IT GROWS AND GROWS — Cerasus was always one to follow rules. Rules kept everyone safe, after all, and they were there for a very specificreason. In the stories she read, if people didn't follow the rules, they almost always got hurt. However, even with those beliefs, the little girl had been wandering a little bit outside of camp on her own lately. It usually wasn't anywhere too far and she only did it to find a quiet place to relax. Today she'd just gone a little farther than usual though. Her body ached as she traveled but she swore she saw something in the distance that she hadn't explored before. She glanced behind her shoulder before continuing her walk. She knew where she was going and she was certain she'd be able to find her way back when she needed to.

As she came closer, she realized that she was among all sorts of crumbling buildings. Her eyes grew wide and she seemed to move like a ghost through the area, her flickering body only adding to the effect. She then noticed one building in particular with large columns in the front. The tiny kitten made her way up the big steps (she assumed this building must've been made for giants, it was the only explanation) and into the building. When she arrived, she saw all sorts of things. There were all kinds of statues and paintings. Cece supposed the statues were interesting but there was one painting in particular that caught her attention. She glanced behind her once more before walking further in to look at it. It had all sorts of colors, ones she wasn't even sure she'd seen before. There were two people holding hands. Would anyone want to hold a hand they couldn't see, she wondered? Well, a paw was more accurate. She held up her own paw, as though trying to reach it and watched as it flicked in and out of view. Why didn't anything or anyone else do that? Why was it just her?

She supposed she'd heard the creaking awhile ago but she hadn't paid much attention to it. Now, though, there was a crash back at the entrance and she spun around, pushing herself to run back towards the entryway. When she slipped through the large doors once again, though, she could see one of the columns had fallen right in front of her. Alright. This was fine. She could handle this. She leaned on her back legs, letting her tail wave in the air for a moment before trying to leap on top of the structure but she was far too little. Maybe if she was full grown she'd be able to get over it but she was so little, even for her age. It was fine. She could figure this out. She began to pace back and forth and stopped to hear that the building was still creaking. Was it possible the whole facade would just come crashing down on her. Panic seized her chest and she did the next thing she knew how to do, "Mama! Mommy! Ellie! Is anyone there?" she yelled as loud as she could, hoping that someone somewhere would hear her. She couldn't stay trapped here forever, she couldn't. Someone would find her. This was all so wrong. This was why she followed the rules. Things like this didn't happen when you followed rules. — OUR HOME SWEET HOME

"SPEECH"

Before Roy became Aaliyah's father, the male never fully realized the stress and dedication that comes with being a parent. Before Aaliyah showed up in his life, Roy never had time for a family. Back as a human, he was focused solely on his job and unit, with the hopes to reach his goal of becoming Fuhrer. While Roy liked his subordinate, Riza Hawkeye, the two of them being together there would never be possible. It was illegal- the two of them were required to follow military regulations. You were not allowed to marry your subordinates, so the thought of marrying Riza back home wasn't a thought he had often. Anyways, even though people back in Amestris thought Roy was a womanizer(he certainly seemed like it when he was on the phone back in the office, when Riza was away), Roy didn't have any children with any other women. If he had to have kids with anyone, he'd want children with Riza- but again, it wasn't possible back then as they couldn't marry. And, they were both too swarmed by their jobs to think of it, but now the thought has been running through Roy's mind- considering they are no longer apart of the Amestrian military anymore.

His life has already changed so much in the past three months, one thing Roy didn't expect was to become a parent. A single parent especially, and to a child who wasn't his own. It was completely unintentional, Aaliyah grew quickly attached to him when they found her alone in the territory. It's probably how similar they look, at the time Roy wasn't sure what to think of it. But the more Aaliyah hung around him, the more Roy found himself caring about the child. It finally came to a point where Roy decided he'd take her in as her own, and he hasn't regretted it once. Roy cares about Aaliyah- perhaps at times he's a little overprotective of her, but he just wants to be there for his adopted daughter. One thing Roy can now understand with becoming a parent is how stressed one can become through other children's decisions. Even if it isn't Aaliyah who's wandering off by herself, worries brew in his chest for the parents who are looking for their child in a frenzy. And now, even if it's not his child he notices that's out on their own, Roy has to approach them. He can't just let them wander off to possible danger- he'd be stressed beyond belief if Aaliyah was in their shoes.

Roy was nearby the Ruins, padding past it on his designated path. Roy always made sure to look at those ruins from a safe distance- who knows when those old structures will crumble down. Roy wasn't about to relive his experience with his missing leg, the abandoned ruins weren't safe to travel through. When Roy was passing by them, he came to a complete stop when he heard a big crash. His head quickly snapped towards the ruins, noticing a large dust cloud around the entrance. As he looked towards it, his ears pricked up as he heard a young, little voice crying out for help. Roy's eyes widened with shock, ears flattening to his cranium as he realized the severity of the situation. There was a child, it sounded like one of Margaery and Suiteheart's kids, stuck behind the collapsed entrance! Without another thought, Roy's paws broke out in a sprint, leading him to the blocked entrance.

As Roy ran over, he skidded to a stop, noticing his groupmates already made it to the scene. Moonmade, Imperia, Suiteheart and Margaery already beat him to the scene, and got young Cerasus out of the rubble. Roy was glad that Cerasus was safe and away from harm, but he couldn't help it but feel anger brew in his chest. While Cerasus isn't family, Roy is very close with Suiteheart and Margaery. He felt panic brew in his chest the moment he heard Cece's terrified scream, he felt panic that one of their kids got extremely hurt. This is why children shouldn't be allowed near here! He thought, as his hard, cold gaze landed on little Cerasus. A frown quickly found it's way onto Roy's muzzle, disapproval gleaming in his eyes. Roy could still feel his heart pumping in his ears, Cerasus was lucky she wasn't harmed. Roy wasn't about to coo at the child, pat her head and say 'Thank goodness you're okay Cece, you had me so worried!' No, he was going to make sure Cerasus knew never to come back here, especially alone.

"What were you thinking? Going out here by yourself?" He began to scold the child, non-existing eyebrows arching with anger.  "You could gotten yourself injured! Or even worse, killed!" Roy snapped, nose scrunching up as his gaze locked on her, not caring if he's being too harsh. Cerasus could have been killed- that would have been devastating for everyone, especially Margaery and Suiteheart. And then, Roy's gaze tore away from Cerasus, and onto her parents for a moment. His blue eyes blinked, before his head slowly turned back onto Cece. "Apologize to your parents, now. You scared them half to death!"