Canon Review! (part one)

[firebornfidelis]

Ahh, canon review. You’d think for a secondary character a canon review would be fairly short. But no. This one is not. Oh ho ho, no. I’ll warn anyone listening that this canon review is mostly a dull blow-by-blow of the events of the manga as they relate to Riza Hawkeye with a lot of direct quotes and paraphrases. There are a few speculations and conclusions I’ve drawn here and there (mostly around the more major events of her life) but it’s largely a summation of the text and is therefore boring. It’s mostly for my own reference, so that I have a list of EVERYTHING EVER that I could possibly need to play Riza Hawkeye accurately. Oh, and due to my slight obsession with detail, SAY HELLO TO THE MINUTIA. But you know, they say that God is in the details. Or Riza is, in my case.

BUT FIRST, have a timeline.



Again, this is for my own use. The years of Riza’s father’s birth and death, as well as the year of Mustang’s birth, the start of the war in Ishbal and then the Ishbal massacre, and the Promised Day are all taken out of the source material. I extrapolated everything else. Going on the assumption that the Amestrian Military Academy is a four year institution that takes students as no younger than 17 and that both Riza and Roy enrolled at that age, I was able to backtrack from the Ishbal massacre (which would have been during Riza’s last year at the academy) to land on 1888 as the year of her birth. The year when Riza’s mother died, when Berthold Hawkeye took Roy Mustang on as an apprentice, and when Master Hawkeye tattooed Riza with the knowledge of flame alchemy were impossible to know for sure, so I took guesses at them based on clues in canon.

Speaking of canon, on to the review!



Manga

Chapter 4: Battle on the Train
7 Frames – 4 lines

Page 5-6: Her first appearance. Comes in behind Mustang carrying the manifesto from the terrorists on the train. She offers to read it to him, he makes a sarcastic guess as to his contents and she replies “How’d you know?” Though it is short, her first appearance shows immediately two things – first that she is ever shadowing Mustang, and second that she is not completely lacking a sense of humor.

Page 35: She appears again standing behind Mustang. As he and Ed snark at each other, she and Alphonse bow and politely greet each other.

Page 37: She draws her weapon and tells the Colonel to stay back, but is shushed by him as he informs her that he can handle it. This is the hint at her general determination of protecting Mustang at all times.

Chapter 5: The Alchemist’s Suffering
5 Frames – 2 Lines

Page 32-34: Her comment on the Tucker situation is that it was “the work of the devil.” This is an interesting reaction partially because, though Nina Tucker’s case is far more severe than her own, still Shou Tucker’s use of his daughter as an alchemic guinea pig is not far away in spirit from what Riza’s own father did to her, though in her case she was ‘transmuted’ into a research journal rather than a chimera. The strength of her statement seems to suggest both that she lacks some self-awareness on the subject of her own abuse and that she feels the injustice of Nina’s case deeply.

Between her and the Colonel, she is the only one to actually look at the mourning boys as they pass. While the Colonel makes a point of looking away from Edward (the assumption being that he is denying Ed the crutch of reading his reactions) she stops on a stair above and looks at them. Her expression is largely left open, but it seems she does have a concern for them, and she glances at them again as she passes down the stairs. She also points out that, although Edward has taken on a lot of adult responsibilities, he is still a child and the logic of an adult is still sometimes beyond him. Considering some of the things revealed about her as the story goes on, I feel this statement also applies somewhat to herself, though she is not necessarily self aware enough to realize. More on this later.


Chapter 6: The Right Hand of Destruction
8 Frames – 12 Lines

Page 7-9: She catches Edward and Alphonse at headquarters early in the morning. When asked by Ed what will happen to the Tuckers, she answers them in complete honesty despite her earlier assertion that they are still children. The first example of her unfiltered honesty. She tells them that Tucker was meant to be tried for his crimes but that both of them were murdered before it could happen. When asked by the boys to allow them to come along to the scene (where she is headed), she refuses, saying that “It’s better that you don’t see.” She is very black and white about it (as with a lot of things), telling them truthfully but protecting them from a sight she knows will haunt them.

Chapter 7: After the Rain
20 Frames – 9 Lines

Page 6-11: She appears, as per usual, standing behind the Colonel and holding a gun. It’s like her trademark. When, despite the rain, the Colonel tosses her his gun, she shouts at him. She remembers what his big-headedness made him forget – that wet gloves can’t make a spark. But he’s not listening, and he once again tells her to keep out of it. When he advances on Scar, she kicks his legs out from under him to make Scar’s attack go over his head and immediately opens fire (with both her gun and the Colonel’s) on Scar. She waits for no order or clearance to perform either of these acts. When asked by the still-oblivious Colonel why she acted, she informs him in her customary matter-of-fact way that “You’re useless on rainy days,” and that he should be the one to stand back. He doesn’t protest this or reprimand her for taking action without clearance or orders, which goes to show a little of the flavor of their relationship. Insubordination in Hawkeye and Hawkeye only is tolerated by the Colonel.

Page 13: Her face takes on quite a displeased/exasperated look in reaction to Major Armstrong’s unnecessarily grand entrance.

Page 22-23: Armstrong corners Scar but then backs away, leaving Hawkeye the opening to fire her rifle at him. She clearly aims for his head and, though she states that Scar is “fast” her bullet still goes through one of the lenses of his glasses and grazes his head.

Page 31: She kneels on the ground by Ed and Al, both of them broken, and gives Edward her jacket to protect him from the rain. She does this without a word or an acknowledgement and with an interested, almost affectionate look on her face. Her thoughts are first for the boys and she acts as a caretaker when they have no other, like a mother she offers the garment keeping her dry in order that Ed shouldn’t get cold.

Page 37-38: She is the one to point out the fact that if Edward can’t use his alchemy he’s just a kid (with the assumption that he’ll need some kind of protection until his arm is fixed.) She agrees very matter-of-factly to all the insulting conclusions drawn about Ed by the other men, showing that, though she does care about him she won’t deny the truth of the situation (and she has a bit of a dry sense of humor).

Chapter 8: The Road of Hope
5 Frames – 6 Lines

Page 4-6: She is the one to rationalize with Edward (using the full name “Edward” rather than Ed, as always) about needing a bodyguard because he’s defenseless without his alchemy. But she declares herself incapable of taking the job due to her duties “babysitting the Colonel” and “keeping him in line” (rather than the response her fellow soldiers give of thinking themselves unable to protect him from someone that dangerous – she’s not afraid or unconfident, but her priorities are elsewhere).

