"Ah yes, Mister Cidra, here you are, your tea, hot and warm as ever," A feeble man said, "I hope it is to your liking,"
Sylvix Cidra took a sip of the tea and cringed, "This is horrible, I hate it," He sighed as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a pistol, and shot the man point-blank in the forehead. Sylvix gave a sinister grin, "Miss Godless Alchemist, you will be my next conquest,"
"Alright, you have your precious cube now, go home already, Raeder!" Auria exclaimed, "It's bad enough having to look at your face, let alone hear you blabber on about how terrible it is that I still use Alchemy,"
Raeder ignored her and sipped his tea, "This is wonderful tea, Major General, thank you very much," Raeder smiled and motioned to the others, "And such a respectful bunch you've grouped together, tell me, Nicosia, was it?"
"Y-Yes, General Raeder, Sergeant Nicosia reporting!" Nicosia exclaimed, subconsciously saluting to Raeder.
"Ahaha, I like this one… I will admit, Crane," Raeder said, glaring at Auria, "I have taken a liking to you, you're one of few who have the nerve to speak against me, that in and of itself is impressive… But, I digress, it's about time for me to be on my way,"
With that, Raeder quickly finished his tea, excused himself, and walked out of the door, he said nothing more.
Auria blew a raspberry as Raeder left and turned her attention to the rest of the group, "Alright, what's next?"
"Well, I'll need to take Ross and Nicosia on a little excursion for a few days, but Seven and Senwell should be just fine staying with you, Auria… Unless you'll get lonely without me?" Rockwell teased.
"As if! I'd be just fine all on my own! But if you insist… Grenadier, Seven, let's go explore somewhere and do some things!" Auria exclaimed, "Group field trip!"
Auria, Senwell, and Seven, all wandered around Lameanr, there were so many military personnel, almost every other person donned a military uniform.
"Crane," Senwell started, "What's this field trip really about? I thought you'd be too busy staying home, eating your waffles, not giving us a passing glance,"
"Who do you think I am, Grenadier?" Auria asked, "But since you asked so nicely… You remember how we fought off Pride, and how I found out about Greed?"
"Yeah, of course I remember, what's that got to do with anything?"
"Well, my logic is, if Pride wanted to fight me, he might come back for round two, but obviously if we're all together, he won't come… And if we're out in the open, or say, in our rooms, his Alchemy would be too easy to see," Auria explained.
"Oh! So you want to draw him out, somewhere where there aren't a lot of people!" Seven exclaimed.
"Exactly! See, I knew it was a good idea bringing you onto the team!" Auria responded, "Plus you do Alchemy, world could do great with more Alchemists,"
The group broke off from the crowd, ending up in a small field a bit away from the city limits. While not the most optimal spot for a fight, it was far from the worst.
Auria began to stretch, first her arms, then her legs, then her sides, "Gotta get warmed up, you know? Helps the blood flow,"
"Hey, Auria, I've been wondering actually… You were born in Ardenia, right?" Seven asked, "You aren't from here?"
"Oh, yeah, I was born there, speak Ardenian too, pretty easy once you get the hang of it," Auria replied as she rolled her shoulders back.
"Is that so…" Seven murmured, "You think you could teach me sometime?"
"Oh, of course, it'll be my pleasure! That'll be so fun, playing teacher is fun!"
The group waited for just about half an hour before Auria started getting bored, well in all honesty, she was bored well before this, but it was hitting its peak.
Auria yawned, "You know, a troubling thought just hit me,"
"What is it?" Senwell asked.
"You think they're coming? Because my logic is… How would they? Like, I doubt they're keeping tabs on me,"
"We can wait a little longer if you want, I have a deck of cards we could play with while we wait," Seven interjected.
"Twenty-one?" Auria asked.
She was met with a shrug, and there the three of them sat, in the middle of a field… Playing Twenty-one while waiting for a homunculi that may never show up.
"Hit!" Senwell exclaimed. Seven dealt him a card and Senwell heaved a sigh and murmured, "Bust…"
"What's that make now? 24-0? How sad…" Auria teased, "The Great Grenadier Senwell, losing to a little fifteen year old girl,"
Auria giggled before setting up the cards again, though just before she did, she heard a heavy panting coming from behind her, someone was coming, but surely it couldn't be anyone dangerous, probably just a traveler or something.
