Arc Debrief

[Dai]

Daigoro nudged the door open, pushing he and Reila inside. His steps were slow and tired, and he knew that he didn't have much left. His breaths were ragged, and his hands covered with blood, both Zaska's and Reila's. His legs were about ready to give out on him, and he moved over to the hammock that sat between two poles, lowering the woman onto it. He moved away the uniform jacket, and took a quick look at the woman's wound with a grimace.

"I'm going to need to patch that up properly..." He grabbed the hair tie, and threw it away. He needed a new one of those... With a nervous laugh, he knelt down and picked up the First Aid Kit from the ground, opening it up. Pulling out a sterile bandage and some saline solution, he washed away the excess blood from the wound, using the salt to kill any infections within. He then moved away some of her hair, and wrapped the bandage around her shoulder. Good - it looked better. He hoped she'd wake up soon, that was for sure. He smiled softly, and pulled off the glove on his left hand. It then slipped into the hand of the sleeping Brig Gen.

He was probably going overboard, but he didn't want to be alone right now. He really didn't need these images in his head. He just wanted all of this to be gone. Every verdamm image, all of it should disappear. He sighed, sitting there, waiting for Reila to come to her senses. He really didn't wanted to be alone here. He wanted to hear a friendly voice.

"Be safe, Reila. And wake up soon."

[Guest]

Houka Yochi (last name, first name) stood at the open door and knocked waiting for a response. She was polite and din't enter till asked. Afterall, although she was here to get de-briefed she was also here to make a request of her superior officers. FOr them to teach her how to be a leader. She felt being polite was a good way to persuade them to train her or at least instruct her. However, these thoughts were put to the back of her mind when she saw the intimacy of the situation. She knew the two of them were close, but that close? She had no idea and she was Daigoro's right hand. How could she of missed something like that? Then again she hadn't been at Briggs for long really and it might have happened only recently or they had kept it secret. She stood awaiting a response to her knock hoping she really wasn't disturbing anything. She could of cauterised the wounds though that would of caused Reila intense pain.

[Guest]

Ilona stood outside, as if standing gaurd and had a cigerette in mouth. She wasn't particulary interested in anything anymore as she had her own problems and they occupied her mind as if a blanket was wrapped around her brain. But secretly, Ilona hoped that everything would turn out okay and if there was a god like some of the "lunatics" say there is one; then why are not here to help us?
Ilona peeped in where Reila was and saw Dai, who looked very worried and had a feeling that he may have feelings for her...Or they could be devotion between officer and suboardinate and took no notice but it only reminded her of the shaky ground she was with her own relationship...
She dropped the cigerette down onto the floor and crushed it beneath her boot, the flames going out.

[Dai]

Daigoro turned his head to the sound of a knocking door, and saw the face of Houka, watching them closely. He smirked, and nodded his head, giving her permission to come in - not that she needed to ask. He wasn't feeling the best right now, she'd be some company, and better than Reila at the time. He smiled softly, and turned to the woman, letting go of the Brigadier General's hand. He looked up at her, and smirked.

"So, seeing as I missed everything, has Xan been detained? And that other guy as well, the one in the hood? He seemed... strange to me. Somehow he managed to figure out that Xan wasn't an agent of the Fuhrer, so I'm suspicious..." He sighed, and shook his head, before standing up, and walking towards the door, seeing a plume of smoke rising up. He grinned, pushed the door open, and looked outside. So, it was her.

"Geez, Major. We're all gonna have to give our own idea of events in the end, so make sure you're in here when you're done..."sighed again, and turned back into the room, taking his seat again, looking at Houka.

"I'm glad somebody I can talk to is here. But it seems you have something you wish to speak about. So go ahead, I won't stop ya..." He sniggered, and leant back in his chair, keeping one eye on the Brig Gen.

