Mayor Summers and Principal Winchester stood on the platform, the former crossing his arms and scowling somewhat at the back of the room. When he got up to the stand, though, that wore off.

"Welcome," he said, once everyone had entered, "I'd rather have had my first town meeting on more of an up note, but that's not in the cards. You might have noticed the arrival of another island off our shores. They aren't friendlies. Stay away from the island to the best of your ability. Don't pick fights unless you have to." He scraped his throat. "They are currently trying to hold us hostage. We're not going to let that happen."

He nodded at Zoe. "Principal Winchester?"

Zoe was trying to keep her expression neutral, in the hope that if she stayed calm, everyone else would as well. "The inhabitants of the other island want this one as their own, and their leaders have come up with a...plan of sorts for deciding who gets to stay. It's a tournament, us versus them, with chosen fighters from each side."

"After careful consideration," she said, glancing at Cable before looking back to the crowd, "we have decided that agreeing to their request is the best course of action."

"You'll find the list of chosen fighters at the door," Cable continued, fluidly, his face set as impassive as it got-- which was pretty much totally. "But have faith-- no matter how this tournament goes, they're not going to take this island, and you'll hear from us again soon enough."

[ open to all! ]