"What are you doing?"
It was a simple question that Qiúzhī didn't think twice about. She had seen the grey lion snooping around, sometimes catching a peek of him looking at her. The lioness didn't think much about it since she knew she could be perceived as a bit strange, and was not alarmed when she found out that he was also a member of the east house. Still, no situation had presented itself for her to approach him, and he certainly didn't seem interested in approaching her. Qiúzhī wanted to ask him if she had offended him in some way, as his actions seemed to her like she scared him, or made him mad, or something.
Finally, she was able to corner him after a lesson she was helping teach. It was the first time she was able to indirectly interact with him, seeing that he wasn't a skilled student, nor was he all that intimidating like she thought he might be. He more like...seemed a stumbling adolescent, lost in his path in life and somehow seemingly clumsy around females. Still, Qiúzhī wondered if she had offended him, and nearly pounced on him to clear the air between them. Many of the other students had left, and he hadn't disappeared quick enough.
Caught. Yinse could feel the world spinning out of control. How was he supposed to answer that question?? He didn't have the guts to tell her how he really felt, especially when he didn't know her that well. It seemed like everything she did was amazing. Smart, patient, respectful, and independent...Yinse was in love. Or was it infatuation? He didn't know what the difference was, so he was too scared to act.
"W-well, I just am amazed at how quickly you pick the lessons up. I...I think you're the smartest student here!" She would get promoted to teacher in no time, even if she was only teaching the lower level classes as she strived to learn more about the harder ones. Yinse just knew that about her, with how she carried herself and always pushed herself.
Qiúzhī's brow raised, a bit stunned that that was what he wanted to share with her. It felt like there must be something more, but she wasn't sure how to get it out of him. She wasn't the smartest lion when it came to interacting with others on this level.
"I see," she said. "Are you quite sure that is all? You always seem so interested. Perhaps if you applied yourself to your lessons with the same interest, you would be doing better." She didn't mean it as an insult, merely an observation, but it would be easy for Yinse to take it harsher than Qiúzhī meant. She blinked up at him, the lioness still not sure what was wrong.
Yinse flushed red at that moment. There was enough white on his face for it to easily be seen, and he wasn't sure what to do anymore. He felt like a sheer idiot.
"Perhaps." He finally replied. He had no idea how to recover from this, and he didn't know if she'd even accept anything that he said to her.
Qiúzhī blinked. What had she said wrong?? He seemed confused, and a bit hurt. The lioness had never had to deal with a situation quite like this one.
"....studying is not a skill that comes naturally, is it?" she asked carefully. She took a moment to really look at him, being careful to look at every little moment he betrayed. She wanted to be skilled, didn't she? This was a way for her to put to use what she had learned from her teachers. How to be tactful.
"Why don't you look for a new skill?" she asked him. Her green eyes looked straight into his, seeing just how uncertain he was of himself. Pity that he seemed to crumple under the pressure of a student. He would never make it past that stage, with his memory retention. "I feel you should spend your time working on other skills."
Her words still hurt. But. There was some truth in them, too. Being a student wasn't working out for him, no matter how much he enjoyed spending time with his sister or her friends. To see Qiúzhī more often than if he was anything else. But she was right.
"Maybe," he replied quietly, surprised that this situation had turned into such an awkward and uncomfortable one. He still couldn't help it that it was Qiúzhī who was telling him this...was this something he should take to heart? Did this mean that there was a possible future? No, he couldn't even tell her what he felt, how could there be any future?
"A guard," she replied. "Your strength is there, even if it needs some training. Your have a passion for this house, and we don't have very many guards if anything happened."
"A....guard?" he echoed, thinking about it. It seemed like she had a better gauge of what he wanted than himself. The doubt had always been there, but no solution. This felt like something he could possibly do...and perhaps it was time to talk to his sister and see what she thought. Or should he just go for it? The Lady of the house would most likely say yes...and he could work on training as soon as possible. Hopefully he wouldn't have to transfer to the North for training. He'd like to stay...here. It was his home, even if his parents were still in the Central house.
"I think I'll give it a try," he replied with a shy smile, still feeling uncertain of himself.
"I'm sure you'll succeed," she replied, bowing her head. "I will check in with you at some point, then, to see how you are doing. If you'll excuse me, I have a study session to go to."
She quickly dismissed herself and left, wondering...why was she so nervous? It must be because she was able to help him, and use her studies for something helpful rather than rehearing her speeches. Yes...that must be in.
Yinse blinked and she was gone. He felt his stomach flip, but a wave of disappointment, as well. She left so quickly, he didn't even have a chance to thank her. Was it always going to be this awkward for him?
(1,059 words)