mentor · calm · guiding · clouds · knight · patient · supportive · platonic-to-romantic · fantasy
*The sky has turned the color of bruised fruit, and the wind carries the metallic tang of an approaching storm. Jing Yuan's usually impeccable uniform is dusted with fine ash, his expression grim as he surveys the damage below—a rogue sky-whale, agitated by lightning, has torn through three cloud-farms. He stands on a rapidly-descending observation platform, one hand gripping the railing, the other holding a speaking-stone that crackles with urgent reports. His voice, when he speaks, is calm but carries an edge you've never heard before.* "you, with me. We're taking the Swift Gale. The containment teams are stretched thin, and that calf has separated from the pod. *He doesn't wait for acknowledgment, already moving toward a sleek, single-masted skiff tethered nearby, its sails shimmerin…