Edward Elric

[The park was a nice place to walk, meaning Riza spent a lot of time walking through it. Hayate was with her, mesmerized by a butterfly--but she couldn't help but freeze at the flash of blue light she caught in the corner of her eye. Could it be? It was too early for new arrivals, but that didn't stop her from hoping that that familiar crackle of blue light was the Colonel.

She's not dumb enough to run into the middle of a transmutation, but Hayate borders on it. When he finishes his transmutation, he'll find Hayate sitting by his feet, tail wagging, and Riza standing just by the bushes. She is making every attempt to look both unperturbed ~~and not disappointed~~.]

From:

[The light fades and in front of him is one of the gaudiest Gothic statues in the history of ever. Ed has the best sense of style and this gargoyle? This gargoyle was BADASS.

and then suddenly Hayate. Which could only mean Riza was here, too. He turned around slowly.]

Lieutenant Hawkeye?

From:

You...have your alchemy back?

[Yay for stupid questions! She's trying to have something to say other than Well, I'm sorry that I thought it might be the Colonel and That's the gaudiest gargoyle I've ever seen.

Hayate abandons Ed's shoes to sniff the gargoyle, wagging his tail slowly.]

From:

[At least someone can appreciate how incredibly awesome that gargoyle is. GOOD BOY, HAYATE.

he rubs the back of his neck and nods.]

Yeah. I got this weird postcard earlier today. Didn't want to try anything anywhere close to where Lust could see.

From:

[Hayate yips, and then lifts his leg, peeing on the statue. Hawkeye's reaction just wasn't fast enough.]

Black Hayate, no!

[Don't get too excited about Hayate appreciating your gargoyle, Ed. Scolded, Hayate runs over to Riza and whines, making a pouting face. It was new territory, Mommy.]

My apologies, Edward..

[It's a statue! It will be okay.]

I'm glad you thought to wait and try where Lust wouldn't see..

From:

From:

[Thanks, Hayate. Thanks.]

... It's fine.

[he'll just. transmute that back to it's original elements. sob.]

She doesn't need to know I have it back.

From:

[Hayate barks enthusiastically, because hey, it was brand spankin' new territory and that's pretty awesome!]

From:

He knows better.

[With the shenanigans over, Riza averts her gaze to the ground, looking at Hayate's slowly wagging tail.]

It would be best if she doesn't.

From:

[It was cooler before you pissed on it. D<

Edward does the same, suddenly finding his shoe very interesting.]

I... yeah.

From:

[Hayate barks, because awkward scene is so not fun to be a witness to. After barking, he trots over to Ed and puts his muzzle on Ed's shoe and whines. Petting me will make all of the awkwardness go away!]

How did you even know to check?

From:

[OH. Well ok. He'll plop down on the ground and scratch Hayate behind hie ears. he's quiet for a minute.]

... It was a postcard of the Gate.

From:

There's no limit to the alchemy skill that you've regained, is there?

[She's asking for the sake of knowing for sure.]

[ooc: though it's really so there's another flash of blue light so Olivier can come over and see them talking all kinds of awkwardly!]

From:

[his brow furrows and he pushes himself up off the ground.]

Dunno. Only one way to find out, I guess.

[Ed walks a few steps away from Black Hayate before attempting another transmutation, motioning for Hayate to stay where he is. Please don't walk in the middle of it this time, kay?

He claps his hands and touches the ground. The distinct sound of crackling alchemical energy can be heard as a bright blue light fills the surrounding area. He stands back up as it starts to fade, waiting for the last bits of residual energy to disappear. In front of him is a stupid looking stone dummy with it's tongue sticking out.

Looks like he's still got it!]

From:

[Olivier was leaning against a tree across the park, just observing Edward and Riza as they interacted. Something was up between those two, but she wasn't sure what. Then, she saw it. The unmistakable flash of light that was alchemy. Mayfield was just plain stupid to give him that trick. She straightened and made her way over to them.]

I see that you can be called Fullmetal again.

From:

[Hawkeye spun around, Hayate still at her heels when she saw Armstrong approach. She snapped into a salute--something she'd only done once since her arrival--out of sheer nervous energy and habit, and then nodded weakly. There really wasn't much to say beyond nodding because really--what else could she say or do?

But Hayate was pleased and scurried over to Armstrong, wagging his tail. He barks at her. Hi again!]

From:

General?

[Salute? What's that? I mean. Ed is the best subordinate and he salutes all the time except when he doesn't which is almost all the time. Instead of a salute, he opts for the wide eyed, nervous "I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG" stare.]

