we’ll carry on — open, joining

[Verdigris]

  [font=trebuchet ms]The first to approach was someone she didn’t recognize from last time she was here, but then that was understandable- these factions tended to grow quickly. Glancing down at the smaller feline, and taking note of her mannerisms, Riza could deduce that she was roughly a year old- still young, but not quite a child anymore. Nodding in acknowledgement, she answered, ”Riza Hawkeye. I need to speak to Colonel Mustang.” Truthfully, their rankings no longer mattered here, but it was force of habit to address the Colonel by his title.

  Sure enough, the next to arrive immediately demanded to know where she had been, and addressed her as Lieutenant- a dead ringer for Roy. Turning to face him, Riza stood at attention. ”Sir. I’ve been asking around about a way to return to Amestris.” Examining him, noting that he was now slightly shorter than she was, she continued, ”Unfortunately, I was unable to find anything...”

  Her voice trailed off as she noticed the bandaged stump where his back leg should have been. ”Colonel,” she began, maintaining a straight face despite the feeling that she wasn’t going to like his answer, ”what happened to your leg?” She knew that a marauding rogue or vindictive enemy might try to rip off limbs, or that he might have caught some sort of untreatable infection that caused gangrene in the area- but she also knew that he could have lost it by acting rashly, and regardless of his explanation, being stuck with only three legs would put him at a massive disadvantage.

  The tiny voice echoing from the Colonel’s other side drew her attention to the kitten. The child had called him “daddy,” something she raised her brows at, and expected to hear another long-winded and defensive explanation for. He didn’t need to defend himself- she already had a feeling the situation wasn’t quite what it looked like- but she would let him if he decided to. Offering the kitten a small smile, she answered, ”I’m Riza. And you are?”