An Amestrian Abode to the Dead

[Guest]

Patches of white fluff hung from the overcast skies, as piercing beams of the sun's splendor shined upon the Earth. The ever so dreary and bloodied Earth, where life ends as well as life begins. Humanity's own progression requiring sacrifices, yet for such vast numbers killed, they were but a statistic. Nothing more than a number in the sheet to observe. The many parents, daughters, sons, nieces and nephews, whomever related by blood they be, share not such a sentiment to the otherwise robotic and dispassionate Colonel.

Stony slabs were arrayed in such neat rows, with names and a date fixated upon them, as well as many offerings. The lateness of such a tiding, the graveyard swelled with vast numbers filling the ranks of the dead. Wasted and whittled away in droves, for such a mockery of human life perversity of Amestris, a nation in action, had taken to make it so. For such a great number given, was there ever an equivalent exchange for the blood? A Utopia is best deserved, yet denied by the cruel fates much to the lamentation of mortals, generally speaking.

Two caskets of fine polished wood were near another in flank yet to be sunken into the buriel hole, adorned by men and women in military uniforms. Nikolaus took fancy towards facing Kallie's grave rather than Josef, one who was killed brutally from an Aerugese general of great renown and enigmatic mystery. That Kallie was a mighty strange girl, looking down upon it with a reflective gaze. Robbed of her by another, a young one, to die past her life's expected expiration. Was it appropriate to feel that much sorrow as a parent? To bask within a melancholy in this disgustingly cheerful setting that the sun mocked them with?

Nay.

There lingered no pity nor sadness. Only a piqued curiosity. One that floundered in a rather harsh thought, "Her death made so much more in war, bah. So much for Equivalent Exchange."

"I never knew Kallie that much, some say I was a distant father..." The Colonel of black and gold says, clutching unto that face-down grounded saber, his right handed fingers latching to the pommel, "That was true, she never gained my attention in life, that she did so in death. But those moments up to her death... she has made a vast impact to the world. Her sacrifice saved us all from a doom had we been ignorant."

A final gift from her Father, Nikolaus, was laid neatly aligned to the top of the Amestrian flag draped coffin, a golden cross with the emblem of a lion and a bugle. "I bestow upon her, for outstanding service to the Amestrian military, the brave dedication of revealing a treacherous enemy's plot, to Kallie. Nikolaus. Stuka, the Golden Cross of Valour, and a posthumous promotion to Major."

His heels clicked, puffing up his chests, with the side of his hand brought to his temple in a proud salute. A salute to Kallie. No, to Major Kallie Stuka. Not just a daughter, but also a damn fine soldier under his command.

"You... will be missed, my daughter. You have done your father proud."

[Nyx]

From the trees, overshadowing the graveyard below, a lone figure was hidden in the branches above. Hild and Aurel hadn't been informed of this mission, but Nyx had been planning it for a while. In fact, nobody knew she was in Amestris at all. Nyx had come from Drachma, taken the long route to Amestris, and managed to sneak her way into Central. She was small, and even in Amestris, her face was not known well. Therefore, she got by on a few disguises and many back alleys. But now that she was here, she had completed her mission; part of it, anyways.

Now she cast her mouyrnful eyes upon Kallie's casket. Today, unlike any other, was a day of saddness, not the eternal cheer that Nyx tended to feel. Today was a day of many emotions. Amestris was sad, sad that such a hopeful girl had died so horribly. Sad that the other fellow, beside her, had been so wrongly murdered, by someone Nyx knew not of. Angry at her for killing Ms. Kal, and angry at the other man for killing the guy in the casket. Sympathetic for poor Nicky, who's daughter she had unwittingly killed.

It was all in self-defense, at first. Kallie attacked Nyx on the street, which was against military conduct. Even to a terrorist as Nyx, a militant has to either kill them in action, or take them to prison on their charges. Kallie decided to perform an execution alone, and by playing the hands of judge and jury, she had fallen. Originally, Nyx planned not to kill her. But she fell on her knife, poor, stupid, heart-breakingly dead girl. There would have been no time for paramedics to save her. She would have suffered until she finally died. It was a mercy killing, not cold blooded murder. Instead of half an hour of pain, Nyx gave her fifteen seconds of it, until the pain went away forever. She was in a better place, poor naive thing she was.

