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Post by Riza Hawkeye on Jul 23, 2009 18:07:15 GMT -8
The words surprised her a bit from her world of signatures and information she looked up, taking a moment to register what he'd said before she smiled slightly and nodded. Whether this was an attempt to face his own fears, prove to himself that he could fight this battle without losing face or simply to indulge in some much-needed fun, it was something they both likely needed to do. No, she hadn't been Hughes' best friend, but she'd known him, fought beside him and even been friends with his wife and daughter. She'd endured the pictures he so shamelessly showed as everyone else and she knew enough of him to miss that same cheer in the monster who now carried his face.
"Sir, I'd say the schedule should be moderately open- no matter when we were to depart the paperwork on returning would be the same amount," Hawkeye told the General with a note of amusement just slightly sarcastic in her voice to show a tiny bit of approval for the plan. Besides, they could say it was research concerning what Hawkeye believed she'd seen just a few days before. "What time would be best for you, General?"
The dagger wound in her shoulder was beginning to ache a bit but it was an easy pain to ignore, and so long as she didn't strain herself in any way she shouldn't break any stitches. In any case it was far from the worst she'd had and if the General knew he may well overreact to it. He took any hurt toward his subordinates very seriously. She was bringing at least a few of her guns anyway. If this Wrath was a creature of habit it could be very bad for them to be caught out unprotected.
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Post by mustang on Jul 29, 2009 18:10:50 GMT -8
"Well, to tell you honestly Major Hawkeye anytime is good for me," he said, rather truthfully. It wasn't exactly like this paperwork was of any importance, in fact, this stuff could be put to the side for quite a while. He took another sip of his coffee and looked to the Major.
"In fact, right now is quiet fine with me," he assured her. After god knows how many years of close friendship, he knew she loved the carnival, and after seeing another one of those monsters again he was sure she could use on. He may have been best friends with Hughes, but even so, Riza quiet enjoyed his company also he suspected. They both needed this time away.
Hughes had always been rather of an annoyance, his constant pushes for the Flame Alchemist to find a wife and settle down, and his merciless attack with the pictures of his family. But... after he left... it was certainly something to be missed. His face showed no image of his thoughts, in fact, he was smiling as he looked to the major. His relationship was one of respect, and companionship.
They'd been through everything together and dammit, they'd get through this too! That much he knew was for certain. They'd gotten through Hughes's death, taking down that homunculus posing as Bradley, and even after the General gave up his rank and demoted himself to a Corporal, and came back and took charge when those strange flying things tried to destroy Central, they made it through. Sure at the end Edward and Alphonse left him here, by himself falling to the ground on one of the strange craft. But who was waiting for him? Riza.
They'd been through hell and back, and they'd get through this, but first, who said a carnival was against the law? Not a soul. He was going to have some fun before all hell broke loose, thanks.
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Post by Riza Hawkeye on Aug 3, 2009 12:40:33 GMT -8
"Anything that puts off the paperwork is a good time for you, sir," she said with a small sigh even as her eyes flashed a bit in amusement- at least he wanted to do something with the potential for fun, rather than the more dangerous pastimes he enjoyed, or more political maneuvering. She could take both of those situations with grace, even skill- but she couldn't delude herself into believing they were fun. After a time they began to wear even her down, though she never showed the slightest hint of it. That would be admitting weakness.
Into her desk drawer went her usual folder of papers with the pen stuck into the side, used for taking and occasionally giving out notes. She was never without her guns when she was at work, that was part of the unwritten job description. Keep the General safe to accomplish his goals and try to make it through herself. And, of course, finish the paperwork. "I can be ready whenever you are."
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Post by mustang on Aug 11, 2009 9:41:29 GMT -8
Roy smirked a bit at her comment to the paperwork. Ah, the major knew him just all to well didn't she? Well, that WAS to be expected with the amount of time they had been in each other's company. Through thick and thin, they've stuck together. And in all honesty, The Flame Alchemist would never admit it to her, but he needed her. How many times had the Major saved his life... and his career? She'd see to it that he made his goals reality, even at risk to herself. That was one fact the General didn't like to much.
Looking down to the paperwork he signed one more sheet before moving it to his done pile. He took a sip of the coffee finishing it and set the cup back on the desk.
"Well major, I'm ready, so off to the carnival?" He asked standing. Moving to the coat rack in the corner he grabbed his coat, pulled it on and looked to the major. Something he never got, two coat hangers in the room, yet only one coat hung on each. He never really understood that, and didn't really try to. He didn't much care why, it just perplexed him at times, especailly when he was just trying to distract himself from what he had on his desk awaiting his pen. Whatever. Smiling he awaited Riza to pull on her coat, standing in the same place.
