Pilgrimages: A Fullmetal RP (Vandesdelca and Wingshadow)

[Vandesdelca]

Fweeeeeeeee~

It was amazing how much a train whistle started to sound like home after a while. Edward Elric, State "Alchemist" for all that he could no longer perform alchemy, snapped shut the thin journal he'd brought along for the ride. He watched the train, old engine 108, as it rolled into the station, great wheels whining and hissing to a gradual stop.

Pendleton had rebuilt a good bit in the two years since Father's death -- once the bloody battlefield of a border skirmish fought between Creta and Amestris, it had since become just about the only way to enter that western country. It was the last stop on his way from Central to a foreign land, and Ed would have been lying if he said he wasn't apprehensive about the whole thing.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go, it was just...

________________

3 weeks earlier

Edward's hands slammed down on the desk, the fine polished mahogany shaking under the impact.

"An escort? I can take care of myself, Mustang!"

Brigadier general Roy Mustang stared straight into Ed's eyes over the tops of his hands, the fingers meshing together to hide what was most likely a smile. They were in his office, a brand new suite that was fit for the man who many considered to be on the fast track to fuhrer.

"That's 'General', Halfmetal. Do I need to remind you that you're more or less useless nowadays?" Roy asked.

Edward blanched. "I'll show you 'useless'. I don't need alchemy to douse you with a bucket of water. THEN we can see who's 'useless'." It only pissed him off more to see Roy sit there and look amused.

"I'm not even going anywhere dangerous. It's a long-term study, not a military operation," Ed continued, pushing himself off of the top of the desk, staring down at the general.

"We were seconds away from a full-scale war with Creta just two years ago. And like it or not, you decided to keep the station. You get the perks, but it also means that we have a vested interest in protecting you. And all the state secrets you happen to have in your head," Mustang stood, turning his back on Edward as he moved to face the window that backed his high office chair.

"Fine," Edward huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just who do you have in mind for my escort?"

Ed fumed silently as Roy leaned over to press a buzzer, crossing his arms behind his back as he tried to keep his smile contained.

"EDWARD ELRIC! WHAT A DELIGHT IT IS TO SEE YOU AGAIN! YOU'VE GROWN TALLER!"

Oh god no.

Ed wasn't even able to move an inch before Armstrong was able to cross the distance between them, sweeping Edward up in a bonecrushing hug.

"Him?" Edward squeaked, letting out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when he was suddenly dropped. "I mean, no offense Major, but I was hoping to be, um, low-profile on my trip," Edward said as he silently counted his ribs to make sure they hadn't been fused from the pressure of the embrace.

"Not quite. Is the paperwork in order, Major?" Roy asked as he turned on his heel, addressing the massive state alchemist.

"Yes, sir. It's a pity to lose such a fine soldier, but it warms my heart to know that they will be protecting Edward as he travels abroad!" Armstrong said, producing a set of papers for Mustang to overlook. Ed's eyes followed, looking more than slightly confused.

"Wait, if it's not the major -- who is it?" Ed asked, watching as Roy put his stamp of approval on the paperwork.

"An old friend," Roy said.
________________

This was it -- it had taken some time to get the request finalized, but the two of them were supposed to meet up in Pendleton before crossing the border together into Creta. There was a good bit more ceremony to an armed escort coming into the country with him, after all.

Ed slung his bag over his shoulder, approaching the opening door of the train. That smug bastard had refused to tell him who it was, but Ed wasn't stupid. It didn't take a world-class alchemist to source out that he was looking for one Maria Ross.

 

[Wingshadow]

Second lieutenant Maria Ross made her way across the platform, her Amestrian uniform causing her to stand out despite the crowd. She had received her orders to escort Edward Elric nearly a week ago, a command that she could honestly say she took up with a measure of excitement. Following the battle against Father two years prior, many of their friends and allies went their separate ways, including Edward's own brother who had set off for Xing in the not-so-distant past. She took up her post as his escort with a measure of pride and nostalgia, as out of all the soldiers they could have trusted to protect Edward, they had chosen her. Edward had certainly come a long way from the self-confident impulse-driven young man she had known before, having grown into a full-fledged adult who understood the weight and responsibility he bore along with his actions, even if he could no longer utilize alchemy.

Maria approached Edward and stood at attention, giving him a firm look and a stiff salute, "Second lieutenant Maria Ross, reporting for duty, Sir!" A familiar smile spread across her lips almost immediately afterward, unable to maintain the rigid show of respect her position demanded, "It is good to see you again. I see that the reports are correct that you have grown taller." While before she had a significant height advantage on the gifted young alchemist, he now stood about equal to her, if not a bit taller than herself.

 

[Vandesdelca]

Ed lingered there a moment or two longer, waiting to see if his promised escort was to arrive (or if that snake Mustang had just decided to screw with him with that whole show with Armstrong), but the brilliance of the Amestrian blue uniform wasn't hard to spot on a train platform where everyone else (including himself) was wearing sedate colors such as brown or some flavor of tan. "Ah, lieutenant! I was wondering who my escort was going to be," Ed said. There was no formal salute -- instead, he was reaching out a hand for a shake -- his left hand was carrying his luggage, so what was offered was his right. Flesh and blood, uncovered by a glove.

"It's good to see you, too. I think you're still owed a smack," he said, his eye only momentarily twitching at the mention of his height. He'd managed to... well, grow out of that in the last couple of years, even if he had only managed to go from "well below average" to "decently average" in terms of height.

There came a sudden shriek from the front of the train, the whistle blowing before a rather official-looking man called to the rest of the platform that it was the last call for the train to Centra.

"I guess that's us -- come on, our seat's in the first class cabin. General Mustang "insisted"," Ed said with a small, slightly forced smile. His new position was nice and everything, serving as one of the government's top researchers even though he couldn't perform an ounce of alchemy. It was more formal than he was used to... and more formal than he liked, at that.