Okay, so I actually had a good part of this chapter written like 13 months ago and never got around to finishing it. Until now. … :D
So, uh, yeah, sorry for the 15 month wait, guys. I hope that doesn't happen again. ^^' (Notice how I made no promises) Anyways, I just lost interest in it (as I tend to do), but I really hope to pick this back up this summer. I mean, I finally have time and all, so we'll see how this works out.
Now, onto the chapter~!
Chapter Two
Early morning sunlight touched the top of the house, making the roof shine scarlet. A lark trilled in the nearby trees, heralding the beginning of a new day as another answered its call. Outside, Raihna stood, suitcase in hand, with her brother as their parents wished them off.
She had forgotten to ask Mother to cut her hair last night, so it still caught in the wind, whiipping back and forth. Allan seemed reluctant to leave the woods, the sunrise, the animals, their parents, the house…everything. She almost told him that he could still stay, but something told her not to; she didn't want to chance another fight with him.
"Promise me you'll be safe, okay?" Winry was saying, holding both of them as if she'd never let go.
"Okay, Mother," Raihna muttered, embarrassed, but she didn't back away until Winry straightened.
"We'll be careful. Promise," Allan said.
"Mm," Raihna agreed. She was beginning to get impatient to catch the train. She couldn't even imagine missing it and having to come back home after all of these goodbyes.
"Do your best," Ed laughed; he seemed to see right through her. "I already set up bank accounts for both of you. Remember? I gave you the cards last night. I've been filling them up over the years, so just in case you don't pass the exam, you can use the money to get around; it should last you for about a year or two."
"They're that full?" Raihna asked in surprise.
"I always knew you two would leave," Ed told her and Allan fondly. "I was hoping it wouldn't be this soon, but I knew I had to prepare for it. When you first told me you wanted to travel a few years ago, I wouldn't let you."
"I remember that," Raihna said, vaguely recalling the incident. "You told me I had to wait, even though I was about the same age you had been when you became a state alchemist."
"I didn't want you to follow the same path I did," Ed replied, seeming to see things that Raihna couldn't even begin to imagine. "So I made you wait. Besides, it gave you extra time to get ready; it didn't hurt."
"I guess," Raihna mumbled, looking at her feet.
Ed laughed again, ruffling her hair. "Well, you better get going then. We wouldn't want you to miss your train, now would we?"
"Bye Father, bye Mother," Raihna called over her shoulder as she began to run down the path. Allan repeated her words, seeming to hesitate before he followed her to the train station.
After buying their tickets and just barely making it on the train before the doors snapped shut after them, they sat down in a quiet booth and stored their suitcases in the compartment overhead.
Raihna sat back with a happy sigh, looking out of her window; this would be the first time she had left Resembool since the accident in Briggs. She winced at the memory and instantly blocked it out, settling down into her seat. She must've fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing she knew, Allan was shaking her awake.
"Rain, we're here," he said unnecessarily, for she had already jumped up out of her seat and was tugging her luggage down from the overhead compartment. Allan already had his suitcase in hand; he followed patiently after her as she raced through the train car and out onto the platform.
She nearly collided with someone with her first step out and quickly apologized before taking another few steps, taking it all in. It was busy, of course; it was Central. With the incoming cold weather, everyone was wearing coats or sweaters, weighed down by hats and scarves, creating one giant pulse of dulled colors. The station itself was huge; the roof towered high overhead, making Raihna feel even smaller than she already did in such a large crowd.
"Father said there'd be some of his old friends here to pick us up, right?" Allan asked, coming up beside her.
"Yeah," Raihna answered. "Who do you think it will be? General Armstrong?"
"I sure hope not; she's way too scary," Allan answered with a shudder.
"You're just too much of a pansy, Al," Raihna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "General Armstrong is a woman of many amazing accomplishments. She's got just about the highest rank possible in the military as it is and—"
"Calm down, Rain, I'm not judging her ability to do her job," Allan sighed. "I'm just saying she has a very…strong personality."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks so," someone chuckled behind them. Raihna whipped around to see a black-haired, sharp-eyed man of middle age standing near them, a grin spreading across his face.
"Uncle Mustang!" Raihna yelled, tackling him happily. "It's been so long since you last came to visit! Are you the one Father sent to pick up me and Al?"
