That's what landed them here, Cecil watching Zira hunched over her notes as usual, but now on a train en route to the west. Unusually, the books scattered amongst the train car weren't alchemy books.
They were history books.
"Do you ever wonder what happened?" She asked him the library the night before they left. She was in a nightgown, her hair was down, and save for the fact she'd instinctively pulled a gun on him when he walked trough the large, oak, double doors, she was the most relaxed he'd ever seen her.
When she lifted her nose from the book in her hand, her eyes were full of concern.
"Before we were born?"
He couldn't say he had, but she was right now that he looked over the books with her. Something was missing.
"There was a full, state-funded project regarding filling in mines." She said, her brow furrywed, voice hushed. Had she not looked up at him, he'd have thought she was talking to herself.
Cecil wished he could offer her something intelligent. He knew of the project, it employed hundred of thousands of lay people as well as hobbyist and state alchemists alikee. There were whole mining villages brought out of slums from the project.
"Cecil, there were miens under Briggs." Zira emphaseized. "C, there's a no history of mining there before the project."
His eyes widened at the realization and she nodded.
They spend the rest of the train ride hurriedly marking up Cecil's map. The scenery flew by and transformed. Long, rolling countrysides sloped into forests and mountains broken up by rivers wide and narrow. The sun tucked itself behind the landscape at some point and train car lamps flickered to life.
Still, Cecil sat on the floor with pencil in hand, shoulders hunched as his eyes drew lines between the dots that Zira read off—locations of specific projects from different volumes.
"Zira," She was still flipping through pages, "Zira, stop—stop."
Cecil sat back best he could in the cramped space, hands shaking.
"Zira, this is a transmutation circle." His voice cracked. She stared down at the lines he'd connected, a rough circle because he hadn't known what he'd been looking at. Their eyes met.
There was no doubt of what laid on the map in front of them.
"I…don't recognize it." She whispered.
Their eyes met again.
This was something dangerous.
A/N find me on Tumblr letsbringmomback and share any ideas of what you'd like to see! there's a general storyline but there's room for one shots