Northern Water Tribe :: Northern Water Palace ~ Long Time, No See

Last edited by LadyKura on Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:18 pm; edited 1 time in total

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

The refectory was pleasantly quiet. Anuk had held a major meeting the day before, and told him to prepare to speak with the princess of the Southern Tribe the next day. Cassian had been genuinely surprised. When he and Castiel returned home to continue preparations for the war and celebrate their birthdays, they pretty much became ingrained in the palace once they realized Kihana and Roman were having nightmares from the summit, still. They hadn't had much time to see Kaeda, and especially Kael, due to the war preparations. Cassian hadn't so much as sent a letter.

He wondered, genuinely, how she was faring.

The refectory was made up of a column of seats, with a balcony containing an extremely large table for dinner meetings. An adjoining corridor led to the war room, where battle tactics were to be discussed. Generals went in their from time to time, but it was pretty early to officialize any plans at all. Anuk suggested they come up with something, however, and Cassian supposed it was going to be his job to formally unite the Northern and Southern military once and for all.

He was a bit sore at this. Anuk gave him the job because he was a prince and therefore he held a high status when it came to any of the nation's affairs, but honestly he hated war and wanted nothing to do with it. Not to mention he didn't want to finally see Kaeda again under these circumstances. Simply because this war was unavoidable didn't make it any less repulsive. He wished his father would vie for piece again, but he'd seen the results of the summit with his own eyes. The wizards were ruthless.

A servant trotted into the room, not taking long at all to find Cassian through the thin throng of people. "Your Highness," she said, bowing low. "The princess has arrived."

"Well what are you doing here?" he snapped, stress getting the best of him. "Escort her here."

"The guards are doing that," said the servant breathlessly, trembling somewhat.

Cassian scoffed, turning to head onstage, where he and the princess was going to sit in private. Already the stragglers in the room began to leave, and he was left alone to his thoughts. Kaeda. He'd missed her, much to his chagrin. He'd missed her a lot. He wished this was going to be a casual meeting, so they didn't have to have to use stale formality. Life as a peasant caused Cassian to all but forget his princely mannerisms, adopting a more brash outlook. He prayed it wouldn't throw her off. But this was Kaeda. He didn't want to admit it, but he wouldn't dare to anything to alarm her.

The Northern Water Tribe. It had been quite a few years before Kaida had visited her sister nation, and this time it wasn't for pleasantries. Kael had informed her only a few days ago that she was leaving for the Northern Tribe to discuss a merge in armies. Certainly it would strengthen the Southern Tribe forces, they were still dwarfed by the North. Unification was a good idea on Kael's part. Actually, he was full of new ideas lately. After what happened at the Summit, Kael had become determined to prove himself as a leader in the time of war. Which meant, of course, Kaida rarely saw him anymore. It didn't help that she was the general for the Special Forces and she spent most of her time training the soldiers. In fact, it had taken up so much of her time that she hadn't properly thought about what going back to the North would mean. Seeing Cassian and Castiel.

"I hope they're doing alright," she muttered to herself. She was worried about seeing Cassian. The Summit had stolen her attention and she had buried her feelings for Cassian. How deep she didn't know. That would be found out soon enough.

The boat landed at the docks of the familiar landscape. It was quite similar to the South, only more refined. They hadn't rebuilt from scratch like the Southern Tribe.

A palace guard greeted Kaida as she stepped off the boat. "Princess -" he stopped when he observed that she was in uniform. "General Kaida. It's an honor. Please, right this way. The prince is waiting for you in the war room. The palace isn't very far from here."

"I know where it is." She adjusted her gloves and looked ahead at the majestic palace up ahead. "Which prince?"

"Ah, excuse me. Prince Cassian."

"Lovely."

The walk to the palace was drawn out in uncomfortable silence, and for the first time she felt relieved when she heard the murmur of guards and servants in the palace. The guard who had led her bowed and left, and a set of two took his place. They were stony faced and didn't speak, just turned and set their course for the war room, expecting Kaida to follow. She did. Upon arrival, one of the guards opened the door and nodded; Kaida smiled grimly at him and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Cassian sat alone in the small room. Kaida felt herself tense up at the sight of him, for nothing had changed, and he looked equally as uncomfortable. Finally, she forced a smile and made some sort of noise between a cough and a laugh.

