House of Chen

 Xin bounced and laughed, clapping her hands like a child. "So excited!" She exclaimed as she continued to bounce around Bǎo's legs. He smiled indulgantly and watched as her carefully constructed rags, wafted in the breeze and for all intense and purposes, created the harmless outline of a young woman. Truth was, they hid an arsenal of weopens and powders all designed to dispatch any wrong doer who happened her way. She looked every bit the part of a rabid ghost out to have fun, but it was clear from the expression in her eyes, she was in a very dangerous mood. "I'll be watching you Missy!" He said, smirking at her playfulness. Every bit the child, every bit a dangerous hellcat when she was in full flow. "You'll be watching?" she said, circling him seductively, "you'll be ready to rip their throats out so I can continue to play?" She mischieviously ran her finger across his jaw, which tensed under the seductive power of her touch....

 The swimming and paddling had been hard work, but the progress was far better than expected. In one rather long night, they had made it to where Niao had hoped, the other side of the Reach and close to the forge and her old home. Gesturing to the others, she pointed to a landing site. Hao recognised it immediately and started steering the raft in the direction where the currents were easier. A smell of wood smoke rose in the air. They were not alone.  "Friend or foe?" Five signed. "Beach first, check after." Niao replied. Pulling in, they quickly broke the raft into its bamboo poles and used them to create sleeping pods. Tucked into the undergrowth, they couldn't be seen from the river. Niao signed to Hao, "You come with me, if they are Chen, they will recognise you. If not, then we dispatch them quickly, understood?"  Hao nodded, as did the pack. They continued setting up camp and with potential enemies surrounding them , their actions were completed...