{ Kindling Familiarity } || Sun Paoyu & Zhu Zhui
A comforting rustle filled the small, plainly-decorated room as fabrics of light green and cream shades were carefully brought together and tied cleanly. Dark locks of hair were tied back in their usual fashion, long strands flowing from a simple ribbon, the heft of it bunched together artfully about the back of her neck. To anyone familiar with her appearance, certain objects of formality were missing from this section of her attire, such as modest hairpieces and a ribbon made of higher-quality. It didn't make much sense to the young lady of the Zhu household to wear or bring such things along on an outdoor ride and walk outside of the palace, however, and so she had summarily decided to do away with pretensions of that nature altogether out of respect for her chosen activity of the day.
A few moments were spent making certain that there was a level of presentability suitable for the company of a prince, and, finding everything to be in order, Zhui retrieved her satchel and began making her way toward the stables.
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The weather proved to be pleasant, and arrival to her destination came quickly, or so it seemed. At the base of a walking path not too disagreeable of a distance from the palace gates, the young noble stationed her steed at a tree, feeling as confident as one could that no one would come by and steal the beast. She was familiar enough with this area to know that not many people seemed to come by at this time of the year, and the entire area was patrolled well enough that brigands were little to worry about. Of course, there were always exceptions, but the lightly-forested base of the tall hill was easy enough to see through from most angles of the path down to where she had tied her horse. The outlook point near the top was a different story, though Zhui did not anticipate that she and her pending company would linger there for long.
Unstrapping the thin, single-handed blade on the saddle and fastening it to her side, Zhu Ran's eldest daughter began her wait. Pale hands ran along the neck and mane of her ride, thoughts drifting to the sound of an unoffending breeze rustling the grass surrounding them and at their feet. She had arrived a little early, and she felt comfortable in the thought that a small lull would help to keep her excited anticipations low upon the arrival of the prince. Zhui found, however, that she felt quite calm, and so was content to spend the remaining wait with her horse.