"Well, long time no see. I suppose we should get right down to it. If we are going through with a unification, we'll need revised battle strategies and knowledge of our divisions." She took a seat across from the prince, careful to avoid eye contact. Kaida was unsure what brought about this sudden insecurity, but she despised it.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

"Well, well, how regal of you," he teased lightly, but his face didn't change the slightest, nor did the words really meet his eyes. Privately he wished to break the ice between them, somehow, and hoped that that would do the trick. Still, there were more pressing matters at hand. Matters they best deal with before his father caught wind of his sudden pacifism.

"Well, I suppose we should start with the divisions," he said airily, gesturing lazily to a large poster lying on the large table. Today, the table was smooth oak wood. There was a switch that dispelled the false covering and revealed a map of the entire world underneath, as with most war rooms. He smoothed his hands over the poster.

"My father is very heavy on the prospect of unity," he told her. "So it is very fortunate Kael desires to unite our military. Teamwork and intelligent tactics have always worked in our favor. Most of our stratagems revolve around collaboration and are unbiased."

He gestured to an illustration of a group of tribesman stationed near the ocean, dressed in bright blue attire. "The Northern Water Tribe is composed up of many divisions, or as we call them, factions," he began. "We place heavy emphasis, of course, on our seabound soldiers." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "My father trains every person willing to enlist. Nonbenders become the Beryl Forces. Benders join the Ultramarine, so that they can undergo specific bending training. When in combat, and in most cases of training, however, the two are merged together. This is our Marine Faction."

He moved on, placing his hands so that they surrounded a gathering of soldiers standing in a forest. The men were dressed in light camouflage. Some which were bending water, signifying their tribal heritage. "Our earthbound soldiers, the Azure Faction are our second most important division. This is our largest faction, composed of up of many subcategories. The Core Azures are the simplest earthbound soldiers. They go on foreign land, and they fight. Similar to the Marine Faction, they're made up of nonbenders and benders. The bending group is the Sky Azure. The nonbending group is referred to as the Feather Azures.

"The Core Marine Faction and Core Azure Faction are our major fighting groups," he summarized. "As for the rest of our divisions. Continuing on with the Azures, we also have the Fauna Azure, a small group dedicated to using polar bear dogs and other animals in combat, and the Draco Azure, our dragon-tamers."

He moved on the third and final division. This division was mostly women, crouching and standing. They smiled pleasantly up at the prince and Kaeda, their painted eyes seeming to glow.

"Our Sapphires, or Sapphs, as we like to call them," he explained, smirking somewhat. "They're crucial to our war effort. If you hadn't figured it out already, these are our healers. "Transport Sapphs do as their name indicates. They're trained for maneuvering the battlefield and moving wounded soldiers to safer locations in order for the Core Sapphires to heal them. Elite Sapphires are the advanced healers, reserved for crucial injuries."

He took a deep breath. "Finally, there are our elders. The cream of the crop, so to speak. They've mastered their bending element, have profound wisdom and guidance, and work phenomenally well together. The elders seem more than willing to help with the war."

He leaned back, closing his eyes to collect himself. "I know it's a bit hard to take in, but Father wanted to make sure we were prepared in every way possible."

A sudden thought wormed its way into his head. That's the most I've ever said in my entire life, he lamented.

From the minute Cassian opened his mouth Kaida had a smirk on her face. She knew this meeting was suppose to be serious but she had no idea that the North had named all of their divisions in such a...ridiculous manner. She put her hand over her mouth in an attempt to look like she was straight faced, but at the end, she could help but laugh.

"I apologize, I was listening, it's just - your military sounds so light-hearted when you - ahem, nevermind." Kaida pulled her white hair back into a bun so it would stop draping itself over the table, and she eyed the map and the paintings of the military.

