Disclaimer: FMA does not belong to me. Tara does...
Lieutenant-General Tara Raveneye sat in her office, staring at her desk. Her hands were clasped in front of her nose, her forehead leaning against her gloved knuckles. Things were not looking good for Amestris. After the exposure of Fuhrer Bradley and the Homunculi, the army had put all of its resources into rebuilding the country from scratch. They began to search for new recruits to replace the corrupt and power-hungry members of the army who had sought immortality so fervently. The upper echelon had been completely replaced, with younger and more flexible individuals gaining recognition. And, in this spirit of reconstruction, she had been summoned. That idiot Mustang needed someone he could trust in the brass. So, after those many comfortable years of retirement, she was back. A sharp knock on the door shook Tara from her thoughts. She placed her hands down on her desk and called out, "Come in."
To her surprise, one of Roy Mustang's men entered and struck a sharp salute. "2nd Lieutenant Heymans Breda with a message from Brigadier-General Mustang, sir."
Tara sighed and rubbed her brow wearily. "What does he want now?"
The round, red-headed 2nd Lieutenant smiled wryly. "He told me to inform you that the package has arrived."
"I see. Thank you for your time, 2nd Lieutenant Breda. You may return."
2nd Lieutenant Breda saluted once more and then walked out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Tara stood up as soon as he left, and grabbed her coat from the rack beside her. She had piles of paperwork to go through still, but they could wait. Making sure her wallet was in her greatcoat pocket, she rushed out of the door, nearly running into a passing clerk. Without pausing to hear the poor clerk's apologies, Tara strode down the hall to the nearest staircase, which she flew down, taking two steps at a time. Once she reached the main floor, she walked briskly out the government complex. Flagging a cab, she requested a ride to the train station. As the cab navigated the busy streets of Central, Tara stared out the window, looking at the civilians going about their everyday business, unaware of the turmoil shaking the very foundations of the country. She envied their ignorance and ordinary existence. She had been one of them, until Mustang had dragged her back to this cesspit of political and military struggles. Wearily, she rested her head against the door of the cab, letting the drone of the car's engines lull her into a half-sleep. She was so tired that she almost did not hear the cab driver announcing their arrival to the station. Thanking him for his quick service, Tara slipped him several coins and requested him to keep the change. The cab driver tipped his hat to her and then drove off. Tara stood in front of the entrance to the Central Train Station, completely at a loss. She knew they were coming, that they would arrive by train, but she did not know on what platform they would be arriving. She waited on the steps to the station, watching as families joined and parted, old friends met with jolly laughter and adventurers departed with hearts full of hope. And then she saw them. Sticking out among the throngs of white, black and beige, the trio made an amusing sight. Priya was carrying Midnight in her arms, the cat having fallen asleep on the train. Ryan trailed behind, red-faced and sweating, lugging all their baggage behind him. Tara felt a smile stretch across her usually solemn face. They were finally here.
Priya looked around, completely lost. "Hey, Ryan, Mustang said he'd send someone to meet us at Central Station, right?"
"Yes" Ryan wheezed, catching up to his companion. "Why? Is no one here?"
"Well, I can't see anyone I recognize" Priya murmured, looking around again.
Suddenly, a figure caught Priya's eye. Dressed in a black greatcoat and tall heavy-duty boots, the lady immediately stood out from the rest of the crowd. Her jet black hair was cut into a bob, but had begun to grow out, curling around her ears and brow. Her eyes were a startling rusty orange colour, with large dark pupils. Her hands were stuffed rather subconsciously into her greatcoat pockets as she strode across the main hall towards Priya.
"Tara!" Priya called out joyously, running to meet her friend. Upon meeting her, she threw one arm around the taller woman's shoulders and gave her a strong one-armed hug. "It's been ages. How are you?"
"I've been better, but I can't complain. How are you, Priya?" Tara smiled gently, returning the girl's hug with less force.
"I'm great!"
"I'm feeling less than peachy right now, if anyone cares" Ryan wheezed as he caught up with Priya again.
"It's good to see you too, Ryan" Tara added, patting Ryan's shoulder sympathetically. "Let me help you with your bags."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Ryan gratefully handed two of the bags he was carrying over to Tara.
In Priya's arms, Midnight yawned loudly and stretched. Then she began to mew piteously, demanding Tara's attention. Tara willingly transferred her affections upon the cat, scratching her ears and petting her back.
"You must be tired. Let's catch a cab and head to my house." Tara indicated for the others to follow her as she picked up the bags and headed out of the station. However, upon descending the stairs, she stopped in surprise.
"What's wrong, Tara?" Priya asked, looking around the taller woman. She also stopped in surprise.
A good-looking man with messy black hair, black eyes and a smug grin waited in a car for them. He was also dressed in the typical army uniform, with crisp white gloves covering his hands.
"Mustang, what are you doing here?" Priya asked in shock. "Don't you have work to do?"
Brigadier-General Roy Mustang shrugged carelessly. "I thought I would come and greet you personally, but the Lieutenant-General beat me to it. Are you going to get in or not? I can head back to headquarters if you would prefer walking."