Chapter 10: The Philospher’s Stone
5 Frames – 1 Line

Page 8-10: Along with Havoc, she’s following the Colonel. General Hakuro gives him a bit of a dressing-down for not having captured Scar yet, and he reacts (once the Gen is gone) by saying, basically, he is going to be fuhrer in the future. Riza, with quite an indulgent look on her face, merely says “It may be wise to refrain from such rash statements.”

Chapter 11: The Two Guardians
2 Frames – 4 Lines

Page 8: She pulls Scar’s jacket out of the river, sure that it is his. She asserts that, even if he is alive, he can’t be in very good shape considering the amount of blood he seems to have lost.

Chapter 14: An Only Child’s Feelings
2 Frames – 1 Line

Page 5-8: At work with the Colonel and the other members of the unit when Hughes calls. Hughes advises Roy to “Get a wife!” and Roy slams the phone down. Riza exasperatedly deadpans that he should be gentler when hanging up the phone.

Chapter 16: A Separate Path
16 Panels – 15 Lines

Page 14-16: After Hughes’ funeral, she comes to collect Mustang. She asks if he’s cold in this wind. He tells her that he can finally understand why the Elrics would try to transmute their mother. She asks him if he is all right. She doesn’t chastise him or judge, just shows her concern. He says “It looks like rain” and pulls on his hat, hiding his face. She doesn’t realize at first that he is crying, but then agrees to the weather with a simple “Yes, sir.”

Page 19-25: She brings Major Armstrong to talk to the Colonel. When the Major seems not to give any solid evidence, she apologizes. She then listens to the Colonel’s breakdown of everything he gleaned. Possibly because she customarily speaks in bald honesty herself, she expected the same from a man like Major Armstrong, and did not think that decoding would be necessary. When Roy then tells her that he’s going to be transferred to Central soon, she merely congratulates him, as if she’s not even expecting to be brought with him. He declares that he “won’t let this die” and she accuses him of being out of character by mixing business and personal matters. He says they are the same, and then tells her that he is going after the military command. He asks if she will help him and her response is “You know there’s no need to ask.”

Chapter 24: Fullmetal Alchemist
36 Panels – 30 Lines

Page 1-6: A young Second Lieutenant Hawkeye and Lt Colonel Mustang are riding in the back of a horse cart toward the Elric house. When he finds out that, though the paperwork says that Edward is 31 years old, he is actually only 11, he asks Hawkeye “what is the meaning of this?” Her response is dry and in character with her usual sense of humor, saying “It would appear that either this document came through a time vortex or someone made a grave error.”

When they finally enter the house and find that the boys are not there but bloodstained walls (which she touches, questioning) and a transmutation circle, they bust in over at Pinako’s house. The Colonel pushes past with a curt “Pardon me” and Riza stops to explain to Pinako that they are looking for the Elrics.

Page 11-18: Little Winry comes and offers her tea. Winry addresses her as “Lieutenant” but Riza insists that she just call her by her name. With a little smile, she offers a hand in greeting but Winry does not take it, instead asking if Riza has ever shot someone. And despite how she feels about her actions and how young Winry is, she answers truthfully, saying “I have. Many times.” Winry declares that she hates soldiers because they took her parents away and she doesn’t want Mustang to take Ed and Al, but Riza explains that, if they go, it will be because it was their choice. She confesses that she doesn’t like being a soldier either, knowing that she may have to kill because it is her duty. When Winry asks why, then, is she in the military, she answers “Because there’s someone I need to protect. It’s not something I’m being forced to do. It’s something I decided for myself. I pull the trigger by my own free will because I need to keep that person safe. Until the day that person reaches his goal, I will pull the trigger without hesitation.” The look in her eyes is determined but soft and she doesn’t look at Winry through her whole explanation. She says that the boys will know what place is right for them. The Lt Colonel comes out and says “Let’s go” and she stands, saying goodbye to the “little girl.” Winry offers her hand and her name and Riza takes both and expresses a hope to see her again.

Now back in the horse cart with Mustang, she asks if he thinks the boys will come. Judging from the look in Edward’s eyes, she thinks he is “beyond help.” It is something of a strange statement, particularly the use of the phrase “beyond help.” It is perhaps indicative of her own mindset. In the face of the terrible act that he has performed, she is not surprised that he, without a purpose, would crumble to depression. She feels the same way. Without her iron-clad purpose of protecting Mustang (with varying degrees of naiveté, blind determination and childish admiration, and adult assessment) she would crumble to the weight of all the things she has done. From here, and from earlier in their personal history, it is obvious that she is not only depended on by Roy for support, but she is dependent on him to supply her with a reason to live.

Page 38-39: Following the Colonel as he and Edward talk about the Alchemy Exam. Ed points out that Mustang was the only one present not to look worried when he pointed his spear at the Fuhrer, and Mustang turns to Riza saying “He’s got a point.” She sighs and tells him that he should at least try to act worried in situations like that. These are also the only pages where Hawkeye is seen in the process of growing her hair out, it’s middle length just reaching over her shoulders and not yet long enough to be tied up.

Chapter 25: Master and Apprentice
9 Frames – 2 Lines

Page 22-25: Mustang has a chess match with Lt General Grumman just before transferring to Central. Though Riza is not actually present in this scene it is at least a little relevant to her being that Grumman is her grandfather. She never speaks about him (or to him, in fact) in canon, most likely due to her private nature and to the fact that she stills feels a little distant from her eccentric grandfather because she wouldn’t have met him until she was already mostly grown up, but he seems to have some affection for her at least. He seems to be quite fond of Roy as well, and in their conversation he says “But what would really please this old man is you taking my granddaughter as your first lady.” He responds with “You’re jumping the gun, General,” but then proceeds to ask Grumman if he can take Hawkeye and his other subordinates with him to Central.

Page 30-31: At the firing range practicing with a rifle. The officer in charge of the range refers to her with some affection, calling her ‘Little Riza’ and commenting on her shooting being “better than good.” She responds by saying she still has a long way to go, though when her target sheet is shown you can see that she has hit it squarely in the head and chest, perfect shots. She makes the shot straight to the center of the head when the officer tells her that the Colonel’s transfer to Central has been confirmed and that he wants to see her. Her response, as per usual, is a curt “Yes, sir” as she clears the shell from the rifle.