"I have to point out that your military is larger than ours, with more divisions. The Southern Tribe has four groups. The first is the Navy, our strongest. We have quite a large fleet, bigger than the other nations yet not matched to yours, and -" Kaida paused and forced herself to make eye contact with Cassian. She bit her lip. "I don't need to explain to you how any of this works. Our military is made up of the Navy, the Army, the Medical Unit, and Special Forces. If you hadn't already guessed, I'm the general of the Special Forces unit. We are a highly trained group virtually prepared for any situation. My soldiers are used in ambush missions, spy missions, and generally will be on the front lines where I'll lead."

Kaida could feel her royal mannerisms slipping away as some sarcasm entered her voice. She flashed Cassian a strained smile and straightened her back. "Will you be on the battlefield?"

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian scoffed at her words, but allowed himself a small smile as well. Kaeda seemed tickled throughout his entire speech, and it only took him a small moment to grasp the object of her amusement. "The king and my idiot brother are very, how should I say this, color-coordinated," he began. "Ultramarine, azure and sapphire are all, of course, shades of blue. I've said the notion was inane, but after a while you get used to the terminologies. Officially, they're simply known as the Seabound Faction, Earthbound Faction, and the Healers. The extra naming is for training purposes only. Those categories are always merged in battle, so not many people are aware of the specifics."

He now realized why his father always tried to wheedle him into meetings. This was too much damn talking. Already his tongue was burning, trying to close on him. If this was Anuk's way of making him more social, he'd be damned.

Kaeda went over her military, taking considerably less time than he did, which made sense, considering their smaller size. At the mention of the Special Forces, he couldn't help but wonder if his father also had some secret, specially trained soldiers he didn't know about. It'd make sense. Anuk was a paranoid son of a B*tch. He did have a secret police in charge of keeping track of the nobles, to make sure they wouldn't betray him. Why not spies? Spies he kept from his own sons?

Kaeda suddenly asked. "Will you be on the battlefield?"

He sniffed. "Doubtful. War is mindless, sinful killing and unless I have some personal agenda at hand, such as if they were to invade the tribe, I will not fight." He was going to protect his family and his people at all costs. War was a sin against all mankind, but this was difficult times, with difficult people, and he still hadn't made up his mind.

"That sounds more like your brother than you. With your personality I'd expect you to join the battle." She eyed him curiously, as if trying to find her way around an invisible barrier Cassian had set up between himself and Kaida. "Or maybe I just don't know you as well as I thought." There a pause, an uncomfortable one in Kaida's perspective. She tapped her fingers on the table and stared at the map, wondering if this was the right time to break the ice of their formalities. Should she get up? No, the meeting wasn't over yet. It would make no sense to leave, even though she had a sudden impulse to. It's because he's looking at you. When did you become so pathetic? You're a general, start acting like one.

"Guess I won't be seeing you on the battlefield then." And here I was wanting to see you in action. She smiled to herself, the new topic pushing into her mind as she desperately searched for something else to say. Obviously more information about the military needed to be exchanged but somehow it didn't seem important at the moment. When it became apparent Cassian was waiting for her to elaborate, she forced the words out of her mouth.

"Is this awkward to you? Do you...feelsomethingtowardsme?" She rushed the last few words and half hoped he hadn't caught them so she could wave them off as nothing. The other half was waiting intently for a response she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to hear.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

"That sounds more like your brother than you," Kaeda observed. "With your personality I'd expect you to join the battle."

Cassian shrugged. "Castiel doesn't like it either. I guess that's one of the things we agree on." He rolled his shoulders back, attempting to get into a more comfortable position. It felt a bit .. odd that Kaeda didn't know as much about him as he'd thought. But then again, he wondered why he was even surprised. He didn't divulge much information in regards to his personality to, well, anyone. Those that knew him well needed to have known him his entire life. It was just that. Simply that. And yet, he wished Kaeda knew everything.

He wished he knew everything about her.

Cassian resisted the urge to call someone -- anyone in to demonstrate one of their training methods to the girl, just to get on a different subject. Kaeda made him .. uneasy. She made his heart beat unusually. Not so much with the rhythm, but with the amount of force exerted behind each throb. Like it was trying to pop out of his chest.

