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Lord Shang is hiding in the crow’s nest again. Duizhang shades his eyes as he looks up at his lord. It looks like he’s in a brooding mood. Duizhang wouldn’t typically be too worried if this were a one-off, but this is the fourth time this week. In fact, this has been happening more and more often ever since they docked in Sun Haven.
Duizhang sighs and shakes his head. He’s going to have to be the one to do something about this, huh?
He begins climbing up the ship's mast, not bothering to grab a rope to assist him. After all, what use is a tiger Amari that can’t climb? He quickly makes it up and sits on the boom with one arm leaning against the railing of the crow’s nest.
Currently, Shang is watching the sunrise pensively. Duizhang knows it’s his favorite hobby, but he only does it up here if something is bothering him.
Shang’s ear flicks, the white spot on the back of it catching the light brightly. He takes a deep breath and turns around to face Duizhang. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, my Lord.” Duizhang returns his greeting.
“Was there something I could do for you, Duizhang?” Shang asks though he must know why Duizhang climbed up after him.
Duizhang squints at him. “You’ve been up here an awful lot lately. Is something eating at you?”
Shang shakes his head with a smile. “You know me too well…” Silence reigns for a long moment, but Duizhang knows he’s simply gathering his thoughts.
They watch the sunrise together in the meantime.
“I sometimes think…” Shang begins. “That I don’t deserve the happiness I’ve found here. I can’t help but feel as though I have betrayed my people with my choice. Abandoned them.” He sighs deeply. “I know that our quest to defeat the Jade Empress was a fool’s errand, but even so…”
“You can’t help but feel guilty,” Duizhang concludes for him.
“Precisely.”
Duizhang hums his understanding. “I can’t say I don’t know how you feel. It may have been a fool’s errand, but we had to do something. That’s sort of what I thought when we began our journey. But now,” He shrugs. “I think the best thing we can do is to continue living. You are well-liked for good reason Lord Shang. Your people, those living and those departed, wouldn’t want you to kill yourself for them. They’d want you to be happy.”
Shang smiles at him. “I appreciate you saying that.”
“I mean it too.” Duizhang looks at Shang emphatically. “All of us are happy here. We’ve made friends and lives here. Sun Haven is our home.”
“I understand.” Shang nods.
“Good. Now stop moping so much.” Duizhang crosses his arms.
This startles a laugh out of Shang who is not used to hearing Duizhang speak so brashly to him. “Thank you, Duizhang. It means a lot to hear you say that.”
“You know it.” He nods and stands up, expertly balancing on the boom. “Now come on. Breakfast is only for people who pull their weight around here, you included.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” Shang stands too, feeling refreshed and somewhat better after talking it out.