Priya protested loudly, quickly throwing herself into the back seat of the car. Ryan followed, less quickly, as he maneuvered himself and their luggage into the car.
Roy Mustang looked up at Tara and quirked an eyebrow. "Coming, Lieutenant-General?"
Tara blinked solemnly and then slid into the passenger seat. "I do not dislike you enough to refuse a ride."
Mustang, Ryan and Priya laughed in unison at Tara's stubbornness as the car pulled out of the station and drove onto the main road.
After a few minutes of light chuckling, Mustang addressed Priya and Ryan. "Thank you for coming out of your way on such short notice."
"It's not like I have anything better to do." Priya shrugged.
"Anyways, Tara is practically family. We would be truly heartless to ignore a call for aid from her. Especially her. I mean, the others, they complain all the time. But Tara is one of the more stoic ones" Ryan replied cheerfully.
Priya shot Ryan a dirty look in response to his not-so-subtle insult and then turned to Mustang. "Roy, where will we be staying? I do not think your apartment will be big enough for Ryan and me to bunk over."
Roy Mustang looked surprised. "Didn't you know? You are staying at the Lieutenant-General's house."
Ryan wolf whistled loudly. "Wow, Tara, I didn't know you were so important that you get your own house" he remarked.
Tara shook her head. "I bought the house many years ago. However, after my retirement, it was rented out to tenants. I was only able to repurchase it recently."
"Oh…" Priya and Ryan nodded in understanding. "I see."
Roy Mustang chuckled and then pulled into a side road. "We're almost there. See, it's the house at the end of this court."
Priya, Ryan and Midnight all craned their necks to see the house through the windshield. It was a large house, not nearly the size of a mansion, but large enough to easily house a family of five to six people. Three stories tall, it was made of traditional red brick. The walls were covered with decorative strands of creepers and roses and each windowsill had a flower trough. The windows and doors were freshly painted, and the roof recently done. It was a delightfully quaint place.
"It's beautiful, Tara! Did you clean it up all by yourself?" Priya gushed happily.
Tara smiled and nodded.
"I could definitely get used to living here" Midnight commented, tail flicking in anticipation.
"The inside is just as good as the out" Mustang replied, looking back with a smile. Suddenly, his smile disappeared as he looked at the cat sitting innocently on Priya's lap with suspicion. "Did the cat just talk?"
"Whoa, Mustang, look at the road!" Ryan shouted as the car suddenly swerved to the right.
Roy Mustang quickly pulled into a parking spot on the side of the road and parked the car. Then he turned around again with a serious expression. "Did that cat just talk?" he repeated solemnly.
Midnight yawned mightily, showing her sharp, white teeth. "Of course I did."
Mustang gaped at her in absolute shock. "How… wait, is that even… the vocal chords…"
Midnight sighed and looked up at Priya for confirmation. Upon receiving it, she disappeared in a flash of light. Mustang looked on in amazement as Priya's doppelganger appeared on Priya's lap; in the exact same position as her cat self.
"This is another of my relatives. Her name is also Priya" Tara explained. "She's a shape-shifter. In order to reduce confusion between the two Priya's she usually takes on the guise of a cat by the name of Midnight."
"I see." Mustang sat back in his seat, obviously working through the logistics of having a shape-shifter in the backseat of his car, the grotesque image of a homunculus flashing through his mind.
"Don't worry about it too much" Midnight declared, reappearing with a flash of light. "In my own way, I still follow the rule of conservation of mass. And I'm not a homunculus by any stretch of imagination."
"If you say so" Mustang muttered, still shocked by the turn of the events.
Tara opened the passenger seat door and got out of the car. "Thank you for the ride, Brigadier-General Mustang. I will take my guests from here."
Mustang smiled knowingly. "Have a good night, Lieutenant-General Raveneye." After making sure that Priya, Ryan and all the baggage had exited his car, Mustang drove back towards the Central Headquarters.
"Come to think of it," Priya commented as they walked towards the house, "isn't Mustang the Brigadier-General of Eastern Headquarters? What is he doing in Central?"
"He came for the annual inspection. It occurred in Central this year" Tara replied, opening the door to the house. "He made up some bogus excuse to stay until you three arrived." She shut the front door with a quick kick. "Come inside. I'll show you to your rooms."
Ryan and Priya picked up their respective baggage and followed Tara up the main flight of stairs.
"I have a room prepared for each of you. Midnight, I trust you do not mind sharing a room with Priya?" Tara explained as they trudged up the stairs.
"Of course, I don't mind at all." Midnight declared with a cat grin.
Tara showed the two to their respective rooms and began to help them unpack. After much protesting and shoving, Ryan and Priya managed to convince her to leave the unpacking to them. Instead, much to their amusement, Tara decided to start making dinner. After a long train ride, her friends were sure to be hungry. She headed downstairs to the kitchen, a slight smile on her face.
Author Note: Getting to the FMA characters now! I'm simply uploading all of what I've written so far. Updates will be much slower later on.