Roy felt nothing but respect for Riza, through the many years down the timeline between the two, there were many reasons why. She'd always stuck by him, unshaken by even the most horrific things. Such as what had happened five years ago in Bradleys mansion, and then the attack on central. It was... indeed a difficult time, but she never questioned him, nor did she move. She stood her ground, and faced what he had. He felt nothing but respect for the Major, and anyone who challenged that would get a bunch of flames in the face.
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Post by Riza Hawkeye on Aug 14, 2009 5:21:06 GMT -8
She couldn't deny that being out of the office was a good idea, for both of their sakes; to ruin what had been a good memory with what she'd seen there last and had to tell the General was pointless and demoralizing. With an expression of serenity she set her own coffee cup to the side and rose from her chair smoothly, Black Hayate looking up to see what was happening and whether or not he needed to be interested. Always attentive but never pushy, that was her Hayate-kun.
"I thought that was the plan already, sir." With another slight smile she gave Hayate a raised brow and he stood, stretched and then walked over to her desk to sit at attention by the desk, waiting for her to say that he could proceed. In complete confidence she went to the coat hanger and pulled her jacket down, slipping it on easily and feeling the stitches pull a bit; a slight shift of her shoulders stopped the tugging feeling and she was ready to go. Reaching back she pulled the bottom of her looped hair out of the collar of the jacket, then looked to the General with a slightly wider smile and an expression of friendship and respect. Very few attained that sort of accord in her mind and she had no reservations in her trust of him. He'd always led the way, everything had come out fine in the end, and neither of them had ended up dead. She hadn't regretted trusting him with her back for a moment.
Moving away from the coat rack Riza looked again at Hayate and gave him a nod; with a canine smile of pure happiness he moved to stand by his mistress, tail slightly wagging. "If you don't mind, General, I'm going to bring Black Hayate," she requested with a calm expression; the dog was very good at picking up homunculi and she didn't want any sneaking up from some unexpected place. It was her duty to look after the General and she would use every tool at her disposal to do just that.
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Post by mustang on Aug 23, 2009 12:14:37 GMT -8
Roy blinked and looked down to the majors dog. His eyes... well eye narrowed at it. Oh, he remembered. His mind flew back to that night when him, Breta, Folman, Havoc, and Fuery all went out on a ghost hunting trip. Mustang trying to prove to the three that there was NO such thing as the mysterious warehouse thirteen. As it turned out they happened across some bones in that lot. The next day all of them worked for HOURS digging for bones only to reveal that the, "serial killer," was Black Hayate burying bones in that lot. Oh yes he remembered VERY well actually. Talk about humiliation. His eye twitched slightly as he was about to shoot down her request when he realized why she was bringing the dog along.
Cause they were so loyal! They worked and never asked for a paycheck!! Mustang looked to the dog. Look at him! Sitting there so loyally, so diligently! They never complained! They obeyed their masters commands without question!! Yes, bringing the dog along was a glorious idea!
"Yes Major, that's a glorious idea." he said with a smile, reaching his arms up he grasped the collar of his coat and fixed it walking toward the door. He brushed by the major and opened the door for her to head out.
"Well, let's be on our way shall we?" he said, and stood there awaiting Major Hawkeye. Of course, Roy knew the real reason she wanted to bring the dog, homunculi. There was an element of risk, and that's exactly why in his pants pocket he had a glove awaiting his hand.
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Post by Riza Hawkeye on Sept 1, 2009 5:59:28 GMT -8
With a raised brow she noted the expression that the General afforded Black Hayate for a moment and sighed- so he still hadn't gotten completely over that little misunderstanding? It was really very immature to continue blaming a dog for being a dog- they buried bones, that was simply in their lineage. If they'd been acting like men to begin with, rather than boys on a wild-goose chase for ghosts and serial killers... At the thought that the rest of the office staff minus herself had spent all night digging up Hayate's leftovers a small smile spread over her face. From the outside, the situation was nothing but amusing and she had no problem admitting it.
Nodding in agreement she made her way to the door and stepped outside, the black dog obediently by her side as she sidestepped a bit to allow Mustang out as well. At least he was in moderately good spirits again, though she wondered how deep that went exactly. On some level this was probably still bothering him; after all, it was still ticking at the back of her mind, though she'd long ago become accustomed to pushing anything that wasn't immediately important there to sort itself out. Her mind would keep working at it, starting the basics of a plan whether she paid any real attention to it or not.
