A Raven Comes Calling

The Orphanage

The next morning found the two Elrics, Nina, Anna, and Jean, crammed uncomfortably into a car and on their way to Eastern Headquarters. Or at least that was what they all believed. It wasn't until Ed looked out the window and realized they were headed in the wrong direction for that. He called out from the back seat with irritation. "Hey, Havoc, what the hell? I thought you were taking us to see Colonel Bastard."

Jean let out a sigh as he glanced at Anna in the passenger seat before looking in the rearview mirror. "We are. He gave me an address where he wants us to meet him."

Ed huffed but didn't say anything as he crossed his arms and looked back out the window. The rest of the ride was silent, other than Nina asking questions as they passed through the city.

It was nearly a half-hour later before they pulled up to a large house surrounded by a wall with a gate. It almost looked imposing until they pulled into the drive and saw a group of children of various ages chasing an oddly familiar shaggy white dog. Nina practically jumped into Al's arms when she heard the dog bark. They were all glad to see the girl smile as she pointed out the window. "Alexander!"

Jean looked into the rearview mirror and chuckled. "Yeah, the Colonel had someone come get him this morning. I guess he wouldn't have really fit into the car with us."

As soon as the car stopped, Nina was out and ran to where the other children were playing. All the adults chuckled when Alexander got to her before her tiny legs could reach the rest of them. Nina was nearly knocked off her feet as the dog started licking her cheek. It wasn't until the rest of the children gathered around with curiosity that Nina finally looked up at them with wide eyes.

The oldest looking girl stepped forward with a smile and dropped to her knees next to the two of them. "We were told that this guy had a friend that would be joining us today. Is that you?"

Nina looked slightly confused, but they were all interrupted when a woman walked over with Colonel Mustang. Havoc jumped to attention, but Ed ignored him as the woman started talking. "That's right, Heather. Nina will be staying with us for a while."

Nina frowned at her words, but Al knelt down to reassure her as Anna looked over to Roy. He shot her a grin before he spoke up. "This place has taken in several children that have been displaced over the last few years. I heard about it through someone I know and felt it would be the best fit."

They all turned to Nina when she started crying. "But what about my Daddy? Can I not stay with him?"

The girl, Heather, wrapped her arms around Nina as she tried to help her. "I don't know about your daddy, but I can tell you all of us have parents we miss. But we have each other now too. It may not be the same, but I am sure you can find a place with us."

Anna was glad to see the children at least seemed to be well adjusted. She wasn't ignorant of how looks can be deceiving, but the older girl looked like she was ready to cry as well. Hopefully, this would be just what Nina needed.

Even with that hope in mind, she was not surprised when Nina ran out of the girl's arms and over to Al. His head jerked up, and he looked at Ed first and then Anna before he knelt and awkwardly tried to soothe the crying child.

Anna took pity on him and walked over to kneel beside them both. She rubbed soothing circles on Nina's back while she spoke. "Nina, honey, I can't tell you how things will go from here, but I can already see that these people understand how you feel. It might be hard at first, but I bet you can find people here that would love to get to know you and help you." She paused and looked up at the woman that was with Roy before she continued. "I bet, if you ask nicely, someone would be willing to read to you too. And don't forget that you have Alexander here with you."