Page 32-33: The Colonel addresses Fuery, Falman, Breda, Havoc and Hawkeye (who bows slightly at being named) and gives them their transfer orders to come with him to Central and declares he will hear no objections. When Havoc tries to explain that he’s just gotten a new girlfriend he really likes, the Colonel shoots him down, telling him to dump her, Hawkeye and the men comfort him with a pat on the shoulder as the Colonel laughs in the background.

Chapter 30: The Truth Inside the Armor
20 Frames – 13 Lines

Page 38-44: She is seen on one of her rare days off. She wears a neatly tailored jacket with a zipper and a high collar (an article of clothing that shows that her body is actually very shapely, something that cannot be seen in the uniform she is almost always wearing) over what is either a black dress or a black tank top and skirt with partially buttoned slits up the sides that go quite high up her thigh (to make her thigh holster easily accessible, as we find out shortly). Her hair is down, and that is one of the only things about her appearance that isn’t designed to be practical. The high collared jacket, aside from protecting her from the cold of the night, covers the tattoo that climbs her neck and, though it is tailored in such a way that does not allow her to wear her shoulder holster, her skirt, while being a plain and mostly conservative female fashion (when the slits are buttoned closed), serves practicality as well.

She is walking home from the grocery store, thinking that all she was able to do on her first day off since coming to Central was go shopping for the things she needed at home. Behind her, a cloaked figure emerges from a dark alley and warns her that it’s dangerous for her to be out alone “this late at night.” He offers to walk her home. She politely thanks him for the advice and turns down his offer. The giant knife the figure is carrying becomes visible as he says there are “lots of dangerous characters in these parts.” And it’s clear that he intends to murder her as he throws off his cloak and reveals himself to be Barry the Chopper. He swings his blade at her and without even flinching she reaches into her grocery bag and retrieves, from beside the box of dog food, her revolver and empties it at him. He’s the one in shock. She doesn’t even blink as she tosses her revolver and bag of groceries to grab the gun from the holster strapped to her thigh and continues firing at him. The “eyes” in his skeletal head glaring, he says “A scary guy like me attacks you with a cleaver and you don’t even flinch? That’s just wrong!” He removes his heading, thinking that will finally frighten her, but she just stares, gun still pointed at him. After a second, she fires again. He wonders why she isn’t scared of an empty suit of armor and she says, honestly, that she knows someone kind of like him. He figures it’s Alphonse, and she demands to know how he knows the boy. He only answers that she has moxie and he likes strong women. She yells at him not to change the subject. He “thinks he’s in love” and her response, gun still aimed, is “. . . huh?”

She takes him with her to a phone booth to call the Colonel, holding back his advances with a hand firmly on his face and tells Mustang that she’s “captured something really weird.” She then sits with him outside the phone booth, exasperatedly yelling that he cannot chop her or any of the passers-by up, wishing the Colonel would hurry up.

Chapter 31: The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail
Cover, 14 Frames – 7 Lines

Page 1-13: The Colonel arrives only to see Barry grabbing Riza’s waist, calling him a chump as Riza elbows his head and tells him to be quiet. He pulls on his glove, planning to incinerate the armor man, but she yells at him to calm down and explains that the armor is Barry the Chopper, a criminal who was supposed to have been executed. Falman, with his encyclopedic knowledge, is brought in to question Barry and confirm that he is who he says he is, Riza and Mustang standing by and listening. When Barry threatens to chop Falman up she uses a conveinient pipe to knock his head off and simply tells him to “Stop it.” She’s good at dealing with difficult men. But when he turns to her with lovesick eyes and says “C’mon, sweetie, I was just kidding!” all she can do is stare in confused horror. She continues to stand beside as, Barry’s identity now confirmed, Mustang begins to question him. She looks fairly horrified at his descriptions of Lust and Envy in relation to how much fun it would be to cut the meat from their bones. When the Colonel asks his last question, about whether Barry had murdered Hughes, she and Falman share a concerned look over Mustang’s head. His eyes are deadly. She looks sweetly at Falman as the Colonel thanks him for offering his support. Before leaving, groceries in hand and bag over her shoulder, she mimic’s the Colonel’s raised-hand wave and orders Barry not to even think of chopping Falman up. He replies with a cheery “Aye-aye, honey!”

Chapter 34: The Footsteps of a Comrade
1 Frame – 2 Lines

Page 27: As Major Armstrong and Colonel Mustang think about Edward and the possibility of his having to go to war and be a human weapon like they were, there is a page of flashbacks. Among frames of Armstrong screaming with tears over the corpse of a child, a shell-shocked alchemist, and a cracked-spectacled Hughes and Roy talking about getting away from the battlefield, there is one frame of Riza, cloaked with her finger on the trigger of a sniper rifle and her hawk’s eyes narrow. The view through her scope shows Roy, his head at its center as if she were planning to shoot him from her tower. Her voice is laid over the scene, saying “I like guns. Because unlike with swords and knives you don’t have to feel your victim die.” She doesn’t enjoy killing, as she states later on. She chooses guns because, though intellectually and emotionally she knows that she is murdering, they give her a cushion a space from the guttural feeling of death.

Chapter 35: The Sacrificial Lamb
21 Frames – 15 Lines

Page 6-13: Edward spots her, and she asks if they have been doing well. Winry recognizes her as the lady she met before and Riza, in what is most likely her girliest moment in all of canon, tucks a hand below her chin and declares that Winry has “gotten so pretty!” They smile happily at one another and Winry comments that Riza has grown her hair out. Ed and Al seem confused as to how the two became friends.

Edward then realizes that, if Lieutenant Hawkeye is here, the Colonel can’t be far away, and he appears accordingly, at that moment. Edward asks the Colonel how Hughes is doing, not knowing that he was murdered some time ago. Mustang says “He’s gone.” Hawkeye turns her face away, unable to meet the boy’s gaze. Mustang then lies, telling the kids that Hughes moved out to the country. If they had been looking at her, they might have known the untruth of that statement because as soon as the lie falls from his lips Riza tosses him a confused glare. She does not go against him, however, but allows it, probably due in equal parts to her respect and deference to him and to her own quiet nature, though she seems to generally disapprove of lying to children, even if it is for their own good. Once they’re out of earshot of the kids, she asks Mustang why he’s babying them, treating Edward like a child who couldn’t handle the truth. He claims it’s because Ed doesn’t need to know, because it would be another obstacle since he will likely feel responsible. But he knows that he did it because he is too soft, like Major Armstrong. She sighs good-naturedly. She disagrees with his decision to lie to the boys but accepts it for the spirit behind it, the desire to protect Edward and Alphonse.

