Once dressed, Corrin asked the pair of maid to tidy up the bed and room then head to the mess hall where he would be waiting. He had to admit to himself, that what had transpired the night before did a lot to push up his mood. He felt reinvigorated after such lovely ladies had pleased him in such ways he had never experienced before.
He smiled to himself as he walked across the open areas of the Castle, wondering if he'd have the chance to do something like that again with them. He noted it was somewhat selfish; But he also knew they liked it just as much as him and, well, the young man was still growing despite the position he was placed in.
Corrin finally arrived to the mess hall to find that smile he was carrying quickly drop. The room was entirely filled by an air of tension and animosity. Cold glares, a hard frowns abounding to almost everyone around as a dead silence filled up. A soft sighed escaped his mind as he thought, "Well. On the bright side, they are not shouting endlessly at eachother..."
The half-dragon young man glanced at Sakura and Elise that tried their best to cool down the situation. He was glad to see that at least the two were not falling on the same issues as their brothers and sisters. In fact, he had noticed that the two had sparked a friendship quite quickly; although still just starting. Even if little, it was a sign that things were not entirely broken between the Hoshido and Norh side of his family. There was some hope, despite one hard to achieve...
All eyes appeared to fall upon Corrin when he stepped in. Having arranged some stuff beforehand, and seeing the two maids arriving moments later, he sat upon one of the chairs, viewing the entire group and spoke.
"Very well. I can see everyone still finding themselves somewhat tense with the current plan and accommodations."
He continued, taking a somewhat relaxed, but still serious tone. "As I can clearly see, simply head out with such animosity still lingering between us will prove ineffective if we ware to succeed. As such, I have no choice but to make sure you all start to get along before we can really go out into the field."
Everyone remained quiet, listening to Corrin. Only short stares were shared between lords as the silver-haired lad continued his speech. "Xander, Ryoma. Have there been any word of the other Retainers receiving our call?"
"According to what I was informed. Your message has been send to both kingdoms, but knowing the secrecy in which said message must stay to avoid any suspicion, I would predict it'd take them at least a few days for them to arrive here." Xander quickly pushed himself to speak first, gaining a nasty glare from Ryoma.
"I see." Said Corrin, "We need to gather any help we can if we wish to be able to break through the invisible kingdom. Going right now would be suicide for all of us. We must strength our ranks and our bonds. We cannot step into such unfamiliar territory until we can be sure we can count on eachother's support in the battlefield. When the Retainers start arriving, we shall venture into small expeditions to aid nearby settlements, but as of now, I prepared a little exercise so we can start to know eachother better. Kaze if you please..."
The green-haired ninja walked into the room. amongst the trust issue that was currently happening between the two factions, Kaze became a really reliable support, as he was one of the first ones to welcome this union, as well as to offer his full help to the young lord. As such, the two had started to sprout a fair bond of friendship, although like Sakura and Elise, one still in growth.
The man placed two bowls upon the table, all filled with small strips of paper. "I wrote all of your names into these bowls. One for Hoshido, the other for Nohr. I shall pick a name from each to set the sparing partners for each of you today. That way you can get to know eachother better and learn from eachother's skills and tactics.
Everyone seemed to frown at the idea. In the back of his mind, even Corrin was wondering if this was the right approach; It seemed somewhat childish, like a raffle. However, he had to start somewhere and with something simple if he were to mend this feud.
As such, he started taking papers and forming the pairs. the first pair formed was Sakura and Elise; The two rather happy of it. Then came the next: Takumi and Xander. Not one second passed before the two exchanged a dreadful set of stares, both clearly not enjoying this accommodation, an entire opposite of their sisters.
Then came Ryoma and Leo. The latter tried to act cool, but a simple glance made Corrin right away notice how the cld stare that Ryoma was giving was putting his Nohrian brother nervous. The tall imposing samurai was quite frightening when he wanted to, so Corrin could understand.
Eventually, the young lord gave the finally pair: "Very well. Hinoka, you will spar with...Camille, for today."
"What!?"
Corrin sighed. He had the feeling the hot-headed redhead would immediately protest at such a result, and the woman slamming her fist hard against the table as she shouted upset proved his thought quite nicely.
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