Log; Complete;

[guardianed.livejournal.com]

When; September 28, afternoon (backdated just a little.)
Rating; PG
Characters; First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye [guardianed] & Colonel Roy Mustang [flameroy]
Summary; The Colonel's requested a verbal report from Hawkeye on the party at the Raven, which degenerates into a more general info-sharing session.
Log;

Hawkeye cast a final glance around her apartment.  She'd be returning in a matter of days, hopefully sooner, when the recovery mission was complete and she was no longer needed onboard the Durandal- but without her notes piled on the desk, the apartment looked empty.

The notes were under her arm in a manila envelope, and they'd stay there until she was assigned a room onboard Jr.'s spaceship.

But first things first.  She had a report to make.  The blonde shut and locked the door behind her, taking the stairs at a quick pace.  The route to the Colonel's apartment was easy to memorize, but slightly more difficult to alter- a problem she'd noticed after she'd moved.  

Three and a half minutes; at the pace she was walking it would take exactly that long to get there, and she rapped on the Colonel's apartment door as she'd done the office door so many times.

Roy had been poised, with his chin on a balled fist for the few moments since he'd spoken with Hawkeye over the network. It had been a while since he'd checked up on it for reasons apparently beyond his control - and it was proving difficult to get his head around the changes that had gone on.

A heavy sigh escaped him, and he flumped back against the sofa just as he heard a rap on the door that somehow he recognised. With a faint smile, Roy was at his feet again, and making his way to the door. He opened it in one fluid movement, giving a nod to the woman on the other side of it before taking a step back.

"Lieutenant." He greeted simply, before letting go of the door and moving across to the sofa where he had the laptop set up still, lid open. "Reports?" He asked, looking at the folder under her arm curiously. He remembered specifically asking for a verbal report... he hoped she wouldn't dump them and attempt to take her leave.

Hawkeye had saluted as the door opened, a habit she'd developed in the past couple of months as a result of her new position.  "Colonel."  Hawkeye caught the door as he let it go and shut it behind her, taking only a few steps into the apartment.

The glance towards her packet of notes and question- ah. "The papers are merely my notes.  The report on the festivities is, as you asked, verbal.   I could provide a paper copy if you would prefer."

She paused.  "I merely was disinclined to leave them in my apartment as I'm relocating temporarily."

He settled down onto the sofa, leaving more than enough space for Hawkeye to join him, and then some. His gaze cast upward to her, and he gave an understanding nod before letting out a soft sigh.

"Perhaps you could leave a report for me on the network." He said finally, turning to glance at the computer before him with a slight smile. He would never read it if it were on paper physically in front of him - not unless he was looking for something in particular, and the network was so good for organising things like reports anyway.

"Of course. Who knows who could break in and look at them." He said with possibly a hint of sarcasm, although it was a possibility - they both knew that, it was a very very slim chance.

"Sit."

Hawkeye had been in the Colonel's apartment numerous times before, but it still struck her as jarring that they had to conduct business here, with a sofa, coffee table, and vaguely colorful apartment, rather than in the spartan and clean lines of the offices of Central.

"If that's more convenient." The report was mostly already written out in her notes, in any case. It would be simple to recompile them into a written report. Hawkeye inclined her head in acknowledgement of his statement- it was certainly possible that her code was flawed, but she was doubtful.

"As you wish." Hawkeye walked over to the other end of the room, snagging a chair by the top, and placed it at a 90 degree angle to the sofa, sitting down and placing the folder on the table in front of her. Hawkeye sat straight in her chair, hands in her lap. "Shall I begin the report, sir?"

He made no move to react to any of her actions, or words apart from simple nods and glances here and there that told more than anything else would. Yes, it would be more convenient to have a report on the Network, Yes, he wished her to sit, damnit.

He even managed not to show his frustration that she had chosen to distance herself from him. As much as they knew how the other worked, Hawkeye always managed to make him feel like he was kept at a safe distance. Of course, if he were quite as familiar with the circumstance back in her version of Amestris, it would have been an instant understanding.

"Yes." He said simply, crossing one arm across his chest, holding onto his other elbow - which connected to the hand supporting his chin as he stared at a page on the networked computer, waiting to listen and hopefully take in what the Lieutenant would relay onto him.

