Yeah... this one got a way from me a little... All the same, please rate and review.
Aurora trudged through the ferns in the path Mulan had cut. Although she no longer got stuck on everything, she still tended to walk at a slower pace than the marching warrior. She was also deep in thought. Tonight was her night, as they had begun to call it, and she didn't know what they were going to do. It had been a little over a week since the first night when they had played Horseshoes. Since then Aurora had taught Mulan how to play Hopscotch and Checkers. Horseshoes was definitely their favorite. Mulan didn't like Hopscotch because it reminded her of a balance training exercise in the army that she had happened to hate. Aurora, who was very good at Checkers, was not match for Mulan's strategizing abilities and got fed up after a few games. They were equally matched at Horseshoes and got very competitive over it. In fact, the last two times it had been Aurora's night, they had played Horseshoes and they were both getting tired of the game. Unfortunately, it was time for something new.
She needed to think of something good for tonight, but nothing came to mind. She sighed angrily at herself. Mulan never seemed to have this problem. It seemed she didn't plan anything until Aurora asked eagerly what they would be doing while they set up camp together. Once asked, Mulan's head would tilt to the side for a moment before seemingly pulling an idea out of thin air. Over the last week and a half, Aurora learned how to set traps, fish, and dry meats so it could be carried for long periods of time. Yesterday, Mulan showed her how to skin and gut their kills.
Aurora truly enjoyed this arrangement. She had learned so much. Mulan also seemed to be benefitting from it. She was more receptive to Aurora's attempts at idle chatter. Mulan was letting her guard down for the princess, opening up to her. Aurora also enjoyed the new closeness. Ever since the night when the shelter turned out narrow, Mulan and Aurora had been setting their bed rolls right next to each other, even when there was plenty of space. They always started out back-to-back, but when Aurora woke up, there was an arm around her that she was snuggling into and a warm sensation throughout her body. Aurora had to admit she loved it. Mulan was comforting and stable. With Mulan close, Aurora had some of the most peaceful nights she could remember. She also exuded strength. Everything about the warrior was strong. She was clever, focused, loyal, protective, and always in control. Then there was her physical strength. Mulan was all muscle. Aurora liked the feeling of Mulan's muscled arm around her and leaning her head back against a strong shoulder. Even through the blankets there was a toned abdomen against her back…
Blushing, Aurora shook the thoughts from her head. Those were new; she had never thought of anyone like that, and was fairly certain she should not be thinking of Mulan in such a way. She had never even analyzed Philip like this. He had always just been…there.
"Back to tonight, back to tonight." She mumbled to herself, trying to get her mind back on track. She tried to think of things she missed from her childhood. "Horses" she thought sarcastically to herself. Walking was just so boring. Aurora missed the wind blowing through her curls and racing across the castle grounds. She thought of what else gave her that sensation.
Spinning.
Even better, dancing.
She wondered if Mulan had ever learned how to dance, at all. Suddenly, she walked headlong into the back of the warrior. Mulan looked around, startled, her eyes resting on Aurora who was sitting in the dust.
"I think there is a creek just down that way. Come on, now isn't the time to rest," Aurora just glared up at her, "Unless something knocked you off balance." Mulan continued. "In that case, I'd advise you to watch where you are going."
Mulan offered her hand to help Aurora up with a smirk on her face. Aurora took it, slightly stunned. Mulan had just teased her! She knew Mulan had a sense of humor, well, she found things amusing at times. But she had never heard the stoic woman crack a joke, or tease. Aurora couldn't help but to attribute it to her attempts to get Mulan to lighten up.
Taking her hand, Aurora smiled countering with, "Well maybe if you didn't stop in the middle of the path, people wouldn't walk into you."
Mulan pulled Aurora to her feet, effortlessly, and steadied her with a hand on her shoulder blade. The smirk turned into a genuine smile. They lingered like that a few seconds longer than necessary before Mulan gave Aurora a slight pat, and continued walking. Aurora was left there wondering why she had felt her stomach flip at the unexpected contact.
