workplace.
OoO
The girl was only twenty, she had gotten her state certification only two months ago and had yet been assigned a superior officer to push her around and direct her. She sat towards the front of the building, waiting for some kind of orders. She didn't know why she wanted to become a State Alchemist, she had nothing to do, no goals.
That was when Miss May Anne came up to her and began speaking to her and handing her a case file. "You will be assigned to Edward, he should come around here some time soon, has a long yellow braid. This case is important, if you mess up I would disappear as soon as I could." she said and sauntered off. The girl tucked her short black hair behind her ear.
OoO
Edward fidgeted with his collar, he ran back to a uniform room and grabbed one of the black undershirts. The long sleeves and the firm fit of the shirt kept enough decency on him to not have to put on the itchy uniform top. He walked down the familiar hallways to where Grumman had told him to go look for his partner. She was supposed to be kinda short and have really black hair, pale and bright green eyes; her name was Danny, short for something. He wondered if she had to wear the uniform too, probably, she was stuck in the office areas.
Walking around the halls he began to hear more chatter, then he turned the corner watched as men and women, mostly women, ran around talking to each other and reading cases before filing them. He stopped at the first desk and asked the woman sitting there, "I need to see Danny B."
"Um, she's that way." the lady pointed to the other end of the office, the only one not running around like a monkey. She was staring out the window with a look of boredom on her face.
"Thank you." he bowed and made his way across the long room, holding his shirt in his hand. He stopped in front of her small desk and tapped his finger on it. She looked at him and a blush rose to her face, apparently just being in the issued undershirt was embarrassing for a girl to see.
"What do you need?" she asked quietly. Looking up at him some of her bangs fell in her face.
"You're Danny right?" Ed asked her, she nodded slowly, "May Anne assigned you to me for this mission, she gave you the file right?" her eyes grew a little wide at the mention of the file. She looked in the small basket on her desk and rummaged through it.
"Um, it's not here, it was here just a few minutes ago." she said and looked in another basket. "I'm sorry it seems someone must have taken it or something." she mumbled and crossed her hands on her lap.
Ed nodded to her and turned to the bustling room, "Excuse me." he said calmly, then again, "Excuse me!" he said it louder and heads turned to him. "I'm Brigadier General Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist. It seems somebody has lost an important file. If I don't have it in my hands in ten minutes all of you will be court marshaled, and if it's not found, not only will that happen to you, but I will kill you personally for keeping me from finding my brother." he yelled at the people and they started running around to their desks and looking on the floor.
One woman, quite the jealous looking one. Holding a manila folder in her hands gave it to Ed and spoke, "I didn't think that doing that would get us all in trouble. I just wanted to get her out of the military, we don't need her." she said and looked angrily at Danny. "At least you'll be out of the office." she smiled and walked away.
"Miss, please come with me." Ed said calmly to Danny and she slowly stood, he handed her the file. He walked out and went towards the office designated Mustang's. he pushed the wooden doors open and Fuery stood up and got tangled in his headset.
"Sir, everyone but Mustang and Hawkeye are out." he stuttered. Ed smiled at Fuery and kept walking, lightly knocking on Mustang's door before opening it, Danny following him nervously.
Mustang was talking to Hawkeye when Ed came in, the man had a short girl following him, probably only five feet. "Yo, Mustang, Hawkeye."
"FullMetal, who's this?" Mustang asked and Hawkeye nodded in agreement.
"This is Danny Baske, the Scarred Sky Alchemist." Ed spoke before Danny, surprising her. "She became an alchemist two months ago, just got assigned to me for the case of finding Al." he chuckled and put a hand to his face.
"What?" Mustang asked, looked around and then back at the alchemist. "What?"
"Your, hair." Ed started laughing, and then Hawkeye grinned.
"Your hair does look ridiculous, what happened?" she asked Mustang.
"I didn't do anything, it was mother, she made me slick it back today." he said and grumbled something under his breath before smiling at Danny. "So, you're stuck under FullMetal until he finds his brother, why haven't you already been assigned to someone before?" he asked her.
"I don't know, but I guess this is better than being stuck in that retched office." she said and looked at the file. "Wait, this mission is to look for Alphonse Elric? When did he go missing?" she asked Hawkeye was the one to answer.
"A few days over a week, he was last seen in Xing. The emperor offered help, he's sending his half-sister, Miss Chang to assist us." the blonde sighed and undid the clip in her hair, "Speaking of hair, I've got to start wearing my hair down or something. Ed, what's it like having your hair in a braid every day?"
"I don't have it braided every day, I let it down most of the time when I sleep and if I know I'm not doing anything for a while I let it down. It's more efficient in fighting to have it in a neat order, that's why I braid it." he stopped to think, "But I actually don't know why I started to grow it out."
"Does it make you feel taller FullMetal?" Mustang asked, a smile crept up his face.
"Mustang, really?" I'm tall as you now, it doesn't hurt me." Ed said like he truly meant it. "Now I think I should take my leave. Get some more uniforms, and a place to stay. Danny." he called her to follow and walked out.