He knew damn well what he was feeling. But he'll be damned if he was going to --

"Guess I won't be seeing you on the battlefield then." She seemed disappointed. Which was good but not good.

"I said I still wasn't sure," he repeated. That was another thing. He never repeated things he'd said before. Why, pray tell, did he do it a thousand times in this meeting alone?

A tense silence passed between them. During which Cassian stared blankly at the wall, and Kaeda suddenly found the map on the table fascinating. Childhood friends my ass. They could barely form coherent sentences without lapsing into long silences. Cassian tried to find the word best to fit the emotion he felt then .. but it was so alien to him.

"Is this awkward to you? Do you...feelsomethingtowardsme?"

Awkward .. so that was the word, mused Cassian. Then, without warning, like a brick slamming down on his skull, his mind registered the latter half of her sentence.

The scene must've been comical; his mouth was wide enough to catch a zillion flies. His heart that had beat so violently before upped its rate a thousand times, until he couldn't even form a complete thought. Finally, when it seemed the phrase had sunk in long enough for him to think of a response, leaving an extreme awkwardness in its wake, he coughed likely.

"Yes," he told her. Simply. No beating around the bush. No ups and downs. Yes. It was definite, and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. "Yes, I do feel something towards you. And I don't know what the hell it is."

Kaida watched the faint smile on Cassian's face vanish as his mouth flew open. He stared at her, transfixed it seemed, unable to speak. Kaida stared back at him with equally wide eyes (although she did manage to keep her mouth closed). She had not been expecting that kind of reaction. At all.

Holy shit. What does that face mean? Look at his face! He seems so flustered! Does this mean he likes me? Or is he just shocked I said anything? Why isn't he speaking? Is he going to answer? Is -

"Yes." Kaida's heart stopped at that word. She didn't realize it had been pounding so hard in anticipation. Yes? Yes?? "Yes, I do feel something towards you. And I don't know what the hell it is." She halted her thoughts - something? What did that mean? No, no. He was blushing. Cassian was blushing. Kaida grinned suddenly, caught up in his feelings and not even registering her own. The fact that she was happy. Ecstatic, really. She leaned forward, trying to meet his eyes.

"Do you like me?" she asked in a whisper. He needed to say it outright. She had to be sure.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

"Do you like me?" This time the words were clear. Unwavering. She wanted a straight answer, and Cassian wasn't sure how the hell he was going to give it. What was this going to mean for them? He'd grown so accustomed to his usual routine. Everyday life. And yet, he wanted Kaeda to be there with him. He'd always did. He just didn't know how.

When she leaned forward, he leaned back. Or tried to. The chair he sat in was restrictive, at best. So there was no escape from her piercing eyes.

Did he? Did he like Kaeda?

"I think it's more than that," he breathed. "I'd liked you for a long time. It was just .. possible to ignore then. In favor of other things .."

He hated, hated, HATED the way his breath kept hitching as he spoke. No amount of communicative training could've prepared him for this. For anything remotely like this.

Wasn't it you that said you hated beating around the bush? His mind accused. Wasn't it you that said you hated dragging things out longer than necessary? Tell her how it is!

Cassian turned away, gaining a newfound appreciation for the decor in this room. He couldn't look at her when he said it. I would've been too much. "I .. I love you .."

"I love you...."

Out of everything Cassian could have said, that was the one thing Kaida had not been expecting. A love confession. She stared at him in shock as he looked everywhere but at her. He had liked her for a long time? And now he loved her? Just how long had this been going on?
And how come she didn't notice? She had no idea that his feelings were so developed, when Kaida had only realized she felt something the last time he had visited the Southern Tribe. Their moment alone on the open deck, when he revealed his feelings about his past to her. There had been a moment of absolute trust where they could have said anything. Where she realized she liked him but said nothing. Did he like her then? Love her? And here was the moment again, except Cassian had said something, had taken it one step further....

"Y-you do?" Kaida stuttered. Her mind was blank and she realized she was turning red, not unlike Cassian. "I-I mean, I didn't know you felt that way.... I...." She realized she had to say something now. It was her turn for a revelation. If she didn't continue this moment, she had a feeling they would never have one again.

"I think I l-love you too...."

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