They soon reached a small creek and found a good place to make camp. Mulan put out a net to catch any passing fish, while Aurora set some snare traps in a nearby rabbit run. By the time Aurora came back with some berries she had picked along the way, Mulan was already finishing the shelter. Aurora set the berries on a large rock before gathering stones and wood for a fire. As she was looking for the knife and flint, Mulan came back from the stream with three large fish. Aurora started the fire, and then handed the knife to Mulan who began butchering the fish. Once the fire was blazing, Aurora went to see if Mulan needed any help.
"Yeah, can you start preserving these two so we have breakfast and lunch for tomorrow?" Mulan asked, gesturing at the two fish that were already sliced. "I will cook this one for tonight."
Aurora took the fish carcasses to smoke them. Mulan soon had their dinner sizzling on a heated rock. Wondering how to bring up the topic of what she wanted to do tonight, Aurora decided to do so blatantly was the best option.
"So, do you know how to dance?"
Mulan looked up with a quizzical look plastered on her face. "Is that what you want to do tonight?"
Aurora nodded, as she split the berries between them.
Mulan sat back, "Well yes, but it is nothing like how the people of your land do."
"Did." Aurora corrected quietly.
"Did," Mulan echoed. Glancing at the fish, she continued, "My homeland had two main forms of dance that most people were practiced in. There was the Dragon's March, which was a group of men in a large dragon costumes jump around each other following women dressed as flames that would spin and tumble. The other was a drummer's dance. The idea was that someone played a beat and the dancer executed some foot work. Both got faster until the drummer knocked his sticks together. The dancer immediately stopped and bowed to the drummer. Both dances were used for celebrations."
Aurora was fascinated. She had never heard of such types of dance. She was also surprised Mulan had shared so easily. Not that long ago, a similar question had been asked and was met with animosity. Aurora was again thrilled with how much progress Mulan had made in so short of a time.
Mulan pulled the fish from the rock and gave some to Aurora. "Well, what about you?"
"I grew up with a lot partner and line dances. There was a tradition that the partners had to be a boy and a girl. It was thought that dancing was the best way of find your mate because of the way the two people had to work together to perform gracefully, so it would be pointless to dance with someone of your own sex. I always hated that practice. To me, dancing was just fun, so I didn't see why I couldn't dance with my friends. I think people should choose who they want to spend their lives based on more than their ability to dance. I never danced with Philip, and we still loved each other." Aurora stopped abruptly, realizing she had gone off on a tangent and she had spoken of Philip in the past tense.
"Well what was your favorite?" Mulan prompted easing around the slip mention of Philip.
Aurora thought about it for a moment. "There was one where all you did was spin with and around your partner. It was very short, but fast and I liked it."
"How was it done?"
"Well," Aurora looked down at her almost finished dinner, thinking about how to explain it. When no words came to mind, she looked back up, "I will just have to show you after we finish."
"Are you sure? It goes against your customs. I wouldn't want you to be dishonored."
"I disliked that tradition, remember?"
"You can just choose what traditions to follow like that?"
"I don't see why not."
Mulan looked like she was going to argue, but then changed her mind. Instead, she nodded and they finished in silence.
They cleared a space in the middle of the camp. "Are you ready?" Aurora asked.
"Yes"
"Well, first have to get into position." Aurora stepped towards Mulan and offered her hands, which Mulan took. A tingle shot up Aurora's arms, taking the princess by surprise.
"Then, umm, I think, ugh…" the surprise had completely destroyed her though process, leaving Aurora stuttering.
Mulan noticed and concernedly asked if she was alright.
"I, yes, it has just been a long time since I have done this. It seems to be taking me a moment to remember the steps."
Her eyebrows knitted together in concentration until the dance came back to her. "Okay, so, first, you step back with your right foot letting go with your left hand. I will step around you spinning under you arm as I go. Then, I spin you. Once you are facing me again, I curl in and back out and your left hand goes back in my right." She stopped there.
"Is that it?"
"No, it is just the first part of three, but we should try that bit before moving on."
They moved together, slowly at first. Mulan soon picked up on it and by their third time, they had it mastered.
Aurora stopped again to explain the next segment. "Now, let go with your right hand and spin me while you spin. It should look like I am orbiting you. Once you make a full circle, we will spin each other back and forth three times each. The person orbiting will be the first to spin, and in the opposite direction that they were originally going. It is supposed to be really fast."
