Yue scrambles to her feet just in time to meet Qiu's stance. She's barely got enough time to unsheathe her own sword, which by the way she is super not used to since every other time she's needed a sword she's either already been holding it or it's been a matter of fishing it out of her bag (which for whatever reason feels smoother than more comfortable than pulling it out of something made just for it). Anyway barely enough time to fumble it out of there and take her own stance before the whirlwind descends on her. She doesn't know a thing about kendo, so she picks a pose out of her own lessons instead. Sword held high above her head, tilted down to defend her face and body, her passive leg lifted and tucked behind the knee of her dominant one. 

It's flashy and inefficient, probably maybe. Definitely the first, can't say about the second. Doesn't seem like it'd be very good for hitting people though, does it? That's 'cause it's not. The point of Yue's... I think she calls it her "crane stance" is to be pretty. To be a beautiful thing for your opponent to chase, to be specific. She doesn't pick it to be a sillyhead or disrespect Qiu. She doesn't pick it because she's inexperienced or overwhelmed. She [i]didn't[/i] make a mistake. She chose it to remind herself that it's not her place to attack. In fact if she tries right now she'll lose the second she does. Not the good kind of losing either, where you still have fun and learn a lot and then keep going, which is the kind of losing she experiences with Chen. But the bad kind of losing, where a door slams shut in her face forever and maybe Princess Yin has to trample everybody else's dreams to open it back up again after all.

Those're the stakes. Nothing major, right? No biggie! It's the perfect sized duel for a young maiden in her first real battle with a full-on capital P Princess. Isn't it? 

"Who, me? I'm! Eep! Oh gosh! I'm... Yue? I don't, I'm sorry, is that not good enough? What else am I, eep! Supposed to be?"

Yue's blade, at least, is an equal of Qiu's. Of course it is, it belonged to a legendary, truly incomparable hero. Even if history erased her name (as sad as that is), her heart lives on inside this beautiful unbending blade. The arms holding it may be scrawnier and less certain, but the blade is still aligned with them and their ideals. If, or rather when Yue loses a fight it will never ever [i]ever[/i] be because her weapon wasn't a match for her opponent's. With that said, even though she's focused on dodging, even though she only flashes her sword for tiny graceful parries that kiss her sword along the edge of Qiu's and slide prettily down the length of it so that she can twist and hop away, her shoulders quiver under the power of the blows she's dancing past. Her arms feel like jelly from the electricity of it all. And this isn't even Princess Qiu with her heart shining bright and fulfilled! This isn't her, Yue, bravely blocking and overpowering a strike with her footwork and her breathing and the power of her wishing heart. She's just! She's dodging! All she's doing! Is getting out of the way! And it's still! Eeep! Like this!

Lemme come to her defense for a second real quick, though. It's gotta look like she's flounderin' up there, doesn't it? Her lil' twig arms are weak and her answer was squeaky and unsure where Princess Qiu's declaration was as bold and pretty as it was haughty. But that's a habit of hers. If you mistake it for genuine weakness she'll whip your sorry booty right off your cutie hips, Qiu. Watch her, she'll surprise you. See, she [i]could[/i] have answered thusaways:

'I am Yue, of the Terraced Lake! I am the Wolf of the Sky Castle! I tame beasts and turn their teeth to soft kisses! I plucked the thorn from the paw of the tiger that was scarin' the whole village. I swam in the river late one night, even though that's where demons live, and let it wash me to the waterfall so I could take a bath. I gained the trust of monster from the ancient world before the suns were broken! I helped a princess learn to love herself again! I loved a wolf so much I became one just to help her! And when the time came I threw off that curse completely, just to kiss her!'

She could say that. She could say a heckuva lot more. She could even:

'I'm Yue! Just Yue! And that is more than enough for me to be! Ffffff... uhhhhh, hec... spankies for you if you think that it's not! Why shouldn't it be?! When a storm comes ragin' I put on the kettle for tea to welcome it! If I catch fire then I'll learn to dance like it does! I don't need a sunshard, I don't even need to be strong! Because I know how to light a fire without burning everything to ash! You, you... dummy!'

But she doesn't. Because in her head, all of deeds she might brag about feel to her like they belong as much or more to the people and creatures she did them with, and for. Because all of that heat feels rotten in her mouth, so how could she live with herself if she spit it at someone? After all, the question she got asked was 'who is she?' If she can't answer that question in her own way, she might as well just drop her weapon and let herself get cut in half right here. 