[Reila Tsukino]

Light gripped her softly, flashes of consciousness picking up through the recess of her mind. She heard a voice and immediately recognized it as Dai's. With awareness came pain that ebbed at her nerves and flowed throughout her entire body. Her shoulder hurt the most: a sharp, aching agony that brought her quickly to her senses. That was when she began to understand the words that Dai was speaking. Without thinking, she answered on instinct, "The reason for that is simple...that man..must be directly..connected with..the Fuhrer." Halfway through her sentence, she began to sit up with obvious effort. Reila then realized with surprise that she was on a hammock. It swayed with her struggles and a bewildered look entered her dull, golden eyes that squinted through the burning artificial light. What...on earth?! It was moving so much her head was beginning to spin--or maybe that was the blood loss. A tightness pulled her shoulder back and prevented the movement she had expected it to give her. Bandages...what? Without warning, that arm failed her efforts and she tumbled out of the overturned hammock, hitting the ground on her butt. She hissed slightly with pain and looked up at Dai, trying to see past it.

"Clothes," She ordered, tearing off her already shredded sleeve and tossing it away to the side with her mobile arm. Her uniform was stained a dark burgundy, stiff from the dried blood that covered every inch of it. ...And it was making her sick. All blood made her sick. She suspected it was some form of childhood trauma she couldn't get over. But nonetheless Reila had to cope with it. She turned to smile sweetly at Houka through the agony assailing her. "...and painkillers. Bring the whole bottle. ...please." Her smile vanished when she opened her eyes again to look at Dai who was now also covered in splashes of blood. Was it her's? "You too, new uniform. And your hands...you should..get the blood off?" Speaking in fragments helped her focus, though she hoped that they could at least understand what she was trying to get at. Really, what she really wanted to do was fly to her feet and act perfectly fine, find out all that happened, and praise them. Never before had she felt like she belonged than she did with her Briggs crew.

When she was alone with Dai, she visibly lost all of the energy she seemed to have and smiled nervously with a direct, unwavering look. "It's broken...isn't it..?"

[Guest]

Ilona, without any prompting from anyone decided to aid Reila seeing as she had nothing else to do. She went to the next room where the pain killers were being held and also found fresh uniform. She also bought a glass of water. Don't want too much pain killers. Ilona silently entered the room and gave Reila what she ordered.
"You're in no condition to move around like that.."Ilona said with concern, holding out her hand whilst the fresh uniform held in her arm, the pain killers and the glass of water on the table. She did not want anything else to happen but really it was because she had nothing else to do and ran out of cigerettes...She was going to have buy a new pack later...

[Dai]

Daigoro sighed at Reila's question, and nodded silently. Yeah, it was broken. And he wasn't going to lie to her, why should he? With a solemn smile, he spoke.

"I don't know how badly, but yeah, it's pretty much broken. You'll be out of action for a while." He smirked, and then watched Ilona come in from the other room with clothing and painkiller in her arms. So, that was how it was, huh? He smiled and nodded, before standing up, and walking over to the next room. There was no need to be in the same room if Reila was changing, Dai respected her too much for that.

"If you'll excuse me... Oh, and Houka? We'll talk back at Briggs. When it isn't so tense." He sighed, and pushed his way through the door into the room. He looked along the shelves, finding himself a uniform that fitted correctly. He sighed again, unbuttoned his shirt, and stripped off at his torso. He checked over his body for any gashes or wounds. Finding none, he walked over to the mirror, and turned on the tap, beginning to wash his hands, scrubbing the blood off his hands. It was harder than he thought, and he wondered if that was due to his own guilt.

His eyes narrowed as he began to recollect the events, yet again. Every second of the kill played back in his mind, and they were seconds he never wanted to remember. His eyes narrowed, and he closed his eyes tightly. The stone definitely needed to be either removed or hidden. Most likely hidden. He'd discuss it with Reila, and only Reila, later. Before he realised it, he was hunched over the sink. He grimaced, and scrubbed his hands even harder, the bloodstains finally receding. He smiled softly, and walked back to the uniform that he had found for himself. He grabbed the shirt, and slowly started to button it up over his slim torso, making sure that his hair was out of the way.

He sighed again, checking the trenchcoat that he'd pushed onto the floor. Pity - it had saved his life when he was forced to fight Tala, and now it was utterly destroyed. He closed his eyes and chuckled.

First my hair-cloth, then my trenchcoat. What next? My verdamm auto-mail? It seemed that every possesion of his was going up in smoke. With a sly grin, he finished suiting up in the uniform, and sat on the bench, shaking his head. He decided to wait for someone to come into the room, first. He needed some time to himself. A friendly voice was good and all, but he was beginning to appreciate the silence somewhat.

