Chapter 3

Elysia helped Strider place his baggage in an over head compartment onboard the train. They were to bring with them what they could, the rest would be sent to their; or rather Elysia's aunt. The woman they were going to be living with had been her father's sister.

As Strider looked up, while shoving the baggage in place, his hair fell back away from his face. He winced and hastily looked down, pulling hair over his auto-mail eye. Elysia closed the compartment and smirked at him. "You look emo." She commented.

Strider wrinkled his nose at her but said nothing. Since their mother's death, the two seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement not to argue as much. He drew a few more bangs over his eye. He always did this. He hated it when people stared or asked questions.

The two walked off the train, and said their final goodbyes to the three people seeing them off; Roy Mustang, Riza Mustang, and Angie. Words were said between them, but to Elysia they really had no meaning; just obligated small talk. "We'll miss you" and such. The one person she had really wanted to talk to wasn't there.

A whistle sounded, signaling for passengers to board the train. She said farewell to Angie and the married couple, and was about to board the train when he came. Adrian came rushing up to her as she walked into the train.

"Elysia!" he shouted.

She turned and smiled when she saw him. "It's about time."

He stopped in front of her, panting. "I'm sorry, didn't realize it was so late."

She rolled her eyes playfully. A train worker beckoned her to board the train, as they were about to leave, but she ignored him.

"I…" said Adrian, placing a hand behind his head and looking uncomfortable. "I just wanted to…just, well come back and visit, ok?"

Elysia gave a sad smile. She realized for the first time how much she was leaving behind. She suddenly didn't want to go. At first, the prospect of leaving here was alright. She would be getting away from it all, but some things, she saw now, she didn't want to be away from. She almost considered getting Strider, and refusing to board the train, but decided against it, and finally said, "Sure."

Adrian smiled smugly. "Promise?"

"Of course."

Adrian looked around for a moment, and without warning, hugged her. Elysia was surprised for a second, and then returned the embrace.

"Take care of yourself and Strider."

They broke apart and Elysia nodded. This couldn't go on much longer. The more she lingered, the more she wanted to stay, but, she had to go. Not to mention the train employee was getting even more impatient, so she ended it. "Well…see ya."

"See ya…"

She stepped backwards into the train, and the doors closed in front of her. Adrian was still standing there. They both watched one another as the train pulled away.

When she couldn't see him anymore, Elysia went to her seat. Strider looked at her with disgust. "After watching that, I'm gonna be sick. That was vile, you and stupid lover boy. Never act like that with your dumb googly eyes within a mile of me again."

Elysia blushed. She couldn't think of anything to say except, "Shut up."

"Hmph." Strider retorted. Once again, he held back from arguing with her.

A while later, Strider was sleep in his seat, and Elysia, across from him, stared out the window. She noticed a little girl in the seat behind her looking over her shoulder at Strider. His hair had fallen away from his eye, and although he was asleep, he never could fully close that eye, and now the girl looked at it questioningly.

"Hey, what's wrong with his eye?" the girl asked.

"Well, he was born blind in that eye, so they replaced it. The one he has now is auto-mail."

"Born blind in an eye?"

"Yep."

Strider began to stir. When he awoke he saw Elysia and the girl. The girl was looking at his eye. He quickly sat up, and pulled his hair over it again, glaring at the little girl. She turned around at the look on his face and said no more.

Strider crossed his arms, obviously displeased.

Elysia rolled her eyes. "Get over it. I mean, aren't you used it by now? You've had it nearly all your life."

Strider turned his gaze away from her. "I hate it. I'd rather be blind in one eye then have people stare at me. No one asked me if I wanted this. If I had a choice, I'd have my normal eye back."

Elysia shook her head.

Strider rose. "I'm going to the bathroom." He didn't really have to do anything, he was just tired of this conversation and Elysia refusal to see things from his perspective so, he simply walked around the train.

Elysia sighed. Now that she had no one to talk to, there was time to think, something she'd rather not do at the moment. She couldn't find them. Her father's small throwing knives. She knew how to use them, and had wanted to take them with her, but they were gone. Then she remembered what she had said at the cemetery, and decided that she didn't care about the knives. So, she got out her camera, and asked if she could take the little girl's picture.

"Hey," someone called out to Strider. It was a boy a bit older than him. "What's up with your eye?"

Strider ignored him.

"Hey, I asked you something." The boy retorted.

Strider kept walking.

The boy got up and stormed over to Strider, grabbing him by the shoulder and turning him around. "An auto-mail eye? Pft. I've seen people with auto-mail limbs before but never an auto-mail eye…what a freak."

Strider glared at him, unsure of what to say, an anger growing inside him.

The boy smirked at the look on his face. "What, I'm sure you're used to being called a freak."

"…stop saying that." Strider commented rather quietly.

"What're you gonna do? Don't forget I'm bigger than you."

So Strider reached into a pocket, and pulled out, as you might have guessed, the small throwing knives.

The boy let go of Strider's shoulder with a yelp.

Elysia jumped and look down the aisle of the train when she heard. She saw Strider brandishing the knife in front of him. She ran over to him, infuriated and grabbed it from him. "You!" she yelled. "You took them! I was looking all over for these, and you took them! Do you know what these are!"

Strider shrugged. "They were your dad's right?"

"Yes!" she said. "Doesn't that mean anything to you? How could you just take them?"

"Well…they were shiny. Besides, why should I care? He wasn't my father.

The boy slowly edged away from them. Strider fixed his auto-mail eye on him, and laughed at the terrified look on the boy's face. "Yeah, like I'd really do anything."

"Well you never know with auto-mail freaks like you." The boy returned to his seat. Strider let him go and looked at Elysia who was glaring at him. People on the train were starting to stare.

"Maybe he wasn't your father…but he was mine, and these knives are important to me."

Strider scoffed. "Do you even know how to use them?" He started walking back to his seat.

Elysia followed after him uncomfortably. "…maybe. Where are the rest?"

"Here." said Strider sighing and reaching into his coat pocket. He handed the others to her.

"These aren't toys." Elysia scolded.

"I wasn't really going to do anything. Just threaten him a little; maybe get him to leave me alone."

Elysia shook her head. "You're impossible."

They stayed in their seats the rest of the ride for the most part without incident, except for a few odd stares from others on the train, until they arrived at their stop.