"For some people maybe. But why would I train so hard if nobody can admire the fruit of my hard work?" He holds his palms up and shrugs. Of course he trained very hard to be strong first and formost. But in front of the ladies? Of course he'd show off his assets.

Dan Heng's fingers were just as quick to type out another reply when Jing Yuan's came in. A simple enough response that would certainly get the General up and on his way in the shortest amount of time possible, which was fine by him.

𝐟𝐨𝐫   𝐚   𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝,   𝐬𝐡𝐞   𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭   𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝   𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞,   half   draped   over   the   back   of   the   chair   with   pastel   eyes   still   pointed   anywhere   but   him.   her   fingers   tapped   idly   against   the   edge   of   the   chair   while   she   allowed   herself   some   time   to   process   everything   he   told   her   ⸻   albeit   short   but not so sweet.   what   else   was   she   expecting   from   him?   of   course,   she   should’ve   known   he   wouldn’t   tell   her   what   she   wanted   to   hear,   but   she   supposed   that   was   the   most   honest   &   hardest   pill   for   her   to   swallow.   

❝   .   .   .   wow.   ❞

𝐡𝐞𝐫   𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞   𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝   𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭   𝐭𝐡𝐞   𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞   𝐨𝐟   𝐡𝐞𝐫   𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤,   catching   herself   in   a   standstill   as   she   felt   like   there   wasn’t   something   witty   or   smartass   of   her   to   say   to   that.   as   someone   who   lived   on   fast   inputs,   his   answer   truly   did   feel   like   being   handed   a   blank   screen   &   told   to   render   it   herself   ⸻   that   annoyed   her,   not   because   he   was   wrong,   but   because   he   made   sense   in   a   nonsense   kind   of   way.   silver   wolf   pushed   herself   upright   then,   the   chair   creaking   as   she   shifted,   one   leg   hooked   over   the   side   again   as   she   leaned   forward   with   her   chin   resting   in   her   palm   now.   a   faint   scoff   left   her   as   her   eyes   slightly   looked   up   but   still   not   quite   meeting   his   gaze,   though   it   was   closer   than   before.

❝   so   basically,   ‘skill   issue,   git   gud.’   ❞

𝐬𝐡𝐞   𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤   𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫   𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟   𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭   to   let   the   atmosphere   settle   in   before   ultimately   pushing   herself   fully   off   the   chair,   letting   it   spin   lazily   with   her   hands   slipping   into   her   pockets   ⸻   not   necessarily   annoyed   but   not   satisfied   either.   perhaps   her   best   bet   would’ve   been   to   ask   the   other   members,   but   she   felt   they   might   give   her   the   same   answer,   just   in   different   flavors.   sugarcoating   wasn’t   her   deal,   but   sometimes   she   did   want   to   be   spoiled   slightly   enough   to   be   sold   lies   just   to   keep   a   sort   of   delusion   to   motivate   her.   

the   question   she   asked   will   remain   unresolved   until   further   notice.

❝   whatever,   i’ll   just   clear   the   stage   &   see   what   drops.   ❞

a   pause.

❝   i   always   do.   ❞

　　　　　“did you also hear a knock on the door?” - @praedctor ( blade )

𝐭𝐡𝐞   𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡   𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫   𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝   𝐡𝐞𝐫   𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝   𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲   𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡   𝐚   𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝   𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧   𝐨𝐧   𝐡𝐞𝐫   𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞,   the   question   hanging   in   the   air   between   them.   for   a   split   second,   she   laid   out   different   possibilities :   was   the   knock   real,   was   it   something   else,   or   was   it   something   only   blade   could   hear?   sunset   eyes   slowly   drifted   towards   the   door   being   mentioned,   its   surface   nothing   out   of   the   ordinary   yet   now   burdened   with   the   weight   of   implication.   a   knock   meant   presence   &   whether   or   not   it   was   friendly   or   not,   would   be   entirely   up   to   them   to   seek   it   out.

𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐲   𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝   𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡   𝐧𝐨𝐭   𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭   𝐡𝐞𝐫   𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬   but   with   that   quiet,   restless   instinct   that   had   carried   her   through   far   worse   than   an   unanswered   door.   what   was   peculiar   about   it   was   that   there   wasn’t   a   second   knock,   no   shuffle   of   feet,   no   whispers   from   the   other   side.   her   fingers   curled   faintly   at   her   side   as   if   reaching   for   something   that   wasn’t   there   anymore   or   had   been   there   to   begin   with,   &   she   exhaled   through   a   small,   concerned   breath.

it   was   moments   like   these   when   she   sometimes   wished   the   script   would   give   them   more   to   go   off   on   because,   according   to   her,   there   shouldn’t   be   another   soul   with   them   ⸻   so   much   for   making   this   mission   a   simple   in-&-out.

❝   i   heard   .   .   .   something.   with   your   question,   i’m   guessing   that   was   the   door.   ❞  

her   gaze   flickered   back   to   him,   scanning   his   face   for   an   indication   as   to   what   their   next   move   would   be.   

❝   should   we   open   it   or   should   we   keep   pushing   forward   .ᐣ.ᐣ   ❞

“Detective.. I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” Lying across the floor, it appeared another episode of ‘evade-the-furbos’ had played out, only this time, she’d landed before the man she shared this building with. Nihilux offers a smile, as if to brush off her position.