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Shaky Ground	By : Vovo Category: +A through F > Dynasty Warriors Views: 2415 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors and its characters are not mine, they belong to Koei. I'm not making any profit from writing this, I'm just a poor ficwriter.

Chapter List
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Shaky Ground
Chapter 5
Ling Tong was lying lazily on his bed, admiring the blue sky through the window of his bedroom. Soon he would be heading for the next battle, but he wanted to enjoy that peaceful feeling a little more. His fingers played slowly with the pair of bells he received from Gan Ning, making them roll on his bed. After taking his time to stretch, he picked up the bells and hung them by the window. Even after leaving the room and closing the door behind him, he could still hear the bells ringing as the wind made them move from side to side.
He headed to the stable and found his horse waiting for him. He mounted the reddish brown animal and rode to the place where the Wu officers would gather to advance for the next battle.
"It's about time!" Lu Meng said. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, you're waiting here just for me?" Ling Tong asked cheerfully.
"Not you only."
Then they saw a blond officer riding on his horse towards them.
"I'm here!" Gan Ning said. "Now we can all go."
Lu Meng shook his head. "Part of the men are already ahead of us..." He started on his way, being followed by the younger officers.
They rode peacefully and Lu Meng was impressed by the way the two were behaving, just arguing playfully and tauting each other. In no occasion did they try to kill or wound one another.
When the troop made its first stop, Lu Meng found Gan Ning talking to his horse, while the animal drank water from a clear lake.
"I'm glad to see you've listened to what I told you two."
"Ah, it's you, old man." Gan Ning turned.
"Stop calling me old man, I told you already!"
"Yeah, yeah, right."
"So, did you hear what I said?"
"What did you say?"
"..."
"What? Were you talking about me and the horse or me and Ling Tong? But wait... it's almost the same thing... But maybe he's more like a donkey than a horse. Yeah, the horse seems smarter."
"Forget it." Lu Meng turned his back to the young man, defeated. "For a moment I almost thought you were acting friendly, but maybe... maybe I'm too old to discern it, and maybe I was wrong."
"Worried about the next battle and the Zhang Liao thing? Don't worry, me and Ling Tong won't kill each other before it happens."
"You don't hate him, do you?" Lu Meng turned to face Gan Ning again.
"Never said that. Or did I say... Well, you worry too much about us, old man, don't you have other things to think about, like taking care of that Lu Xun kid, what if he's raped by an enemy somewhere, wouldn't it be bad for our troop's morale?"
Lu Meng couldn't suppress a slight chuckle. "Yeah, right, I'd better see where Lu Xun is. He was a little unsure about this battle."
"Afraid the great Zhang Liao and his mustache would come running over the hills towards our Lord Sun Quan himself?"
"That's a possibility. He didn't agree on our plan to take He Fei. He didn't want to come here or let our troops come here, but Lord Sun Quan thinks it's a great opportunity to strike their forces there."
"I don't think anything can go wrong there, we'll win as always, then we'll take He Fei and make a party there, then we go home and celebrate!"
"But it's still wise to be careful."
"If we attack it full force there will be no problem."
"Lord Sun Quan is concerned about this behavior of yours, never listening and just moving ahead recklessly."
"I only do what I think I should do."
"No doubt about it, but you need to have in mind that what you want to do is not always the right thing to do."
"It is for me, it always worked before."
"Just promise me you'll think about what I said."
"Yeah, don't worry, old man." Gan Ning led his horse to a place protected by the sun, below the shadows of the trees, leaving the older officer behind.
"Again with the old man?" Lu Meng shouted, seeing the blond warrior walking away.
Gan Ning grinned and kept walking. His grin widened when he saw a known person standing under a tree, admiring the horizon. He walked swiftly and approached the man from behind, grabbing him by the waist and planting a kiss on the back of his exposed neck. Gan Ning felt the shiver that ran down the man's spine while he pressed his lips to the warm skin. His left arm was warped firmly around Ling Tong's waist, making their bodies touch, while he drove his right hand to the front of the man's neck, bringing him backwards, making his head arch back with the pressure of the hand.
Is he trying to kill me?
Ling Tong felt himself almost chocking. He waited for a little while, wondering if the man would stop or he would be forced to hit him to shove him away. And still he felt the lips pressed to the back of his neck.
Then Gan Ning let his grip loose and Ling Tong found the opportunity to turn, warp his arms around the short man's neck and kiss him passionately. Gan Ning let him part his lips and play with his mouth. He felt the brunet's tongue tease his, touching it slightly before retreating and then repeating the move. The ex-pirate did the same until he deepened the kiss, taking Ling Tong's mouth in a possessive way. He explored all he could with his tongue and then came back to the places to claim them as his own.
When they parted, Gan Ning had a smug grin on his face.
"Do you think that sneaking from behind is a proper way to approach a fellow officer?" Ling Tong asked.
"Only if said officer lets his guard down, and you were standing there beautifully enjoying the sight when anyone could come and get you by surprise. What if it was a savage beast or a pervert?"
