"Seven… Seven… Where's my trunk?" Auria exclaimed, taking deep breaths in between each phrase, "I need to… Oh my gods… I need to look for something…"
"Oh, uhm… It's right… There?" Seven responded, pointing to the corner, "I put it there so nobody would start snooping through it, thought you'd like your privacy,"
"Thank… You…" Auria croaked, taking a gulp of air.
Auria rummaged around her trunk, took out a book, pocketed it, and then took her trunk and ran off once more, "I'll be back later, Seven!" She shouted behind her.
"Alright then… Weird, dunno why she was in such a rush…" Seven murmured, "Anyway, 'Envy' was it? Let's get back to our chat,"
Auria continued to run and run, vanishing into the night, she was nowhere to be found, and once she had finally stopped running, she hunched over and vomited on the ground.
"Running really isn't my forte…" Auria murmured.
After wiping her mouth, she set down her trunk and sat on it, then taking out the book she had previously pocketed. She flipped through the book until she found the page she was searching for.
"Alright…" Auria heaved a sigh, "Human transmutation, human transmutation… Ah, here we are… 'Human Transmutation and the Philosopher's Stone' what do we have here…"
Reading up on the topic for a while, Auria decided it was time to keep moving, she had a new quest to embark on, and it was time to finally go alone. It wasn't that she wanted to leave everyone else, it's just that she didn't want them getting hurt. If anyone was to get hurt, it would be her, and only her.
Auria picked up her trunk and, much slower than before, made her way to the train station, it did still operate at night, so she had the chance.
As she made her way to the station, she continued to read about human transmutation, which covered topics about the Philosopher's Stone as well.
Upon reaching the train station, she went through the normal proceedings of boarding a train, but just as she was about to step onto the train, she heard a voice calling out to her. It was Senwell.
"Crane! Crane, wait up!" Senwell shouted out after her, "I just wanna talk for a second, please wait!"
Auria froze up, unsure of what to do… But in the end, she was too indecisive and Senwell closed in on her.
"Crane… Please… Be honest with me, what are you going to do now?" Senwell asked, "Are you going to go off on your own?"
"Grenadier…" Auria started, "I really appreciate all you guys have done for me, but there's something I've gotta do on my own, but I'll be back! I promise!"
"I'd offer to go with you, but I don't think you'd let me," Senwell commented, before heaving a sigh, "Just remember, when things get tough, you can always come back, we're here for you, we'll help you, and we won't complain about it either. Just remember that,"
"I will… Thank you, Grenadier," Auria said before giving Senwell a hug, "Leaving is always the hardest part… It's why I didn't really want anyone finding out I was going this way… But this is nice in its own way,"
The hug was over too soon as the train was about to start moving. She gave Senwell one last glance before she disappeared into the train. There was no turning back now, she really was on her own.
Auria slumped down into a train cart room and heaved a heavy sigh. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments before murmuring to herself, "Where to next…"
"You what?!" Rockwell exclaimed, "How did you lose her? Where did she go? She's gotta be in the city somewhere!" She quickly recomposed herself, "Also, it's so nice to see you again, Maia,"
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine!" Maia replied, giving a smile.
"Anyway! Where. Is. She. Grenadier?" Rockwell continued to ask, "I won't ask again, so you'd best tell me,"
"I honestly have no idea, she took a train headed north, but that's all I know," Senwell said, "She didn't even tell me where she was going,"
Rockwell heaved a sigh, "How long ago did she leave?" She asked.
"Two nights ago, she's probably halfway across Ikaria by now," Senwell replied, "Or at least, she could be,"
Rockwell sat and rubbed her temples, she thought of their next course of action, but couldn't think of anything.
Ross and Nicosia stood close by, both doing their best to help Rockwell, though nothing seemed to really help.
Auria stumbled off of the train, she felt woozy, but soldiered onward, she really had no time to rest, she could hardly even sleep on the train ride.
"Damn I'm hungry…" Auria groaned.
Auria trotted up to a small hole-in-the-wall stand not too far from the city gates, "Hi sir, can I get a glass of water and two of those kebabs, please?"
The man stared at her for a moment, "Thirty silver," he grunted.
Auria looked at the man in shock, mouth agape, "Thirty silver? This is hardly worth five! What's the deal here?"
"New law, the Foreign Tax, I gotta tax every one of yus, don't blame me, 's the government that's what,"
Auria heaved a frustrated sigh before lowering her voice to an almost whisper, "Look, I didn't want to play this card, but I am the Godless Alchemist, so couldn't you look the other way just this once?"
The man looked Auria up and down before shaking his head, "Sorry kid, I don't buy it, the Godless Alchemist 's a Ikarian, she ain't no foreigner,"
Auria, rummaging around her pockets, finally found something and yanked it out to show the man, "Look! It's my Alchemist Brooch! I am the Godless Alchemist!"
The man inspected the brooch before begrudgingly nodding, "Fine, just this once, I will ignore the tax, but you best be on yer way after, ya hear?"
