Fanfic: Exile Drabbles (Fullmetal Alchemist)

[nebroadwe]

Titles: Water; Discipline; Leaving Home; Culture Clash; Survival Skills
Fandom: FMA (manga version)
Character(s): Maria Ross, Fu, various OCs
Pairing(s): None
Rating: G
Word Count: 500 (my first five drabbles)
Warnings: Implicit spoilers for manga chapters 40-41.
A/N: Five drabbles arising out of my story about Maria Ross, Forsan Et Haec. My bad for the initial multiple postings; I wasn't expecting five of the things to bunny serially over the course of an afternoon and I'm too new to this for it to have occurred to me to (duh!) edit my original post. Thanks to those who patiently pointed this out. Crossposted from nebroadwe to fullservicefma, hagaren_manga, fm_alchemist, and xing_empire.
Dedications: For evil_little_dog. Thanks for the help! Also for maxxim_huzzah. (I know I said I didn't have anything else to say, but that seems to have changed and it just might be your fault for bringing it up. :-) And, finally, for my sister-in-law, who taught me the Hong Kong version of peek-a-boo.

---

Water

The desert isn't waterless; if it were, it would be impassable. Where springs well up, oases burgeon, green with succulents, merry with birds. Mr. Fu leads the caravan toward Xing not as the raven flies, but as the cheetah lopes: from waterhole to waterhole. At each they take only what they need, no more; greed is as unpardonable as waste. Every night, lying beneath more stars than she ever saw in Central or on the farm, Ross remembers Mr. Fu's words: "We cannot spare a drop from now on."

She hasn't learned not to weep -- only to weep without tears.

***
Discipline

"Never anticipate," declared Master Fu. "When you anticipate, your body tightens, stealing power from your blow or block. Worse, you show your opponent what you intend. Your body should know action -- " a swift series of strikes -- "or rest -- " and he was still again, as if he had never moved -- "nothing else." He walked down the line of students, staring at each of them, until he came to Ross. "Be ready," he said then, holding her gaze no longer than he had anyone else's, "but do not anticipate."

When they call, she thought, trying to stand at ease, I'll be ready.

***
Leaving Home

Fu Ting will marry at midsummer and meet the groom on her wedding day. She blushed when Ross congratulated her; later, Ross learned she should have felicitated Master Fu upon his choice. Zhang Wenxiong is Lawyer Zhang's eldest son -- an excellent match. From dawn till dusk Fu Ting smiled, hemming bed-linens for her dower chest, while Ross wondered how anyone could accept an arranged marriage so calmly.

But that night, behind the screen, Fu Ting whispered her doubts. "It will be hard to go and live among strangers. Sometimes I am afraid."

"I know," answered Ross, enlightened. "I understand."

***
Culture Clash

Zhang Tietie's grandson didn't realize Ross was foreign, so she cheerfully took him on her lap while his nurse visited the necessary. "Peek-a-boo!" she said, covering and uncovering her face.

The baby giggled, so she did it again. And again. "Peek-a-boo! Peek! Peek! Peeek-a-boo -- "

"Ross Xiaojie! What is that?"

Ross looked up into an unexpected crowd of scandalized expressions. Her heart sank. "A game?" she offered, hiding her eyes (half to demonstrate, half to escape). "Peek-a-boo?"

"No!" several voices contradicted, one adding, "You mean, 'Ao-ja!'"

"Ao ... ja?" Ross asked, looking out between her fingers.

Everyone laughed, even the baby. Even Ross.

***
Survival Skills

By the end of the first month, she'd learned to ask questions. Better to feel stupid than act rashly.

By the end of the third month, she'd sworn never to bite unwarily into anything edible she didn't recognize, no matter how small. The Xingese equivalent of the clove was six times more deadly.

By the end of the season, she understood that while she couldn't forget the past, she shouldn't dwell on it. Or the future. Only the present lay within her grasp, as fragile as a swallow's egg.

By the end of the year, she knew how to wait.

---

Translation Notes:

xiaojie: an honorific applied to young women, roughly equivalent to English "Miss".

tietie: an honorific roughly equivalent to English "Mrs." or "Madam".

[Disclaimers: Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) was created by Arakawa Hiromu and is serialized monthly in Shonen Gangan (Square Enix). Copyright for this property is held by Arakawa Hiromu and Square Enix. All rights reserved.]

Comments

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I like how you write Maria Ross. She captured the blend of professionalism and emotional maturity that works to the best of her motherly nature. (This is from what I've seen of the anime.)

The motherliness isn't explicit in the manga (in fact, she seems slightly younger to me in the manga than in the anime), but the professionalism and empathy are surely there.

It's really easy for me to relate to Ross' position since living in a different country myself. So all these drabbles really speak to me!

My experience of being far from home is all theoretical -- I've visited other climates and cultures, but never at length. I did a lot of research into exile at one point, but I didn't really reference any of it here. Good to know that a very little bit of knowledge and a lot of imagination can get the proper feeling across.

Peace.