FMA characters/story/concept (c) Hiromu Arakawa and Square Enix
Rage/Marlie, Senta (c) Britny Stewart - SaphireExorcist
Obsession/Amber (C) Ámbar Maria Gomes - The Cheshire Wolf (She writes her characters dialogue)
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"What's your story?"
That one question, that single query had left Rage speechless. She never once answered the question when asked, no matter who had asked it. Dante had told her that everyone in the 'family' must know everything about eachother. She said it was necessary if one of them were to betray or defy the family. Each sin had a weakness, and to know this would give them the upper hand. For Lust; the brother of the man she had once loved. For Greed; the skull of his once human body. For Wrath; his mother. For Envy; the man who left him and Dante behind, the man he once called 'Father'.
Only one other in the family knew anything about Rage's past. That person was Obsession, the only real friend that she had left. They had been through anything and everything together. In truth, they were more connected than anyone else in the family.
The question still messed with her. She continued to stay silent, but every day she'd hear it in her head as she would think about all of the people she'd left behind. Was anyone she had loved still alive? Just that single thought made her uneasy. She thought back, saw faces, heard all of the familiar voices, and felt each pain she had ever known as the thoughts ran rampant through her mind.
--
She grew up in the outskirts of Central City where soldiers could be seen coming back and forth during the Ishbalan civil war. Her father, being a retired state alchemist, was always pressured by the military and was given subtle threats from the Fuhrer's office if he didn't become a soldier again. Each would be worse as they continued to show their ugly heads. This led to the family of four to struggle financially, for her once-soldier father's salary was what kept them stable. They quickly went from a middle-class, financially stable household to dipping into an almost destitute home.
Because of their financial mess, Marlie [which was Rage's human name] and her older sister Senta had to find jobs to help their figured any money they could get would help them get by. Senta, who was 17 at the time, got one without any trouble at all, working at the local bar as a waitress. The bar was close to Central and wasn't the best, or safest job in the city, but luckily her hours were short. In the first couple of weeks she was making pretty good money by tips alone. She never told her father her job, she'd made up a fake one back when she started working.
Marlie had no such luck with a job, the 15 year old searched and searched everywhere, but no one would or even could hire her. Most places had no job openings. After almost a month, she went to her sister, begging for a job, 'You lied about your age, so can I' she would say. Day after day she pestered Senta until she finally agreed to her request. She set Marlie up with the same job as her so she could keep an eye on her sister. Senta knew that the bar was full of trash, even a good amount of the soldiers that dropped in were nothing but filthy men.
For a while it went well, they were bringing in enough money to sustain the family and everything was looking up. Marlie and Senta continued their jobs for a good while and aside from the weirdo in the bar here in there it wasn't too bad. Until, that is, when Marlie's best friend found out about her new occupation..
Her name was Amber, she and Marlie had been friends since they were both very young. The both of them always looked out for each other, protecting one another any time one of them was in trouble. Growing up they were almost never apart, but as they grew older and the war grew even more violent, they were rarely able to leave their homes. Only recently, when a good amount of the soldiers had come back from Ishbal, were they able to see one another again.
One day Amber had been walking around the city looking for Marlie, she'd taken a visit to her house but her mom and dad said that Marlie was out working out at some small market selling rugs or something. Amber came upon said market, but the owner of the tapestry stand said that they hadn't had a new employee in months. With a questioning look, Amber described Marlie to the old woman but was interrupted by an old, shaking hand pointing a finger over to the bar a few buildings down, making Amber turn around. She blinked, raising a brow she looked back at the old man. "No no no... You don't understand. She actually believes in God! She wouldn't-" The brunettes caramel eyes widened and as she noticed two girls walking out of a bar. A tall, slender blond with a short red head. Dead give away. Amber gasped and jolted toward the bar, appalled above anything else.
Marlie and Senta had just gotten off of an extended shift, leaving the two tired and ready to go home. A hand quickly grasped Marlie's shoulder and she jolted forward, turning around to see Amber, her arms now crossed and an annoyed visage plastered to her face.
"A-Amber!" she blurted," Heheh...hey." a nervous tone in her voice.
"I saw you comin' out of there..." Amber scowled, pointing to the bar behind them. "Your parents told me you got a job..."
Marlie's face went a bit pale, her eyes looking to the side as she bit her lip. Beside her, Senta stood with a look of guilt on her face.
"Please for the love of Christ, tell me you of all people are not working in there!" a growl emitting from Amber's throat. She had always been the bitchier one of the group.
The look on Marlie's face answered her immediately. Marlie told her sister to go home, that she would catch up. Senta knew that she' be safe with Amber there so she just went ahead home without a word.
"This just isn't like you, Marlie, you despise places like these, why would you even consider working here? ...Its not even a strip club, now those... they make good money..."
Marlie's mouth opened slowly and she let out a rough sigh. She proceeded to tell her friend about her family's struggle, trying to make her understand why she'd stooped herself so low. Amber shook her head angrily, looking Marlie dead in the eyes.
"You could have come to ME!" it was a straightforward reply that hit Marlie as if it were a bullet to the heart, "We're supposed to look out for each other, Marlie. You have a problem, your struggling, then you come to me! I might not permanently fix it, but I could have at least helped you do better than this."
Watery eyes stared back at the brunette, vision blurring with each blink.
"I-I'm sorry..." Marlie muttered,"please help me...?"
Amber at first didn't say anything, turning her head away. When she turned back at her friend, the pure desperation in Marlie's eyes said everything she wanted to hear even without words. She DID need her to help, she trusted her more than anyone and she knew it. With a sigh Amber tightly hugged Marlie, nodding.
