straightas-arainbow

Three days after the major general's approval, Karla woke in the barracks of the fortress. The girl's excitement still hadn't left her, even after the 72 hours she'd had to reflect on the recent occurrence. She was actually looking forward to her work, something she had never before done, which was quite the interesting feeling for her. Now, just what in the world would she be doing today? Armstrong had had her doing little things, such as running around the base delivering things to other soldiers; basically being a little handmaiden to everyone the major general had decided on which to assign her. She had gotten dressed as she mused on the

It had been three days Karla had been waiting, and there still had been no response from the major general. All her orders had come from Major Miles, and she had carried them out as directed. Even though they were little things, such as keeping the fortress in top shape and delivering orders to the lower-ranking soldiers, she followed them as accurately as possible, and she was currently playing the role of dutiful servant. Now, she was outside, her back resting against one of the walls of the mighty fortress. Her arms were crossed against her chest, and some strands of hair were fluttering into her eyes as they were blown by the wind. Snow

Karla stood in the lower levels of the Briggs fortress. The words of the major general still rang through her head, and she was getting more and more frustrated every time she thought about them. Olivier Armstrong was so focused on the fact that Karla was Drachman and an alchemist... She didn't seem to care about the fact that half of the girl was also Amestrian, a point that Karla had tried to drive forward and impress on her. Once again, she was being analyzed on the way she looked... As far as Karla knew, Colonel Mustang had lied to her. Less focused on racism in Briggs? If this was less focused, she would hate to see how other stations of

The next day, the sun shone brightly. It was the day that Karla was leaving for Fort Briggs, and she was nothing short of nervous. At least it would be colder there than down here, which was something she was used to, but that wasn't much comfort. Colonel Mustang had told her that she needed to make a good first impression on her commanding officer, Major General Armstrong, which sounded rather ominous to her. Of course, she figured that officers were strict, especially when they had underlings, but Armstrong sounded just frightening. She could imagine him practically beating her within an inch of her life if she angered him... She sighed. Cr

The next morning found Karla in a cafe. Last night, while looking for a place to stay, she'd met Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, an officer stationed at Central. He had a wife, Gracia, and a daughter, Elicia, whose pictures he seemed to love to show off to anyone he met. He was very adoring of his family, and Karla had experienced his caring personality firsthand. The lieutenant colonel had insisted on Karla staying the night at his house once he'd had a conversation with her, and even though she had politely refused several times, saying that she didn't want to put him through any trouble, he had eventually convinced her to stay. Gracia Hugh

"Holy hell, this place is huge," Karla mumbled to herself, gazing at all the tall buildings in awe. She'd never been in a place so huge... Not even North City was this big! A car horn suddenly sounded, and she jumped backwards out of the road just in time to see a small car drive past her. "Stay out of the road!" its driver yelled at her, speeding up to drive away. Karla rolled her eyes, starting to walk on the sidewalk instead. She needed to find Central Headquarters... Where in the world was it, though? All these buildings, all the crowded streets... Central City so far was large and slightly intimidating, and she figured that it wouldn't

Karla Chernikova sat at the train station. Against her mother's wishes, she was traveling to Central City, intent on joining the military as a state alchemist. She was seventeen, and she considered herself a bit of a prodigy. She'd developed her own style of alchemy when she was fifteen, and it involved the use of her own blood. Her alchemy was quite risky to use, she'd realized; if she used too much of her blood she ran the risk of passing out or even dying. She'd had a couple of close calls when she was first practicing it, but she figured after two years she mostly knew what she could handle now. Her mother strongly disapproved of alchemy,

It was a peaceful night in Virnikov. The fourteen-year-old was asleep in her bed, her parents in the next room. It was quiet, just as always. Suddenly, a powerful knock sounded at the door. The red-haired, pale-skinned man looked over to his wife, whose blue eyes looked nervously back. They both knew one thing: They'd come. He hadn't completed his citizenship application on time; he hadn't been able to get down to Central to turn it in. His family was poor; they just couldn't afford the trip... but there had been no leniency. Now, they were here to reclaim him. The door slammed open with a crash that shook the house, and the girl shot up in