Even so, nobody could ever know the truth. To everyone but Nyx herself, Kallie Stuka was slain in cold-blooded murder. Nyx had been mad at Amestris, so she thought it would be funny to stab a poor soldier in the stomach. To stab her in the stomach and bleed her out a bit, before finally putting an arrow in her throat. Nice gag, eh? Hilarious. An outrage from Amestris, and Nyx was hated, possibly more than Aurel and Hild. If her story had been told, she would still be hated. Nobopdy gained anything from the truth. Besides, Nyx had taken everything from Kallie, and she would not take from her the only worldly possession she had remaining; her legacy. Until the end of time, Kallie Stuka would be a hero to Amestris, and the tales of her sacrificial martyrey would go down in the books. Nyx refused to even slightly harm her legacy. She wanted the memory of Kallie Stuka to be as pure in the minds of hearts of many as it was in her own mind and heart. She was a smart girl. She figured out Nyx's secret, and she'd arranged to meet with her. But anger took her life, when she fell upon her knife.

Nyx listened to Niko's speech, and she cried. It broke her heart, to be honest. She had killed before, but war was different. She'd killed only one person from off of the streets, and that fact was taking its toll. Regret and guilt were circulating in her veins, where blood should be flowing. She felt guilt especially that she had caused this intense grief in her friend's heart. She hadn't known he even had a daughter until Kallie revealed the fact to her. That, in itself, broke her heart even more; Kallie had been jealous of Nyx's friendship with her father. It was a relationship with Nikolaus that his own daughter didn't share, and Nyx felt the utmost grief for that fact alone. Poor girl...

As Niko finished speaking, Nyx took from her pocket a small cell phone. She had one more goal before she could call this mission complete; She wanted to tell Niko that she was sorry. It was not only risky, it was borderline suicidal. He could so easily cut her throat or put a bullet in her, but Nyx didn't care. It wasn't fun, it was neccesary. So she sent a text to him;

Come to the tree in the east,
and come alone,
For it is one I seek;
If more, I'll be gone.

Now it was only to wait. Nyx needed to meet with him, confidentially, and this was a longshot at best. Thankfully, as an archer, Nyx knew all about longshots. Looking not to the casket, but the sky, Nyx whispered softly, "Ms. Kal, I'm very sorry for what I did. Please don't let Nicky be mad. Give him so guidance, and let me talk to him. I have to let him know your last words, or at least, a better version of them. Thanks Ms. Kal. Or actually, Major Ms. Kal." Her quiet wish ended, and she then awaited Niko's arrival behind the great tree, out of sight of anyone else.

[Guest]

Upon a given command, Makoto found himself in the road. The road to Amestris. That country that once was mighty and maybe again will. His visit purpose is pretty simple yet complex but whatever his quest is, it will begin somewhere else.

For this visit whiich he hopes to be short. He chose to be clad in black for it was never a good idea to be wearing his uniform in the grounds of an old enemy. With an elite leather coat and pants and woolly pull-over like that one of Adam Jensen. He found himself treading through the streets of the central city carrying his beloved blade hidden and disguised in black sheets of cloth and fatefully in his searching path of an informant he stumbled upon a funeral. What really piqued his interest was how the sun was strange in Amestris than that of Aerugo. Indeed a beautiful scene, but it will never win over the holy unison of light and Sakura blossoms for those who seek the generous refuge of warmth offered under the simple but elegant Sakura tree by that comun of light and shades and more further be entertained by their masterful play and dance within the tree's domain of green verdant grass and flowers.

But there is disparity and distinction between the two situations. Here the sun was mourning. There the sun was celebrating the beauty of Aerugo. And after all that only reflected Makoto's faithful affection and devotion to his homeland and that can be seen from hi unexpressed opinion.

He closed his distance to be greeted by the mourning of a father over his child and though Makoto thought less about non-Aerugese. He found that such emotions must be respected and the dead should be more and more respected.

