Ms.Stiff-Ass Meet Ms.Manic-Ass [Mana/Abalia]

Abalia was faintly perturbed by the fact that Mana was now resting her head on her lap, but she knew that, even if she minded enough to be genuinely bothered by such a thing, there was quite literally nothing she could do to stop it. Besides, there were more pressing concerns to focus on, namely the entire discussion at hand, and keeping a more general wherewithal. She kept a clear memory of Hayden's warnings as to the potential negative influence Mana would undoubtedly exude, and continued on as she was.

Ah, but Mana's reaction was not exactly what Abalia had hoped for. That wasn't to say she was hugely worried by it, and it certainly was in line with what she had prepared for from the demon queen, but even so. It had been quite a stretch for her to assume that Mana would just quickly approve the idea without something more being brought up, but- ah, dear dear me, this wasn't good at all, now was it? Abalia inwardly felt a great deal of dread as she watched this tentacle slither around, and even moreso as it patted her on the head. But with that being said, even as it felt as though every last sin in the world was running down her spine, the silver-haired maiden's jarring, unreal smile did not falter so much as one iota.

For, you see, she was not happy about this tentacle touching her, or speaking to her, and she was much less so as this pink one injected her with ever less stress. However, all things considered, she still had very little to be stressed over in the first place. Her life was at stake, certainly, but things were working all too well for her. If Mana wished for more details, that meant she had successfully acquired her interest. And to inform her of any further matters? Well, that had never been something Abalia was actually much interested in hiding, she had simply wanted to avoid bothering the Demon Queen with such minutiae if she decided this was not worth her time. It could be said that Abalia's plan, the efforts of this mundane protector of the peace, had worked perfectly well, and there was some satisfaction to be gained from such a thing.

“Of course, your highness. I have clearly conveyed my meaning poorly, as I only had any intent of keeping minor details from boring you should this not appeal to you. But, clearly I have misjudged this matter, and I do apologize.” Abalia would have given a small bow as she sat, but there was the matter of the pink tentacle wrapped around her, which she still could not much say she cared for. Letting that matter to rest for now, she continued, “The details themselves are simple enough, I believe. A pact of complete nonaggression, to begin with. Very plain, but I believe a boon to us both. We will not take any violent action against you, nor you against us. A simple way of ensuring that we are allowed to uphold the rest of the bargain.

As for the matter of that rest of the bargain, it is quite simple, in my opinion. This pact will last indefinitely, until such time as Vastime military operations against the Monsuta have come to a close and any further conflict involving them becomes no longer our concern. This nonaggression is, of course, only one aspect of this bargain. As it were, I have few doubts that there will be some potential prisoners of war taken during the course of conflict, and of course those who surrender to us will be taken care of as per standard regulations. However...”

The motherly, gentle smile on Abalia's face fell just a tad, conveying a more serious tone in spite of very little actual shift in her demeanor. It was rather impressive how much a minor change could convey, but there it was. Her general aura was almost frigid now, but not toward Mana, of course. No, it just seemed she had a great deal of disdain for those was currently speaking on.

“Surrender is one thing, but unwilling prisoners of war are a great hassle, and one which I severely doubt will much bring benefit to the nation of Vastime, you surely understand. The Monsuta may be very little, but what they definitely are is unpredictable and violent in their resistance to authority. So, with that in mind, should the great many prisoners we are forced to detain seem to disappear, I think that might be best for all parties, hm? Less resources wasted for my own country to concern themselves over, and I imagine that, whoever should happen to pick up these prisoners would have some use for them in mind. Wouldn't you agree, your highness?”

The motherly smile returned, then, as if it had hardly ever even disappeared in the first place. A more upbeat, if unlikely, topic of discussion was being brought to the table now, and Abalia was all too aware that this would most certainly go nowhere. Nevertheless, it was always worth potential discussion, particularly with someone as unpredictable as Mana, and so she brushed some imaginary dust from her boot and continued on.

“There was one other matter, of course. There has been some discussion as to a potentially...well, more permanent situation that might bring more potential peace between us. It is something which I cannot exactly say I suggest, but rather that I am simply curious regarding your opinion on. This is, quite firmly, not an outcome of this agreement, but rather a potential future advancement of it, you might say. The question is rather simple, but what would your thoughts be on a marriage to my liege Desmond Hayden be? As I said, please do not mistake this as my including this in the agreement, it is simply another potential avenue that has been considered.”

Many people, in fact most of them, might have been too terrified to even ask something of that to the Demon Queen herself. But for Abalia, it was a matter of duty, and perhaps more importantly, she had nothing to lose regardless. If Mana so wished, she could simply wring out every last bit of this information, and then some. There was little sense in trying to guard any of it.