The tea helped, warm and flavorful if a bit boring to taste. It calmed the nerves after such a very interesting diplomatic meeting with the country of France.

Laura couldn't read anything out of her. Another sheer wall of blank nothingness came to talk and leave, the ending was a very interesting ploy of either genuineness or a very developed ingratiation attempt to make her trust such a well-trained liar.

Staring her down was just a way to see if her facade could crack at any time. It didn't work at all, so then she decided (the composure she managed to keep proved it was a decision) to have some very forceful discussion.

She's met or to be more exact shared the same room with her fair share of psychopaths. The type of people to order a man's death and probably get a good night's sleep. Usually on diplomatic missions with Chifuyu.

The Chindia diplomat rang a bell in her mind.

It's eery how well they could hide their feelings. Laura knew that when she needed to say something she felt or acted in a way she did it. That's what makes her a good leader.

Those falsified acts of genuineness to trick those with morality. Planned out and with murder in their heads as a fantasy.

Accepting was frankly the only thing she could do in the situation. But she did it her way.

Laura set down her recently finished tea and looked at the current issue she lives with down on his desk fiddling with his gun or some other thing.

More things to be angry at everywhere she looked.

He's very good with the facade she could tell that, and there were genuine parts of him in his act. But, no man can go from laughing and joking to brooding in such a short time without some sort of disorder. But he seemed to try to hold amicable relations with her.

There was no regret in anticipating him as an enemy earlier, and she would suspect him in everything he did.

Well, if she ever actually needed help all she had to do was contact Dela back home which she was planning on doing.

Actually, what was he doing? Makeup? Hydrating? Some of the more vain girls at the base did it to seem better than her but him? No way.

She got out of the chair she was sitting on and did a brief walk to him making sure to be as quiet as she could to surprise him. Or startle him. She wanted to see if she could scare him truly.

That aside he was just dabbing something on his bruises from a little glass bottle with his fingertips, where did he get it?

"What is that?"

Unfazed he continued for a while longer without responding. That very much wanted to make her punch him again. When she asks someone something she expects an answer immediately.

"Gift from a friend."

The nonchalant and vague response furthered that into her just about to start punching him.

"Alright- It's a healing salve. You know what Aloe Vera is right? It's like that but for bruises."

He didn't even turn to look at her but it was like he knew what she was going to do. Good. Still, he was dabbing it on the wounds she gave him earlier. And not sharing.

So Laura decided to make him share by just not asking. Putting a few of her fingers into the jar with him looking. He wasn't stopping her so she put some on one of the larger bruises she got.

It was near instant relief, which was surprising because she didn't even feel much pain earlier. It was an odd mix that almost seemed to blend in with her pale skin.

The day/s training underground seemed to have removed any color from what she could tell she originally had, a necessary sacrifice she somewhat regretted.

Wait. He had friends? That seemed to be more suspicious than anything.

"Where did you get it?"

"Where I got all this."

He did an offhand wave at all the cooking ware he obtained.

"Lady was nice. Gave me it."

That seemed like the best she could get out of him for a while, short of torture.

Laura put a bit more salve on herself and went over to relax on her bed disappointed at the waste of the day. Maybe she'll go for a run or something to pretend like she got some sort of benefit from today.

She laid down not even bothering to go under the covers and tried to decompress as was her ritual, letting the air go out of her lungs.

Still, she wasn't anywhere near the all-too-comfortable pillows they supplied her with. But who was she to argue against that right now?

She shuffled the pillows closer to her head and was surprised at an added inclusion. It was a strange appearance to something familiar.

After tilting her head she was greeted by something furry. It brought attention to her because it seemed familiar, so she brought it up to her face and was greeted by a small little polar white bear with a small fabric eyepatch that looked so much like hers.

It took a few moments inside her skull to process the sheer and utter AUDACITY that was just displayed in front of her. Her face slowly contorted into the epitome of violence in the realization turning into a yelling beast while its furry head was grabbed and hurled at the back of her newfound enemy's head.

"YOU Idiot, fick dich selbst, du Göre! "

All that did was make his head turn in confusion with a small smile of appeasement that slowly realized what he'd done turning into a more apologetic smile of utter pain that was about to come.

"Look-"

Laura hurled herself off the bed.

"Look- alright- look. LOOK. This was before- I thought it'd be funny."

He knew she could very well kill him at this moment and she very much wanted to. Get equal, a second round. See who was the best. Get even. See him hurt.

She was rapidly approaching and was reveling in the anticipating pain she saw in his eyes.

Common sense dictates she not do this. And she agreed sadly. Still, she walked up to him blaring more and more vitriolic curses at him she heard from the others working at the mountain she didn't even fully understand.

Then she quieted down. She knew he knew what to expect. It was her move she did to instill fear.

She was right next to him and threw a weak punch at his chest it was hard to restrain herself because she was still shorter than him sitting down. Then another one of more effort. Slowly and slowly transforming the slow barrage into a flurry of decently impactful punches that obviously would cause some but not a lot of pain.

The want to release at least some more energy into them and make him feel a magnitude of pain was still there to a high degree but she knew not to ruin their relationship right now. Later was a better time.

She was still punching and he wasn't stopping her. Maybe that just meant he thought of her very valid anger as something to scoff at. So she drew back her right arm and prepared to finish her maelstrom with something fierce.

She coiled her arm back with the restrained fury she built over the day and sprung it into his chest cavity. It knocked him off his chair and made him fall onto the floor.

There, her anger dissipated to more controllable levels, he was knocked cold onto the floor like she was and it seemed like he learned his lesson.

Until he started giggling on the floor like earlier in the morning. That inspired a flame in her to start kicking. But even that felt like it was too far. So she just stood there looking at him giggling as he stood up a bit more while heaving from her attack.

"We good?"

He asked while on the floor looking at her curled up into a defensive stance in case she changed her mind.

"I hate you."

She tried to make him wince by drawing her fist back again in a rapid motion. He flinched by only a slight amount and just started laughing more.

"Alright, we're good."

He grabbed the desk he was close to and stood up with a slight stumble. Maybe she shouldn't have done this.

Still, Laura wouldn't turn back at all. She went back to her bed's edge and sat. Until the bear was thrown at her face again.

"Don't worry you can keep the bear."

The hysterics he found in this witty comeback only increased as he cackled harder.

"Again, I hate you."

The scowl on her face didn't change or the way she spat out the response, but she was horrifically starting to enjoy his companionship a slight bit more than she thought she was.

"Thanks. But also, I'm really- actually- well, sorry. "

An apology that he couldn't stop laughing through. Too genuine to fake or was he just a master manipulat-

"No refunds."

Then he laughed more and more. Inexplicably at that.

Laura wondered how the people at home would react to this new addition to her life.