Again they practiced the segment. Once they had it, they put it with the first part and made sure the transitions were good.
"Ok, the last part is the easiest. After you make your final spin, I will curl into you again. This time, catch my free hand. Then I twist out, without letting go and we finish by spinning together."
Finally they could do the whole thing. The two danced until Aurora sat down winded and dizzy. Mulan sat next to her, smiling.
"That was pleasant. I can see why you like it so much." Mulan said, almost sheepishly.
Aurora grinned. She liked dancing with Mulan. It was better than dancing with anyone she had ever danced with before. With Mulan, Aurora felt sensations she had never experienced before. Just as she was about to ask if they could go again, she remembered what Mulan had said about the dancing from her kingdom. Aurora wanted to see it.
"Do you think you could show me your drum dance?"
"I can, one moment." Mulan smiled, got up and went to the edge of the clearing. Aurora stayed seated watching Mulan. When she came back, she had two sticks about as long as her forearm. Sitting back next to Aurora, she explained.
"I'm going to show you the beat first because it is easier to do the steps to the beat. Here is what it sounds like." Mulan took a stick in each hand and began beating on the ground and a log.
Bumt…tum tum bumt tum…Bumt…tum tum bumt tum…Bumt…tum tum bumt tum…
Bumt tum tum bumt tum Bumt tum tum bumt tum Bumt tum tum bumt tum
Bumt tum bumt tum Bumt tum bumt tum Bumt tum bumt tum kisch
She finished by slamming the sticks together. Looking at Aurora, she asked, "Think you got that."
Aurora nodded and the sticks were handed to her. Mulan went to the middle of the clearing and stood with one foot in front of the other. She looked at Aurora who began tapping out the beat. Mulan began shifting her weight back forth. As the drumming got faster, so did her rocking. She began turning on the spot in time with the rocking. Aurora was mesmerized by the scene before her. Mulan made the seemingly jerky and erratic movements looks smooth and controlled. When Aurora got to the part where she was merely alternating between hitting the ground and the log, Mulan was jumping from foot to foot in semi circles. Finally, Aurora crashed the sticks together. Mulan immediately stopped, turned, and bowed to her drummer.
"That was amazing." Aurora whispered, thinking about how Mulan's charcoal colored hair had whipped around as she spun to the beat. She had only been able to notice now because she was in a better position to observe.
"Thank you," the warrior answered. "Would you like to try?"
Aurora hesitated before getting up, prepared to make a fool out of herself. Mulan started drumming. The rhythm took control of Aurora and she did the dance like she had been doing it all her life. There was a sense of freedom, of being one with the world, and in particularly, her drummer, Mulan. She was only fully aware of what was going on around her again when she had finished with the bow.
Mulan rose from her place on the ground to come nearer. "That was very well done."
Aurora straitened herself. "Mulan, how did I do that? As soon as you started drumming, I felt… taken over."
"Yes, it does that. It's the way the beat is played. There was a myth about how it was created by an Enchantress. She showed the people how to be the masters of the land. In return, they would perform this dance every harvest in memory of her great favor. While the beat was played, she is our master." Mulan finished with a distant look.
Aurora smiled. "Thank you, for showing me, and dancing in general really. It was fun."
"It was my pleasure." Blushing, Mulan turned towards the shelter. "Come on, we should go get some rest."
Later that night, Aurora lay awake thinking about how much more open Mulan was now. The myth about the dance was interesting. Her people ever only danced for pleasure, no myths attached. She thought about how she felt sheer joy when she spun into the warrior. Her mind tried to convince her that she had just missed dancing, but there was something else pulling at her heart. At that moment, Mulan rolled over in her sleep, draping her arm around Aurora. It startled her because she had always been asleep by the time this happened. Aurora was unprepared for the heat that coursed through her body from the origin of Mulan's touch. Wiggling more into the embrace, Aurora closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were filled with the image of a woman spinning with her jet black hair flying around her.
The next night, their camp was in the mud. They had woken up to a steady rain falling. Nevertheless, they broke camp and continued their journey, following the creek upriver. By mid-afternoon, the rain cleared and the clouds dissipated, but the landscape was saturated. Mud was unavoidable, much to Aurora's displeasure. They continued on their way until they came across a patch that was dryer than the rest of the area. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, they set camp. Mulan managed to build the shelter in the driest part and so it wasn't sitting directly on the ground. Aurora built the fire and prepared the rabbit she had caught in her snares that morning. As the rabbit finished roasting, a mud splattered Mulan sat on the log next to Aurora.