"Why? Why does he have to do that to me?" Ed asked and gripped the bag of uniforms and the clothes he had worn to the HQ, in his hand as he walked the streets of East City.
"Do what?" he turned to see the owner of the voice. Celeste.
"Mustang, he's getting on my nerves about my height, and I'm as tall as he is now." he said and paused before he asked, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing, I was looking for a place to eat." she told him, her quiet voice making her seem more and more delicate. "Would you like to join me?"
"Sure." he answered her and she smiled at him. "Well, I think there're some good restaurants around the city." he walked down the road with Celeste as she told him what had happened over her course of the day.
"I almost broke my violin today." she said as they entered the small joint. A woman told them to sit wherever they liked.
As Edward took off his long black coat and threw it into the booth before sitting answered her, "What were you doing with it?" he asked.
"I tried to play. I was in a park and took it out and was determined to play, it didn't work out well. Edward, can you play for me? I would like to see you do it again." she requested, Ed seemed surprised by the question though. She had been a famous violinist only a few years ago, now she was asking a novice to play violin for her, he had only a few lessons in violin, everything else had came from skill in the musical field.
"Why? You should be able to play on your own." he told her, she nodded as she unbuttoned her beige coat, he black dress puffing out and the lacey ends of the teardrop skirt cried.
"Because you play beautifully, and I have yet to do so since I got my hand. I would love for you to play for me." she replied to him and he slumped in his seat.
"No, I refuse. If you don't have the self-confidence to hold it you shouldn't ask someone to do it for you." Ed explained it once again, "I never had to ask someone to play for me."
"Yes, I'm sorry." she said and slipped her gloves off. "What are you wearing? You weren't wearing it this morning." she asked him.
"My new uniform. I got reinstated into the military at brigadier general." he smiled, "That's a few ranks higher than I was at when I left."
"Really?" Celeste looked at him with her violet eyes, "When did you join the military?"
"I joined when I was twelve, state exams were easily passed and I began a great journey. Once my journey ended my brother went to Xing with the price, now emperor, and his sister. I traveled around to learn about alchemy, my one true passion." he sighed and smiled when the woman brought the two drinks, "But, I gave up once I felt there was nothing I could do to truly enhance my power. I went to my music, it was like the closest thing I could do."
"I've never done alchemy, the only reason I have the circle is because my father's acquaintance made me put it on there." she whispered. "It seems it's exciting."
The door was opened at out of the odd silence, Ed who was facing towards the door, saw who came in. she stepped in and smiled at the girl running around taking orders and giving people their food.
"Danny." Ed called. Danny turned her head and blushed when she saw who called. "Hey." he said as she slowly made her way to his table.
"Hey, Edward." she mumbled, "What are you doing here?" she fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve.
"Eating dinner with a girl I met on a train, why don't you join us? She knows about the case, so you could say something if you must. Or we could just talk, you know, I do that a lot nowadays." he laughed and turned to Celeste. "This is Danny, she got assigned to me today to help me look for Al."
"Cool, so not only did you get promoted you got a partner? That sounds interesting, what else happened today?" the Celeste asked, Danny moving in closer to see the girl.
"I found out that I don't know why I grow my hair out." Edward told her.
"Danny," Celeste slid over, "you can sit next to me, if you want." Danny nodded and sat down next to the Drachman girl. "What do you do?" she asked the black haired girl. "Your skill."
"Um, I got my state certification two months ago. I guess my alchemical skill is to draw upon water, gather it." she told the other girl . "What about you, what do you do?"
"Nothing right now. I used to play violin around Drachma, but now I travel." Celeste answered Danny. "I ran into Ed on the train to East City, he was doing a piano concert on top of the city hall."
"Ah, but I cannot run around anymore. I am put back on my leash as a dog of the military." Ed said dramatically. "I cannot fathom the stupidity of the one who caused this."
Celeste smiled at his joke and grabbed her coat and violin case. "Danny can I get out, I want to go see if I can remember to play this right." Danny stood and Celeste got out of her seat.
"Wait, Celeste, can I come. I want to hear you play, with you right there, the last time I heard your music your father was yelling quite loudly." Ed mumbled on as he stood to follow Celeste. He turned to Danny, "Come with?" Danny smiled and followed the others out and to a close area with benches around.
OoO
Celeste sat on the bench alone, Ed and Danny standing a few feet away. Celeste held the bow in her right hand instrument in left, her eyes were closed and her face showing deep concentration. Her eyes opened and her face softened, "I can't do it." she said. Ed sighed and snatched the violin away from her. He settled it and pulled the bow across the strings. It was a melody, a song of the soul, cries of the sky.
It ended too soon, the song died and the girls looked at him in astonishment, "The words of my heart, they can be found in my music." he whispered and handed Celeste her violin back, "Where's yours? Do you not have a song, is it gone? Did it leave with your hand? Because I know something like that is ridiculous, I lost my arm and leg, I still walk and play my music, I use my alchemy and I look for my brother." he pointed at the violin, "Why do you still have that if you can't do it?"