He raised his hand like a Buddhist monk in act of reverence but he didn't offer words for sometimes silence is the best way to covey oneself feelings. And unknown to him, the father thought that the murderer is non-other an Aerugese general. And unknown to him too that in this burying mound that the dead and reason behind and eventually the cause of death was non-other than a girl who payed some words of respect in the honor of the major who is soon going to be buried. Indeed, such is the twist of fate.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar walked a dead slow speed, his face was in true mourning. The dead spoke in his head, they screamed in agony. The memories of all he killed or those he had stolen had killed were flashing by his eyes in the background. Ghosts filled his minds eye. He sighed as he stepped in next to Niko as his words finished. Murazar gloomily stared at the graves surrounding them. He clicked his heels together in the position of attention and saluted.

Something he had never done before, ever. He dropped his salute and relaxed his position before speaking. His voice sounded only like a shadow of its former self. He literally sounded like an ancient old man that had withered through too many battles and survived too many odds."May the lives of these soldiers and warriors rest. May their souls find the afterlife they are looking for. May their deeds go not unnoticed and their rewards be given now that they have earned them beyond any price normally paid. "

He bent a knee in respect to Kallys grave, the grave of one of many and whispered in a long dead language."Requiescat en Pace." He stood up and looked towards niko. Ghosts surrounded them, Gurthang at his waist was laughing so loud it was splitting his head open. He tightened his white overcoat and tipped his white fedora hat to Niko. He wore all white today. With the menacing Gurthang and his obvious alchemical symbols and menacing aura he seemed like death itself.

This time he had changed his appearance. Rather drastically by most peoples terms actually, he guessed niko would realize it but no one else. He kept a discreet eye on everyone as he pulled out his white gloves to cover up his alchemical symbols. He might as well go through with it completely.

[Guest]

She shifted slightly, saluting to yet another grave with a soldier’s parents. This… This isn’t what she joined the military for. All this death, this destruction… Someone else could handle the aftermath. That was someone else’s job. She was just going through the motions by this point, just trying to get this done as quickly as society would accept.

Yes, it was a tragedy. Yes, he died for his country. Yes, it was worth it. Yes, his parents should be proud.

One last salute, and she turned on her heels, making her way through the graveyard. That should have been the last person she had to do that for. Thank god. Now she could get out of this dress uniform and…

”I never knew Kallie that much, some say I was a distant father..." Wait, that voice… Stuka? ”… Her sacrifice saved us all from a doom had we been ignorant…” Oh, so that was… That made sense.

Isabella stood quietly, listening. It was weird, seeing him like this. Was that… sorrow? From Stuka? ”You... will be missed, my daughter. You have done your father proud."

Taking soft steps, she walks up to Nikolaus, giving a quick salute to the grave. ”Stuka, I’m so sorry for your loss,” she says, unsure of what to do. What did normal people do? Hug? Pat on the back? A gentle rub of the shoulder? Fuck, she hated funerals. ”I… I don’t know what to tell you, Stuka. You’ve probably heard it already anyway. Wouldn’t want to waste your time anyway.” Standing there awkwardly for a few moments, she hears a cell phone go off. ”I think someone’s trying to contact you,” she quickly says, shifting away from him a step to give him some space. Hopefully, this would be over soon. For her sake, and for his.

[Dai]

B U M P

[Guest]

After him another two came. Two Amesterian militants. The male seemed high-ranked...he gave Makoto the vibes. A chill in the spine he felt. The man in white said his own words of respect and mumbled a line of prayer or that what Makoto thought since he didn't understand that he said. And his blade, what kind of blade is this ? How he can he fight with it in battle ?

The other militant was a hot chick who knew the man who mourned his daughter who crossed the veil between the world of the living and that other of the dead. She casually called him by the name of 'Stuka'. She called him by his own name so they probably know each other. All the people knew each other except him...he was out of the loop.

Not only that, he is an Aerugese on Amesterian soil. And the relations between the two nations were not really that great and he praised the maker that the Aerugese and the Xingese really looked alike.

He paid his respects and it was time to move on. He had a criminal to catch, the faster he apprehends him means the lesser time he will stay in Amestris means the better for him.

So...he retreated quietly from the scene. He has somethings to do.

-Exit-

[Reila Tsukino]

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