As Auria looked behind her, she saw a tiny, relatively attractive young man racing towards her, "Godless Alchemist, you're mine!" He yelled out as he transmuted the ground to jut out and jab at Auria.
Auria grinned and tapped her staff on the ground, transmuting the ground to clash against the man's Alchemy. The ground soon exploded, sending a cloud of dirt and rocks throughout the surrounding area.
"Huh, performing Alchemy without a transmutation circle…" Auria murmured, "You a homunculi?" She yelled out.
"Oh…" The man gulped, "How perceptive, Miss Godless Alchemi- Hold on for a moment, can I catch my breath for a second?"
"Sure, you want like, a glass of water or something?" Auria asked.
"No no, the great and powerful Envy needs- Oh gods I think I'm going to puke," Envy groaned.
"Erm… I feel kinda bad, what do we do?" Auria asked, "Like, he's pretty harmless, don't you think?"
Within a few moments, Envy caught his breath and was ready to fight! He stared down Auria for a few seconds before Auria took the initiative of hitting him once with her staff, and Envy was instantly knocked out.
"That was… Underwhelming…" Auria said, "That's a homunculi? I get why he's Envy now, everything is clear to me,"
"Yeah… That was interesting, to say the least," Seven interjected, "Anyway, shall we be off? It's a bit boring just staying in one place,"
Edward finally scaled the cliff, and at the top, he saw it, the Great Eagle Nest, the last of its kind. As he stared at the nest, the Eagle finally returned, the magnificent creature, it had to be at least twenty meters tall, maybe even more.
Edward, in a clearly rehearsed manner, gave a bow that followed into a kneel and produced a small ruby from his jacket pocket.
"I come seeking knowledge, following in line with the law of equivalent exchange, I hope that you grant me this," Edward proclaimed.
The Eagle screeched and hopped down from its nest. With it, it dropped a small book and snatched the ruby from Edward's hand.
"Thank you very much, I shall take no more of your time," Edward said, giving a bow, while still kneeling down, then collecting the book and being on his way.
"My, Edward, still chasing those relics?" A woman asked from the shadows.
"Ah, if it isn't Lust, I was wondering when you'd show your face," Edward replied, "But yes, if you must know, I am still chasing them, I've gotten quite close,"
Lust walked from the shadows and stood, just in front of Edward, "You know you can't do this, right? You'll die if you continue on this path,"
"It's worth it, for me at least, I have to at least try, otherwise, what was the point of any of my life?" Edward replied.
"Fine, fine, just don't say I didn't warn you, I'll get out of your hair for now," Lust giggled before walking to the cliffs edge.
"Actually, Lust, I have a request for you, if you'd hear me out, that is,"
"What is it?"
"Please, I know the other homunculi are after my daughter… Can you, I mean, will you, for me, please watch over her? As a guardian spirit of sorts," Edward asked.
"What, am I dead already?" Lust responded, "Fine, I'll do it, but find your own way down the cliffside, I'll see you around,"
With that, Lust hopped off of the cliff and faded out of sight. Edward watched her descent before he began his own, though much more cautiously. Humans just weren't as sturdy for some reason, quite strange.
As Edward descended from the cliffside, he murmured various things under his breath and transmuted the side of the cliff as he went along, it just made things easier, and, eventually he did make it to the ground, all in one piece!
Edward stood in front of the camp he had set up the night before and took a seat, then opening the book he received and began to skim through its contents. It mostly contained various Alchemical practices that Edward had no use for, but one entry in particular stood out to him.
"The Rite of Rebirth…" Edward murmured. He folded the top corner of the page on top of itself and closed the book. Lust was already gone, and Edward was all alone again.
"How sad, I guess it's time to continue onward though," Edward sighed, pocketing the book, and beginning to take down his camp.
Edward strapped his gear to the back of a large rucksack and began to head off once more, carrying a map in one hand, and a compass in the other, he set off for yet another journey, though one thought still remained in his mind.
"Auria…" He murmured, fighting back tears, "Don't worry, I'm coming back for you soon, I promise…"