Still Carrying a Burden [Al]

[Riza Hawkeye]

Though her meeting with her old Colonel had been bittersweet there had also been a comfortable essence to it- and a comforting one. There probably wasn't anyone else who knew her as well, or under the same situations with the depth that Roy Mustang did; but she couldn't focus on that at this point either. Her duty still lay before her, and while she hoped she would be able to meet up with her ally and friend again the world was far too uncertain to make any kind of promises.

With her guns and backpack settled comfortably the blonde woman began walking again, the directions she'd been given fresh in her mind though they'd been given to her earlier in the day. One thing she couldn't claim to have was a bad memory. One of the few people left in this area was one of the most secretive of the alchemists her father had corresponded with, known only as Hohenheim. Given exactly what she was doing it wasn't as if she could run around asking after him, so Riza had waited to be within Rizembul itself and decided to take a look around.

The road was nearly cracked apart and the plants were doing their best to take over the country town, but there didn't seem to be any aggressive wild animals close and that meant she could relax a little- but only a little. Ahead was a small farmstead with live animals still in pens and looking moderately well cared-for, a good sign that it was still inhabited. Her gaze moved carefully over the vicinity but she didn't tense or make any aggressive moves. No reason to get things off on the wrong foot.

[Alphonse Elric]

Alphonse sat on one of the fences surrounding the sheep pen. He had just repaired it as the wood had rotted from the weather and no longer held up right. They had already lost a few sheep to the wild dogs in the area, at least they weren't going after the other animals or his family. He yawned, the weather was a bit warmer than it normally was, which was good for the crops but who knew how long the warm would last, normally it didn't last more than a few hours before the clouds came back. Necular winters sucked. Ah well, there was nothing he could do about it, and he liked the snow any way, his brother and the livestock didn't but he found it fun. When the work was done, sledding and making things out of the snow was always something relaxing to do and once the river froze well enough, he could go ice skating.

The warm weather was relaxing too though, the birds became more active, as did the foxes and rabbits. The cows always enjoyed sunning themselves when the clouds parted. And maybe when it got even warmer he would see a wolf! He smiled slightly, it was not a good chance of that, his father told him the wolves were all extinct but the books he read said that they could disguise themselves as human so any of the renegades out there could be a wolf. Of coarse those books were banned by the government before the war and were considered blasphemy and not a "real non-fiction work".

He hopped off the fence and stretched, "No wind, that means it will be clear skies tonight!" Stars were always fun to look at. He noticed someone looking around, she didn't seem hostile though. Wondering who it was he began to approach "Hello, are you looking for someone?"

[Riza Hawkeye]

There was a kind of pastoral peace to this part of the country, even with the plants that were still brown from the winter cold and the dilapidated state of things in general. This home did seem to be cared for to the furthest extent possible by people who wanted to be here and put in a lot of effort, but there was only so much of anything, especially this far from the cities. There were benefits to that too though- like not being under the scrutiny of those in power and possessing what little freedom could still be found in the complicated world.

Riza wasn't the kind to miss much of anything that came under her vision, so as the blonde-haired boy walked closer she gave him a calm look, trying to pick up on whether or not this kid was a threat. Before she would never have been so cautious around someone so young as him, but the world at this point had children growing up fast and they could often be just as ruthless and deceptive as adults. There was something about this one that seemed honest though, and she was confident enough in her own skills that she was pretty sure she could get out of any situation she found herself in. After all, he wasn't giving her a cautious or alarmed look at the gun she was carrying over her shoulder, and anyone who was used to being in fights tended to.

"Good afternoon," the older girl said with a slight smile, probably looking more mature and weary around her eyes that she would have liked to see in a mirror. She'd been on the road for some time, but at least she was able to keep herself neat and clean. "I apologize for bothering you, but I've been told to find someone going by the name of Van Hohenheim who is living in this area. Would you happen to know where he could be found?" Though her words were as polite as always there was a no-nonsense tone to them that showed she wasn't ready to put up with lying.

[Alphonse Elric]

The gun on the woman's shoulder didn't bother him in the least bit, all traveling people had guns, even his mother and brother carried one when they went outside. Him on the other hand, he would rather fight hand-to-hand so he knew he wasn't going to do lethal damage like guns could do. Of coarse he didn't look like he knew how to fight which was a little odd. He listened to her, she was looking for Van Hohenheim? "That's my dad." he said unsure why someone was looking for his father. "He's not here right now, he went off to do something in Central, but he should be back in a day or two." Not many people came around Rizembol asking for Hohenheim because not many knew where he lived, most assumed he lived in Central since he was there all the time.

Since she knew that they lived in the small farming town that meant she must have been from the resistance. He smiled a bit "You're welcome to stay at the house until he gets back." His brother was probably going to scold him for allowing a stranger to enter the house without his consent but to him she didn't seem like a bad person, especially if she was with the resistance.

[Riza Hawkeye]

The boy was still young, but he seemed to be honest and forthright, though perhaps a little naive. Even small children were more wary these days and here he was offering her the information she was looking for as well as a place to stay. There was always the chance he was the decoy for something worse, but there wasn't a hint from him that he was hiding anything or behaving nervously at all. He'd noted her gun but in a nonchalant way- which was understandable, as almost everyone carried some kind of weapon- but his trust was still surprising to the older, slightly jaded girl.

"Do you know when your father will be returning?" she asked in her typically steady tone after her half-second of shock and another half-second of remembering to keep her wits about her. Riza wasn't so arrogant as to assume that she was beyond being tricked, but this man she was supposed to give the message to was a member of the Resistance and perhaps his son was therefore a supporting member. Best not to push too far in any case. "I appreciate the offer of somewhere to stay, but what would you like in return?"

[Alphonse Elric]

"Dad doesn't really tell us when he'll be back, he gives a time frame though, last time he said a few weeks which means under a month." he answered truthfully, unfortunately that truth pissed his brother off and made him hate their father even though he was not a bad person at all. "It's been a little over three weeks since he left, so he should be back some time this week." Unfortunately that was the most information he had about where and when his father would come back. Alphonse couldn't help but wonder if she has met his father before or if she was just a messenger but he didn't want to ask in case it was pushing boundaries. He didn't notice her milliseconds of being surprise before he gestured for her to come to the house with him.

Equivalent exchange, of coarse she would ask if he wanted something in return. Though he couldn't think of anything at the time so he shook his head "I don't want anything in return" he answered, but that didn't mean his mother or brother wouldn't want something. As he walked toward the house he spoke "My brother might not be too friendly, but try to ignore that, he's actually really nice." He wasn't that worried that Ed would be a brat to the guest, he was a bit concerned that his brother would scold him later for bringing a stranger home when he was told not to.