[b]Rose[/b]

Chen was delighted to be led. To be placed in a room and have you set things out for her and take her through whatever you had planned. You could tell the second you saw her by how she couldn't quite sit still but was quivering with excitement. You could probably think of lots of reasons for that. After all, you're giving her a special surprise, so she ought to be excited. And a proud Rose would think that Chen ought to be excited simply because it's something [i]you're[/i] doing for her. And there's time alone under Keron's care, which is always precious in a world where much time is spent on appropriate behavior and service of handmaidens. 

But do you want to know a secret, Rose? The secret is that she's excited because you're doing this for her. Because it's her Rose, and she's your Chen. And that's before we get to moment when you lay everything out!

Once you're there, you can see Chen's eyes grow as wide as saucers. You can see the way they sparkle when she looks at the deep purple silk and the way her blush gets hotter and hotter as you bring yourself closer until a little squeak escapes her and a quiver shakes her entire body when the pressure of your thumb reaches her lip and her mouth and her tongue. You'd think it perfect if not for a tiny little nibble of those teeth when your thumb is pressed in the closest that might, for just the briefest of instants, bring a blush to your own cheeks. 

Of course, that's impossible because you, Rose, are completely in control here, which is devastatingly obvious when you cup yourself and bring the whole of your chest to Chen's face. She looks for all the world like she will instantly lose all coherence and melt into a puddle on the ground in front of you. And when you ask...when Chen squeaks and blushes and squirms and you demand that she answer you, there is the tiniest little nod and she manages, just barely through her squeaking and flustering and dying, a faint little yes that's enough to rocket through your whole being. 

***

[b]Yue[/b]

Today's the third day that Chen and Yue have been training together. The Countess had thrown both girls into a sparring room mumbling something about compatibility and synergy that seemed like she didn't want to give away the game when she knew perfectly well that you were already friends. 

The first day had been tentative. There had been a need for hugs on both sides after everything that had been going on and how long everyone had been apart. And a need to catch up about becoming a flufferdoodle and to learn all about anime and swear to catch up together with Jessic's collection when there was time. And on top of that, Chen wasn't really sure where Yue was this whole time. She'd caught most of the duel, but that had been very much about how Yue had been bringing out Tianic's talents. And, if you remember, the first time Chen had ever seen Yue was when she showed up in her new ghost armor bearing a real sword and looking for all the world like a sword saint fit to challenge Qiu herself. So, there needed to be a bit of apologizing and adjusting when Chen's first attempt at sparring resulted in Yue dropping her sword in a fumble because she wasn't ready and that wasn't fair, actually! And then the second attempt ended in two moves with Yue's nose head bopped and Chen realizing that she had to recalibrate. 

The second day was a little different because Yue was in wolf form, which meant first pets and ear scritches and nuzzles. And then Chen explaining very carefully to Yue that swordsmanship was first and foremost about knowing and feeling your body, which meant they spent wolf day working on a different variation of wolf sword style, pushing how fast Yue could move, how quickly she could turn and pivot, when she was in control of herself and when she wasn't. This was maybe the first time that Yue had seen Chen just enjoy herself like this too. This wasn't a high stakes duel, it was just play, practice, and using a skill Chen is good at. And that is visibly different. Chen darted about, laughing and teasing. She danced. She even sang a song at one point in the middle of the training, a fast-paced training theme that, though neither of you knows it, came from people playing bullet hell games in the burrow world. 

And so now it's day three and this is the first time the two girls are dueling properly. Chen takes a different tactic this time than on the first day. She starts slowly, like she might if sizing up an opponent, coming at Yue with single moves that can be blocked and then backing off. It's a way to build confidence and to train certain skills because it's hard to just change what you're doing. A panicked parry doesn't become a perfect parry with one repetition. It's a panicked parry, and then a panicked parry, and then a...panicked parry. And then a panicked parry with a little note of frustration because jeez that was like the fourth time how come she's still doing the same thing?! And then because there's a little breather there's time to think about it, and then it's [i]still[/i] a panicked parry because it's harder than it seems to go from having an idea in your head to actually executing it instead of responding according to your first instinct. But then, then it's a little bit earlier and a little bit better all of a sudden. And then it becomes something more like wondering why this was so hard in the first place, until Chen changes it up and does two attacks. 

That's the point where it takes off, where the duel starts becoming an ebb and flow like water. Chen does a move, and then another, and they're not that fast, but Yue is keeping up and even trying a few of her own where she thinks Chen is going to be. Those prompt Chen to move and counter, and Yue has to counter in turn. Dueling training swords become like ocean waves as the tide rises, each move imparting energy and momentum to the other person. Yue tries to thrust and Chen sidesteps and swings just a little faster and so Yue throws her sword in the way and that's pushing Chen's sword into its next move and on and on, accelerating little by little. 

The dance goes on for nearly two full minutes in which the only sound is the clacking of wooden swords and the whisper of their feet on the rush mats. Chen almost lets Yue win. She can see moves where she could let herself take a light blow and break the duel with applause and a pat on the back for her student. Except...except when she imagines that, she's not seeing Yue, she's seeing Qiu and Keron, and that hurt in their eyes. And it...it wouldn't be right to Yue to do that. She's not here to build up false confidence, she's here to show her the heights of what's possible and to help her get as far as she can towards it. She deserves to be treated with respect precisely because she's still learning. So, when Yue puts too much weight into a horizontal slash, Chen is already pushing it up and out of its proper plane and her blade is just below Yue's throat before she can even gather that her move was thrown aside.

They stop, frozen at the end of the duel, and a huge smile bursts onto Chen's face. "That was so good! Yue, that was amazing! Let's take a break and then go one more time before we're done." And you can hear, Yue, that Chen would love to hear how it felt, every little detail because she hasn't felt like this in forever and she wants to know everything about how it feels for you!