"So how do you feel about getting muddy?" Mulan asked, glancing at Aurora's nearly mud free clothes.
"Well, honestly, this is the muddiest I've ever been." She twisted her leg to show the mud drops going up her calf and the ring around the cuff of her pants. There were also some spots on her knees from when she trying to start the fire. "Growing up, I was never allowed to play in the dirt, let alone the mud. I was always told it was filthy and undignified. Also, this was the first rain since I have woken up." Aurora continued, feeling the need to defend herself. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I thought that I could teach you some self defense later, because it is best to practice in the mud."
Aurora gave the warrior a puzzled look, which was answered simply with, "Softer landing and the creek is right there, so we can just wash up in it after."
"Oh"
Mulan blushed faintly. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I'm completely capable of defending you. I just thought it would be a good extra precaution."
Aurora reached over, placing her hand firmly on Mulan's knee. "No, it's a good idea, and honestly I've wanted to learn for some time. It might just take some persuading with the mud."
"I can do that." Mulan assured.
When they were finished their meal, they walked closer to the creek. There was an area that jutted out into it that was all mud. Mulan took off her shoes and walk out in it, checking for rocks. Finding none, she told Aurora she should take her own shoes off and join her. Aurora took her shoes off, but stayed on the rocky outcrop Mulan had left her on. Sighing, Mulan came back and offered Aurora her hand.
"Come on, it won't hurt you. It is just wet, squishy, and a little cold." Mulan coaxed with a grin.
Aurora took Mulan's hand and put one foot in, as if she were testing the temperature of a bath. The mud was about half an inch deep and squished in between her toes. Aurora pulled a face and looked at Mulan who rolled her eyes and yanked the princess further in.
Aurora glared at Mulan. "That was a horrible thing to do!"
"I know, but at the rate you were going, we would have run out of sunlight before I could teach you anything."
Aurora's glare faltered. Mulan had a point. "Well now that you have me standing in the mud, what's next?"
"Alright, first, I want to see what your natural reaction to a situation would be. Turn around."
Aurora slowly turned around, slightly nervous. Suddenly, there was a hand on her left shoulder. Panicked, Aurora jumped forward.
"Not bad, you had the sense to get away. It won't always work, but it's something I can work with. Now stay there, I want to try a different attack." Mulan sounded pleased.
Before Aurora could say anything, two arms snaked around her torso, the hands clasping together in front of her. Aurora was immediately filled with the sensation of floating. She did what felt natural, which was to lay her head back against Mulan's shoulder.
Mulan, seemingly unprepared for this, let go and stuttered, "I, uh, wh-what the hell are you doing?"
Aurora's head shot up as she just realized herself what she had done. She turned to face Mulan, blushing. "Well… you see, the only times someone has grabbed me in that way was when I knew who it was and they were trying to be affectionate…" she trailed off. "I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. It's, it's fine, charming actually." Mulan rambled, her own blush forming. They stared at each other for a few seconds until Mulan broke the silences.
"So, if you put your hand on my shoulder like I did the first time, I can show you what to do, especially if it is a firm grip that you can't just jump out of."
With that, she turned around. It took Aurora a few moments to remember what was going on, but she soon shook the thoughts out of her mind and did as she was told. As soon as Aurora's hand made contact with Mulan, the warrior whipped around. She twisted out of the hold, putting her leg behind Aurora's. Aurora fell back, landing solidly in the mud. She looked up at Mulan in complete shock.
"See, that's why it is best to train in the mud." Mulan stated, extending her had to help Aurora up. "Do you think you could replicate that?"
Aurora nodded curtly and turned her back to the smirking warrior. When a hand landed on her, she twisted as Mulan had done, but her leg got tangled. When Mulan fell, Aurora went with her, landing on top of her.
"That wasn't supposed to happen." Aurora mumbled to herself, but was so close that Mulan had no difficulty hearing.
"No, it wasn't, and do you know what the major problem with this situation is?"