She then informs him that one of Major Armstrong’s subordinates is the prime suspect for Hughes’ murder, offering him the files. He reviews them quickly and then orders her to secretively collect all the information on Maria Ross. Her answer is the customary salute and “Yes, sir” and he leaves her to her work.

Page 36: The Colonel stands, declares he is going out and leaves her to “take care of things” in the office while he’s gone.

Page 40: Falman calls the office to tell the Colonel that Barry has escaped, and Riza answers the phone, stating that the Colonel is “out on personal business.” She knows the plan, having provided all the information necessary to carry it out, but can’t tell him over the phone line because she knows it’s not secure.

Chapter 37: The Body of a Criminal
10 frames – 21 Lines

Page 3-4: Roy makes a phone call to “Elizabeth” (which we find out later is Riza). They make flirty conversation, and the cheeky thing even asks about Roy’s “scary assistant” and he replies that she’s got the day off. The is the only time in canon that she refers to Mustang by his first name, always opting for ‘Colonel,’ ‘sir,’ or in earlier parts of their history, ‘Major’ or ‘Mister Mustang.’ She refuses to use it if she is not playing a part that is not herself. The other men in the office, none of whom know that he is actually speaking to her, comment that Hawkeye really must be his babysitter because the first time she has leave he’s on the phone flirting.

Page 12-13: More of “Elizabeth,” though it has still not been revealed that it is Riza. She calls for “Kate” to get “Jacqueline” who are later revealed to be Fuery and Havoc (their nicknames seemingly derived from their first names, Kain and Jean, as hers is derived from her name {point of interest here, and a pet peeve of mine, the codename Elizabeth is merely that, and her complete first name is Riza. It would be stupid of her to make her codename be her actual first name, and, by the by, the military documentation would not list a nickname and her superiors would not refer to her by it when using her full name, so her damn name is Riza, not Elizabeth. In fact, it is more likely that the name Riza is derived from the Russian form of Theresa, which has a meaning of “protector” kthxbye.})

Page 25-27: Havoc, Falman, and Barry go outside to continue the fight with flesh Barry because out there they will have “the hawk’s eyes” watching over them. When Havoc’s gun jams, she fires a shot from a far off tower straight through flesh Barry’s hand to stop his attack. The Colonel, still on the phone with the now-revealed “Elizabeth” (who is seen sitting in her tower, a cloak over her shoulders, headphone over one ear, a rifle in her hands, and a box of bullets beside her) asks her what the loud noise he heard was. She explains that a customer was being rude to “Jacqueline” and that she had to slap him. He seems comfortable enough to joke with her here, looking confident and saying “Strict as ever . . . Elizabeth.” He asks if he should hang up since she seems busy, but she says it’s all right and that he seems busy too. He replies that he can take it easy thanks to his “capable subordinate.” Fuery, or “Kate,” is listening in on the conversation at his station at the radio, and comments to Hayate who sits beside him that this conversation was the most words he had ever heard the dog’s master say.

Page 31-33: She senses Gluttony behind her several seconds before she turns to see him, telling the Colonel that she will have to call him back because “one of her regulars” was there. She drops the headphones and turns and shoots Gluttony right between the eyes. Her brows furrow as he gets back up, licking the blood away and through the headphones behind her the Colonel is yelling for her to pick up, with visions of Hughes dead in the phone booth rising in his panicked mind. He gets in the car and speeds over to the scene, praying that he won’t be too late to save her.

Chapter 38: Signal to Strike
Cover, 34 Frames – 13 Lines

Page 9-14: She is held off the ground, Gluttony’s huge hands strangling her as she empties her gun into his head. He only smiles and squeezes her throat tighter. She drops the useless gun. Gluttony declares that it’s “Time to eat!” and opens wide as if to toss her into his mouth and she struggles uselessly against his giant arms. At that moment, Black Hayate comes flying to her rescue, leaping up to bite at the nearest thing Gluttony has to a neck. She yells for him as Gluttony’s grip loosens and she is thrown back against a wall, coughing and gasping with her hands at her throat. Fuery then appears, tossing her a gun (a revolver) and they both open fire, shooting until they are out of bullets. Again, Gluttony is unfazed by this attack, and again proclaims that it’s mealtime. While Fuery (and Black Hayate) look at the creature with horror, she sets her teeth in frustration. But a moment later (and not a moment too soon) the Colonel’s gloved hand appears and blows the homunculus away as Riza shields her shocked face.

Page 18-28: Fuery and Hayate look out the door, Fuery wondering who the fat guy was and if the Lt is all right, but boy and dog both reel a moment later as Riza starts to yell at the Colonel for coming out into the fight. She shouts “Our lives our insignificant, sir! If you just let us die here, you could have pleaded ignorance of this whole affair, but now you’ve outed yourself to the enemy! Sir, are you an idiot?” She really seems honestly annoyed (and surprised!) that he came to save her instead of sacrificing her and Fuery in order to plead ignorance. For his part, he merely yells back at her, conceding that he is an idiot to stop her yelling. He once again does not reprimand her for insubordination, despite the fact that her dressing-down of his actions is just exactly that. He then orders Fuery to pull out of the tower and Riza mimics his pose, extending a pointed finger exactly as he does, and orders Hayate not to leave Fuery’s side.

As they make their way down the stairs and away from Fuery, the Colonel calls to her, addressing her as “Lieutenant!” then says, without looking back at her, that he is glad she’s alive. She responds with “I’m sorry to have worried you, sir.” Her phrasing here is, once again, deferential, and, though it may or may not be subconscious, it again places him and his mental distress in a higher category than herself and the mortal danger she was just in, nearly being strangled and eaten by Gluttony.

They get in the Colonel’s car with Havoc and Al, where she promptly dons a shoulder holster and begins loading the revolver she brought with her from the tower. Al tells them what he knows about homunculi, thinking that they won’t believe him, but she does, stating that, though she shot him repeatedly in vital areas, Gluttony didn’t die.

She follows the Colonel, gun in hand, into Lab 3 and down the stairs into the lower levels. She’s the one to suggest that they split into two groups, one for each direction in the hallway. He tells her not to stray too far, and she heads off with Alphonse. This is a little bit odd for her, leaving the Colonel, but she also has some concern for Alphonse’s safety and she does know how skilled and devoted an officer Havoc is as well. When Alphonse asks her if he is getting in the way of the operation, her sweet side shows. She assures him that his alchemy is coming in handy and that she will be counting on him if there is anything “we soldiers can’t handle.” She pats his metal chest affectionately and smiles up at him. He responds with a slightly embarrassed “Yes, ma’am!” and a hand rubbing at the back of his armor neck.

