Nightwing glanced at the long, grand table that they were all sat at. It was full of porcelain plates of different sizes and crystal clear glasses with an odd blue liquid within them. There was a line of cutlery on either side of a singular plate which made him realise that it was an elegant and sophisticated environment within the palace. There were candles lit along the table too which worked pretty nicely considering Nightwing had been placed opposite Princess Koriand'r.
He glanced up at her and smirked as he noticed that she was running her index finger along the edge of her glass, absentmindedly. Koriand'r must have sensed his eyes on her because she looked up at him almost immediately. She softly smiled and rolled her eyes. He quietly chuckled to himself, knowing that she was rolling her eyes at the topic of conversation among the others at the table.
Batman, Superman, King Myand'r and Ryand'r were all immersed in their conversation about tactics and strategies about approaching the upcoming battle. By the sounds of it, the King and his son were the ones finding problems in each others' plans.
Nightwing shook his head. He felt somewhat sorry for the Queen and the Princess. He assumed that they literally had to sit back and deal with the continuous talk revolving around the war and soldier numbers etc. For a moment, he wondered what their conversations would be like if they faced no war at all.
Suddenly, a line of servants filed out from the kitchen carrying trays of questionable looking food. Nightwing gulped. He wasn't too fussy about food on Earth but he couldn't help the reluctance to eat the stuff that was building within him.
The trays were set down and revealed clearly to the whole table. Nightwing recoiled in his chair slightly, as if he had already taken a bite of the unappealing substances.
Koriand'r stared at Nightwing as his eyes fell upon the unfamiliar cuisine and she giggled. She cleared her throat which caught his attention without fail. She bit her lip and scanned her eyes over the food choices. Koriand'r nodded to herself and stuck her hand out to Nightwing, signalling him to give her his plate.
Nightwing obliged the Princess and watched as she piled certain things onto his plate. He wondered what she was doing and his facial expression clearly portrayed this confusion because Koriand'r lightly laughed whilst she handed the plate back to him.
"I sensed that you were unsure about eating our cuisine..." She began,
"I didn't mean to offend you, Princess... I... Uh..." He stuttered,
She offered him a genuine smile, "That is okay, Nightwing. I would be hesitant if I were in the same position as you. This planet is unfamiliar; the food is bound to be questionable also, yes?"
Nightwing nodded and gave her a small smile. He was glad that she didn't take offense and that she was so understanding.
"That is why I have chosen food that I believe you will be able to consume." She paused, "Please, trust me."
He stared into her big green orbs and considered her request. Trust me. As strange as it sounded, he did trust the enchanting Princess that sat in front of him. Yes, he had only known her for a few hours but there was something about her that caused him to put his faith in her.
"I trust you, Princess." Nightwing returned, seriously. Koriand'r tilted her head to the side a little and smiled. He grabbed the silver instrument that most resembled a fork and stared down at the food on his plate. There was something gooey on the plate that jiggled slightly after he poked it. There was also a sludge looking piece of meat, maybe? He wasn't sure what it was. He gulped and decided that he needed to trust in Koriand'r.
Hesitantly, he stabbed the gooey addition to his place and lifted it up to his face. He quickly sniffed it and continued to gawk at it. The Princess sat opposite him with hope in her eyes that she had succeeded in finding him something suitable to eat that he wouldn't hate.
Nightwing shrugged and placed the food into his mouth in one big bite. He closed his eyes and expected his gag reflex to get going soon but the complete opposite happened. He allowed the flavour to fill his senses. It may have looked strange but it tasted amazing. It was a mix of flavours; to him, it tasted like orange mixed with lemon and lime. Nightwing opened his eyes and smiled at Koriand'r.
"Please, do you like it?" Koriand'r asked, clasping her hands together.
Nightwing swallowed the mouthful and sighed in content, "Princess... It tastes awesome! Honestly, I expected it to taste like vomit..." He admitted,
The Princess giggled, "I am glad that you feel that way towards something of Tamaranian cuisine."
He fixed his eyes on her. She was not how he imagined her at all. Truthfully, he expected the Princess to be stuck up and all about herself but Koriand'r wasn't like that at all. She was sweet and caring; it was obvious from the way that she talked about her people and how much they meant to her. It was clear to anyone that she was beautiful to match but he felt that there was so much more to her and he hoped that he would be lucky enough to learn more about her as his time there rolled on.
"Uh... So, what is this called?" Nightwing wondered,
"It is called Yer'kolftar and it is a very traditional Tamaranian dish," Koriand'r returned,
"Again... I need to start writing this stuff down." Nightwing chuckled. The Princess joined him in the laughter but gasped when a fist slammed into the other end of the table, shaking the objects upon it.
Koriand'r turned her head immediately to investigate what had just happened. She mentally sighed as she noticed her brother looking indignant about whatever had just been said. The whole room remained silent as if waiting for the King's response.
"Father, if we go for a straight forward attack, then our army will be wiped out in a matter of minutes." Ryand'r stated, gravely.
The King leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat unimpressed, "And what do you propose we do instead, Ryand'r?" He queried, narrowing his eyes at his son.
"Be smarter about the situation. The enemy will be expecting us so we should carry out a surprise attack. Go from behind and-"
"That will be far too time consuming."
