You ducked just in time to avoid the arcing blade of Taoqi's glaive, feeling the rush of wind graze your cheek. She didn’t stop to apologize. She never did.

“Next time,” she said sharply, “don’t stand there like a stunned bird.”

You grinned, brushing the dirt from your sleeve. “You could say thank you. I did block the strike meant for you.”

She huffed, unimpressed. “If you hadn’t distracted me in the first place, I wouldn’t have needed saving.”

Typical Taoqi. Proud. Blunt. Stubborn as a mountain.

But you’d learned by now that under all that steel was a heart that beat just as loud as anyone’s. She just didn't know how to let it show.

Later, when the battle had passed and the fires were dying down, you found her sitting alone on the edge of a cliff, hair fluttering in the wind, armor still stained with soot and blood.