Chapter 39: Complications at Central
50 Frames – 15 Lines

Page 5: Though she hears the blast from the Colonel’s end of the hallway, she forces herself to continue following Barry. She hesitates for a moment but she can see the drops of blood on the floor and knows that they are on the right track to find him. She knows also that he must be stopped before he does any real damage, and she probably also knows that she is probably the best person for that particular job considering the armored killers affection for her. So she has to squash her worry for the Colonel for the time being and complete her part of the mission. She always relies on the dictates of soldierhood and orders to make descisions like this, possibly because (due to stunted personal growth from childhood issues) she has an underdeveloped sense of logic with regards to things that are, at their core, very emotional for her. When stripped of the military structure over her mind, she reacts with wild emotions (as will be happening shortly).

Page 9: She and Alphonse finally find Barry, standing over the bloody still body of flesh Barry. He addresses her as “babe” and says that he is sorry she had to see his rotten body. She, being the only one there with a sense of smell, covers her nose and mouth.

Page 23-41: Lust shreds Barry the Chopper and then advances on Al and Riza. She asks which would like to be killed first. She assesses Riza as “the loyal type” and says that she will send her to her commanding officer. It is only in that moment that Riza catches on to the fact that Lust said ‘two sacrifices’. She begins to fall apart right then, her voice shaking as she repeats “It can’t be, it can’t be” though she already knows what Lust has implied, her brain is slow to allow it to sink in. All of her calm, steely quietness shatters in that moment and what is revealed beneath it is like a terrified and angry child, lashing out wildly at the one who did harm to the person at the center of her tiny universe. She screams. She holds on to only enough self-possession to empty the gun she is holding into Lust’s head, reload and discharge the entirety of that second magazine, and draw and empty her revolver into Lust as well, hitting her between the eyes, in the throat, and in the chest. She continues pulling the trigger for a moment after the bullets have run out, so blinded that she does not at first realize that the gun is empty and she has nothing else to shoot with. She glares daggers, still aiming the empty revolver as if it could still do something for her. Lust’s voice breaks through her reddened vision, asking if she is finished. Her mind is still lagging, still incapable of taking in the idea that Roy is dead, and she looks at the gun, almost as if surprised that it is empty or that it is even in her hand. Gritting her teeth as realization finally catches up with her, she turns her face away, and when she looks up again, tears are streaming from her eyes. Despair has set in. She collapses onto the floor, the will to live gone along with all of her ammunition. Her right hand still holds the revolver uselessly as she kneels beside the other empty gun that she discarded earlier in her rage.

Watching this, Lust declares that humans are weak, foolish, and sad, and it is true, she looks like all three at this moment. Lust has gutted her with her one biggest vulnerability, and she leaves herself for dead in front of the monster that she believes killed Mustang. But Alphonse steps in, getting between her and Lust, and tells her to run. She makes no response, her head lowered and presenting no defense against Lust’s spears. Alphonse defends her, yelling again for her to run away. Lust is the one to state the reason why she makes no move, saying “This woman wants to die.” And it is true. She could get up and run, but she makes no move though she has taken no physical damage to prevent her from escaping. When she finally speaks, in a shaky voice she tells Alphonse to leave her and save himself. She has given up the desire to live on without Mustang and willingly waits for Lust to kill her, but even in this state she does not want Alphonse to have to die, too. But he refuses to leave her, even when she screams at him again to abandon her and save himself. He tells her that he refuses to allow another person he cares about to get killed if there is anything he can do to protect them. His feelings towards her wake her only a little and produce a surprised look on her mourning features, as if, once again, she is shocked that anyone could care about her enough to suffer and risk himself to save her. This seems to suggest a deeply rooted lack of any feeling of self worth in her. She cannot bring herself to believe that she, as a person, is worth the risking of anyone’s life, or, indeed, the expenditure of energy it takes to even care whether she lives or dies.

But a moment later, the voice of her Colonel echoes into the room and produces a truly shocked look, and again her mind seems to lag for a moment as she raises her head and Alphonse presses his hand to the floor to throw a wall up between Lust and himself and Riza. Her face remains wide-eyed with shock even as Alphonse grabs her with one arm and pulls her back to protect her from the flames exploding on the other side of his partition. Only as Mustang continues to speak, explaining to Lust how he didn’t die, does her brain again catch up with her and fully register the fact that he is not dead. Like a child, in her furious adrenaline rush and terror and relief, she tries to go to him despite Lust and the flames, reaching an arm toward where he stands. Alphonse again pulls her back and stops her from heedlessly running to him and putting herself back into the battle when she is weaponless.

Once Lust is finally defeated and disintegrates into nothing, the Colonel allows himself to finally collapse from fatigue and pain, and Alphonse lets her go so that she can finally go to him. She shouts “Colonel!” and her tear-streaked face is panicked as she dives down onto her knees at his side. She places a hand on his shoulder (the first time in canon that she actually makes any physical contact with him) and asks if he is all right, though if she were in her right mind she would know that it was a pointless question. He can only manage to place a hand on her back and comment, relieved, that she is safe. She replies that he should be worrying about himself, her general habit of subordinating her needs to his actually fully valid in this instance considering the damage he took and her own uninjured body. He thanks Alphonse for protecting her and asks that they get an ambulance, not for himself but for Havoc.

Chapter 40: Philosopher from the West
20 Frames – 21 Lines

Page 13-22: It’s the Colonel’s turn to call her an idiot, and he gives her quite a spectacular dressing down for giving up on life. It is interesting to note that the situation is much the same as the first time. With Gluttony, while she didn’t give up on living, she was prepared to die in order to protect the Colonel from implication in the operation they were running, and instead he shows up to save her from Gluttony. And she lectures him for not leaving them to die in order to protect himself. This time around, it is him screaming at her for accepting death (or waiting for it willingly) and he hears nothing from her on the subject of showing up as wounded as he was to save her from another homunculus. He is incredulous and angry at her idiocy in losing the will to fight, saying that he expected more from her. She can only reply by saying that she is very sorry, eyes unable to meet his though his bore into her. He tells her to “never ever give up on life” and she really does take it to heart. He tells her then that he is still going to trust her with his back and that she must devote herself to this task. Her face is pained. It would probably be safe to assume that she regards herself as quite the failure at this moment and is most likely berating herself even more unkindly than Mustang, though his reprimands sting her to the heart because he almost never raises his voice to her, or has any reason to. It is Havoc who points out the irony of Mustang’s reprimands, saying that he shouldn’t have even been on the battlefield.