"But father-"
"I am finished discussing the matter, Ryand'r."
The Prince gave into a low growl and stood up from his chair. He threw his fork down onto the plate and it clattered loudly. He pushed his chair back and abruptly stormed out of the room.
Koriand'r's expression softened with sympathy for her brother. It was not uncommon that their father would turn their ideas away if he did not believe in them at all.
She pushed herself up from her chair slowly whilst keeping her eyes locked on the direction that Ryand'r had taken. The Princess almost didn't hear her father speaking.
"Unless you have forgotten where your loyalties lie my daughter, it would be wise for you to sit back down." The King expressed, keeping his eyes on his plate of food.
Koriand'r frowned and narrowed her eyes, "My loyalties lie with my family. Ryand'r is my brother and I care for how he feels, father." She responded, bitterly.
With that, the Princess followed in her brother's footsteps and left the dining room.
Koriand'r stepped outside and had a feeling that she knew where Ryand'r would be. Whenever her brother had lost his temper about something in the past, he would always take it out on the trees. Koriand'r smirked and grabbed her bow and quiver and set out for the further outskirts of the forest.
Ryand'r gritted his teeth and breathed heavily as he stood in front of a large tree with his feet securely set apart from each other. He inhaled a deep breath and steadied his bow confidently. He reached behind his head and retrieved a sharp tipped arrow. He aligned the sharp object upon his bow and breathed evenly whilst he focused on his target which evidently happened to be the middle of the tree.
He pulled his arm back in order to get some good distance into his shot and his fingers were about to release the arrow when suddenly, an arrow pierced the air beside his head and hit the target that he had been aiming for.
Ryand'r lowered his weapon and chuckled. He only knew one person who would be able to make that shot.
He turned around and tilted his head at Koriand'r who was smiling sweetly at him.
"Sometimes, I wonder if you are a better soldier than I, Kori." He stated, meekly. Ryand'r sighed and sat upon a heavy log that lay beside the tree that Kori had just struck with an arrow.
Kori frowned and felt immense sympathy for her brother. It was difficult to be the children of the King sometimes, especially when that King would not even listen to their ideas.
She wandered over and took a seat beside Ryand'r upon the log, signalling to him that he could vent if he wanted too.
"Why does father never listen to me?" He mumbled, kicking the dirt with his foot.
Kori sighed, "Father can be... Difficult when it comes to others giving him ideas especially when it is his own children. You must handle such conversations with him calmly and rationally."
"I was calm!" Ryand'r exclaimed, earning a disbelieving look from Kori.
He sighed in defeat, knowing that she had a point.
"You and father are very similar, Ryan. It is quite possibly the reason in which you clash so very often." Kori paused and stood up, placing her hands behind her back elegantly, "He will consider your tactical ideas, brother. You know father will after he moves past his stubbornness."
She delicately walked over to the tree and ran her slender fingers across the texture of the tree bark before she ripped the arrow out of the wood. She focused her emerald eyes on the sharp tip of the arrow whilst she listened to Ryan.
"I just think that it'll be a smarter way of dealing with the enemies... Especially with the help of the earthlings. Tell me, sister, what do you think of them?" He explored,
"I have only spoken to Nightwing but the Superman and the Batman seem very knowledgeable and considerate; factors which may help our cause immensely." Kori returned,
"And Nightwing?" Ryan urged,
The Princess involuntarily smiled at the thought of the young human who she had practically spent the whole day with. He was so easy to get along with and he was incredibly sweet when it came to talking about Earth. He had already told her so much about the blue planet that she longed to visit. She couldn't help but feel a flutter in her stomach at the mere mention of his name.
"He is... Nice..." She said, quietly.
Ryan noticed his sister's expression and raised an eyebrow, "Nice?" He smirked,
Kori narrowed her eyes playfully at her brother and shrugged, "He is easy to speak to... And he does not seem very judgemental over the differences between human ways of dealing with wars in comparison to that of Tamaranian's."
"Are there really that many differences?"
"Mm... No. However, Tamaranian's are a lot more... brutal in the way in which we kill our enemies."
Ryan gave her a short nod, "So, you get along with him then?"
Kori was in a small trance. She was thinking about the masked human whilst she gently touched the tip of the arrow that was still in her hands, "Mm..." She hummed, barely listening to what her brother was saying.
The Prince chuckled quietly at his sister's behaviour. The two of them weren't from Earth but he knew the type of dazed expression that was on her face. He shook his head and cleared his throat as he pushed himself to his feet,
"Come, Kori. We should go back inside, I suppose." Ryan suggested,
Kori suddenly shook her head and glanced at him. She gave him a nod and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder,
"I know he can be frustrating but please remain calm when speaking to Father." Kori hoped, batting her eyelashes at her brother,
Ryan rolled his eyes, "Fine... I'll try."
Kori beamed and clapped her hands lightly, "That is all I ask of you, Ryan." She giggled, lifting a couple of inches off of the ground. She twirled through the air as they returned to the dining room.
Ryan smiled at his sister absentmindedly. Even amidst all of the chaos and the war that was going on around her, she would forever be the most positive person on the planet and he couldn't help but admire her for that...