Well, [i]one[/i] thing's for sure: she wasn't actually in prison before now. Or, well, maybe she was, kinda, sorta, who knows? But if she was, now she's in Double Secret Super Prison. It's much more like what she's seen in stories this time. The seat's too hard, there's not really enough candles to read by when it gets dark and even if there were she's only got her magic scroll for reading material, and the bed is a mere two or three lumps away from having to be downgraded from perfectly sleepable. The food is... actually pretty good, it's just mostly rice and fish and chocolate protein shakes in the afternoons, and even after a few days you kinda start to want something else just for variety, y'know? It's like, for some weird reason it's like they're more interested in helping her build muscle than making sure she's super duper comfy? Bizarre, right? Right??? At least there's lots of room to do stuff. Like practice. Alone. As in, all by herself. Sigh. She didn't ask for this, ok? She already agreed to the whole arena thingy! What was wrong with taking a while if it meant she got to do it with Hyra helping her the whole time? Only, actually... there's a warm little squiggly feeling in her chest that won't go away no matter what, that's making her feel like Hyra's still helping her anyway. Even though she's not here at all. When she first got tossed in here, she'd finally lost her fight against the curse and gone full floofyfluff (which one should never do, if one can help it). But she curled up and slept on her bed, and when she woke up again she was right back to fingers and toes and every other delicious bit of her sitting right where it was supposed to, and nobody had to tell her who was responsible for [i]that[/i]. Oh, Hyra. Oh, you brave, beautiful... ok! If she's gonna go and do a thing like [i]that[/i], then Yue can manage! In fact, she'll do better than manage! By the time they let her outta here she's gonna be so good at all her stuff that her gorgeous pretty wow-wow perfect girlfriend'll have [i]no choice[/i] but to kiss her silly! So get to it, girl! Time's a'wastin', and it's so much harder to work on your finger positions when you don't got any! And that's the story of how she lost most of a night of sleeping. Ocean scented candles burned down to little stubs in their holders while she sat there studying her scroll more carefully than ever, concentrating so hard she couldn't keep her tongue safe inside her mouth while she did it. And when she set it aside, she took a big huge enormous step and [i]didn't[/i] immediately start trying, so her brain could maybe for once come up with something to help. She ate her rice and she ate her fish, and while one hand fiddled with the chopsticks the other was busy flitting between poses without stopping to let her worry about how wrong or right they were. Like this, then like this, then like this, add one of these, and finish with a that. Again, then again, then again, then again. Put down the bowl. Like this, then like this, then like... She felt a funny swoop where her stomach should be. She dared to look down at her fingers, and in the fading light she couldn't tell if anything was different than how it should be. She moved as if to stand, and shot so high she whanged her head on the ceiling! Ow! Ow ow ow owies ow! But! Also! Ow!! Er... n-no, wait! Did she? She... She did! It was just for a second, and without really meaning to, but she flew! She flew! The ground said buh-bye and the sky said hullo and now she had a big ol' headache and a sore butt when the ground said oh hey there fancy meetin' you again. And that's the story of how a series of delighted squeaks echoed through every single chamber of the Sky Castle that night. It's probably the story of how those same squeaks frightened a child or two for years and made 'em never ask for a midnight glass of water ever again, and it might also be the story of several otherwise perfect and super romantic and/or steamy nights got interrupted by a profoundlish happy girl riding the giddy wave of doing an impossible thing one tenth as well as it had been taught to her. But the first one's always the hardest. Always. It gets easier from there. Every time. It couldn't dodge her anymore, 'cause she knew what it felt like and nothing short of an Evil But Strangely Sexy Hypnotist could make her forget it ever again. This, uh, might also be the story of how one silly girl wound up having a slightly concussed dream or two while she napped into the afternoon with the dumbest smile in the whole world stuck to her adorable face. Oh gosh, I said 'or two', didn't I? Well, you can figure out the one, but I think the other's best left somewhere only a very special couple can chase it. Don't you? ***** "Awwww, I really thought I had you! Darn it!" Despite the sweat crawling across her skin, and the hands raised above her head in surrender, and the tiredness trying to pull them back down again in total breach of the rules of politeness (which probably have a name, but Yue's never read a book fancy enough to know what it might be), and the fiftieth loss or whatever in the last three days, and despite the sword tilted up at her throat just now, Yue's smile is more dazzling than sunlight. "We were like... whoosh, flutter, dance, clack clack bang swoosh wowie! And then, and then, oh gosh, s'like dancin' and runnin' and spinnin' and fightin' all rolled together at once! I totally get how Tianic worked paintin' in there now! It's all one big ball of art, isn't it? It is! That's totally it! But sheesh, I really thought I was gettin' faster, but you're on a whole other level, Chen. The way you do it, it's like... I, w-well, it's fast, ok? Fast and pretty and... I mean, y'know already, y'know?" Yue laughs and droops a hand behind her head to play with her hair, which doesn't do a danged thing to hide the blush taking over her face. She's been doing that a lot in her time with you. The hair thing, not the... well actually, she's been blushing a bunch too, hasn't she? And not all of it's embarrassment at her form either, it's like she sees something in your heart that wasn't there before and now you're too pretty not to fluster her. Where, like, before you were just "too pretty not to smile at", so it's a whole heapin' leap forward and it's a mystery what you might've done to achieve it. Another thing she hasn't really done much at all is shut up. You get the impression she needs more visitors. And the second, stronger impression that she's really not meant to be a wolf all the time, and all her country girl conversationalist skills can't help but burst out of her like a rush of water overcoming a dam the instant she gets a voice again. She takes a step back and wipes at her forehead before she