Who knew that each side had a secret? Secrets that could change the tides of war in an instant. They played against the balance--the push and pull of power--invisible to all as the Kinsmen continued to push forward.
Two years had passed since that f...
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Nagan had to hand it to Rin, the man had the attention span of a well-trained scholar. While Rin's pen had yet to move for the last thirty minutes—the Council was still stuck on a very niche topic of funding that was irrelevant to them—he sat perfectly still. No fidgeting and his back straight. Nagan, on the other hand, had long since discarded decorum and draped himself against the banister, one arm cushioning his head as the other hung lazily down.
It's been three hours, Nagan internally complained, stifling a yawn in the crook of his arm. He jumped when Rin placed his hand on his knee, and it immediately stilled. He didn't even know when he had begun bouncing it.
"A break should be announced soon," Rin whispered, and he removed his hand.
Nagan nodded in reply, but he continued to stare at the older, wondering how Rin tolerated this. Perhaps it was something the Honoria children were taught at a young age—sit still and sit quietly—but he wasn't even sure Carth would've tolerated this long of a meeting. Or at least, he was sure the other would've started fidgeting by now.
Or maybe Carth would've sat the same. Who was he to say? By now, he had been friends with Rin longer than he had been with Carth. Maybe the brothers had the same taste in dessert or pulled the same face when met with something they were disgusted with. Maybe they had the same smile. Not the ones they pulled to be polite, but the genuine grin that only a few have been able to evoke.
Of course, he knew the brothers had their differences. Rin's hair was curlier than Carth's, and his eyes were more olive rather than the bright green the younger had. One was a gentle soul while the other had false pride to uphold. Rin was the boy who slowly cracked under the pressure while Carth shattered instantly. One lived while the other died.
Without looking back at him, Rin reached over and laid his hand on Nagan's bouncing knee. Again, it stilled.
Nagan 'tch'ed and moved his knee away from Rin's hand. This was getting ridiculous. He thought he would be attending a meeting about the war. You know, the thing that was threatening their existence? Not babbling on for ages about land distribution and how all of this was affecting their business. He stole a glance at Master Dagmire, gauging what he thought about this. To his annoyance, it didn't seem the general was all that upset about this. Master Honoria even said at the very beginning that this was about the loss of the majority of Hecatite, why were they entertaining some loudmouth complaining about how his "investments" were going to waste?
It appeared he wasn't the only one bored out of his mind. Just below him, he could hear a couple of assistants chatting about something idly. He doubted it was about anything currently being talked about, especially as one of them snickered at something the other said. A third batted on the arm and hissed something under his breath, probably telling them to be quiet. And they were after that. For two minutes. It started with a couple hushed comments, and then it turned into short conversations. By the time the third minute had passed, they were already chatting as they were before.