"I…" Aurora stopped herself before she said something really stupid. Namely, reveal that she quite liked the current position they were in. "No."
"Well, when you landed on me, you failed to pin me properly. All I need to do is this,"
Mulan wrapped her arms around Aurora for the second time that evening. This time she threw her weight against the princess, switching their positions. Mulan was sitting on Aurora's thighs, holding her legs in place. Aurora's hands were pinned above her head by the wrists. The first thing that went through Aurora's mind was that Mulan was straddling her, followed by how much she liked it.
"And now you are in more danger than you were to begin with." Mulan finished her point.
"I'm also dirtier," Aurora added as she pulled herself from her thoughts and felt the mud seep into her clothes.
"It will come right out." Mulan assured her with a smile.
She released Aurora's hands and sat back without getting up and looked at the sky to see where the sun was on its descent. Despite enjoying the outcome, Aurora didn't like how easily Mulan had bested her. With her competitive streak flaring up, took the opportunity to sit up and hurl a handful of mud at Mulan. It hit its target perfectly, splattering all across Mulan's chest. Mulan looked down in shock, then back up at Aurora, but it was too late. Aurora had already launched herself at the warrior, forcing her on her back. She promptly secured Mulan's hands over her head straddling her torso.
"How's this for a pin?" Aurora asked with a proud smirk on her face.
The warrior got over her shock quickly. The next thing Aurora knew, Mulan had managed to hook her free legs under Aurora's arm pushing her back and giving Mulan leverage and momentum to stand up.
Standing over Aurora, Mulan explained what went wrong. "You were sitting to high. The proper position would be over my upper leg so I couldn't move them. Other than that, it was a very well executed scheme." Mulan glanced at the sky again. "The sun is starting to set. We should go now if we want to wash before going back to camp."
Mulan pulled Aurora out of the mud. The two collected their shoes and walked down to the rockier area of the stream. Once there, Aurora paused, not sure how Mulan had intended for this to work out and too embarrassed to ask. Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She turned her head to see Mulan carrying her clothes into the stream in her undergarments. Aurora shyly watched Mulan. This was the first time she had seen so much of her. Normally, they both wore long sleeved tunics and pants. Their undergarments exposed their arms, shoulders, stomachs, and a large portion of their backs as well as the majority of their legs. Mulan must have felt the pair of eyes on her because she stiffened and turned to Aurora. Her head tilted to the side as she took in the sight of the dirty, blushing princess. "Aren't you coming?"
The question pulled Aurora from her gaze and she removed her clothes and joined Mulan. They were washing their clothes side-by-side both secretly glancing at each other. The quiet was broken when Mulan moved Aurora's mud filled hair to her left shoulder and traced the white line going down Aurora's right shoulder blade.
"Where would a princess get a scare like this?" she asked quietly more to herself than to Aurora.
It took Aurora a few moments to answer, not only because she had to remember how she got them, but also because Mulan touching her bare skin like that sent a violent, pleasing chill through her.
"Umm, when I was young, there were once assassins sent into the castle to kill my father. I heard them walking pass my room and went out to investigate. They heard the door open and tried to grab me. I escaped, but the man's dagger sliced my shoulder blade. The guards were alerted by my scream but the assassins fled when they heard the guards coming." She finished. "Nothing compared to the scares you've seemed to acquire." Aurora added with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood.
It was true. Mulan had a thick scare going across her abdomen that spanned from her right to left side. She also had a smaller one running down her left tricep along with a perfect circle directly under the right side of her collar bone.
"That's what happens in battle." Mulan answered seriously.
"How did you get the one that is a perfect circle?" Aurora inquired, having never seen one like it.
"I lost focus on my opponent just long enough for them to stab me with their spear." The warrior answered, slightly ashamed.
"Soldiers with healed scares were always regarded as heroes in my kingdom. It proved that they were strong enough to recover, physically and mentally, from the pains and traumas of a fight." Aurora tried to cheer up Mulan. She met Aurora's eyes and with a slight nod, Aurora knew her words had sunk in.
