A/N: Here's Ch 14. Ch 15 will be a little late (cutting it just shy of two weeks) because of my exam timetable, but fingers crossed I'll make it! And meanwhile, enjoy! Not the most exciting note to end on sadly, but last chapter had plenty after all. :D

Flame and Fullmetal
Chapter 14 – The Northern Wall of Briggs

Roy stretched, his neck clicking as he shook the stiffness from it. Riza looked moderately more at ease, but not much more so. Her boots clicked together as she walked and her hands were in her pockets as opposed to at her sides. Roy was still wearing his gloves so the chill of the Northern snow wasn't so strong for him, but he figured his hands would find their way into his pockets soon enough as well. His toes were already starting to chill from standing in the snow.

A man with white hair greeted them and led them up the slope. 'Major Miles,' he introduced himself, before turning quickly. Glasses covered his eyes – a rarity in the east where the sun was so strong, and places like Liore even worshipped it like their god. Perhaps it was different in the north, Roy mused. More of a rarity, there. Or maybe he'd under-estimated snow glare. It wasn't nearly as dark as he'd expected, for a sky that only got scant rays peeking through the clouds.

And it seemed people were less chatty too, because he got a few nods and salutes and that was it as he was led up a slope of snow to Northern Command.

'Wait here,' he said, once they reached the main door. 'The General will have a word with you.'

Roy was surprised. The major was himself was qualified to explain the situation…wasn't he? Maybe it had to do with why a Lieutenant Colonel had been requested in the first place…even though they'd asked a kid that was at least a quarter metal to do the job. Though Fullmetal had mentioned something about the possibility of changing the metal…

'Northern automail,' Riza remarked. 'It looked quite different to the Lieutenant Colonel's.'

Roy looked in the direction she indicated. The metal was whiter, and somewhat glossier – though he wasn't sure if both of those were absolute or simply a trick from the snow glare. And the design was different too. 'Probably different metal,' he mused. 'Steel is quite conductive after all.'

'Our automail is more lightweight,' someone added, and the two turned around to salute a man in a white coat who'd stopped to listen into their conversation. 'Aluminium and carbon, to insulate against the cold climate here.'

'And engineered for combat purposes,' said the tall general striding to meet them, flanked by her officers, including the Major Miles that had led them there. 'We at Briggs don't believe in waste.'

Roy filed that comment away to process later, and snapped into a salute. Riza did the same. 'Major Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist,' he introduced.

'Private Riza Hawkeye,' said Riza.

The woman regarded them both a moment longer, before barking: 'At ease.' Something in her tone stopped Roy from relaxing though. A no-nonsense sort of tone, a far cry from General Grumman and Edward Elric.

'Brigadier General Olivia Armstrong,' the woman said.

Riza had been right then. And the family resemblance was there as well. The blonde hair. The tall stature. But there was an openness with Major Alex Armstrong that was missing, or covered, here.

The General stepped closer. 'So,' she said, looking Roy up and down with more openness than he'd displayed in his own assessment of her. 'You're an alchemist. Let's see what you have.'

He stumbled back as she suddenly swung his sword. He hadn't even seen her draw it! Riza was quicker on the uptake. She'd withdrawn a gun and fired a warning shot before Roy had straightened and poised his fingers to snap.

'Hold your fire,' General Armstrong barked to Riza, and Riza backed away.

So this was a test of sorts. Roy snapped, careful with his aim. The General flicked up a bit of snow with her sword and the flame fizzled out. And she frowned. 'Enough.'

Roy gathered that meant she wasn't too impressed with fire that could be taken out by snow, even if he did feel a little insulted by the hidden jibe. Still, it couldn't be helped. Fire alchemy had been difficult to master, and only now was he starting to adapt that to other situations – and largely because of Fullmetal.

'At least you're not slowed down by having to draw a circle,' the General muttered, 'but there's certainly not much power to boast about.'

'The north isn't really the place for fire,' Roy shrugged. 'Not at the moment anyway.'

'Hmm…' She regarded him, then: 'If your flames ever think they can hold the candles to a Briggs winter, come and show me.'

He saluted.

.

The inside of Fort Briggs was warmer, but not by a lot. It seemed the soldiers there were all used to the climate and warm wear was all they needed. Roy and Riza put on extra layers – and were grateful they'd had the foresight to pack them. Still, it made their movements stiff, unlike the fluidity of the natives of Fort Briggs.

But at least they enjoyed warm beverages, and Roy sighed as he felt the warmth creep up to his toes. Riza smiled slightly as well. Major Miles was sitting across from them, and for him it was a normal occurrence, to share a pot of tea with his fellow officers, so he didn't react at all.

Instead, he simply explained the situation. 'Part of our duties here at Northern Command are to survey the many mines in the area. Most are out of use now, due to snow or abandonment or their uselessness – ' His lip quirked as he said this, as though there was some inside joke the two guests were missing. 'But some still have raw materials that can be dangerous, especially in the hands of alchemists, and many connect in underground tunnels.'

'So you think an alchemist or group is making use of this?' Roy checked. 'We saw the reports of odd materials and traces of alchemic reactions.'

'A group is more likely,' said Major Miles. 'There's also the fact that the crew in some of the mines have reported changes in the ice distribution. As though the very climate has changed, but the snow outside the mines hasn't been affected at all.'

Riza took out a notebook and started taking notes. Roy nodded his thanks to her and thought. Major alchemic reactions did tend to play havoc on the surrounding environment, but for it to be restricted to mines implied it was the nature of the alchemic reactions as opposed to the simple fact. Unless it wasn't the reactions themselves but something else. 'Why do you get ice in the mines?' he asked, and not up here in the fort?'

The Major's lips quirked again. 'That would involve quite a bit of study on the Northern Climate,' he said, 'but why do you have gardens at Eastern Command and a desert near Ishbal and Liore?'

'Hmm…' Part of it was just the fact that a large group of people had gotten together to make a habitable place. Cities were larger than towns. The buildings, to an extent, provided protection from the desert wind and Eastern Command was a bit closer to the centre of Amestris than its edge as well. All those factors came together to create a more viable city than desert town. And the mines were largely abandoned. 'Fair enough.'

He noted Riza scribble something down anyway.

'We should take a look at the mines,' Roy said, after a brief pause. 'If we're lucky, there'll be an alchemic circle sitting there waiting for us.'

'You'll need a guide,' said Major Miles, but otherwise he seemed agreeable to the idea.

.

They were delayed from heading out, however. Briggs was suddenly mobilised as a skirmish up at the border they protected. The General was suddenly amongst them again, shouting orders and sounding as though that sort of thing happened every day.

After a few split conversations, they gathered that wasn't quite the case, but close enough. Skirmishes between Briggs and Drachma were very common, and hence why Fort Briggs was named the way it was.

And General Armstrong wasn't worried at all, because her soldiers took a very scant loss on the battlefield, and Drachma was obliterated. Though, as she pointed out with a scoff as the others drank to their victory, it was a minor force, sent to see if the impenetrable fortress had sprung a hole since their last skirmish. It hadn't, of course, and as far as she was concerned, such petty forces never would.

'I'm here to make sure we can take down Drachma when the command comes,' she said, the smirk still dancing on her face. 'So I'll take any hint of power we get.'

Her tone made him think of Ishbal. And so he asked: 'Like Ishbal?'

'You weren't there at Ishbal, were you?'

He shook his head. So did Riza. 'We weren't in the Military then.'

'Hmm.' She turned away from them, to look at the pink-brushed snow. 'When you see more of the Military, and the world, then you'll know.'