"We thought of going back to Resembool to- to get me automail."

"That should work, for a time, but - if Dante's our enemy I wouldn't discount her following us, eventually."

"Or, truthfully, anyone else who might want to kill me. The list is slightly long."

"So we need somewhere to go after that."

"I have allies, though not all of them would be willing to help with this, or definitely aren't also Dante's allies."

"Our best options might lie either in outright leaving the country - which has its own risks - or in turning to the military."

"The military - might also be an option for restoring your bodies. They have an enormous repository of information, and some way of amplifying the alchemy of their State Alchemists."

She looks unhappy with that last option. Of course, she's repeatedly expressed a rather extreme distaste for those alchemists who'd lower themselves to being Amestris's attack dogs.

"We can't run forever."

"No. We can't."

"If I become a State Alchemist, I should be able to get the protection afforded me spread to the two of you."

"You hate the military."

"I do. They shot my brother for cowardice."

"But you two are - worth bowing my head."

"Thank you."

She nods.

"We should try to leave for Resembool as soon as possible."

"I'm ready."

"I nearly am. Though - we need to decide between hiding as thoroughly as we can that your attempt succeeded, which would mean taking nothing with us and staging a failure, or simply leaving - it's likely any ruse won't last long, but it might cover our tracks just long enough. On the other hand, there's books and cats I'd like to be able to bring."

"Can't leave the cats."

She nods. "And those books will be useful."

"Do you feel up for getting into a wheelchair? There's some alchemy and sorting I could use help with."

"Yeah."

She arranges that, then - the wheelchair, unfortunately, needs either assistance or two working hands to propel, but Akira places her at a table with a stack of materials and circles to make cat carriers with, and then recruits Bellona to gather cats while Akira quickly sorts the library and her own notes with El's occasional help.

"Most of this we can leave in my neighbor's care, to hopefully be sent for later..." she says, wistfully.

"Can't take it all with us."

"Unfortunately, no." She shakes her head. "Still, I think I can identify the important ones. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She nods, and returns to sorting.

While Bellona appears to have discovered her armor can comfortably hold about six cats - more if they're small - if she alchemizes it to have shelves.

Relatedly, she starts bringing cats over and coaxing them into carriers with many gentle pats and toys and treats.

Aww.

And, within two hours - remarkably quickly, given how much they're sorting - they're ready to go.

"If I remember the train schedule correctly, we should be able to catch the evening train to East City, and from there find a train to Resembool."

"That sounds right."

Akira's already fixed the front of the house; she stops by her neighbor's to let them know she's moving at least temporarily, and she'd like said neighbor to keep an eye on the place until she can send for her books. She's taking her cats, so there's no need to look after those. She makes polite excuses about why she's moving.

And then she sets the books and cat carriers and few trunks containing odds and ends and clothes on a trolley for Bellona to pull, and pushes El's wheelchair herself, all the way to the station.

Getting on the train's a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's doable. Akira pays for them to have their own car - easy enough for this leg of the ride - so they can spread out and talk without being overheard, and so the girls won't have to deal with gawkers.

"Can you tell me about who you're thinking of getting automail from?" Akira says, as the train begins to move.