Auria waited around for a while as the man filled a glass of water, picked up two kebabs, and handed them over to Auria. She placed five silver onto the counter, chugged the water, then walked off with her food.
Auria quickly gobbled up her kebabs and continued onward, "Let's see…" She burped, "Mmm, looks like the first place to go… Up on that cliff? Yeah… Tree matches up, shockingly well actually, like that tree hasn't changed at all since this- When was this even printed? Questions for later…"
Auria meandered over to a phone booth and dialed a number she remembered. The phone rang a few times, but eventually, someone picked up on the other line.
"Hello, this is the Faulkenhausen residence, how may I help you?" The lady on the other line asked.
"Hello, Auntie! This is Auria Crane! I'm just calling to ask if I can spend a few nights at your house?"
There was an audible shuffle on the other line as the woman began speaking at a much quicker pace, "Auria? Edward's girl?"
"Yep, yep! That's me!"
"Come on over as soon as you can, we'll have a meal and a bed ready for you!" She exclaimed, "I'll make sure Constance is decent as well!"
"Thank you, Auntie! I'll be there in a little bit! Just wait up for me!" Auria replied.
With that, Auria hung up the phone, stepped out of the booth, and took a deep breath. She was in a rush, so she couldn't stay long, but she had to rest. Two sleepless nights left her quite exhausted and irritable, not a good combination.
Auria grinned, seeing two of her Aunties in such a short amount of time was a blessing. Oh, the nostalgia that their faces brought.
Auria continued down the side of the street, walking to her Auntie's house was like second nature for her, she always remembered her way home.
Within minutes, she stood at the doors of her Auntie's home and knocked on the door. A loud "Coming!" came from inside and an audible shuffle could be heard.
"Shush, shush, it's probably Auria! Play nice, you!" Someone snapped before the door swung open.
"Oh my gods, Auria!" Her Auntie exclaimed as she pulled Auria in for a hug, "Oh, we missed you so so much! You need to visit more often!"
"Auntie Fehr… I'm being choked…" Auria croaked.
After a few moments, Fehr let Auria go and walked into the house. Auria took a gulp of air and followed her inside. Unsurprisingly, the furniture had been rearranged and things had changed since she was last here.
Auria heard a scoff from her left and upon glancing over, revealed her old nemesis… Constance von Faulkenhausen!
"Heya, Constance! Long time no see, right?" Auria asked, giving a bright smile.
"Shut up," Constance replied.
"You wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid," Auria retorted.
"Gross, as if I'd want to do that," Constance scoffed once more, "I'm going to my room, I need to get ready,"
"For what?"
"My routine Officer Training," Constance replied.
"Oh, oh! What rank are you now, Constance? That's amazing! You were always super quick to get a promotion!"
"Major, I bet you still haven't made up your mind about joining, you were always indecisive about it," Constance said.
"Oh no, I'm actually a Colonel,"
A glass shattered from the other room that was followed by a loud shriek, "Auria dear, you didn't tell us you joined the military!" Fehr exclaimed as she re-entered the room.
"Oh yeah, one of my friends convinced me, so I decided I'd give it a shot, I do have a bunch of freedoms though, so it isn't as bad as I thought it would be,"
Constance heaved a sigh, "Of course it'd be you that gets the easy promotion… Either way, I need to get going, I'll be back later,"
With that, Constance disappeared upstairs for a little while. Fehr set up a small chair and foldable table, "Auria, sit here for a moment, I'll have a meal prepared for you, you must be starving," she said before disappearing into the kitchen.
Auria sat and waited. She fiddled with her hat and then fixed her thigh highs, "Hmm… I'm going to be going to the South… I'll probably need some heavier clothes,"
Soon enough, Fehr reappeared in the room with a platter of food and sat it down in front of Auria, "Here you are, enjoy, I'll be upstairs, feel free to come up when you're finished!"
Auria thanked her and began to eat, she glanced around once more, looking at the paintings on the wall, all the furniture. Auntie Fehr was really rich!
After scarfing down the food so graciously prepared for her, Auria set the plate aside and jumped up. She stretched for a moment before walking up the stairs. As she reached the top of the stairs, her ears were assaulted by two loud voices arguing with one another.
She couldn't exactly make out what they were arguing about, but in the end, she saw Constance covered only in a towel storm out of a room and marched into another.
There was a loud bang that rang throughout the house and it all came from Constance. Super scary.
Auria brushed this event off and knocked on Fehr's door, to which she almost instantly opened it to greet Auria, "Oh, Auria dear, you're probably wondering where you'll be staying, aren't you?
"Yeah, plus I just wanted to do something other than sit around all day," Auria replied.
"I see! Your room is the third one on the left down the hall, and I'm sure you'll be able to find something interesting to do in the city! There's so many fun things to do!"
"Alright, Auntie Fehr, I'll go see myself to my room then!"
And with that, Auria headed down the hall. The third door on the left, and opened it. She set all her belongings down and hopped on the bed. It was honestly quite extravagant for a guest bedroom, but Auntie Fehr wasn't new to spoiling Auria.