I... uh, yeah. Seems that way.

Edited Date: 2011-09-02 04:42 am (UTC)

From:

[No, she's not ignoring you Hayate, she gives you another awkward pat and then returns Riza's salute. She is grinning, and you guys should know this means trouble. But first, she must address the nervous energy that is about to make her hair go full blown Armstrong curls]

Did something happen?[She turns her focus from Riza to Ed.] You know very well that I don't like secrets, Fullmetal.

From:

[She drops the salute, and clicks her tongue. Hayate whines once at Armstrong, not happy that he'd only gotten one pat, and then trots back to Hawkeye's feet, sulking.]

No ma'am. Nothing's happened.

[Quick. How can she talk her way out of this one? The awkward atmosphere was almost palpable and she knew that if Armstrong picked up on the real reason why, all hell would break loose.]

I saw the flash of blue light while walking Black Hayate, and for a moment I thought the Colonel might have been brought to Mayfield...so I came to see what had happened.

[Come on, Armstrong--be smart enough to pick up on the unsaid words here. ~~And maybe Ed can be not smart enough to pick up on those unsaid words~~. On top of everything else, this wasn't even technically a lie--she had thought, though just for a moment, that Mustang was here.]

From:

[Heeeee's in trouble. He had to get out of this and fast, but he knew Olivier wouldn't let him go anywhere without getting the answers she wanted. Swallowing hard he shook his head, diverting his eyes to the ground.]

Nothing happened here, ma'am.

[and this wasn't a lie at all. because what happened didn't happen here]

From:

[Olivier rolls her eyes. She really didn't like when people tried to skip around the truth. Either something happened or it didn't. While Riza might have hoped it was the Colonel, she was covering something up, she had been watching them long enough to know it wasn't that. And Ed, he had all but admitted something happened. She directs a glare at Riza first.]

First of all, I doubt Colonel Mustang would have stuck inside during the event if he had arrived. He would have been out trying to gather information. Second of all, that means he wouldn't have been able to get his alchemy back yet. And lastly, Hawkeye, why did you have to lie and put Fullmetal in the awkward situation of having to try and be evasive?

[She doesn't give Riza the time to reply, but turns to Ed.]

Yes, that's right Fullmetal, I caught that. Nothing happened here. So where and when did it happen? And don't forget to say what happened.

Edited Date: 2011-09-02 05:12 am (UTC)

From:

[This was one of the rare moments that she wished a meteor would fall from the sky, or something might spontaneously burst into flames, or a tree could fall down--something to create an immediate distraction.

So she steadies herself, and clears her throat to get Armstrong's attention. She could tell without more than a cursory glance that Edward would crack under the pressure of Armstrong's direct interrogation, but experience told her that she could hold out.]

I'm no fool, General. Just because I know it rationally...does not keep me from hoping.

[She could feel the shame burning in her cheeks. It was incredibly foolish for a subordinate to want so desperately for their superior officer to be here, especially for one as practiced as she, but that didn't change how wished that the flash of blue light she'd seen was Mustang.]

It probably did not help things when I appeared in the clearing and asked if Edward were the Colonel first.

[And that would be the first official lie of the evening, but she says it with such a straight face that not even Hayate reacts--Hayate, who can usually pick up on any hint of veiled anxiety in her voice. Even she had to admit that that was pretty convincing. Provided, of course, that Edward could play along.]

From:

[He stared at Hawkeye for a moment, confusion written all over his face. Lieutenant, you have made things a million times more difficult for him. There were times when he could lie well enough, but usually his form of lying was just... lying by omission. He was way too honest for his own good.

He couldn't just smile and nod. He wasn't that kind of person. And this was Olivier! She wasn't stupid. Far from it. Even if he wanted to he wouldn't be able to lie to her. No matter how convincing it was, Olivier would not give this up.

He quickly looked away, dropping his eyes to the ground once more staying completely silent. He would neither agree nor disagree with Hawkeye's statement.]

From:

[She sighs and shakes her head. Fixing her best look of concern across her face.]

Was it really that bad, what ever it was that happened, Edward? [She puts her arm around him and pulls him close to her side, he might notice her grip rivals even that of her brother.] C'mon, let's get you a nice hot cup of coffee to help you get over the trauma. Then, I have an idea that'll really test out your alchemy. It might help the Lieutenant keep her distance from Lust, too. [It's only then that she looks at Hawkeye, smirking at her over her shoulder.]

Well, what do you say, Fullmetal?[Did you just feel her grip your arm a bit tighter Ed, because she did.]

From: