Chess
A scruffy dark haired boy, dressed in worn trousers and a white shirt with a satchel slung over his shoulder, quietly walked up the old wooden stairs. Master Hawkeye preferred silence and Roy was not stupid enough to anger him. He stopped before a door and knocked gently. There was a scuffling from inside then it creaked open and he slipped inside.
"If father catches you in here he won't be pleased"
Riza Hawkeye was a few inches shorter than Roy, her blonde hair tied up neatly. She had a stern look on her face, given away only by the innocent playfulness in her eyes.
"Then we'd best get out of here so he can't catch us, lets explore" He smirked, striding across the room and opening the window,"M'lady" He offered a mock bow, gesturing towards the window.
"Shut up" She laughed, climbing onto the windowsill and jumping towards the oak tree outside and landing on a branch with ease.
Roy followed, slipped, and was saved by her outstretched hand,"City boys" She tutted mockingly.
He laughed as they climbed down the tree and began walking away from the Hawkeye residence. The dirt path grew increasingly wild as they wandered towards the forest, tangles of weeds dotted the part and thorns jutted out from the bushes. The only sound was the thud of their footsteps and bird singing in the trees above.
"What's in the bag?" She asked as they walked.
"Just my notebook and some snacks" He smiled.
The sound of running water grew louder until a clearing came into view, cut in half by a stream. He threw the bag down carelessly and it landed with a gentle thump. Riza sat on a tree stump, resting her chin on her hand thoughtfully.
"So, hows your alchemy going?" She asked.
"Pretty good, you dad says I'm learning quite quickly" He said proudly, a smile stretching across his face.
"Show me?"
He suddenly looked a bit sheepish,"What do you want me to transmute?"
She looked around thoughtfully, then walked to the stream and picked up a handful of dark stones, looking at them carefully,"They're granite, can you make two small castles? The size of my pinky?"
He opened the satchel, pulled his notebook from it and drew a transmutation circle in pencil. Placing the stone in the middle he touched the circle, there was a blue light, then two small, black, slightly uneven, castles stood in the middle. She looked at them carefully and picked one up grinning.
"They're good, can you do two more? Except a different coloured stone?" She asked.
"I can use granite again, a finer finish will make it lighter, a sort of grey colour"
He repeated the process until she had four small castles resting in her hand.
"How about a horse? Just the head maybe but so it'll stand up like the castles do?" She asked.
He obliged, producing similar sized horses, two black two grey.
"Okay this is the harder part, can you make four crowns, two masculine, two feminine? Same height as the castles if you can and one of each colour"
His brow furrowed in confusion but nevertheless he did as she asked, The crowns were very rough and it wasn't initially obvious what they were exactly but for a first attempt they weren't bad.
"Now do sixteen sticks, long as they can stand up they'll work, half in each colour"
She examined each.
"And now just four simple crosses, two of each colour again"
Once he finished one again she examined them then smiled.
"So city boy, do you know how to play chess?"
He laughed,"You had me making all the parts just so you could play a board game? I haven't played in a while but I can beat you no problem"
She quicker an eyebrow,"Transmute a board and lets play then"
He drew the transmutation circle on the street stump and within moments he'd created a smooth wooden chess board. They set up each side and began to play, Roy lost the first game. And the second. And the third.
"Best of 5?" He said, red from embarrassment.
"Okay city boy, I'll beat you quickly this time, don't want you to suffer more than necessary" She laughed.
"We'll see who wins this time" He muttered, moving a piece.
"Checkmate" She smiled sweetly.
Roy stared, opened his mouth, closed it again then stuttered,"You're cheating"
"Do you want me to teach you?"
"Okay Master Hawkeye" He grinned mockingly.
Her eyes flashed dangerously,"Don't call me that" Then her face softened slightly,"Refer to me as your superior instead" She laughed.
They practised until the sun began to set, Roy glanced up.
"We should probably head back now or you dad will get angry"
She nodded and they packed up.
"Wait, you left you Queen" She stooped to pick up the figure, the small rough feminine crown he'd made,"Don't forget, the Queen is your most valuable piece, once you lose the Queen its almost certain you've lost the game"