"Oh, you are the only savage pervert beast who comes near me with bells jiggling when you walk."
"But you let me get to you anyway..." Gan Ning smirked.
"Oh, did I?" Ling Tong made an innocent face. "I must be crazy then... What have you done to me?"
"Do you want me to show you again?" Gan Ning asked—though he wasn't expecting a verbal answer—he pressed their bodies close together and Ling Tong didn't have time to say anything when warm lips came back to meet his.
xxx
"Are you alright?" Lu Meng asked Lu Xun when he saw the boy wide eyed and with his cheeks flushed.
"What?" the young officer asked in confusion. "Ah, yeah... I guess I am."
"You seem a little disturbed. Did you see something strange?"
"Strange? Well, yeah it was strange... But..." He blushed more.
"What was it?" Lu Meng was curious.
"Ah, nothing..."
The older officer crossed his arms over his chest and arched one eyebrow. "Boyan..."
"Don't worry, master Lu Meng." Lu Xun tried to escape from the man's gaze.
"Well... okay." He saw the boy resume his walking, but then stopped him before he could leave. "Have you seen Gan Ning or Ling Tong? We need to get going and I don't know where they are."
"Hmm... they're together." The boy blushed deeply, and blushed more trying to control his blushing.
"And... is there something wrong with them?" Lu Meng asked in concern.
"No... I think they're fine."
"Can you do me a favor and bring them here?"
"Me?"
"Oh, of course! Is anybody else here? I'm talking to you."
"Alright..." The boy walked back to the direction where he came, while Lu Meng looked at him suspiciously.
After a while Lu Xun saw the two officers pressed to a tree trunk, almost inhumanly close to each other. He could do it in a somewhat noble way and warn them of his presence with resounding footsteps, but an idea came to his mind, so he choose to sneak in their direction until he was mere feets from distance, then he said out loud:
"Lu Meng is calling!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Gan Ning moved away from Ling Tong quickly.
"What are you doing here?" The oldest of the group of young officers asked, his eyebrow twitching in nervousness.
"As I said, Lu Meng is calling you two." Lu Xun smiled; then his smile turned to a chuckle. By the look on the officers' faces he had achieved his goal in taking his little revenge on them, for what had happened in a certain bar some nights before.
"I was... I wasn't... I was trying to kill him, I wasn't doing any other thing," Gan Ning said.
"Yeah, he's right, he was trying to kill me, he got me pinned here to this tree and... if it weren't for you, he could have succeeded! Now, let's go." Ling Tong started to walk back to the caravan's direction.
Then Lu Xun laughed.
The older warriors walked in defeat while the boy showed a victorious smile on his face.
xxx
Sun Quan watched as men talked excitedly to Gan Ning, as the officer walked through the troops. It seemed like they did the right thing in having the ex-pirate by their side, but he was still unsure if the man would learn to cooperate with the others and follow their strategy. At least it seemed like the plan was to Gan Ning's liking, to take the two castles. Although there were several bases on their way, it seemed like with their numbers and force Wu would be able to achieve victory. It was time to advance and that was the right opportunity, one that could not be lost, so Sun Quan ordered his forces to move forward and attack with all their might.
As the battle moved on, Sun Quan heard word that Wu forces had succeeded in taking several bases along the way and were moving to one of the castles. Although they were advancing, it wasn't an easy task: Wei defenses were very strong and a fierce battle was taking place.
Even though the bases were very well guarded, Gan Ning's troops were the furthest ahead. Fighting with all his forces as if the battle had just begun, he could see the shadows of one of the castles. Although some enemy officers had appeared on his way, they were becoming fewer and fewer. The great officers might have been locked on their fortresses, so it would be hard to break their defence.
Gan Ning smiled.
It seems like now I'm gonna have a true challenge...
And as the time passed, it was proved that the battle would be a real challenge for the Wu troops. Even though Gan Ning was still fighting with vigor, his men were becoming tired, and it effected the general to see that.
Suddenly Gan Ning stopped after gaining control of one of the bases. He saw a dusty wind blow in the air, and a dead silence spread over the atmosphere.
Then all hell broke loose.
A message came to him that Zhang Liao had come out of the fortress and had led Wei soldiers personally to attack Wu's main camp. Not only had he been able to cross a great distance already, but also he was doing it in a surprising momentum.
Gan Ning rushed back, seeing the chaos that had been brought by Zhang Liao's arrival; there was confusion and the dead bodies that had stood in the way of the great general. How could a man possibly do all this harm? Gan Ning would have thought that was the great opportunity he had been waiting—to fight one of the greatest warriors of their time—but instead he felt his mouth dry and his chest heaving. Most possibly, he wouldn't be the first of the remaining officers to meet the man.
When he saw more of the Wu soldiers fleeing along the way, he was well aware that several troops had been destroyed. And he already knew that some officers had been taken by Zhang Liao's blades.
Finally he reached a point were the Wu forces had gathered and heard that Sun Quan had
Retreated?