Havoc and Mustang argue and Mustang wonders why, as an officer, he has to share a room. Riza, level-headedly (though still cowed a bit by the dressing-down) apologizes and explains that it is easier to protect both of them if they are in one room.

Fuery and Alphonse show up, and her first reaction is to worry for Alphonse’s safety, afraid that the enemy could take his life at any time if he wanders around unescorted. He tells her that he has someone looking out for him that can sense the homunculus aura. She looks confused and asks “What’s that like?” This is interesting a bit because it was clear that she herself could sense the homunculus behind her in the tower, so she herself has at least a slight ability to sense something of that sort (yet more of a sense than we yet know, as is revealed in later chapters).

Fuery notices how tired she looks and suggests that she go get some rest and let him call someone to relieve her. She states that she is fine and, though she is obviously fatigued she refuses and says “This is my duty. I’ll be fine.” As she repeats it her face becomes steely again, and she makes her statement into truth. She then takes the map that she asked him to bring and sends him into the hall, telling him to make sure that no one comes in.

On the map she had marked out a radius she calculated from the approximate distance and number of strides she took to reach the massive doors, guessing at what part of the city they could be under. Central HQ and the presidential estate are within the circumference and that leads them to believe that the military command is involved. Riza suggests finding a way to drag the enemy out into the open, since their identity is still a mystery. Mustang tells her that he wants her to continue digging into the matter and asks if he can count on her. She answers “Of course, sir! But it would be nice if we had a few more trustworthy pawns to help.” She is comfortable with being a piece that he manipulates because she trusts him and she believes that everything he does is for the best. This whole-hearted belief in itself is a little childish, but it is what she has based her life upon. She seems to put an almost inordinate amount of stock in everything he says, not unlike a small child who looks up to her parent.

Chapter 42: The Father Standing Before the Grave
10 Frames

Page 26-34: She is standing guard over Mustang in the hospital. She stands with her hands behind her back as he looks over a book. She watches Dr Knox take a seat beside Roy. She turns her back to them, an expression of pain crossing her features when Ishval is mentioned. She remains silently watching over Roy after Knox leaves and as Breda approaches. The first real break in her countenance happens as Breda suggests there may be a way to reverse Havoc’s paralysis.

Chapter 44: The Unnamed Grave
12 Frames – 10 Lines

Page 38-45: She is standing with Breda and the Colonel, discussing how Breda just missed Dr Marcoh. Of the three of them, she is the only one to look simply sad. The trio head back to the room where they find an officer from the discharge office and Havoc’s mother leaving. Havoc explains that his injury caused him to be discharged and tells the Colonel, basically, to forget about him. When Roy resists this idea, Havoc flies into a mini-rage, grabbing the Colonel’s collar and yelling at him to just leave him behind because he’s a useless pawn. Breda steps in, trying to hold Havoc down and get him calm. Riza only looks on with her sad-puppy face on. Aside from the bigger-picture concerns of the Colonel’s plans, she sees Havoc as a friend and is saddened by the whole situation.

The Colonel agrees to leave him behind, only to say that Havoc must not forget to catch up to him. He leaves the room, and Riza moves toward Havoc, who looks almost as if he’s still in shock, and comforts him. She puts one hand on his back and one hand on his shoulder and pushes him back against the pillows, saying “That man . . . he didn’t forsake me when I’d given up on life. And then he asked me to keep protecting his back. He’s not capable of giving up on anyone.” Havoc calls him a fool, saying it will be impossible for him to run the country when he’s so soft. Riza replies, with a gentle expression, “There’s a place for at least one fool like that in this world.”

She leaves Havoc to find the Colonel sitting on a dustbin in the hallway, a hand to his wounded side. She looks at him with concern and tells him not to push himself so hard. He responds only by ordering her to get his uniform. She tries to advise him that he’s not ready to check out of the hospital but he cuts her off with a sharp “Just bring it!” and a glare. She looks down, definitely worried, but agrees.

Chapter 45: Scar’s Return
13 Frames – 5 Lines

Page 26-35: She’s in the front of the car, driving, with the partially recovered Colonel in the back seat, as they pull up beside Edward and Alphonse. When they pull over to share information, Riza stands at the head of the car, presumably keeping watch since her back is to them. She senses Scar before anyone else notices him, though her back is too him and he is a good distance down the alley from her. She clicks off the safety on her gun. She aims but Ed tells her not to shoot, and she reacts with incredulity but holds back. Ed technically outranks her, so it may as well be an order. She jumps aside as Scar’s alchemy tears up the street and tosses the car. She remains beside the Colonel despite the fight going on between Scar and the boys. Mustang notices the tower where he had Fuery set up a “second home” and tells her to move. She immediately aims her gun at a pair of overdressed civilians and commandeers their vehicle. Once at the tower, she helps the Colonel with the radios as he sends false signals to all the patrol sectors. When he starts to get amused by his little game, she just looks exasperated.

Chapter 47: The Girl on the Battlefield
Cover, 5 Frames – 5 Lines

Page 21-22: The Colonel orders her to leave him with the radios and give Edward and Alphonse backup. He hands her the address of an abandoned house for their meeting place. She proceeds to get herself “in disguise,” taking one of Fuery’s long jackets from the little closet and “borrowing” his spare glasses (popping the lenses out of the frame before putting them on, a moment of hers that never ceases to amuse me). The then turns around and orders him not to move because she is planning to call him here in the tower if she makes any progress. And, with a dour expression of serious business, she also orders him not to enter the battle. He frowns at first, then smiles with knowing eyes and says “I know.”

Chapter 48: A Promise Made By Those Who Wait
16 Frames – 7 Lines

Page 3-5: She blows in in the confiscated car wearing her “disguise” (her hair down, the lens-less glasses and jacket on over her normal clothes) and while skidding the car into position she aims and fires a shot straight through Scar’s leg. The boys don’t recognize her at first, putting the pieces together with shock that this woman an Lieutenant Hawkeye are one in the same. She yells at Ling to get himself and the homunculus into the car, and Ed calls after her. She looks at him and puts a finger to her lips to silence him before he gives away her identity. And then she squeals out of the area, driving like a maniac.

