<span style="font-style: italic">"They are sending a <span style="font-weight: bold">woman</span> in to be Kynder's diplomat, can you believe that?"<br/><br/>"What do you expect? It's not like we have a real leader."<br/><br/>"I say we send in Kataron--he would just beat the Prince senseless and then <span style="font-weight: bold">Kynder</span> could take charge."<br/><br/>"Heh heh, yeah..."<br/><br/>Frowning, Jala turned angrily from the window and stalked over towards her mirror. The city had been full of whispers lately, mostly focusing around herself. Many were upset with the Circle's decision to send Jala to the council. This was to be a future-deciding event, and many were more than a little perturbed that the Circle had decided to send Jala over her older brother Kataron. The thought of his name caused her to snort as she closed the robe underneath her armor and tied the sash across it a little tighter than she probably needed to.<br/><br/>"Jala, are you even listening to me?"<br/><br/>"<span style="font-weight: bold">WHAT,</span>" she snapped, turning to the male behind her quickly and firmly slapping her hand against the table next to her.<br/><br/>"...I was saying that you should be careful. Who knows that kind of nonsense those Slayer are cooking up," came the voice of her brother himself--Kataron. He grinned stupidly at her and she frowned deeply, snorting and turning away to fix the armored gloves to her hands. <br/><br/>She honestly hated her brother. He was a complete dupe and knew nothing of politics or the meaning of 'playing it safe'. The fact that he was giving her this advice was purely offensive anyways, as it would have been to any Kyndran--to warn someone was considered a great insult and a test to their strength.<br/><br/>"I'm just saying--I know how badly you fare in close-quarters combat, sister--"<br/><br/>"<span style="font-weight: bold">Shut up!</span>" she hissed, turning on her heel and sending her backhand barreling into his face. The armor struck him and he yowled painfully, stumbling backwards with a hand holding his newly opened cut. But she wasn't done there. Jala advanced on her brother, kicking his leg out; but before he could hit the floor, she grabbed his collar and brought him face-to-face with her, head-butting him effectively in challenge and staring him down, "If I wanted your advice, I would have asked--there's a reason they chose <span style="font-weight: bold">me</span> over you."<br/><br/>With that, she shoved him away from her and snorted as she made for the doorway towards her looming fate.<br/><br/>"Challenge me again, and I'll tear you apart."</span><br/><br/>____________________________________________________<br/><br/>Silence filled the room, and there was a while before anyone dared to speak. The King laid broken and battered on the floor, an occasional sob slipping past his unconscious lips, and Jala could only smirk and chuckle under her breath. A fitting end for a weak King; their nations had warred before, and they were none too fond of one another, to say the least--then again,<span style="font-style: italic">no one</span>was really very fond of Kynder. The King had openly voiced his distaste for her when they had arrived, claiming she was not really a leader--if it weren't for her mission of self-control today, she might have beaten him down herself.<br/><br/>"Serves you right, old man," Jala snorted, leaning forward in her chair and looking down her nose at his body once more. She may not have been the leader of Kynder, she was was in the inner Circle--the system of Government for Kynder. Herself and her brother were the highest-ranking officials in their armies, and were a shoe-in for a Circle position. Rumors had it that Jala and Kataron were currently two of the candidates for possible King of their nation. If Jala could pull this off, she would surely be voted in without question.<br/><br/>She brought her hand up to her chin and mouth, thumb grazing over her chin. Ah, what to say, what to say...?<br/><br/>Frowning, she glanced away and watched cautiously as the Prince of the Slayer shifted in his seat--he introduced himself, but she found herself rather uncaring. The leaders of the continent had all exchanged names earlier, save for a few. She really wished someone else would move to speak first as she wasn't too familiar to these things. Kyndrans usually solved issues with their fists, not their words. Her gray eyes glanced around the table and she frowned again--everyone looked nervous minus the leader she was rather unfamiliar with, as they tended to keep to themselves and the nations around them (Kynder was more towards the center of the continent). She snarled openly, getting frustrated. Why was everyone so nervous?! They were just<span style="font-style: italic">talking</span>! Were people really so afraid of mere<span style="font-style: italic">words?!</span>And here that damned Prince was, sitting there like nothing was happening...!<br/><br/>"Ach!" she finally snapped, bringing her fist down to the table angrily. Her accent came off thick and heavy as she attempted to make the adjustment to the common language of the continent. Her hand moved to gesture to him as she spoke, "Vhat you miss? You made sleeping for a good portion of the meeting zo var! You have missed nothing but jour own dreamz!"<br/><br/>She really didn't care if she were chided from that one. His attitude really<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>rather annoying, especially considering he seemed like he refused to take the situation seriously. As her voice died down in the room, she felt tension again and glared openly at the Prince. She felt silly, yelling at him--words really weren't her thing, but she was not foolish enough to challenge the Prince who could cripple a man so easily.<br/><br/>(Note: Her language will be spelled incorrectly from time-to-time to emphasize her accent! I am doing it on purpose. ^^; Also, the first half of the post was just to show off Kynder's culture a little bit/the city before the meeting with the Prince.)