...The Wandering Tales of Yue The Sun Farmer, Chapter Two. The second secret sword: Hey Sis, Do You Think They Have Tea Parties Everywhere?

Loving someone means watching them. Everything they do, so you don't miss a detail and you soak up every last bit of their perfection like toasted bread sopping up a smooth, creamy, delicious, mmmm... runny egg yolk. Goshies, am I drooling? I feel like I'm-- ahem! But when you watch someone that much and that deeply, you really [i]do[/i] soak up their essence inside of yourself. It's more than basic mimicry, it's learning how they think so you can apply their form of problem solving to whatever kind of puzzle you find yourself in.

No more Crane Stance, now. No more petal dancing and barely dodging the incredible power of Princess Qiu. Now Yue crouches low, like a wolf. It's time to fight like Hyra does. Which is to say, she runs away. Shamelessly, in fact, and far enough away that it really does look like all she's after is abandoning her fight and her promise until all of a sudden she comes darting back inside of the Danger Zone, smirking and laughing with the secret humor of someone who's figured out a joke before anybody else. She runs away, and then she runs back. She dives, as though to strike, as though even to make that most powerful of tackles: the poumce, only instead to catch at least half a good smack on her cheek, her stomach, her thigh, or her back, and go tumbling through the air or bouncing off the dirt in the least graceful way it is possible for a human to do so. 

She wonders how much longer it will take Qiu to notice that every time she's done this, she's also snipped away a little piece of that absurdly mopey black dress. Because if she doesn't figure it out pretty quick then the next time she bends swings her tail with that graceful but lightning-sharp-and-quick motions of hers, the whole thing's gonna tear and fall away from her in a pattern designed by ya girl. It won't be a dress anymore so much as an act of worship for her lovely scales and beautiful body. Yue giggles at the thought. And then imagining it makes her turn pink. Oh. Oh goshies!

Erm. A-anyway. There's, um. A bit more time before that happens. Yue's battlefield is a great circle, more of a track, or actually it's more of a dome because sometimes she'll borrow Chen instead of Hyra and lift away on her sword, riding it through the air while balancing on her tippy toes. But always in service to running the h*ck away, in giving herself time to recover between blows and continuing her grand heist. Always looking for the opportunity where her audience's eyes are just where she wants them to be. Which is to say, not where they need to be if they're to stop the magic trick from happening. 

And she gets it. Her moment. She touches down on the ground with enough space between her and Qiu to get away with any move the wide world of martial arts or even anime could dream of. And she uses it... to plant her sword in the dirt. Stoop down. And carefully reseal the lids on the tupperware containers with the unfinished bread and eclairs still in them.

Yue, who is Just Yue, is sopping wet with sweat. Her hair doesn't know if it wants to frizz or flop, but her ponytail is close enough to being a dragonish whip to rival Qiu's tail that it might count as her first attempt at taking the threeshard princess into herself. Her body is a thing of dirt and cuts, and her legs and arms are having a contest to see which one of them can wobble harder. She stands up as straight as she can, and flashes a grin over at her dance partner. 

"Huff... huff... hoo. You. Do everything. Too fast! Y'know that? You keep, huff, skipping steps! If you don't... sheesh... tone it down, every, every now and again, you're gonna. Miss out. See? Now c'mon. We dancin'? Or not? If you don't, oh gosh, let me see, your moves, I'm never gonna, hoooooooof... see how cool they are!"

She doesn't try to pry her sword back out of the ground. Right this second, to her noodle arms at least, it's as stuck in there as if pulling it free would grant her the right to rule an island or somethin'. But the smile she flashes at Qiu is magical. Like a rainbow in the middle of a thunderstorm. Like chasing a she-wolf that's been terrorizing the local landscape all the way to her den and discovering she's recently become a mother to a whole litter of adorable puppies. Like someone who's still dreaming of tea parties with the whole entire world.

You can come at her, Qiu. It's ok. It's ok! You can show her your very best, most astonishing or dazzling or beautiful or brutal or whatever kind of finishing move you like. Hit her with the power of three sunshards, or none. It's ok! It's... allowed, y'know? If you don't let her see, she can't show you in turn. The True secret sword, the one that's making her so brave right now. She really, actually, honestly, sillily thinks that she can win. Don't you wanna find out why?

Then show her! It's ok!

[Yue rolls Entice: [b]13[/b]]