"Rise and shine, Ed!" Rina said as she pulled back the blinds, flooding the room with sunlight.
"Come on, it's barely eight in the morning!" Edward whined as he slipped out of bed. 'Great, I slept in my clothes.' He thought as he pulled at his now static-charged shirt.
"Don't look so grumpy- it's a beautiful day!" Rina said as she set the table for breakfast.
"Sorry, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed- no pun intended." He said as he slumped into one of the intricately carved chairs.
"Hey, where'd Al run off to?" Rina asked over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.
"He's probably off exploring the area- and by the way, happy birthday!" Ed said happily as Rina walked back into the room, a plate of food in her hands.
"Thanks, Ed." She said with a giggle as she set the plate in front of him. "Now eat up."
"This looks good," Edward said as Rina set the plate in front of him. "Eggs, toast, and a glass of… MILK?!" Ed exclaimed. He stared at the glass of white liquid in disgust- the mere sight of it made him want to wretch.
"You don't like milk?" Rina asked in astonishment. Edward sighed and started to eat.
"It's just like drinking cow pee when you think about it." He said through a mouthful of eggs.
"Great table talk." Rina said bluntly. "You know, the most likely reason as to why you're so short is because you don't drink your milk." She teased as she crossed her arms. Ed glared at her- he was at his breaking point.
"I am NOT short- you're just freakishly tall!" He growled. Rina laughed off his comments and looked out the window.
"You'd better eat and wash up fast- I need you to find Al- we're going on a tour of the village." She said without looking back at him. Ed swallowed his last bite of food and headed off to the washroom to clean up.
xXx
"What do girl like?" Alphonse asked himself as he stared up at the clouds. Earlier that morning, he'd asked Edward once again what he thought girls liked. When all he received was an annoyed grunt in reply, he decided to go for a walk- maybe then an idea would pop into his mind for Rina's birthday gift.
"Girls like flowers and hearts, right?" He asked himself aloud as he pictured Rina in his head. The way she dressed and spoke didn't at all suggest that she liked things along the lines of 'cute' and 'sparkly'. Then, he remembered how sad she'd seemed when she'd shown them her broken bow. When he'd first seen the bow, he could tell that it was cheaply made.
"That's it," Al exclaimed.
"What's it?" a familiar voice asked. Alphonse turned around to see Edward walking toward him.
"I know what to give Rina for her birthday," Al proclaimed as he stood up from his spot in the grass and walked over to a tall tree.
"And what's that?" Ed asked as he crossed his arms.
"A quiver full of new arrows and a top grade bow!" Al said excitedly as he grabbed a large branch that had fallen in a windstorm.
"What?" Edward laughed. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"What's so funny about it?" Alphonse asked as he dropped the branch in the center of the transmutation circle he'd recently drawn.
"Girls like flowers and kittens, Al! Rina wouldn't want a hunting bow!" Edward managed to say between laughing bursts.
"Rina's different from most girls, Edward!" Al argued. "I can tell that she likes a good fight!"
"Fine, whatever you want to do is fine with me," Ed sighed. "But if she doesn't react the way you hope she will, don't say I didn't warn you."
Al turned back to his work as Edward walked off, determined to prove that Rina in fact was different from all the other girls they'd met.
xXx
Roy Mustang sat in his office, sifting through the many stacks of papers he had stored in his desk.
"Colonel Mustang, sir," Riza Hawkeye called from the doorway.
"Not now, lieutenant," Roy muttered as he set another paper aside.
"But sir, this is something you really should hear," Hawkeye said. Judging by the look in her eye, she wasn't lying about it being important.
"Alright lieutenant, what is it that I 'really should hear'?" Roy asked as he lifted up a small picture. As he examined the face in the picture, his eyes softened and his heart twanged with guild.
"The help you sent to your sister only just arrived," Hawkeye said, awaiting an angry rant from her superior.
"I sent that help nearly five years ago," He growled as he slipped the picture into his coat pocket.
Hawkeye stared at the floor as she continued, "Yes; the request for assistance didn't reach the emergency unit until just recently. A failure on the military's behalf. When the crew searched the house, she wasn't there- the house had long been abandoned."
"What?" Mustang seethed. "That can't be possible- she couldn't have left! I sealed all the windows using Alchemy and locked the doors…"
"You always bragged about how skilled of an Alchemist she was- maybe she made her own way out." Hawkeye theorized.
"Maybe." Roy muttered. The Colonel abruptly rose from his seat and walked over to the lieutenant.
"First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," He began, "You are relieved of your duties until further notice. We have to hunt her down."
xXx
"A birthday gift- for me?" Rina cried happily as she sat down at the table with Alphonse and Edward.
"For you. You told us that you haven't celebrated your birthday with anyone for a long time, so Edward and I thought we could celebrate it with you." Al said as he set a large gift box on the table. "It's from both of us," He added.
"Thank you both so much," Rina said happily as she lifted the lid of the rectangular box. "A new bow- and arrows, too?" She gasped. Her eyes shone with delight as she lifted the large wooden bow out of its box. It was engraved with Alchemical symbols and delicately crafted- everything about it was perfect.
"Do you like it?" Al asked hopefully.
"I don't like it…" Rina began, "I absolutely love it!"
She ran up to Al and threw her arms around his neck, embracing him in a tight hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said, laughing happily.
"Don't forget to thank Ed- he was part of this too!" Al said as he gestured to his brother. Edward went red in the face.
"No, it was all Al's doing. It's him you should thank." He said as Rina flashed him a big smile.