Stampede (1)

"Wahhh!"

Pumping my arms and legs, I forced myself not to look behind me. However, the temptation was too much for me as I snuck a peep from behind.

Big mistake! Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;)//

Charging behind me, a horde of spirit beasts flared their nostrils and flashed their canines as they chased after me!

Naran, you f*cking idiot! How could you look behind, ah! ＼`•̀益•́´／

Wahhh! How did this happen!

Everything was going to plan, so how could everything go so wrong!?

Wu wu wu, I'm tired! ヽ(´Д｀ヽミノ´Д｀)ノ

Can someone tell trouble that I'm not interested in them and that they need to let me go?! They don't need to be this clingy, ah!

"Help!" Somebody save this poor auntie!

Suddenly swooping down from behind me, an arm wrapped itself around my waist as it pulled me off the ground and other the flat side of a flying blade.

"Junior Sister, are you okay!"

"Ah! Thank heaven's you're here, Senior Sister!" Clinging onto Senior Sister for dear life, I shuddered as I looked below at the horde of beasts stampeded trees and other obstacles in their way with ease.

Aiyah, that was close, too close, ah! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

"Are you alright," Senior Sister repeated her question as she thankfully tightened her hold on me.

"I think so?" I'm not too sure if I'm alright! I'm sure I shaved off a few years of life just from that experience alone! "Feeling a bit faint, but otherwise, I think I'm fine."

Aiyah, at least I have you, Senior Sister! You're so reliable, my support buddy. ( ´▽｀)

Heaving, I buried my face in her neck as I inhaled her tranquil fragrance.

Ah, even though my heart feels like it's going to explode from the adrenaline, Senior Sister's perfume seemed to calm me down for a bit.

I'm curious about what perfume mixture Senior Sister uses. I want to use it for myself because it smells so pleasant and soothing.

I felt Senior Sister grip my waist tighter as she pulled me closer to her.

Ah, so considerate, Senior Sister, making sure that this little junior doesn't fall, ah. （*＾＾*)

The only thing is, why is Senior Sister trembling?

Or am I trembling? 「(°ヘ°)

I don't even know, this is too much for one day, ah!

"Do you know what happened?"

"No" — I shook my head as I laid my head on her shoulder — "everything happened so quickly!

There's no way that we could've prepared for something like this!"

Earlier that day…

"Senior Sister, did you know that Xiao Lan is skilled at archery and ribbon dancing? That's so cool!"

How exciting! It's rare to see another young woman practice martial arts, and to add dancing on top of that is so fascinating! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

Her flexibility and strength must be outstanding!

Xiao Lan said that we could train together for a few days once we return from our mission. I wonder as to what techniques she uses and how they would fare against mine.

Hehe! So exciting! (((＼（＠v＠）／)))

It's been some time since I've fought an opponent of equal standing as myself.

Well, except for Senior Sister, I suppose.

I can't recall the number of times that I've fought against her, but it's enough that I have calluses on my behind from her punishing wacks. _(:」∠)_

"Eh," Senior Sister harrumphed as she looked at the map in front of her. "Very interesting."

Weird, Senior Sister, doesn't look interested at all. (･_･;)

Hmm, maybe Senior Sister already knows all of this stuff when she spoke to Shao Xiu Lan, so perhaps I'm just repeating old information. "Senior Sister, did you already know this stuff?"

"No."

"Oh." Uh, okay then…? !?(･_･;?

Senior Sister didn't say anything more after that and continued to focus on her work, ignoring me as I awkwardly stood off to the side.

"Senior Sister, is something wrong? Did I say or do something?"

"No, you didn't," Senior Sister bit out as her hands crimped the edge of the map.

Uh… (o_o;;)

Senior Sister, your actions say otherwise.

Rubbing my nose at the awkward mood between Senior Sister and me, I plopped down on the log beside her. Leaning closer to her, I tried to read the map that Senior Sister was so focused on; however, it just looked like random pictures with squiggly words strewn about on the yellowing parchment.

