rattlerofthestars:

The young spacer would have pressed on about tools, but he decided it was best to drop the topic. It was clear they wouldn’t have anything to help repair his board. He might have to travel to a more technologically advanced era and risk crashing into another mountain with his board already in pieces. A quiet yet distressed sigh left his throat before he pushed off from the wall.

“I think he likes ya.” Jim remarked as he gave a cool smirk to the duo. It was refreshing to see. Lately their run ins hadn’t been all too friendly. It had been awhile since Morph took a liking to anyone besides his human companion. When Ping answered his question, he nodded his head as if expecting it. “Yeah, I can tell you don’t get out much. How long ago did you join the army?

"Um,” said Ping, a little taken aback by Jim’s quick assessment.  If it was obvious, even to a lǎowài, that Ping had spent most of his life on the Hua land - not that that was really surprising - what else might he notice?

In his alarm, Ping thought he’d better act more manly.  "Well!  I only got here a few months ago - but just because I’m new doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s going on!  Heh.“  The recruit punctuated his gruff tones with a confidential wink at Morph, because actually winking at Jim was not something that Ping thought he could have pulled off without blushing.  "My father is a war hero.  I learned a lot from him growing up, you know, since I’m a boy.”  

This was only partly a lie.  While Hua Zhou would never have taught his only child to use a sword, or to practice éméiquán - though they did say it had been created by a woman - he had been indulgent enough of a father to pull little Mulan onto his lap and tell her tales of his own military campaigns.  They were exciting to hear about, but soon the reminiscent light in her baba’s eyes would fade.  "War is only glorious in histories and wonder tales, nǚ nǚ,“ he told her seriously.  "A man cannot feel glorious covered in the blood of other men or the dust of his horse’s hooves.”

It was a very elegant way of putting it, and when she grew older Mulan knew her baba couldn’t have made it up on the spot.  But as a result she had few illusions about the glory of war.  Would she die an honorable death, on a battlefield?  Undoubtedly.  But she would not feel very glorious at all.