[Guest]

Houka Yochi walked into the room silently. She was surprised to see Major Ilona here when she had asked her to guard the prisoners. She shook her head. Hopefully the interrogation team would be enough though then again one of them was the infinity alchemist. Had they bound him so he couldn't use his alchemy to escape? No, they hadn't. "I fear I have made a mistake." she said quietly. "I left the prisoners in the hands of the interrogation team and Xanthus was likely still able to use his alchemy." She slumped down on a stool.

"I really suck at this leadership thing don't I?" she said half to herself. Daigoro had told her to wait till they got back to Briggs, which made sense. Right now they were in a difficult situation with South CIty. Right now they could of used the help of someone as powerful as Xanthus to start making repairs. "What do we do now Brigadier General?"

[Reila Tsukino]

Reila watched as Ilona entered the room and noticed that she was carrying painkillers, a clean military uniform, and water--how could she have forgotten to ask for water?! She rose from the floor quickly--maybe a little too quickly for an injured person--and straightened herself out. Leaning nonchalantly against the wall, she took the uniform handed to her and instantly began stripping. Blood-stained clothes were strewn about the Dai-less room. She struggled a bit with getting her shoulder out of her torn sleeve and decided to rip it instead. With annoyance, she noted that her bra was also completely covered in blood, and her skin was tainted a slight rouge color. Frowning, she changed into the fresh uniform anyway. Sometime in the near future she would take a long, boiling shower, but she had pressing matters to attend to first.

The brigadier general buttoned her last button with effort and bent to remove her sword from her abandoned military skirt. She hooked the leather belt with the sheath attached around the long, navy pants she now wore. She also had to clean the blood off that. And...her hair. Reila cringed, trying to picture what her hair must look like caked in blood. Ignoring that thought for the moment, she dove at the pain killers on the small, round table. This would hold her over until she got her shoulder stitched up and looked at. Dai's fateful words echoed in her head again and made her want to either cry or light Xan on fire again. Neither of which would solve anything. Reila had no idea how thirsty she was until the clear liquid hit her tongue. She swallowed all the pills allowed to her and downed the rest of the water. After a slight pause she turned to Ilona with a steady look in her eyes and a bright smile. "Thank you.." she exhaled, "..I really appreciate it."

When Houka began to speak, Reila listened without fail, giving the redheaded girl her complete attention. As she finished, Reila plopped down on her butt and unsheathed her sword, proceeding to clean the blood off with a full roll of paper towels she stole from the sink. She looked up from her work in deep thought, a grin gracing her lips. "Xan would have escaped regardless--I expected that. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt because of it." She nodded, her golden eyes holding warmth like the sun on a cool spring day. "No, you don't suck, Houka; you're just new at giving orders. Leadership, as you know, is something that not everyone can handle. The authority messes with their judgment, but I don't see that with you. People always must choose between their belief and their duty. I like to make it a bit more simple. Houka, you need only do what you feel is the right thing. Humans aren't always right...obviously. And the most time we make mistakes is when we are emotional, which is why a lot of people rid themselves of that powerful tool. That's not right, but it's also hard to keep in check. That is why I need you. And also the rest of Briggs." She smiled sweetly, sheathing her sword as she finished.

"This brings me to my next thought... Harbinger--or if I will--Ilona, I would like you to join us at Briggs. It seems...there are some openings... I can see you work well with Houka and Dai." She brightened slightly with amusement. "Hah, what do you say I go and get the gloomy one and then we wrap it up here? We leave for Briggs in the morning."

[Guest]

Ilona caught Houka's surprise but shrugged it off. She knew Xan would escape but did not want to go after him. There will be another time that they will capture him. But just not now. To Ilona, it was too much trouble. She straightened up abit when Reila addressed her and smiled when she asked to come to Briggs with them.
"May I ask Brigidier General..What position am I getting? Or..Am I taking Xan's former position?"She asked; if this was the case then it would be vey fun in Briggs indeed. Was going to have to move from the apartment quickly...Then kick a few people out, notify people and move stuff...

[Guest]

Houka had turned away when Reila began changing. Not because she thought Reila ugly or because she thought it was impolite to look, but because she didn't want to be tempted. When she heard the words from Reila she turned back to her saluted. Maybe she wasn't so bad at this sort of thing afterall or at least she wouldn't be in the future. She nodded calmly before speaking.