Hawkeye closed her eyes for a moment, recalling the details of the evening back to the front of her mind, and then began to recite.

"The Raven is fairly deep in the Underground proper, and getting there may be hazardous to the unarmed if they are unlucky. There was a significantly large number of people descending to the venue on Thursday, and creatures were scarce, but there were traces of former fights along the pathways there.

There was a fair portion of the City's population present; many of those were the people who either reside in the Underground of spend a good portion of their time there. There were a large number of vampires in attendance, and two arrancar.

The attendees seemed to be divided along three sections; whether they were regulars of the venue, business owners, or those who had, like myself, merely received an invitation."

She paused, gathering a breath. "The host was one Mr. Lacroix, who stated the purpose was to be able to meet those he'd only seen on the network in person and to promote business, but as I've never exchanged words with him prior to this, and am not likely to return to The Raven, I suspect that he also had another motive in mind. Several of his employees were very alert.

I mangaged to become acquainted with Miss Tifa Lockhart, who was the former employer of Kimblee, and who runs the establishment Seventh Heaven. It may be a useful link."

His eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated on listening to Hawkeye, staring at the wall directly opposite from him, although he wasn't really focussed on anything in particular. He didn't need confirmation that anywhere Underground was privy to 'trouble' of sorts, or of the sorts that spent their time there. He was always reminded of Greed when he thought of such a place.

"There was no trouble?" He asked finally, turning to look at her, waiting to assess her facial expression for signs that she might have been hiding something from him - which he felt sure she would be beyond capable of managing. It wouldn't be the first time people decided to 'not mention' certain things.

Expression turning thoughtful, Riza responded after a pause and a slight shake of her head, "Surprisingly, no." Hawkeye met the Colonel's gaze evenly. It had been a surprise, although she'd noticed some groups of people who'd not mingled with other groups, but that was only to be expected in a gathering such as that one.

"Everyone seemed fairly careful not to start anything dangerous." Why that was so was as much a mystery to the Lieutenant as why she'd gotten the invitation in the first place, but still-

"I was glad I did not have to use my pistols."

His eyebrows furrowed at the mention that there had been no trouble underground - he had expected that perhaps there had been some undesirable citizens down there for the party, and his hand came to his chin at the mention that everyone had seemed like they were being careful. "Treading on eggshells?" He suggested, looking at her with as curious a gaze as he possessed - one he didn't use often.

"Surprising you didn't get them out." He muttered, refering to her pistols, looking out at her from the corner of his eyes, knowing that sometimes it didn't take much for her to give him a flash of polished metal. Course, he was always a special case.

"Anything else? I was hoping you might have something on Fullmetal."

The Colonel's curiosity was understandable; after all, she was his only link to the event, and it had been a strange one. Hawkeye paused for a moment before responding, trying to figure out how to put the ambiance of the party into words. "Whether or not they were being that careful or not...is debatable, but the atmosphere was one of everyone attempting to enjoy themselves, perhaps in despite of the other attendees."

The weights of her pistols had long since become a habitual pressure, but the First Lieutenant knew all too well that her prowess with marksmanship was useless sometimes. Pride had been sure to point out that pulling a gun on him would have been a grave mistake. "There are some situations better handled without weaponry, I'm afraid." It was easier to be able to shoot the problem until it went away, more satisfying.

The question of Edward brought her back away from the dangerous territory of thinking about Selim and to something more concrete. Reaching for the manila envelope she'd set on the table, the blonde pulled the sheets halfway out and flipped quickly through them until she'd reached the papers on the Erics, removing them from the file.

"Edward seems to have returned from my version of Amestris rather than your own, Colonel."

"Isn't exactly Amestris." He said obviously in response to Hawkeye's musing about the attendees thoughts on the party. Hawkeye of course would have been prepared for anything that might have blown up there, he wasn't concerned about that. There had been plenty of functions held back in Amestris that they would have attended that held much more animosity, as well as other underlying issues that anything like that here wouldn't have the stability to show.

Roy of course was sweetly oblivious to the inner thoughts of his Lieutenant, and merely showed piqued interest at the files Hawkeye was removing from the folder she had brought with her, obviously regarding Edward.