Page 11-12: She tells Ling that Breda told her everything and that she is taking them to the hideout. Ling asks her to wait, telling her that he has a comrade that needs to be picked up. She protests because they don’t have time (why would she be driving like a madwoman?). She acquiesces only when Ling says that his companion will die if he doesn’t come for her. She continues driving crazy down the street, passing the Fuhrer who recognizes her as “Mustang’s pet dog.”

Page 37-39: She is taking care of LanFan, keeping a compress on her head and assisting Dr Knox in his surgery. When LanFan comes to, Mustang immediately sends Hawkeye outside of the cabin to keep watch, and she takes with her a rifle.

Chapter 49: A Monster Among Men
Cover, 26 Frames – 12 Lines

Page 16-18: From her place outside, she can see the GIANT HOLE Gluttony just ate in the side of the cabin. Her first reaction is “what the-” and after that she starts calling for the Colonel. She asks what’s going on, jumping into the little valley made by Gluttony, only to be yelled at (presumably by the Colonel himself) to stop. She freezes as Gluttony again sucks in everything straight ahead of him, eating the end of her rifle and part of her jacket, but luckily none of herself. She looks at the bitten-off gun and then recommences screaming for the Colonel, looking both at Gluttony looming not far off and the little house beginning to fall in on itself. She drops useless rifle and pulls out a handgun to fire at Gluttony, drawing a revolver to aim at the collapsing building, though she finds out a moment later that it is only Mustang and the others who were still within. Mustang yells at her not to provoke Gluttony because he is the one the thing is after.

Page 24-33: Running through the woods, the Colonel is just about to be devoured by Gluttony when Riza throws herself forward, firing enough shots into the homunculus’ head to throw him off course and save the Colonel. The Colonel stumbles, finally succumbing to his previous injuries, and Edward replaces him with a dummy for Gluttony to eat while Hawkeye supports him toward the car, looking over his shoulder worriedly in the direction of Gluttony.

Edward kicks the car door shut on the Colonel as Al asks Hawkeye to get in as well, to tend to Lanfan. The Colonel protests being told to leave and Edward says he would only be in the way. Riza concurs, saying he would be no help in his current condition. When the boys then tell them all to leave, both Riza and the Colonel protest, saying that they can’t just leave children on the battlefield. But when they insist, Riza silently loads one of her guns and holds it out to Edward to take. Alphonse calls it “a tool for killing people” but she calls it “a tool for protecting yourself.” He takes it. Ling then asks her to take care of Lanfan before the three boys take off.

Mustang says that Ling told him that Fuhrer Bradley is a homunculus, and she reacts only with wide eyes and no words.

Chapter 50: In the Belly of the Beast
Cover, 9 Frames – 5 Lines

Page 28-30: She is seen getting ready, her uniform now on, holding a gun and clipping her hair back up. She and Mustang then stand before the entrance to Central Headquarters. He tells her to wait at the car and she agrees. Then he says “Should anything happen to me, save yourself” to which she replies “No, sir.” He makes it an order, she refuses to obey. When he says that orders must be obeyed whether you like it or not, she closes her eyes (a little sparkle appearing beside her, like Armstrong’s) and says that he can court-martial her if he likes. He finally gives in, knowing how stubborn she can be, and tells her that he will be back. She wishes him luck in battle and he waves with his back to her, not seeing the salute she gives.

Chapter 51: A Portal in the Darkness
2 Frames

Page 44: The sun rises, it’s morning now and Hawkeye is still standing beside the car waiting for Mustang (though it was the middle of the night when he left her). She remembers him telling her never to give up, and her face is set and determined.

Chapter 52: Lord of the Demon’s Lair
22 Frames – 11 Lines

Page 9: Fuery finds Hayate still at the office, Hawkeye never having come to get him. He hopes that she is all right. His thoughts seem to tend toward reassuring himself that she will be all right when the men from Personnel Affairs come to speak with him.

Page 10-15: Fuery finds Hawkeye still standing beside the car, now looking very tired but still determined not to move. He salutes and says that “they” told him she would be there (which implies that several people, probably at least some of them outside of Mustang’s inner circle, know that she is waiting for him) and proceeds to inform her that he has been transferred to Southern HQ. She reacts by yelling, very shocked. He goes on to say that Falman has been transferred to the North and Breda to the West as well. He looks distraught as well. At that moment, Yarkolev from personnel and Storch, the president’s secretary, come to hand her new orders. She looks at the envelope, not taking it at first but asking if it is a transfer. She is answered in the affirmative. She takes the envelope, a horrified Fuery looking on, and “takes a moment to review it.” She is shocked enough by what she is reading to exclaim (despite the two officers looking on) “This can’t be! What kind of orders are these?” Storch tells her that it is not within her power to refuse the orders. When Fuery asks where she has been transferred, she reads out the orders, which say that she is now assigned to Central City, as the president’s personal secretary. The scene immediately switches over to a horrified Mustang, who (presumably) has just been informed by Bradley that his men have all been transferred out from under him and they (Hawkeye particularly) have basically been taken as hostages for his good behavior.

Chapter 53: Signpost of the Soul
Cover (photographs)

Chapter 56: The Lion of the Round Table
6 Frames – 9 Lines

Page 23-26: After finally getting done with his “conference” with Bradley and the Elrics, Mustang suddenly remembers that Riza is waiting for him. He runs outside, clutching at his wound, but is shocked to find, not his lieutenant but Major Armstrong. Armstrong comments that he doesn’t look well and Roy responds “Do you think any man would be pleased to find a mustachioed muscleman in place of the young woman he’s expecting?” He looks up and down the street but then chastises himself, thinking that she wouldn’t be dumb enough to wait all night for him or that the President may have already called for her. His only hope, knowing now that she is a hostage, is that she is all right (like the Elrics’ reaction of running directly to a phone to call and check up on Winry after the Fuhrer’s threat).

At that moment, she appears behind him, shouting “Colonel!” He asks if she is all right but she only responds, hand to her chest in relief, that he had been gone so long that she was afraid that he wasn’t coming back. She then thanks Major Armstrong to watching her post while she went to the bathroom. Mustang asks her, with some surprise “So you didn’t flee?” (His continued disbelief in the tenacity of her loyalty to him surprises me a little, but it probably goes to some insecurity of his related to her). To which she answers “Who do you think it was that told me ‘Don’t give up, no matter what?’” It seems from this that she has taken his words with regards to not giving up on life and applied them now to everything, using it like an order to augment her (usually) already stubborn nature. He sighs and turns away, allowing her to follow him, saying “Just don’t tell me later that you wish you had run away, Lieutenant.” She responds “I think it’s a little late of that, Colonel.”