"Hey now, that's Fuhrer Mustang to you if you plan on joining the military," Mustang said reproachfully, but it wasn't very convincing considering he still hadn't wiped the smile off his face. "Rain, Al, it's good to see you again. You two have gotten so much taller; thank your mother for that, because you sure didn't get your height from your father."
Raihna laughed while Allan shook hands with Mustang. A guy thing, she supposed, to shake hands instead of just hugging like family was supposed to. Not that Mustang was blood-related family, of course, but he was certainly close enough.
"Where's Auntie Hawkeye?" Raihna asked curiously, peering around the crowded station as if the blond Lt. General would suddenly materialize out of nowhere. Hawkeye was the one person Raihna most respected, even more than General Armstrong. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, even to her Fuhrer; even after they'd gotten married, she'd still kept her surname instead of taking on the name of Mustang.
"She's at work right now," Mustang answered thoughtfully.
"Like you should be?" Allan teased.
"Hey, there was no call for that," Mustang said with a frown.
"Come on, Uncle, even we know that you'll use any excuse you can to get out of work," Raihna added. "Isn't it sad when your own nephew is reprimanding you?"
"Let's just get you home," Mustang sighed with fake weariness.
"Home?" Allan echoed.
"You two will be staying with Hawkeye and I, of course," Mustang explained, already starting toward the station's entrance. "May's excited to have you over, too; it's been awhile since you've had the chance to talk."
"That's because you didn't bring her the last time you came to Resembool," Raihna pouted, following after him with Allan close behind.
"She still had school!" Mustang protested.
"Since when is school more important than family?" Raihna retorted. Outside the station, it was hardly less crowded than it had been inside. She could see the military headquarters looming protectively in the distance, reaching over the several stores and homes that made up Central. Everyone walked briskly on their way, not even sparing their little group a second glance as they made their way down the street. "Hey, how come no one stops and says hello to you or anything? I mean, you're the Fuhrer, right?"
"I've been keeping a low profile lately," Mustang informed her. "Ever since the last Fuhrer retired from his post, it's been hectic trying to get everything organized in his place. I haven't made many public appearances, so not many people know what I look like—and they certainly wouldn't recognize me out of uniform."
"Isn't that a little sad, though?" Allan asked, coming up on Mustang's other side. "I mean, no one even knows who the leader of their country is."
"We've been in a relative state of peace long enough that most people aren't worried about who's in charge as long as things stay the way they are," Mustang answered, but his eyes had grown serious. "Luckily we have General Armstrong taking care of the northern border, and other trusted officers handling the west, east, and south, but I've had a bad feeling lately."
"What kind of bad feeling?" Raihna pressed, interest piqued.
Mustang shook his head. "No, it's nothing important; just the ramblings of an old man."
"You're not old, Uncle," Raihna said, rolling her eyes. "And if it wasn't for your ramblings, you wouldn't be where you are today. At least, that's what Father always said."
"I don't know whether to feel honored or insulted, coming from him," Mustang replied wryly. They had finally reached Central's military headquarters and were now climbing up the long series of steps. At the top, two guards saluted to Mustang, who nodded in reply.
He led them down a maze of corridors, finally ending up in what must've been his own office. Closing the door behind them, he picked up two files that sat waiting on his desk and handed one each to Raihna and Allan. Raihna looked at the contents curiously while Mustang made a quick call to summon Hawkeye to his office.
They were forms, all sorts of forms, for registering for the state alchemist's exam. Riffling through them, she saw that there were other papers in the back with information about the exam; things to expect to be tested on, important dates, and people to go to if you had questions.
"I need you to fill those out before you take the exam," Mustang said, sitting down at his desk and inspecting a stack of papers waiting for him. It looked like he was debating whether to actually fill them out or if it'd be worth the trouble to just burn them all to ashes.
"Wait, Uncle, I'm not taking the exam," Allan objected, handing back the file. "Thank you for getting all of this ready for me, but Raihna is the only one who's trying to become a state alchemist."
Raihna glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. So. He had finally decided, and he had decided against it. She'd known he was on the fence about the entire thing for awhile now, but she wondered when he had actually made the decision not to take the exam.
Mustang raised an eyebrow, but whether in surprise or question, she couldn't tell. "If you aren't here for the exam, what are you doing in Central, Al?"