"I figured that much." He said quietly, staring forward at the laptop screen again. He wasn't quite sure what to think about it, only that it was apparently that he was becoming one of a minority from his own world. "He informed me that he was in Brigg before he arrived here." He told, looking back over at Hawkeye in request for more information.

"Yes." Ah, now this was jarringly wrong. The last time she'd said this, it'd been for a much different purpose.

"The Elric brothers both had made their way north to Briggs after the alchemist-killer Scar." Déjà vu was a disconcerting thing. And she knew that this Colonel, as much as he looked like the one she'd repeated this to before, as much as she wished it could be otherwise, this Colonel would know this only as information. Perhaps something showed in her expression, a flicker of confusion and sadness.

This line of thought would not do. "Edward, in my version of Amestris, searches still for a way to return his brother and himself to their original states. The Philosopher's stone remains a viable option for them, as some Philosophers Stones are not within the bodies of the homunculi. He is several years younger than the version from your world."

What else? How do you summarize the main facts of someone's interactions when your data is out of date and the old seems mundane?

"I'm afraid my information on his activities is a little slow." Courtesy of her new position. It seemed disjointing to speak of her position to the Colonel; to him the Fuhrer was dead.

Scar, now that was someone he was unfortunately familiar with - although the Elric's going to Briggs seemed completely out of sync with what he was familar with. He was spedning his time frowning slightly, trying to puzzle out everything he had been told by Hawkeye to form a picture in his mind of what exactly had gone on with the whole of Amestris in her world. The boys were still searching for the stone, which really meant that the way Ed percieved him would be completely different to what he would have expected.

He sighed softly, looking up at the Lieutenant and managing to fend off the extra frown threatening his expression. Something was the matter with her - she was doing well hiding it, however.

"I shouldn't worry - it doesn't concern me directly any further than living and communicating with Edward. Which is unfortunate." He finished, holding onto his face in one hand as he rubbed his fingertips over his cheek thoughtfully. He'd never truly felt quite as useless as he did - because obviously there were plans afoot in Hawkeye and Edward's version of Amestris, typically involving the Homunuculi just as it had done in his own world.

"Is he distressed about being here?" He asked in an adoptive quiet tone. He knew how passionate Edward was about searching for the way to get back his brother's body - and seeing Alphonse here, in his human form, and being unable to get back home... He could only feel sorry for the kid - and was even less likely to be able to actually do something about it here than he was back home. Damn different versions of Amestris.

The blonde took her superior's question at face value. "Edward...is reacting as I would expect him to, mostly with frustration." Edward had never been the calmest of people when confronted with an unexpected situation; but he'd gotten better at handling the constant battles. "I think it will be a consolation to him that people he knows are here rather than home if he is also here."

Hawkeye glanced away as the Colonel rubbed his cheek, the scratch she'd received from Pride was impossible to draw attention to by a similar action, and wound up looking at her notes again.

"Potentially of note for Edward." The Lieutenant flipped the top page to the back, looking at the second page of neat handwriting. "He fought Greed in his hideout the Devil's Nest until His Excellency stepped in with reinforcements. He also fought the homunculi Gluttony and Envy with the aid of Ling Yao, who is now also Greed."

"Envy has stated that he has an interest in the Elric brothers. While the homunculi in our world seem to want to prevent Edward's death, I'm not sure that is the case for the homunculi in your version of things."

Really, he didn't know how he could have imagined that Edward would have taken the change any other way than frustrated. Which really covered a many number of emotions when it came to the Fullmetal Alchemist. What the Lieutenant said made sense though, perfectly.

His interested was grabbed again by the mention of Edward and the Homunculi, and he had to let a soft sigh escape him at the thought of the Homunculi wishing to keep him on as a human sacrifice. Hadn't there been mention of that previously? "I am to believe that Envy had something of a personal issues witht he Elrics." He told simply, leaning forward once more. It was a little uncomfortable to be talking about Edward as such, mostly thanks to the fact that Ed was no longer from 'his' world - that in itself was a tough pill to swallow.

"Do we know anything about how everyone is getting on?" He asked, subtly refering to the likes of Alfons, Winry and the younger Elric, because sometimes, he did give a damn about things that wouldn't push him higher up the military ladder.

