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His duel was today.

Lingchen would be there soon. The sun would set in a few hours, but Thrain had no other options. He had hoped she would show early but his stomach knotted as one by one the guards and soldiers left to return to their dens, eat, or go on patrol. Some arrived, trained a bit and then left. None of those coming to the sparring grounds were the lioness that had gotten the captain's mind in a whirl. Over the last day, he had been looking forward to seeing how she matched up against him, but it seemed like he wouldn't get the chance.

Just a few hours ago he had gotten a message from the Central house that he was due to leave now, in order to make time in reaching the Pridelands and begin training their new soldiers. There was no way to get out of it if it came from the emperor himself. Thrain sighed heavily, golden eyes watching, hoping, wishing almost that Lingchen would arrive early so they could still have their spar.

The sound of footsteps caused the captain's ears to quickly turn forward.

"Lingchen?" He called out into the chilly North air, hope in his voice as spoke her name. Frowning, he sat his a** back down onto the rocky ground with none of the grace he had been raised with. It hadn't been Lingchen. It hadn't even been a lioness.

"Sorry to disappoint."

Kito entered the training ground, stepping up from the main path into a patch of worn-away grass. Only dirt and rocks remained in this place and for the North, this was one of the most social areas. Here he was, hoping to watch some of the guards spar. It was one of his favorite pass-times as just his presence there caused some of them to sputter and falter. It amused the duke to no end to see what just being around did to some people. Thrain used to be like that around him, but Kito had learned that the closer he got to him, the more comfortable the captain got around him. There was still a sense of respect and occasionally Thrain would address him formally despite his wishes to be referred to as Shan, without 'duke' in front of it.

"Waiting for someone?" He asked as he continued walking towards the tan Pridelander.

"I..." Was there a point to denying it? The duke seemed to already know and just wanted confirmation to whatever he had been told already. Sighing, Thrain nodded. "Her name is Lingchen. I offered to spar with her and...well.."

"You have to leave." Shrugging, Kito stood in front of Thrain with a concerned smile on her face. "Have you chosen who will be going with you? I know you will probably need a hunter, you could always..."

"Mo Zhao already volunteered. I think she just wants another chance to pester me, but she's a good hunter." If only he had waited longer, then maybe Lingchen would be one of those accompanying him to the Pridelands. Of course he had been stupid and chosen everyone before he had even met her. No, it hadn't been stupid. He hadn't even known her a day yet, having waited this long to get the final member of the party...they would have been scrambling instead of being how prepared they were now.

"I see." Kito's exhaled heavily, his head turning slowly as he looked out over the scenery around them. It wasn't the prettiest, but if anyone in the North wanted pretty, they'd be better off moving to the West. Still, it was a little romantic in his eyes. He had always tried to see the beauty in the rough surroundings he had grown up with. "If you'd like, I could stay behind and meet her. I assume she was supposed to be here soon?"

His friend's offer surprised him yet again, causing Thrain's head to jerk up from his dejected state. At least if Kito stayed behind she would know he didn't just abandon her, but rather he had no choice but to leave. "No, but I had hoped she might show early. If...if you did that, you know I'd owe you for it." And the last thing he wanted to owe someone like Kito a favor, but there really were no other options.

"And when was she supposed to arrive?"

"Sunset."

"I see...that's still a fair amount of time from now. Now I understand your distress. A few hours wouldn't kill anyone to let you wait, but this is the emperor we're talking about. It's best not to upset him. Do not worry about a favor, my friend. This one is on me. You likely still have last-minute preparations to make." Despite the grin he wore, his words were true. Kito sat down beside Thrain placing a paw on the captain's shoulder. "Go on. I'll wait here for her. I'll explain that you were only fullfilling your duty to the emperor by leaving."

It was not often that Thrain found himself at a loss for words, but there were none that could come to his tongue. With his mind drawing a blank on what to say, he only nodded as he rose onto his paws, leaving Kito to tend to his spot and wait for the lioness to arrive. Hopefully she would arrive soon, if nothing more than for Kito's sake now. This would let him gather his party together, their supplies and work out any final details that needed to be addressed without worry about leaving the huntress wondering. It wasn't exactly common knowledge that he was going to the Pridelands, but there were rumors circulating. Who knew how long it would take her to find out the truth if Kito hadn't shown up?

Moving towards the main path, Thrain paused and looked back to the diluted teal lion over his shoulder. "Thank you for this, Shan."

With his tail swaying idly behind him, Kito smiled to the captin. "Any time, my friend. You best get going."

With peace of mind, Thrain left the arena.

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