"Thank you Brigadier General." she stated with a smile. "Would you like me to arrange transport back to Briggs?" She looked at Ilona. Was she to be Xan's replacement or take some other much needed position. Afterall, Briggs was rather shorthanded at the moment. Either way they were gaining a powerful asset for defending the borders. "Congratulations Harbringer and welcome to the team." She didn't say what was on her mind: Yay another female at Briggs.

[Dai]

All it took was for Daigoro to hear that they would wrap it up here, and he was already standing up. No need to hang around much longer. He sighed, and looked up to the crumbling ceiling, noticing every single detail that littered the white plaster. He smiled, before looking back down, and turning on his heel to the double doors that lead to the main room of the complex. He put a hand on one of the doors, and peeked his head out, making sure that nobody was getting changed. Satisfied that it was safe, and pushed the door open further, and walked out into the room with a slight smirk on his face. He wasn't sure what he was smiling about, but hey, it was better than looking depressed.

With a sigh, he looked around at each of the Militants that stood in the room, and nodded to them, solemnly, before saying something that would've made most people think of him as, what was it these days, er, emo? Good thing it was in Ishvallan, then.

Zo̱í̱, e? Syzi̱tí̱ste gia malakíes..." He sighed, and turned to the Brigadier General. He was going to have to speak to her about the stone once they were back at Briggs. They needed to hide it, or something. Just getting rid of it, putting it in a safe place for now would be the safest option, as they had no current way of actually destroying the stone. He sighed again, before nodding to her.

"The sooner we get back North, the better. The warmth is starting to grow on me... Not a good idea for someone who lives in Briggs. That, and," Daigoro added in Aerugese, "We have unfinished business to take care of, huh?" He smiled softly, and walked towards the door, but stopping and turning back to the group.

"Uh... Not to sound, um, nit-picky and all, but where exactly are we staying?" He asked, blinking.

[Reila Tsukino]

"Hai," Reila nodded with a smile, "you'd be taking Xan's former position. I believe you are very suitable for the role..." She stood up with quite some effort, holding the wall as discreetly as she could. "Plus, we need another girl, ne?" And then she began to pace the room in thought until her eyes met Houka's once more. She stared at her for a moment and then began to looked excited. Her idea made a larger smile slip onto her blood-stained face. "Houka, yes, please do. I leave it in your hands. Also, I would like you to directly assist me along with your Scout duties. I like keeping the people I trust close to me and I hope you will benefit from it for the future." She bowed elegantly, but mid-way through, she jolted to the sound of a door opening. Her heart beat so quickly she had to physically prevent herself from grabbing her tachi and attacking whoever it was. No, those two weren't the only ones left on the planet; there were a ton of military men running all over the place still. And of course, Dai. But of course, he said something she couldn't understand at. all.

Reila pushed herself off from the wall and put both hands on her hips. At least her shoulder could obey that motion. She furrowed her eyebrows and pouted. "Dai, why on earth are you muttering to yourself in a language no one else can understand?" She listened to the rest of his words she could actually conprehend intently. Reila frowned and pranced over to him, getting close. She whispered, "I know," and then turned on her heal to face everyone. "There are showers intact at the old police station... Tonight we stay in...tents." She smirked. Briggs soldiers were tough, and she loved every moment of it.

[Guest]

Houka saluted. "As you wish Brigadier General." she stated before tuning in her radio. "This is Scout Houka of Fort Briggs. Requesting transport for the Briggs Brigade back to the fort leaving at dawn." she said into the radio. There was a reply that a vehicle or set of vehicles would be ready for them near the police station in the morning. "We have our ride. It will be at the Old Police Station at dawn." she explained. "Shall I request tents to be set up? I suggest with possible breakouts of people who might not be pleased that we set up a guard." She looked at Reila. "Or at least that no-one should spend the night alone." She was thinking of this for secuurity reasons, nothing more.

