𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 ᶠᵐᵃ:ᵇ

❘ 001 ❘

"Anyone know where she is?"

Headquarters had been quiet all morning, only the sound of rustling papers and the occasional sigh filling the warm room. There was plenty of work to be done, what with the current events that had been taking place around Amestris.

Headquarters had been quiet all morning. That should have been a glaring warning to everyone there.

"She hasn't stopped by at all today," Havoc muttered around his cigarette. " 'S not like her." It wasn't considered a normal morning if their resident teenage disaster didn't pop in for a quick visit.

Fuery sighed. "I was gonna show her those modifications we talked about." The young man fiddled with the hand-built radio on his desk, his shoulders slumping while a large hand patted him on the back hard enough to jostle his glasses.

"Eh, she'll turn up. Don't worry, you can show her your little project later." Breda understood how much Fuery enjoyed having someone closer to his own age around, but the man was secretly thankful for the peace and quiet (and the lack of comments about his haircut).

Hawkeye frowned as she straightened her stack of files. "She left her apartment door unlocked this morning, and was gone when I went to check on her. She didn't even take her keys." She gestured to a small keychain on her desk. The woman looked up through her sideswept bangs. "Something's wrong. She's been acting odd lately."

The room seemed to grow colder at the statement. Everyone in the unit knew that the colonel and lieutenant were close to the girl in question. If Riza thought something was up, then it was sure to be true.

Falman raised his hand. "Last I saw, she was running around with the Elrics. I could send a message- "

"No, she won't be with them." Falman's mouth shut with a clack as his superior rose from his desk. "With Scar still at large, it was deemed too dangerous for her to join them. Her wounds from the attack haven't fully healed, and Major Armstrong has enough on his hands with the Elric brothers."

White gloves crinkled as the man swung his coat over his shoulders. "I'll find her. I have a hunch where she'll be. Save you all the trouble."

Jean rolled his eyes. "You just don't want to do your job, Colonel." The others nodded solemnly, mourning the extra paperwork that would be shoved onto their workloads.

Roy Mustang ignored the mutinous thoughts swirling behind his back. He had a teenager to find, preferably before she wrecked anything.

The girl sat with her back to the sun, watching the citizens milling about East City. One foot swung over the edge of the flat roof in an even pattern, like the ticking of a clock. Roy approached with heavy steps. Can't have her jolting and falling off. 

"The unit has expressed concerns about your absence," he said, stopping beside her. "It seems they appreciate the chaos you drag along with you everywhere you go." Her shoulders hunched, shifting the bandages around her neck, her arms tightening around the knee drawn to her chest.

"I don't want to talk right now." Her voice was all sharp rocks and gravel, so unlike her normal tone. She clenched the sleeves of her dark coat. "Go away."

He stayed where he was, ignoring the glare trying to pierce his skull. He would never understand why she liked it up here. "Lieutenant Hawkeye requested that you keep better track of your things." He pulled a small keyring out of his pocket, tiny bobbles and shiny beads dangling from the metal. "You would do well to be more careful in the future."