That was frustrating. Gan Ning didn't like to retreat. He'd rather stay and fight, but then he had his responsibility as a Wu officer. He headed to the point were he found the remaining generals and Sun Quan.
There, he found out that Lu Meng and Ling Tong were safe and he felt relieved.
"We are giving up then," Gan Ning couldn't stop himself from expressing his frustration.
"Sometimes, it is a necessary measure." Lu Meng tried reason.
"We were almost there!"
"You'd rather risk our Lord's life and fight a lost battle?" Ling Tong asked, irritated.
"A fight is never lost until you give up."
"Or when you die."
"People die. Soldiers or not. Face it, Ling Tong." Although he was arguing with the other officer, he wasn't really upset. Seeing the brunet frown didn't make him angry, after all, the man was in one piece, that was all that mattered.
"I give up on you," Ling Tong said as he turned to follow the rest of the troops in their retreat. He was glad that his sovereign was alive and they could head back home. His men were tired and the spirit of Wu soldiers was very low. He wanted to see home, see the beautiful land of Wu, see that it was still alive and yearning for him to come back.
They had been on their way for some time, tiredly walking home, and due to the hard battle and their distressed state of mind, they couln't hold the new advance of enemy troops towards them. Zhang Liao decided to pursue Wu retreating soldiers, and the result was devastating.
I won't let my Lord perish like this!
Ling Tong rushed to help Sun Quan troops, doing his best to make his sovereign run to safety.
Gan Ning saw the other man protecting their lord and decided to eliminate every treat that could possibly reach him. And then he fought with all the energy that still remained in him. He fought until he saw his brave men fleeing and dying. And he never thought that one day he would have to retreat like that, but he fled to Wu's ship with his remaining men. He helped with the preparations for their escape, not daring to think that they could lose any more officers. Then he felt relieved to see Lu Meng coming back, in a disheveled state, but alive. Fewer of his men had survived, most of them giving their lives to save their superior. And it was like that in the army: soldiers fought and died for their superior.
"Old man." Gan Ning rushed to his side. "Can you walk?"
"Yeah... I guess..." The man felt Gan Ning helping him support the weight of his body. It relieved him to see the young man alive and to feel the friendly warmth of the body pressed to his. It somehow alleviated the coldness he felt in his chest. "Did Ling Tong come back yet?" He looked back in distress.
Gan Ning had a dreadful feeling. Like the time had stopped and then started crumbling. "Ling Tong?" he asked.
Lu Meng felt the young man's body still, and suddenly he didn't want to answer.
"My lord, we must go now."
Sun Quan heard one of the officers talking to him, but he still wanted to wait a little longer.
"Zhang Liao will have time to come here if we don't part now, my lord."
"But Ling Tong is still there fighting him."
Gan Ning's ears picked up the conversation and he ran towards Sun Quan's side. "My lord, we have to go back there!"
And the other officers looked at the man as if he had gone crazy.
The warrior didn't think twice before turning to head back to the land, but he was stopped by Lu Meng.
"Gan Ning, stay here!"
"You want to leave a fellow officer there and run away? What was all that talking about honor?"
"I can't bear to lose another great officer to this battle."
"Why are you talking like Ling Tong died?"
"He went back to fight Zhang Liao, to stop his advances. As difficult as it is to say this, he knew what it might have implied and I... am proud of him." Lu Meng didn't have more strength to speak, saying that words hurt him more than the wounds on his body.
"It's that what you think? That he is that weak that he can't hold back to that man's attack? Do you... do you..."
Do you think he died?
Gan Ning stumbled and grabbed the railing for support. He looked back at the land and it was the first time in his life that he prefered to rush there instead of staying in a ship.
He jumped into the water before Lu Meng could prevent him and swam with all his strength. The cold waves were suffocating him and he felt like he wasn't advancing as fast as he wanted.
The blond man didn't want to believe in Lu Meng's words, in the look on their faces, he didn't. However, deep down, he feared; to stay in the way of the great warrior Zhang Liao in most cases meant death.
But even if he let that feeling sink into his very soul, Gan Ning couldn't stay there in safety. He was ready for anything that would come, even if it meant Zhang Liao and thousands of soldiers.
Every man dies one day.
And then he saw... something in the distance, near the land. Gan Ning swam desperately until he found a body moving with the waves, stuck in some dry branches and tree trunks that had fallen on the water. He felt a sudden relief when he saw the handsome face he loved so much to look at. But the problem was that the skin was paler than he remembered and bathed in blood. When Gan Ning touched the body, he thought he would pass out; it was too cold.
"Guess I'll have to warm you up..." He tried to move the body away from the branches as gently as he could, but he saw that it would be impossible that way, so he grabbed Ling Tong with force before taking him out of the branches, hearing fabric tearing. He held the body close to his, with all his strength, feeling blood running over his skin. "C'mon, talk to me," he whispered. "I will hold you until you tell me to stop, and then... I'll still hold you, until you make me stop... and even then..."
I won't leave you.
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Shaky Ground