They finished washing their clothes and laid them on the rocks to begin drying. Then the two women waded further into the stream to wash themselves. By this time, the sun was only half visible over the horizon and it was getting cooler. They submerged themselves and scrubbed away the mud quickly. Once clean, they put on their shoes, but carried their still wet clothes back to camp. Once there, they hung their clothes to finish drying on some low-hanging branches. They built up the fire and lounged near it to dry their hair and under clothes.
"Well that was fun, thank you for teaching me." Aurora tried to break the silence.
"Aurora, we hardly did anything. It digressed into something similar to a wrestling match far too quickly and I miss judged how much time we had. The days are getting shorter. What could you have possibly learned?" Mulan asked a little dejectedly.
"Well…," Aurora's head tilted in thought. "I learned how it pin someone." With a smirk, she added, "And that mud isn't as bad as I was always told."
Mulan scoffed. "It's going to be hard to pin someone if you can't get out of the hold."
Aurora's smirk didn't falter. "I will just have to get lucky then."
Mulan smiled sadly, "Let's hope it never comes to that." Aurora nodded. Mulan stood up and stretched. Aurora watched her walk over to their clothes and run a hand over them. She turned back to Aurora, "They aren't going to be dry until tomorrow. It's getting late, are you ready for bed?"
Aurora rose from the ground and the two climbed into the shelter together. They lay down back-to-back as had become custom, and wrapped themselves in their separated bed rolls. It took minutes before Aurora began to shiver violently. Mulan whipped around, startled by the sudden movements.
"Aurora! Are you okay?"
"Yes, but I'm freezing. It just hit me." She managed to get out through chattering teeth.
Mulan gave her a sympathetic smile. She undid her bed roll and held it open to Aurora. "Would you like to come over here? It will be much warmer."
Aurora's eyes widened at what she thought were blatant innuendos. They were both still in their undergarments for gods' sake! "I ugh… are you sure you're okay with that?"
"Yes, it is only going to get colder as the night progresses. We will both be better off."
Aurora thought it over for a second. Mulan was right. It was only going to get colder, not only tonight, but as the seasons progressed. Honestly, she quite liked the idea of cuddling up with Mulan. With that, she wiggled out of her own bed roll and into Mulan's. Aurora's was pulled over them as an extra buffer against the chill. Mulan was on her side, facing Aurora who was on her back so she could see Mulan. Aurora then noticed how close they really were and did the first thing that came to mind.
"Hi."
"Hello." Mulan's eyebrows creased. "You really are cold and you're still shivering. Come here." Mulan wrapped her arms around Aurora and pulled her closer. The feelings of warmth she always got when Mulan put her arms around her shot through her body faster than ever because of the sheer number of contact points. Aurora turned so her back was to Mulan. She drifted off thinking that she could get use to this really easily and how perfect Mulan's bare stomach felt against her equally bare back.
When Aurora woke up in the middle of the night, she found she had flipped over in her sleep. It seemed she had wedged her face into the crux of Mulan's neck to keep warm. Her arm had wrapped itself around Mulan as well. Aurora thought she should move a little because this could be seen as inappropriately close, even to keep warm. She was just thinking about how to do it without waking the other woman, when she felt the hand on her back slide up to her neck and finger curl into her hair as a cheek nuzzle into the top of her head. Her eyes fluttered shut in sheer pleasure, all previous ideas of moving abandoned. Her grip around the sleeping form of Mulan tightened possessively. She rationalized that there wasn't anyone around to give a damn about how close she was pressed to Mulan. She loved the way their bodies fit together. She loved the way Mulan spoke to her. She loved the way Mulan treated her. She loved the way Mulan held her. She loved Mulan.
Her eyes shot back open in the night. That was it: she was in love with Mulan. It explained the thoughts about her, the feelings, and what she just realized was a need for closeness. It was how she had been able to refer to Philip in the past tense the other night. She still loved him, but there was not nearly as much emotion as she had for Mulan. His touch was not electrically charged like Mulan's. He had treated her nicely, but like she might break or as a pet who needed to be taken care of. Mulan treated her like a companion, an equal, someone with the potential to help.
Yes, Aurora loved Mulan, but was that love reciprocated? The thought worried Aurora. She had to find out. If Mulan loved her too, she would be the happiest woman alive, but if not… Aurora could already feel the sinking feeling in her gut. Pushing her worries away, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. They were something she would have to deal with another day.