How can anyone navigate that? (o3o)?

However, as I did so, I noticed that Senior Sister didn't seem to notice nor care about our close contact; instead, she looked more annoyed.

Hah?!

What did I do! Did I cross the line somewhere! Σ(゜゜)

"Are you sure, Senior Sister?"

"Yes," Senior Sister nodded coldly before muttering under her breath. "Why don't you go bother your 'Xiao Lan.'"

Eh? Xiao Lan? ( ・◇・)?

"Why would I go to Xiao Lan?"

Senior Sister froze for a second before relaxing. "Nevermind, it's nothing," standing up Senior sister rolled up the map and tucked it away into her sleeve.

"Excuse me, Junior Sister, but I have some other matters to attend to."

"U-uh, okay," I nodded as I watched Senior Sister leave, awkwardly.

Strange.

What was that about? (´･_･`)

---

Senior Sister has been acting weird.

Technically, Senior Sister has been acting somewhat normal on the outside, with her whole calm and cold aura. It would appear as if Senior Sister wasn't fazed by any mortal hardship to an untrained eye, like a celestial looking down from above.

But after being with her for almost a year, I wasn't so blind as to not pick up on specific cues.

Like when she's annoyed, a slight crease begins to form between her eyebrows as her lips slowly pull back into a pair of thin lines.

Or when she's mad, her eyes narrow down into like a pair of sharp knives as she stabs at you with her glare.

Or when she's trying to calm herself down, she curls her fists open and closed while slowly breathing in and out in quiet huffs.

Okay, I guess all I know is when Senior Sister is mad or annoyed, but it's still something! _(:」∠)_

Plus, it's rare to see Senior Sister happy, so it's hard to know when it will happen ah.

However, today, Senior Sister didn't do any of her usual acts of fury at all.

It's like we've become a tad bit like strangers as whenever we crossed paths, Senior Sister seemed to turn around a walk away!

Aiyah, the cold shoulder? What did I do to warrant such treatment? ヽ(;▽;)ノ

Maybe that groping accident? But I thought we've already settled that… or did we?

I don't know, ah. _(:」∠)_

Senior Sister can be so mysterious sometimes.

But regardless, it still hurt a little that Senior Sister didn't say or show me anything as to why she's mad.

Ah, what to do? ('A `lll)

"Jing Ran, are you listening?"

"Huh?" Looking to the side, my eyes meet the confused ones of Shao Xiu Lan as she tilts her head. "O-oh, sorry, my mind wandered off.

Um, what were we talking about?"

"Oh," as if nothing happened, Shao Xiu Lan returned to her usual pep and continued talking. "We're talking about…"

Although I didn't mean to tune out Xiao Lan, my attention couldn't help but drift off to the cold beauty who led the group up ahead.

Aiyah, why won't you just tell me what's going on, Senior Sister! (´;ω;｀)

Throw me a bone, you know I'm not great at these emotional guessing games!

"Sigh, a maiden's heart sure is complicated…"

"Eh?" Shao Xiu Lan suddenly stopped talking as she looked at me with an abnormal expression — one that seemed to be tittering between annoyance and something else. "Jing Ran, is there something wrong?

Are you having trouble with another girl?"

"Uh," scratching my head, I debated whether or not I should confide in her about my current situation.

Xiao Lan looks annoyed that I wasn't paying attention to our conversation, which she has every right to be.

However, this thing about Senior Sister seems to be lingering overhead like a dark rainy cloud.

You can't help but be worried when it will rain, especially given that you don't have an umbrella.

"Jing Ran, you know you can talk to me, right?

We're friends, so if somethings wrong, feel free to talk."

Hmm, she's not wrong. 「(°ヘ°)

We are friends, so I'm sure she can maybe lend some advice to me. I suppose it won't hurt to tell Xiao Lan her a little bit of what's going on and ask what I need to do to fix whatever is happening between Senior Sister and me.

Plus, what better way in figuring out another girl's heart by asking a girl, right?