"Alright alright, don't cry me a river... I'll try to help out the best I can..."
"Amber... I can't quit this job yet.."
"What?" a sudden reply.
"Please... just until we find another job, the money coming in...it's really helping...please..."
Amber paused, thinking about it.
"...Fine... But you have to be careful...if anything- ... if a someone strange comes up tell me, that goes for your sister too, you see anyone messing with her you come right to me... Promise me." She was dead serious.
" I promise," Marlie nodded
"Good."
"Amber..."
"Yeah...?"
"Thank you.. this means everything to me.."
Amber grinned, ruffling Marlie's hair and laughing, trying to get her friend to smile. To her satisfaction, Marlie had a wide grin on her lips as she did the same to Amber's hair.
The two spent the rest of the day walking around the city talking with each other about what they'd been up to and seen during the now dwindling war. They had seen much of the same sights within the months; Dead soldiers brought back from war, some Isbalan refugees sneaking around to find a place to stay, among other things. After a bit they'd ended up discussing the war itself.
Some long hours had passed. Amber looked at the clock nearest them on the outside of a small building and stood up in a rushed fashion. She blinked sveral times, almost stunned and looked back at the read head with a cheapish smile, scratching the back of her head as she took a couple steps backward.
"S-... Sorry Marls... I've-uh... I gotta be somewhere... pretty..." A slight blush caressed the brunettes cheeks and her eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Somewhere to be...? Somewhere... pretty...? Where would that be, Amber?" Marlie questioned with a raised brow.
"Oh nothiiiiiiing! Just gotta meet somebody, nothing important! I just... Promised I'd be there..."
At first Marlie was going to ask for a clearer answer, but she trusted Amber's words and kept her mouth shut. She stood up, walking alongside her friend for a few minutes until they got to her house. They departed at the door, waving goodbye to eachother before Marlie went in.
She walked in, closing the door behind her and set her jacket on the hanger beside the doorway. Marlie greeted her parents, talking about her day and lying about her 'job' once again. Every word pained her when she saw the smiles on her parents' faces. After her long workday she needed rest. Badly. She bid her parents goodnight, and went upstairs to her room.
As Marlie laid there on her bed, she looked up at the ceiling and thought about who Amber was talking about. Why was she rushing? She didn't have a boyfriend, at least as far as Marlie knew, but why wouldn't she tell her about it? Exhaustion made her fall asleep in the middle of her racing thoughts, maybe she would ask about it later...
...
The next day's work was excessive, more so than the day before. The bar was packed full of drunken soldiers, almost all of them were talking about the hell they'd been through in the war and how badly they didn't want to go back. Too bad for them that they DID. A few of the soldiers actually had passed out in the middle of drinking and had to be taken out. Marlie and Senta were the only ones working that day, unfortunately. The workload was terrible.
A beer here, now there, now some more over here. They almost couldn't take it anymore, but they continually told each other,' just a little more, the day's almost over. that one reassurance was what kept them going.
One soldier sitting in the back corner caught Marlie's eye. An eerie feeling, a pressure almost, emitted from the man. He was a lanky man, maybe in his late twenties. His long black hair was slicked back and tied in a unique way, something about him brought one word to her mind; snake. Marlie then noticed his almost glowing gold eyes staring at her and a wide smirk spread across his face, she could feel that pressure again, a bit stronger this time. In one of his hands he was holding onto his necklace, she saw a small piece of what seemed to be a red stone on the string that held it around his neck.
The man lifted his hand, motioning her over with his pointer finger. As much as she didn't want to, Marlie walked over to the soldier, trying to stand as far away as she could from him as she could get away with.
"I'm not one to yell, come over closer..." he chuckled, hiding his necklace into his blue army jacket.
Marlie nodded hesitantly, inching closer until she stood directly in front of him.
"Now..what would your name be..?" he asked, his hissing voice making her uncomfortable.
"Marlie, sir. My name is Marlie..."
The man nodded," Well.. Marlie..," he picked up his glass, shaking it, rattling the ice and small bit of alcohol left. " Could you get some more, then...?"
She nodded at the request, taking the glass and putting it on the tray. Before she stood back up fully, she felt a chill go down her back as the man lightly grabbed a curl of her hair, staring at it for a bit. After a moment, he let go and Marlie made her way away from the man.
"It's a beautiful color...just like fire..." His voice had an almost disturbed tone mixed with ecstasy as he said the last word. This gave Marlie an even greater urge to leave. 'less than an hour..less than an hour..' she told herself. Her shift was almost over, she'd be safe at home soon.
She hated it, but got the soldier his drink, taking it back to him quickly.
" Thank you..and..by the way..the name's Zolf Kimbley.." he grinned looking back at her with those golden eyes again. They seemed to be flickering like a sinister flame.
Marlie didn't hesitate to walk away, making her way to Senta and telling her about the man. Senta kept an eye on the man and her sister for the rest of their shift. Senta noticed the man giving Marlie a glance here and there, he even called her over one more time before the hour was up.
After desperately but patiently waiting it was over. Their shift was done, they could finally go home. When they were ready and stepping out of the bar, Marlie glanced back one more time at the back corner. The soldier was gone. She let out a sigh of relief and shut the door behind her as she made her way out.
She hoped and prayed that Amber would come to her with a new job soon. Tonight, she hoped, was the last, that she'd never EVER see that man again. Her stomach knotted at the thought.
'Please, Amber' she thought, 'Help me...I don't think I can do this anymore.'