She looked at Ilona. "Looks like you'll outrank me then Harbringer. Oh well, I reckon you'll make a powerful leader." she said with a shrug. She winced in pain. What had she done to her shoulder and why hadn't she noticed it before. She had obviously been injured a bit when she was attacked by Xan and the damage had been increased to a painful level due to not treating it. "Seems like I got injured today too. If Xan hadn't caught me off guard I would of pounded him to a pulp." she said half to herself. She made a mental note to pound him next time she saw him.

[Guest]

Ilona bowed and smiled, thanking Reila for the position. Now she had move stuff, notify people, kick people and other stuff but she did not mind. Briggs seemed like it suited her. She was getting bored of Central anyway.
"The cold bitches of Briggs...That's going to stick for awhile don't you think?"She said with an amused look. Ilona adjusted her visors, surprised that not once did they fall off and she thanked god for it. She did not want anyone, besides some people who already knew, see her scars. At least not yet anyway. No one, maybe except Dai, knew she was blind.
As 2nd in command she was going to have too follow the general's shadow, watch her movement and everyone else's; be one step ahead of everyone else. That was her job now.

[Dai]

Daigoro nodded when Reila came close and said that she knew. And when she mentioned tents - he simply blinked. Tents? He'd seen them in some books, but never in real life... He simply stared at her as if she had said something foreign.

"Tents, ma'am? I've never -" He decided to shut his mouth from there, and went outside to attempt to set up said tents, before it got too dark. It was... easier than he thought, and he went back to the door to call everyone that it was ready. Rather than waiting for them, he decided to go in early and get some sleep... He climbed into his tent, and fell fast asleep.

---------------Time Shift----------------

Daigoro couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Zaska's body turning into a sea of blood. And that wasn't all. He saw other things too. There were times when it wasn't Zaska. There were times when he missed, and his attack hit the Brig Gen, instead. He couldn't scream, there were others in the tent next to him. He'd just have to walk it off. He sighed, and pushed his way out of the tent, before walking around, quietly. He was obviously tired, as he managed to snap a twig while he was at it... No matter... He found a rock that was overlooking South City, and sighed. So, that's what it had become, huh?

The crater appeared creepy from where Dai was sitting. Especially under the moonlight. But it was better than those images. What was it going to take? Was he going to have to let go? Maybe that was it... Maybe if he stopped feeling so guilty... But... Daigoro hung his head in shame.

[Reila Tsukino]

Reila beamed. She really loved Houka; it was as if everything she did was exactly what Reila expected of her. The long-haired girl couldn't hide the admiration shining through her bright-colored eyes. In fact, she felt as though through this mission, she had gained a younger sister. Of course, she didn't have enough confidence in herself as a person to share these thoughts with Houka, but still...it felt like family to her ...maybe because she never had one. Now, Ilona was different. Ilona was strong and in control. She seemed like the kind of person that wouldn't do anything unless she wanted to. Reila enjoyed that aspect of her; it would certainly do her well in Briggs. Reila was surprised the white-haired alchemist wasn't already at Briggs seeing as it fit her so well. It was all very inspiring.

"Thank you, Houka. Sounds good." She patted her on the arm with a look of determination that soon turned to that of surprise. "Ah! So we're both injured?!" She bent down closer, her face inches from the redhead's hurt shoulder. "It seems both our shoulders are worse for wear, ne?" She smiled, "And don't worry about Xan; he's still on our side. He's just hard to understand. I'll make sure we get that looked at." Then she smirked, her sharp eyes flitting to Ilona with a shrill laugh. "Hah! Right. I like that; fits us well for sure!"

---------------Time Shift----------------

Reila reached out to touch the dead grass, running her tired fingers over their sharp edges. She opened her eyes and watched the stars, scanning the pictures that fell down to reflect in her eyes. The moon was so bright tonight... maybe that was also what was preventing her from sleeping. She had taken a shower earlier, and it had been one of the most painful experiences of her life. Water always burned fresh wounds, but this time it felt like it was lighting it on fire. But still...anything that touched her shoulder sent jagged pain through her whole body. It seemed to ache more now that the hot water had touched it. Luckily, when Reila put a new bra on, she made sure to transfer the stone over for safe-keeping. Her long hair fell in slight waves from the humidity in the air that wasn't found at Briggs. She could smell the light scent of her shampoo and smiled with pleasure. Being clean was a glorious thing; she no longer felt grimy and sticky... it was like paradise. ...Except for the long pants.

