notoquesnada:

“I probably should get clothes to blend in better.” She mused, half to Ping and half to herself. “I guess to the nearest city?” Audrey decided, not sure how else to make the damn crystal work. She hadn’t been paying too close attention to what Milo had said about making it work the reverse way. She probably should have.

Raising an eyebrow as Ping stopped and put his hands on his hips, Audrey couldn’t help but smirk in amusement. He really wanted to be a knight in shining armor here, didn’t he? Didn’t look like he’d be chasing princesses standing like that. If anything, it made him look softer, definitely less like a soldier. 

She laughed as he admitted he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Yeah, it’s okay.” She assured him, but snorted again when he asked if she lost her country. Audrey shoved him good naturedly, rolling her eyes. “No, I didn’t lose my country, Atlantis wasn’t my country! It was–” Audrey shook her head, curls bouncing under her hat. “You know what, nevermind.” She sighed, glancing over at him as they walked. “Thanks for helping me, even if half the shit I say doesn’t make any sense.”  

“I guess I figured I’m gonna get in trouble for losing the rest of the group anyway,” said Ping slowly, as if he were just realizing it.  Inside of his jacket, against his back, tiny claws dug into Ping’s skin for a moment - even through the binding - and retreated slightly.  A warning.  Knowing Mushu, he was probably even spluttering a little - but silently, because the guardian knew better than to make his presence known.  In the meantime, Ping smiled at Audrey a little wider.  "So I’ll feel better if I was able to help.  You know?“  There was so little else Ping could succeed at here, he added silently, almost a plea to his ancestors.  Help me this once.

"I’ll take you to the outskirts of camp, and then I can give you directions to the nearest village.”  Ping gently tugged on Khan’s reins and the horse huffed, but followed along obediently, seeming to glance reproachfully at Audrey.  Intercepting the glance, Ping turned to his new companion.  "D'you think you’ll be okay from there on?“