goes and leans on her sword, which, yeah, she knows, don't do that Yue you're disrespectin' the equipment shush shush she gets it, please don't kill the vibe now kay? "So anyway where was I? Oh right, Mei! So there I was just down in town to do my monthly shopping, right? And Bao Bao's got a sale goin' on fresh cut wooden plates and I guess he's doin' good business 'cause he's almost out of 'em by the time I make it to his stall. And like, I don't mind tellin' you, Kat'd been in a [i]mood[/i] back then and I just couldn't get her to -- y'ever get like that with Li? -- but yeah just kept chewing through all my good plates so I was needing some extras like a waterfall needs a lake so I get to runnin' as fast as I can go with four bags've junk and radishes weighing me down and... Can. You. Believe it?! Mei just bumps into me! Oops, sorry, didn't see you there Yue, bein' so [i]short[/i] n' all! Tee hee! And she does that stupid little strut she does, y'know the... well I guess you don't, since you've never met, oh no wait you're a city girl so you probably see it all the time. It's the one with the big swinging hips like they're trying to attract deer with the power of their butt or something, and she goes and says all these plates are bought already just go home, and then. And then! She starts hagglin' over the price of 'em! Right in front of me! I was just... ooooooh, lemme tell you, if I was a princess like you are, I'd've smacked her butt right there so hard she'da spun!" She's got a million stories like this. Silly, provincial tales about clashes with other people living in her village, or little triumphs like the time she won the big chili cook off, or the best way to prepare tanghulu, or a dozen different uses for leftover fruit seeds and which teas could help with your skin care routine and anything else you've ever wondered about the world but never knew you needed to ask. She drops them while she's resting, like this, and she's been peppering you with them when she's been obviously frustrated and pouty, and she's dotted them breathlessly in the middle of every sword-stroke and sidestep she could fit them in. In fact, the only time she [i]hasn't[/i] filled the room with stories and tips from the Terraced Lake (apart from when you've been talking, obviously) is this last little dance of yours. She's trying her best, Chen. Not just to keep up with you, but... no, it's not even that. You're smart enough to know she doesn't really think she can match you, at least not yet. Granted it isn't stopping her from [i]trying[/i], but there's a quiet acceptance and a tiny joy in just seeing you be better than she is. What she's really trying to do is chase you. But what she's really [i]really[/i] trying to do? Repay you, silly. Make you feel as loved and special as you're making her feel every day you take time off from your busy prison routine to help her with her swordplay. It's... well, you know. You know better than even she does, don't you? The creeping pressure of expectation that builds up over everything you're doing the more people start to believe in you. When people think you might be special, and you stop thinking you're allowed to have fun with it, and suddenly every little failure's not a lesson to be learned, it's just proof you're not good enough to-- no, never mind. Don't carry that thought another centimeter further forward, kay? 'Cause you broke it today. You did. [i]You[/i] did. There's nothing but joy inside Yue's lake-blue eyes, and there's nothing but... Hm. There's mischief in her smile, isn't there? She's thought of trying something, and now it's your job to keep her from hurting herself while she does it. [i]Plus[/i] rising above her to make sure she gets to keep chasing you and doesn't taste the apple too soon. How about it, Chen? Are you enjoying this? Is this the kind of challenge you envisioned? And while we're at it, are you ready for Yue to try coming at you from above? ***** ...It's actually really hard to play board games when you're a wolf. That's just common sense, isn't it? Your ears are triangles and your teeth are big and sharp and your silly paws are awkwardly enormous and just... your whole thing is running fast for very long distances and pouncing on prey and howling into the night sky (the moon thing is a myth, ok?), or alternatively finding someone very special and curling up next to them to share your fluffy warmth with them and either snuggle in a little pile or give yourself up as a pillow depending on how human they are or aren't. That's your skillset. It's even harder to play Go. The stones are tiny and difficult to pick up with your mouth, and it's so important that you get that bit right or you'll never even have a chance to put it down on the board and try to nudge it into the exact right position without disturbing the rest of the board. It's even harder than it sounds, because, it turns out? There's [i]rules[/i] for Wolf Go. And most of them say you can't get slobber on any of the black stones. And you always have to play Black when you're in prison and named Yue. "You're a quick learner, Yue, but not quick enough to beat me~" Cyanis has such a cute smile when she's being smug and invincible, doesn't she? Makes it feel worth all the extra effort to make sure she stays happy. After all, it was so nice of her to visit, wasn't it? And to bring games! It's nice to just relax with a friend, with no hidden motives whatsoever. "Double or nothing, I win in the next fifteen moves. Bark if you're in, cutie." <> "Good girl! Aww, you're such a good girl~!" Hmph. T-takes one to know one! And honestly, you'd think somebody with such fluffy ears would be better at petting someone else's! Cyanis keeps doing this thing where she squishes Yue's poor triangles flat against her skull until she gets dizzy and disoriented and has to concentrate extra hard to remember what shape the board is right now. There's so many rules to memorize, and all she wanted to do was build pretty patterns but it turns out Wolf Go is played for stakes and... w-well, let's just say if she ever wants any underwear when she's back to being a girl again it's important she not lose too many of these games. Meep! Gosh, Cyanis is such a good friend. "...Wait, what did you just do?" <> "Well obviously! If a sillyhead like you knows that, of course I do too. But you're cheating again, naughty thing!" <> "No no no, look again. That's ko! It's ko, see?" <<...Bark.>> "W-well yeah, you did start it, but, um--" <> "S-superior ko? Where did you find out about, erm, I mean uh..." <> "You don't understand! I [i]need[/i] that stone! I neeeeeed iiiiiiiit~" Yue wags her fluffy tail, and very pointedly moves her paw away from the board. [i]Such[/i] a good friend! Such a good girl!!