Suddenly a twig snapped and she turned her head quickly, not moving from where she lay on her back. In case it was an enemy, she did not want to be discovered. But...what enemies would be found in a destroyed city? The only one they needed to find...was the person who did this, but Reila still suspected that it had back-fired on him--that he vanished with everyone else, leaving this forsaken object. It could heal her shoulder in less time it took to blink. She blinked through the darkness and watched as the figure sat down on a rock overlooking the crater whose edge she was laying on. "Dai...? Is that you?" It looked like red to her, that long hair of his she loved to torture him about. If she was wrong, she would just make a run for it back to her tent. Maybe she could force herself to sleep, but the extra painkillers she had taken after her shower were keeping her awake as strange as that sounded...

[Dai]

Hearing a familiar voice, Daigoro smiled. It was better than him being out here alone, that was for sure. He stood up again, and moved over to where he thought the voice was coming from, and noticed a figure laying on the ground. He blinked, and sat down next to it with a slight nod and a sigh.

"Who else could it be, huh? I don't think there's anyone awake for miles from where we're sitting. And I'm guessing, with you out here, that you couldn't sleep either?" He laughed soflty, and then kept going, not waiting for an answer.

"You know, ma'am, I've been thinking. When I left home in Central, three years ago now, the only goal in my mind was to becomme an Alchemist of the State..." He looked up at the moon, and smirked. He was being pretty open tonight, huh? "But now... after seeing everything that happened today, I've been thinking." His head went back down, and he looked into the eyes of the Brig Gen.

"I've always been told that making a promise to yourself is easier to keep if someone close to you makes the same promise to themselves." He smiled - Reila was one of the few people in this world he'd gotten close to... "And I... want to promise myself this one thing. Never to become a State Alchemist. I'll stay in the Military, but I'll never be more than an Alchemist Soldier. I could never do what they do. And I..." He looked deeper into Reila's eyes, if that was possible, "Want to know if you'd do the same..." Words over, he laid back onto the ground next to the Brigadier General, and stared at the stars above them.

I was going to wait for Briggs, but this seems like it was the perfect time... I guess I was right, after all... And something in his mind lightened, the guilt beginning to finally flow away from his troubled mind. It was... somehow soothing...

[Reila Tsukino]

Reila laughed, "I'm pretty sure there isn't anyone for miles here." She turned her head to look at his dark figure, her eyes almost glowing a brilliant gold from the reflection of the stars. When Dai continued to talk, she watched him, the cool air ruffling his hair and sending her's spiraling out around her slender form. She smiled slightly. Their eyes met through the moonlight and she quickly looked away; she didn't want him to see the soul that she knew always emanated from them. But as he continued, her eyes drew back to him, as if searching for something. If it was just a little brighter... It was like a magnet; she couldn't look away anymore.

"Dai..." She started, tenderness brimming from her voice. She took a breath as if about to speak, but shut her mouth. Reila sat up with some effort, throwing her hair back into the wind. She moved closer, slowly at first, and placed her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I would have already been a dog of the military if I didn't oppose it..." She smiled, turning her face into his shirt as sorrow lined the edges of her words. "When I was young... my parents tried to kill me. They almost succeeded if I hadn't managed to survive on my own. I was so young... If I was one of them--controlled, used... manipulated for murder--I would never be able to live with myself. We're...not like them. I..." She turned from his shoulder and looked straight at him directly. "I want to do what's right. And I think that's protecting people... not destroying them." She sighed and let herself fall back beside him. Reila stared at small wisps of clouds floating overhead. They looked almost purple in the night sky. She turned her head slightly. "You're with me, right?"

[Dai]

Daigoro smiled softly. At least... that meant he didn't have to get her to do something she didn't want to, and that meant less work for him. He looked at her, and nodded.

"If I wasn't with you, I don't know where I'd be..." He said, possibly meaning more than he said. With a soft chuckle, he moved a piece of hair behind his right ear, and looked over at the woman who was laying beside him. He smiled, there was something about the look in her golden eyes that calmed him down inside, even though she was supposed to be the cold superior of Briggs. He was really starting to think less about Zaska's death. With a soft smile, he closed his eyes. No more did he see the images of the chimera's death. Heh... His hair made a good bed - he was really gonna have to wash it back at Briggs, the shower he'd had earlier hadn't been enough...