"I see." She'd gathered Envy had some personal investment from the way he'd phrased it- it must be something either of large magnitude or more personal than the Colonel felt comfortable talking about- not that the latter occurred often.

This was information more from her impressions and less from her notes, and Hawkeye let the papers sit on top of the table once more. "Edward and the others from our world are getting along as usual; he and Ling Yao tolerate each other and Winry has retaken her position as his automail mechanic." That was common knowledge. "Envy has already succeeded in antagonizing him. As for the others from Amestris, I cannot say. He's only made one appearance on the network, and I have yet to speak with him face to face."

"And Alfons?" He said, without even taking a moment's breather to think about whether the Lieutenant would actually have any information on him whatsoever. Of course, he did feel a little concerned about the blonde - he'd taken the time to notice the bond that Alfons and Edward had.

Roy shared Hawkeye's lack of face to face speech with Edward, although it was something he wasn't sure he wanted to rectify very soon. It was possibly a positive thing that he no longed lacked an eyeball - although it didn't stop the memories from being so very different, and when it came to Edward his memories of their meetings were intricate and forming. He just hoped that the Mustang from Ed's world shared the same attitude towards the boy - although he couldn't imagine any different, especially with the way that he and the Lieutenant liased near-perfectly.

"I'm afraid I have very little information on Alfons. My apologies." It had taken her a while to figure out that Alfons had known Edward from before his arrival in the City; perhaps she should have kept closer tabs on him as well. He was probably taking the arrival of a younger Edward with the same amount of difficulty or more than she'd dealt with an alternate version of the Colonel showing up in place of the one she'd known so well.

They seemed to have begun to run out of things she had notes on, and Hawkeye leaned forward, picking up the stack of papers and filing the notes she'd pulled out on Edward back within the safety of the envelope, twisting the tie shut slowly. "Is there anything else you wanted information on, sir?"

His hand was up to his chin again at the mention that she had nothing on Alfons, and he wondered whether he ought to make a check on him - although with that thought he suddenly felt so out of place. It was quickly becoming apparent to him however that the Lieutenant was preparing herself to leave, and he gave his head a small shake in the negative before letting out another sigh.

"Not at the moment, Hawkeye." He managed, looking across at her and offering a very slight smile. He was aware she had business to attend to which he considered a little more important than discussing other people with him - although Hawkeye's list of priorities almost always started with her Colonel at the top. He appreciated it more than anything.

"No. I shall speak with you across the network should anything else crop up."

"Very well." Standing once more, Hawkeye moved her chair back to where she'd found it, across the room, and tucked the envelope under her arm, returning to the place she had sat next to the table. "I'll be onboard the Durandal for the next few days, as I mentioned, sir. It's easily found on the beach if you need me; Jr knows that I'll respond to your summons if something urgent comes up. Hopefully my stay there will be brief- it will only be as long as it will take to make sure everyone is settled back onboard."

A vague ghost of a smile flickered across her face. "Permission to depart, sir?"

Roy found himself looking at the Lieutenant, but not really seeing her at all. To say the contrast in 'worlds' was difficult was an understatement, and he was having one of those bouts of thought that didn't quite consume him, and he had to thank Hawkeye's constant talk for it.

"The Durandal. Right." He repeated, finally allowing his eyes to focus as he realised she was ready and prepared for departure. He couldn't think that there was much he could do after she left, although perhaps scouring the network for some revision on the Homunculus, and perhaps find out exactly what Hawkeye was up to staying at the Durandal for such a long period of time.

"Granted, of course. Good Luck, Lieutenant." He said simply, giving her a nod of the head and a faint smile.

"Thank you, sir."

She shut the door behind her, having neatly exited the apartment, resting her hand on the door handle for a moment. She should have perhaps gone into further detail on what her role onboard the Durandal would be, but the Colonel had enough to worry about without her supplimentary mission dangers. She would just have to make sure nothing occured to give him cause to worry.

They would be waiting for her on the Durandal. Time to get going.

He blinked at the closed door for a few minutes - pondering. Being out of touch with things on the network was somewhat stressful for him - just because he liked to know what was going on.

He didn't commit himself to thoughts about why the laspe in knowledge, but instead tried to get his head around the information he had just been granted. Things would have to change.