"I'm…just here with Rain," Allan answered, not meeting Mustang's gaze.
"Then you have no purpose in actually being here." It wasn't a question.
"I just said I came to accompany Rain," Al snapped, surprising Raihna. Al never lost his temper, let alone with Uncle. Then again, she could hardly blame him; there was something about Mustang that just riled you up. "I think that's purpose enough, and even if it wasn't, is it wrong to come and visit you and Auntie and May and everyone else?"
"Then what will you do once Rain takes her exam?" Mustang asked calmly. "Whether or not she passes, she plans to continue on her travels, if I've been informed correctly. From what I've heard, however, you don't have anything in mind. Do you plan to just keep on following your sister for the rest of your life?"
The color rose in Allan's cheeks, but before he could say anything, there was a knock and the door opened, admitting Hawkeye. "Lt. General Hawkeye," Raihna saluted, back straightening.
"At ease, Rain," Hawkeye returned, smiling. Raihna grinned as she went to hug her idol.
"Why didn't you greet me like that?" Mustang asked indignantly.
"Because you're Uncle Mustang," Raihna replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"How does that…? Oh, never mind." Raihna and Hawkeye shared a triumphant look before Mustang turned again to Allan. "If you don't know what it is you want to do, then I'd recommend taking this exam, Al. Even if you end up deciding you don't want to be a state alchemist, you can always back out. But this is a good opportunity for you to realize your limits, your strengths, and your weaknesses. If nothing else, it might help you decide where you want to go in the future."
Mustang extended Allan's file back to him, and after a long pause, Al finally accepted it. Hawkeye looked from Allan to Mustang and gave the latter a long look that Raihna couldn't decipher.
"Lt. General Hawkeye, I was hoping you could help these two fill out their forms for the state alchemist's exam," Mustang told her, standing as a knock sounded on the door behind them. "There's something I have to take care of. Come in," he called a little louder.
As Hawkeye, Raihna, and Allan left the office, Raihna couldn't help glancing over her shoulder at the two men who came in to talk to Mustang. They both wore solemn expressions, and from the serious tone in her uncle's voice that she barely caught as the door shut behind them, she could tell that whatever they had come to say couldn't be anything good.
They settled back down in Hawkeye's office and ended up spending the entire afternoon on the forms. By the time they were done, Raihna was sure that if there was anything the military hadn't known about her before, there was nothing they didn't know about her now. She had even learned new things about herself.
Allan had been disconcertingly quiet since they'd come from Mustang's office hours ago. He had dutifully filled out his forms, though, which made Raihna wonder if he was doing it because he really did want to act on Mustang's advice or if he only felt pressured to.
As Hawkeye disappeared to collect some reports, Raihna scooted her chair over closer to Allan's. "Hey, do you actually want to do this?"
"I don't really see how I have much of a choice," Allan answered sullenly.
"You always have a choice," Raihna pointed out.
"Yeah, a choice between taking this stupid exam and the choice between not doing anything to move forward," Allan snapped. Twice in one day; he seemed to be going for some kind of record. "You already know what you want to do. You're going to go wandering around the country and go on adventures like Father and everyone else, but where do you see me in that pretty little picture of yours? You don't, because I don't fit in there. I don't fit anywhere."
He stood up just as Hawkeye came back in, storming out through the door. Raihna could see the question in her eyes, but she would only offer, "He'll come around. He just needs a little time," in explanation. At least, she hoped that was the case. After all, she had never seen her brother so disturbed before.
Even though she knew his anger wasn't really directed at her, it left her with an unsettling feeling she couldn't quite pin down.
I feel the need to apologize, not only for the inhumane wait time, but also because my writing style has changed a lot since I worked on these fics. Nowadays, I always write in first person perspective, and I've also been getting into the habit of writing in present tense, so I have to apologize for any weird shifts that might've occurred or may occur in the future. 'Cause I don't know if you guys know this, but I never go back and edit my chapters. XD
Also, if there're things that conflict with the prologue or what happened in Return, juuust ignore it. I reread the prologue, but I've already forgotten some of the stuff, and there's no way I'm going back to reread Return. I know, I'm not a very consistent writer, but I don't wanna change a few details just because of what I said earlier (unless it's like super important). Anyways.
See you guys (hopefully) soon! Please review~! =3