Instead, they were replaced with images of his own history. Those days he spent stuck in that basement, learning Amestrian and Alchemy. His 'father' had made sure of it, made sure that every waking hour was spent studying. Daigoro never got those seventeen years to himself, just to his studies. He sighed, opened his eyes again, and looked back over at Reila, still partly mesmerized by her eyes in this light.

"Tools of murder... That's what State Alchemists are. And I spent three years wanting to be one, just to impress my so-called father, who had died after an argument with me. Even... if they tried to kill you, you still had the oppurtunity of knowing your parents. Mine left me alone after I was born, for all I know I could be something completely different these days... And, well, you know what? I'm glad that things turned out like this." He smiled, closing his eyes again, and laying back on the ground, calmed.

His thoughts turned to the stone, but he pushed them away, not wanting to ruin this moment that they were sharing. He imagined that Reila rarely opened up to people, and he was beginning to feel, well, honoured.

[Guest]

Houka laughed at Ilona's comment, which was strange for her as she wasn't really the laughing kind. Before she could radio to have the tents set up though Daigoro had already done it. She shrugged, which again was painful. She was really going to have to remember not to do that till her shoulder was healed. She entered the tent when the others did and collapsed onto a sleeping bag, her sword laid next to her incase she was disturbed.

-----Time Shift----

Houka slept rather well, but awoke when she heard others moving. She sat up gently and began to think to herself. She had never really spoken to Xanthus before today so had not become attached to him, but if the same happened to Daigoro or Reila she didn't know what she would do. She really liked them both and enjoyed their company and leadership. Ilona was going to be a new one to the group, but her humour made for a good way of getting to know her. That just left the other members at Briggs. Briggs really was like a family to her though she still had her parents. They wanted her to become as best as she could be. Her goal had been to become a state alchemist and use the research money to find ways to improve her flame transmutation circle. She particularly wanted to make it immune to the rain somehow. Yet now she didn't see much point in following that goal. She was a member of Briggs and doing well there. It would be interesting to see how life went from now.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar woke in the hospital, the last thing he remembered was running outside and gunning down enemies with a small squad of troops. An explosion happened and knocked him to the ground. He sat up and nearly fell back over, he looked straight down at his bandages. His entire left side was being held together by bandages. It looked like a dozen pieces of shrapnel had slammed into him and nearly killed him.

He got off the bed and nearly dropped straight down before picking up what was his prior dress clothes off the bed. After looking around it seemed as if he was sectioned off in a specific tent so he wouldn't be disturbed. He gritted his teeth as he put his clothes back on and was fairly irritated that he couldn't button his jacket up. The bandage was too large and wouldn't let it close. He decided to forgo even making him look like he blended in.

Before walking outside he gathered his will up before walking straight out, he decided to head for the intelligence tent which was obvious to his experienced eyes.

-----Time Skip----

He just walked out of the tent some time later after reading all the reports and debriefs, the soldiers there seemed to not mind him there so long as he let himself look like what he felt like. He staggered over to the side of a tent just out of sight before dropping to his knees and puking over the ground. There wasn't much to puke since he hadn't eaten in a while.

He barely got himself to stand and was wavering, he was going to drop again sometime. His thoughts were a hail storm of ice cold fury, I missed all of that!? That answers the question of what happened when I was out, but not the prior questions of the transmutation circles results and such. This is just fantastic! Icarus is now an enemy of briggs, which makes him indirectly a temporary enemy of mine. Why does everything I touch turn to shit and die?

Negative thoughts overtook his mind, nothing was good. Nothing, he wasn't worth much. He had nearly died in a skirmish, to top it off he was more experienced than most of the soldiers that were stationed there. He was halfway useless, on top of that he'd have at least a few weeks of healing. He decided to just handle his current pain without medication. It seemed appropriate to him, that and see if he could find a way to get more powerful while getting more answers.

[Reila Tsukino]

That was all she needed to hear. She sat up while radiating the happiness she suddenly felt. She gathered her hair from the grass and began twirling it as she listened to his next words. Her emotions visibly changed and she looked down, her hands in her lap. "Ah, ...I wish I hadn't known my parents. But..." She tried to abate the sudden sorrow she felt and smiled through it. "...I'm also glad things turned out like this. My father was the emperor of Aurego. ...and I was his first born child. If they hadn't left me to die, I may be a completely different person right now. I would never trade it." Reila grinned, "Briggs is where we belong now, ne?"

