savageorchids:

    Ruolan reacted with a start at an unfamiliar voice behind her, wheeling around to face it. Truth be told, she’d been on edge ever since Cao Cao and his men had arrived at the castle; no amount of preparation or debriefing from her master could quell her fear that this ambush was doomed from the start.

    She eased a little at the sight of the young man, offering him a smile. She’d returned from scouting the parameters just in time, and her demeanor was casual as she turned back to look up at the sky.

     “It is, isn’t it? The view from here’s pretty incredible most of the time, but nothing compares to how it looks at sunset.” She crossed her arms beneath her chest, giving him a sidelong glance as she laughed. “What? No, it’s nothing like that! I could be in there if I wanted to, but…it’s a whole lot of noise in there right now. I wanted to clear my head first.”

     Cao Ang made no comment on her initial reaction, nor did he acknowledge that he had taken consideration to it. He supposed he must have simply approached too quietly, or his footsteps had been masked by the voices and laughter. Well, it was too late to apologize–

     “That’s understandable,” he replied with a nod, and loosely crossed his arms. “I was ready to offer to go back in there and bring out a drink for you, but if you are allowed to partake, it is unnecessary. It’s quite lively in there! As nice as it is to take it easy like this, I am just looking forward to going home. I miss my cute little siblings…”

     “Ah, but I need to still stop somewhere to get something for one of them. I promised I’d return with anything of interest, but maybe I should have made it less of a promise and more of an ‘I’ll try’. Really, I have yet to see anything out of the ordinary to bring home… maybe I can find an oddly shaped rock and spin a story for it. What do you think? He is only five years old, so he should not be too difficult to please.”