Small but powerful

She'd been at the Orphanage/Group home for as long as she could remember, memories of a time before foggy at best.

So many years. So many potential adoptions and so many disappointments had left her more than a little disenchanted with the idea and lost much hope as she watched those around her go to loving homes rarely returning. Kids that got so many prospective parents visiting and talking with them till they got the right match yet none for her.

Having all but given up she stayed away often choosing to stay up in her room then mingle with the other kids or meat any of the interested parents. No one ever came for her. With some encouragement one of the workers had got her to come outside, being such a nice day.

Quietly she played on her own in the shade with only a worn, hand stitched plush rabbit that had seen better days, while the other kids eagerly introduced themselves to awaiting and interested prospective parents that had come to visit and meet them. Silvery-white hair had been pulled back into a braid in some attempt to tame her long locks.

--

A worker cheerily welcomed Hughes in, it wasn't often they got an actual military officer around in a non official capacity. Asking him a variety of questions as well as answering any of his own to help make the best match between parent and child.

"Oh please, your generousity has been more than enough!"

As much as Maes had been a busy man (and only gotten busier as the months gone by), Elisia desperately needed a friend to play with. Better yet, a sibling! And what better way to get her a proper sibling than to help out one of these kids who desperately needed a home.

He smiled at the worker, very appreciative of how she's taken care of him, and as far as it goes- the children and establishment.

Though, Maes needed someone that would be around Elicia's age. Someone who may even look out for her, but deserve to have a loving home. The lieutenant colonel had heard the stories before, the children who are a bit older don't get looked at, in favour of having the youngest ones to cherish those years you cannot get back, which is frankly and extremely unfair. He took off his glasses to clean them off with a cloth.

Quite politely the woman asked a few of the kids stilling hanging around if they might leave them alone to talk for a little while. The last thing they ever wanted was to foster any false hope.

The more she thought about it there was one kid who fit the bill perhaps better than most of them. They'd struggled so hard to find the right environment for her, the right family. Perhaps the Hughes family could be just that, Maes certainly had more than enough love to give

"I can't say for certain if she's been here the longest but by your description we do have one little girl whose been with us for some time now. She's only a little older than your daughter so I'm sure they'd get along." Quiet as she was and for as much as Kisara avoided most of the kids she was a little better when it came to those younger.

"Unfortunately we've had some issues placing her in the past, some weren't able to.. well they found her a bit troublesome."

Smol just always feels unsettled when near someone who is actually envy in disguise.

The fire was an accident, likely caused by faulty electrical wiring or an unknown gas leak. And that shortly before it happened her folks happened to get into a small argument with a neighbor- according to the young Kisara who was the only witness to this.

- Though other reports claim that the argument was with one of Mr. Amarella’s colleagues.

This information is only slightly sort of true.

The fire did happen unexpectedly and quickly got out of control, before the fire they did have an argument with someone but definitely wasn’t a neighbor.

- They lived like sort of in the country/ out skirts of the city where there honestly weren’t a lot of people (Dad took train into the city for his work)

- Kisara’s parents got her to hide, she heard the arguing but never saw who it was. However what the reports fail to mention, or gloss over is shortly before the fire started Kisara saw the shadows seem to come alive followed by a bright flash.

Their deaths were reported as being crushed by debris from the burning house but they were already dead when the fire started.

______

I feel like maybe her dad worked at the Military academy, or at the very least he was briefly brought in now and then as something of a guest speaker. Both to share his own thoughts and info that he had on Alchemy- for the Alchemists and just like general knowledge in terms of like the his troy of Ishval

Histroy buff prof- sometimes would touch upon the history of Alchemy/ it’s other branching variants (such as Xing- Man traveled a lot before Kisa was born- likely even visited those ruins in the dessert )

Most if not all (say for Kisara) of the kids came from those who'd had family in military- more often then not having died in duty or simply took kids into care while their parent(s) were deployed if they had no one else to look after them.

For those like Kisa although not directly tied to military they also took in those simply affected by the war / military actions

- although her case seems odd as officially her parents deaths were written off as an accident with it going on record that she got put there as they were the closest place in proximity to where she lived.

--

Now despite being Military run and government funded, that didn't mean it was well funded and at times they were understaffed.

They certainly did their best to offer the care needed to every child equally but sometimes problems slipped through the cracks. Such as Kisara.

While most of the staff seemed to at minimum be able shove any personal bias at the door and be professional (or have none at all)

There were def a few older on staff who didn't take kindly to those with Ishvalan blood, and were more willing to show it.

For a brief time there was another Ishvalan girl there but eventually she got sent away- presumably to someplace with other Ishvalan's (possibly run by monks).

Kisara was harder, they did try to get some Monks to take her to go stay with the other children. But holding string to their beliefs brought on a different prejudice. For a child to be born of Ishval with so fair of skin (even for a child with a mixed background as her- because Albinism) was seen as a sign of a bad omen.

- Living in the desert their dark skin like a blessing/gift from Ishvala to protect the from the harsh light of the sun.

Her eye colour is a sort of not distinct Ishvalan red but depending on the lighting I imagine it can be seen in flecks/ can give her eyes a more pink/purplish colour (Similar to what one can get with Albinism)

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