She looked off into the distance, silver light dancing over the desolate crater. The brigadier general sighed and put a hand to her chest. "When we return to Briggs, we will figure out what to do with the stone, together." Then swiftly, she rose to her feet, smiling broadly. "Now, go to sleep. That's an order. I'll need you tomorrow." Reila walked off with a wave, heading back to her tent as quietly as she could. "Good night."

---------------Time Shift----------------

Reila had woke up relatively late. She still didn't know whether all the preparations were made for their departure or not. Honestly, she didn't mind either way as long as they left before nightfall. She figured she wouldn't complain, seeing as they really needed a break. She grabbed a blueberry pop tart from the supplies room and was chewing on it when a couple thoughts entered her mind. She hadn't heard from Mura in a while... and a lot of her men were scattered all over the place. Reila really had to gather them together so they could leave... She sighed, running a hand through her silky hair. Somehow she still felt dirty...tainted with that man's blood. The memories sent chills down her spine, but evoked determination nonetheless. That's right! First thing's first. She had to find Mura.

Under the mid-morning sun, she located the intelligence tent where she fathomed Mura would be. Of course, he wasn't there. All was not lost when one of the men motioned in the direction he had gone, and off she went. She traveled carefully as to not exert herself, but she needed to talk to him and that fueled her step. When she found him, she saw his light-colored hair first and then...the bandages. She gasped and almost fell backwards from the shock. Instead, she flitted to his side, getting abnormally close. Her golden eyes filled with worry, but she stared at him directly with authority. "Shit, Mura... how bad is it...?" She was really glad she had worn long sleeves to cover her own bandages, making it nearly impossible for someone to tell that her shoulder was broken and still bleeding. It seemed that when the head of intelligence went down, no one got informed of anything. She was pissed. "I had no idea." She frowned and put her hands on her hips. "I wanted to tell you that we're returning to Briggs shortly..." She decided not to mention the questions she was going to ask him; Reila could save that for when half his body wasn't being held together by bandages.

[Guest]

Houka had returned to sleep and woke up at dawn. She expected the transportation to be ready, but expected the Briggs Brigade not to be. She moved swiftly to the transport finding they had a jeep and a small truck both military style. The jeep had plenty of seats and would be for the commanding officers Reila, Daigoro, Murazar and Ilona. She would take the truck and travel with the equipment and lower ranked troops. Afterall, she was the lowest ranked of the Briggs Brigade being a Sergeant and a Scout. She ordered the truck to be loaded up ready for departure at any time and then headed to the medical tent to get her shoulder looked at.

---------------Time Shift----------------

She left the hospital a few hours with her shoulder bandaged tightly which made it difficult for her to move her arm. Unfortunately, it was her primary sword arm, but fortunately she was able to use her other arm quite well. She changed her radio frequency to Reila's. "Brigadier General we have a truck and a jeep ready to roll whenever you are. There is enough room in the jeep for a driver, Daigoro, Ilona, Murazar and yourself." she stated calmly. "I will ride in the truck with the equipment and lower ranked troops. Afterall, they will need an officer with them should something happen. " She then sat down on the bonnet of the truck and waited relaxing and trying not to move her shoulder too much.

[Guest]

Ilona did not mind sleeping in the tent, she slept in worst places before she was even 16. But not wanting to be plagued with such nightmares again, decided to go back to sleep. Or at least try to.....

---------------Time Shift----------------
Ilona yawned and managed to crawl out of the tent. Because she was blind, seeing constant darkness made her sleepy and hard to wake up. But that didn't mean she did not sleep with one eye open. Ilona was taught and slept like that for half her life; it's hard breaking some habits. Like her gun obession was one.
Ilona muttered a good morning and sat down on the jeep, rememebering the day's events in the South and remembered that she was now 2nd in command of Briggs. Sometime she was going to have to go back to Central to move and pack all her stuff...
"What a drag..."She said tiredly, popping out a black cigerette with a gold band around it, Ark Royale, lit and smoked it..

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