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Post by mustang on Sept 1, 2009 15:19:57 GMT -8
Mustang stepped out of the doorway, and closed the door behind him digging in his right coat pocket as he did. That was when the jingling of keys could be heard. Withdrawing his hand from the black obsidian of his coat, between his thumb and index finger he held a ring with three keys on it. One to the car, one to the office, and one to his house. Grabbing the key to the office, he plunged it into the lock. Looking to Riza, he smirked, and somewhere in his eyes there was that hint, just that hint, of victorious pride. Yep, he'd won all right.
No more paperwork for today...
Withdrawing the key from the lock he returned it into his pocket and started down the hall, making sure Riza was following. The Flame Alchemist walked along, Riza undoubtedly nearby, making his way down the winding staircases until he got to the main floor. The lobby, a receptionist at the counter, and guards all over. Walking past them, he waved to the lady behind the desk. And he was lucky, the receptionist during the next shift wasn't as young or pretty as this one. She blushed, and waved back as he smiled and continued through the lobby, eventually coming to the front doors.
He pushed one open and walked out into the sunlight, knowing that Riza was behind. He stopped for a second at the top of the steps and looked to the sun. Lifting his hands over his head, he stretched in it's lukewarm rays. He'd been setting in that chair for so long, it was like his vertebrae had compacted themselves due to his weight, for when he stretched there was an audible pop that Roy could feel travel all the way down his back. To be honest, it felt REALLY good. He smiled and let his arms drop back down to his sides. Sticking his hands in his pockets he looked to Major Hawkeye over his shoulder.
"Well, shall we major?" he asked as he started off down the steps. He walked along and after a minute or two finally made it to the bottom of the stairway, and continued upon the road to the other side, to the sidewalk where his car was located. Walking over he opened the door nearest the street, the passenger side, for Riza, smiling... however covering something up.
He was still utterly pissed, and it was all he could do to let it show through his grip on the door handle. Somebody had the audacity to make a HOMUNCULUS of his best friend Maes Hughes? Someone had the audacity to sully his best friends reputation? If someone, anyone had the audacity to insult Maes, someone would get their ass kicked. Hard. This was what he thought, what one would think though was that he was perfectly content and that life was going all to well... well anyone except Riza.
She knew exactly what his ticks were. The minuscule eye twitch, the twitch in his fingers. Mustang was ready to blow something up, and it's name was wrath.
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Post by Riza Hawkeye on Sept 22, 2009 4:51:07 GMT -8
Oh, there was some anger there- she could read it in the General's demeanor and the way the tension seemed to rest just under his skin, almost turning this bones to steel and his eyes to an icy fire. It bode poorly for this 'Wrath' when he was finally found. There wouldn't be any sentimentality interfering with the necessity of their task; Mustang and Riza herself knew that while a homunculus may wear the skin of another it wasn't really them. After all, that was the lack of that very realization that had led to Hughes' death in the first place.
With a simple nod she settled into the car and waited for him to get in as well, her piercing eyes as observant as ever. This was no time to brood though- she'd gotten used to pushing aside ideas until a better time and more information presented itself and that would be a skill in high demand right now. He'd ducked the paperwork in an effort to cheer himself and her up, and she'd let him- best to take full advantage of that situation and let the air of somewhat subdued playfulness continue for both of their sakes. "Hopefully you won't challenge me at sharpshooting again once we get there; last time it was a bit embarrassing for you, sir," she told him in her flat and common-sense usual tone, but as she watched him get in her eyes flashed a bit in humor. Oh yes, she had no doubt he'd remember that event.
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Post by mustang on Sept 30, 2009 18:54:05 GMT -8
Mustang opened up the car door and slid inside, shutting it behind him. He craned his head back slightly and closed his eyes letting his mind wander outside that of paperwork, away from this "Wrath" and away from every other business ordeal that had been suffocating his consciousness as of late.
He imagined himself at home, in bed... and smiled slightly setting there. It was a pleasure to sit there and just relax for once, to not worry about anything at the moment. Not about the Madame President, or about the paperwork that awaited him, or about this new homunculus. He did have to wonder though... what could be the connections? Bradley was named Pride, this one was named Wrath, two of the seven deadly sins... was there a connection? He'd have to remind himself to-
"Hopefully you won't challenge me at sharpshooting again once we get there; last time it was a bit embarrassing for you, sir,"
His mental stability was broken. He opened his eyes and looked to Riza. He blinked and his eyes narrowed slightly, and somewhat, and there was only the slightest hint of playfulness in them. He knew she was only teasing, trying to lighten the mood. With a slight smile, he laid his head back and waved his hand forward in a "go ahead" gesture.
"Major Hawkeye, those "Hawks eyes" of yours are the very reason I let you drive this thing." he said with a slight chuckle. Those Hawkeye's were also the reason for many a thing. One of those being why he was still living and breathing.
He'd trust Riza with his life, and he knew that she knew that fact.
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