Gan Ning let his arms drop from behind his head and he proceeded to walk back and forth slowly, his sights set on Yuezi. Honestly, she was trying to do too much at once, and he could tell that she, like the tiger cub she had been with, had gotten hurt upon falling into the pit. He was surprised that it looked like nothing had been broken or that neither she nor the tiger were impaled by anything being that this was intended to trap the poor cub and not a human girl.
Sucking his teeth, Gan Ning crouched and held out both his arms toward Yuezi and the cub. “I’ll take ‘im and put him down on some solid ground.” The pirate gently took the cub from Yuezi, mindful of its injuries and set it down. The cub in turn limped just a ways away from the pitfall and then sat in a way that wouldn’t agitate its injuries, and Gan Ning angled himself so that his back wasn’t to the cub. Gan Ning knew that the cub even wanted to lash out, it would attack the prey whose back had been turned. Tagging along in Wu’s ranks over the time had taught Gan Ning a few things about tigers.
“Alright,” Gan Ning proceeded to circle the pit, just so that the cub could keep its eye on the pirate and then he looked down toward Yuezi, “Now we get you out, and I get my bells.”
Without another word, Gan Ning easily lowered himself into the pit and once his feet felt solid ground, he hoisted Yuezi over one of his shoulders (mindful to keep his hands from landing or gripping anywhere near her backside–that was an issue he didn’t need to deal with) and then climbed his way out of the pit. Save for one or two slips, Gan Ning had gotten them both out of danger, and all that was left to do was to inform the right people about the trap poachers had laid. There could have been more, and it was best to discover them before Yuezi fell into another one.
Gan Ning set Yuezi down gently (he should have just dropped her, but it would also probably cause more damage and he really didn’t want to face the wrath of one Huang Gai), and as he heard the shuffling of the tiger cub and then watched as it limped in Yuezi’s direction, Gan Ning sighed.
“C’mon,” he said, and walked ahead until his back was to her. “Hop on, I’ll take you back. Once you’re settled, I’ll pick up your furry friend here and hope he doesn’t shred me. The town’s not too far from here.”
At that point, Yuezi couldn't protest. She knew that if she wanted to get back home, she had to listen to Gan Ning. Not even hesitating, she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and lifted her legs to hook around his waist. She winced, feeling the discomfort in her ankle, but she quickly put on a brave face when the tiger cub made a worried mewling sound. "It's alright, he's a friend." Yuezi reassured the cub with a warm smile. "Be a good boy and listen to him, okay? He's not going to hurt you."
Encouraged by his new human companion, the cub hopped into Gan Ning's arms and made its way to his shoulder, thinking it could settle there so that Gan Ning could use his arms to further support Yuezi's legs. However, the cub wasn't strong enough the stay on his shoulder and was struggling to stay in place. Yuezi could see the cub struggle, and reassured it again, "I'll be fine. Let him carry you." With that, the cub moved back into Gan Ning's arms. Yuezi just had to make sure to keep a steady hold on Gan Ning and relax herself, lest her stiff unease cause him to fall over; she doubted it, she remembered how strong he was.
Time passed, and the pair returned to town with the cub. The army was notified of poachers being in the area and were made aware of the traps that were set out. Without further ado, men and women were set out to scout the territory to retrieve any tigers that had been trapped and catch those poachers. As that was being done, Yuezi and the cub remained in the infirmary; the cub appeared to be doing much better, after being tended to and cared for. It was still limping, but receiving the love and attention as well as good nutrition after being trapped for so long, the cub let out a very content baby roar and had restored energy to rub itself against anyone who gave it attention. Yuezi received treatment for her sprained ankle; the doctor told her she had to take it easy for a couple of days, which brought gloom to her mood, but she understood the doctor's orders; she was just going to be incredibly bored. The doctor left and tend to other patients.
"Oh!" Yuezi remembered something. She looked into her satchel and found the two bells she planned on giving to Gan Ning, for they had a deal. "... I still have to return these to him..."
