Ledaal Kalinda was bored.<br/><br/>Aunt Gamam had called her back from Great Forks, where she was researching the Death Lords and studying the shadowlands knonw as Walker's Realm, not to mention enjoying her life of books, tusseling with sword-girls to keep in shape, and wrestling of another form in the baths afterwords, and the ocaisional--but hardly sporadic--pipe.<br/><br/>But Gamam had called her back to the imperial isle to give personal instruction before she could be one of a few eager young Ledaal's to suceed her in the field, and Mother had caught her dressing down and sent her to this "formal occasion" to remind her of the "pride and glory of the dynasty."<br/><br/>The petite and slim girl had striking violet hair spilling down her back to heir hips and skin soft and pale as clouds.  Her eyes were the most striking, though, a shade of violet even darker than her hair flecked with silver like the night sky.<br/><br/>Her black silk robe, embroidered with crimson rose petals swirling in a breeze in a daring flirstion with a graven image, covered all but draped aluringly down her petite but full and perky chest, and the obi held tight to her tiny waist.  The bow secured her two slightly oversized jade hook swords behind her back.<br/><br/>She wished she were better endowed, so she could hide a book in her cleevage, like that earth and sky girl martial artist who came through Great Forks last year.<br/><br/>She wished it were evening, so she coudl enjoy her pipe, but she'd long ago pledged nto to over indulge and thereby cloud her mind.  She only smoked to unwind at the end of the day.<br/><br/>She didnt' even<i>know</i>anyone here.<br/><br/>There was one passtime left, thoguh, one way to eleviate her boredom, one at which she didn't consider herself teribly skilled, but...<br/><br/>The men and women around here were so beautiful in their finery, and since women couldn't get her pregnant, she determined to find a flirtation, and a possible roll in the hay tonight.<br/><br/>Of course, this being the Imperial Isle, the rolling would be done on silken bed sheets, but that woudl be a novel experience.<br/><br/>Still, not trusting her skill at this art, the bookish girl initialy set out not to set her sights too high.  That was what initiatly drew her attention to a girl she didn't know, V'neef Marcela, for her reasuring planeness.  But, as she pondered the powerful girl a bit longer, Marcella quickly became fascinating in her own right.  For starter's the girls aluring dress was the sort of rebelious thing she wished she could bear, a dynast did not flash skin below the neck on the imperial isle unless they were attending one of<i>those</i>types of parties.  (Kalinda was rarely invited to<i>those</i>types of parties, or any other type.)  She<i>liked</i>her bare midriffed dress, it made her feel very femenine to flash her quarter-bouncing stomache and wear a knee lenght skirt.  That this girl, with her poise and attitude, was wearing something so avante gaurd at a conservative wedding intruiged her.  Especialy mingled with her challenging air.<br/><br/>So, ignoring the fact that she was intimidated by the challenge, Kalinda glided through the crowd up to the strage girl and bobed a slight bow.  "You look bored.  Is there anything I can do to enetertain you?"<i>Is there any way I can see you smile?</i>