Chapter 57: Scars of Ishbal
13 Frames – 8 Lines

Page 4-7: She is again in the driver’s seat of the car listening to the Colonel tell what happened in HQ and Major Armstrong react to all the things he has just learned about the military.

Page 31-32: Hayate’s barking prompts her to turn off the water in her shower and stick her head out the bathroom door to see what’s up. Ed calls through her apartment door to announce himself. He says he has something to return to her. As she begins to dress so that she can answer the door, the huge scar-covered alchemic array (with a central element identical to the array on Mustang’s gloves) can be seen tattooed on her back, from just above the small to the base of her neck. She calls for Edward to hold on a moment.

Chapter 58: The Footsteps of Ruin
36 Frames – 37 Lines

Page 1-5: Though Riza doesn’t actually appear in this scene until the very end, it is all extremely relevant to her character. This is the one and only scene showing her father, Berthold Hawkeye. The teacher is seated at a desk in what appears to be a study or library, with pen to paper. A young Roy appears in his dress uniform, speaking to his teacher. Master Hawkeye does not react favorably to his student being in the military, and says, further, that he isn’t ready to learn the secrets of flame alchemy. He is unimpressed by Mustang’s determination to “help the country” through serving in the military. He even goes on to say that it was a waste to have even taught Mustang the basics of alchemy since it was his plan to become a dog of the military. He shows more than distain for that institution and the state alchemist program, as well as the idealistic brainwashed spoutings of his former student.

Roy counters his arguments by saying that the state alchemist program would fund Hawkeye so that he wouldn’t have to “live in squalor.” It does seem that the Hawkeye home is quite worn, untended, and overgrown with weeds. He also says that working for the state would allow him to bring his research to new heights, but Hawkeye denies all of this, saying that he completed his research years ago. He then describes himself as having become complacent, and as a man who, since he no longer had to think, “died a long time ago.” He asks Roy if he desires power and then promptly begins actually dying, coughing up blood and landing face first on his papers. He says he wanted to make sure that Roy was ready with his own eyes before passing on the secrets of flame alchemy, and that it is a pity that there is no longer any time to teach him. But he goes on to say that all the notes from his research are “held” by my daughter and “If you promise to use your alchemy with the right intentions, she will let you have it all.” This suggests that, although he never actually taught her any alchemy, he did indoctrinate her with his beliefs in what is should be used for and who should be using it. As Roy yells at him to “get a hold of himself,” in his daze Hawkeye seems to begin speaking to his daughter, saying “I’m sorry, I was too absorbed in my research to do anything for you, I’m sorry Riza.” Then he asks Roy to look after his daughter, almost begging, repeating “please, please, please” until he is no longer able to speak. Roy, panicking, screams out for someone to call a doctor and yells “Is there anyone here?” I feel this statement must just be coming out of panic because, knowing the house, he would have to know that there could be no one else in it besides Hawkeye’s daughter, who then appears at the door, looking very young and frightened. He seems surprised to see her there, and she shrinks against the door in horror at the sight of her limp father, blood dripping from his mouth, in the arms of his student.

Page 6-15: Now, back to the present, and an older, far less frightened Riza leans on the door, looking out in some surprise at her dog standing on Edward’s head. She scolds Hayate, who looks properly chastised, and Edward notices all the unopened boxes in her apartment. He asks if she’s moving. She answers that she just hasn’t had time to unpack yet (since her move to Central sometime between chapter 25 and 30) and that it will just have to stay this way a while longer. He says he heard she was transferred to the president’s office as his personal aide, she acknowledges it and says that she also heard about what was said about Winry (who is in the same basic position in relation to the Elrics as she is for Mustang – a hostage). A drunk passes in the hallway and Riza says they shouldn’t be discussing this in the hallway and invites him in for tea.

She takes the gun and removes the magazine, seeing that it is full of dried blood. She immediately begins to take it apart and clean it. Edward explains that he fired a few shots but didn’t actually shoot anyone. She says that she is “glad you came back safe without having to shoot anyone, Edward.” Even though she knows that he has been through so much, she still doesn’t want him to have to kill the way she has. He explains that it is not that he didn’t have to, but more that he couldn’t bring himself to. She stays quiet, cleaning the gun as he continues to elaborate, saying that he has gotten used to the sight of guns but that he is pathetic because he lacked the resolve to use one. Quietly, she says “Tell me what happened.”

Edward goes on to tell her about the situation with Winry and Scar and how he begged her to put the gun down. How she probably hated Scar enough to kill him and how, since she’s always so upbeat it’s easy to forget that she has been living with the loss of her murdered parents all this time. He calls himself pathetic because, even though he promised her that he would come back alive, he might not have been able to if Ling hadn’t saved him. Examine a piece of the gun she is cleaning, Riza says “You only have the luxury to worry about things like this because you made it back in one piece. No matter how difficult things get, no matter how foolish you look struggling under the weight of your burdens, you have to keep living for the people you love.” And this is her doctrine. A statement that she lives by, infused in part with her own unbreakable loyalty and determination and in part by those shouted orders of Mustang’s never to give up on life no matter what.

She relates Edward to herself, saying that he has to protect Winry because he loves her (this is not to say necessarily that she means romantic love, of course, but she does have love for Mustang, and, from observing the boy, she knows that Edward has love for Winry). Edward sputters, spitting his tea on Hayate and generally freaking out at the suggestion that he loves Winry. Riza takes this reaction as confirmation that he does love her and interrupts his freakout by apologizing for not knowing about the situation with Scar and unwittingly adding to his burdens by giving him a gun. She starts to reassemble the cleaned gun and Edward thinks “She’s quick.”

He asks if the gun has never been a burden to her. She doesn’t look up from her work on the gun but answers “I don’t have the right to complain about my burdens . . . because in the past I took many people’s lives. And I’m the one who chose this path in the first place.” He asks her if she means Ishval and she returns only a simple yes. She only looks up when he finally asks her to tell him about Ishval. He says that he asked the Colonel but he wasn’t talking and says that there are so many things he doesn’t know that he should. She is quiet a moment, wiping the gun and finally clicking the magazine back into it, and then says “I can only speak from my own experience there.” She goes on to explain that she was still in the academy when she was first sent into the war zone, for “practical experience” during her last year there. There was a troop shortage on the front and her school was in the East, (and, though she doesn’t mention it, her skills with a sniper rifle helped bring her in deeper) and she ended up being pulled deeper and deeper into the conflict, practically straight to the front.