At first when she started talking to him, Namkha had thought Yi Han was going to say he was an encumbrance to the party and send him back (could they go back, even? he wondered), and his relief and gratitude when it turned out that rather than trying to get rid of him she was actually offering to teach him, was so overwhelming he just knew he was grinning all over his face like a idiot and didn't care a bit.

"Could you really teach me to use a sword?" he breathed. He stared at Yi Han with eyes shining with excitement and pleasure, quite forgetting his shyness of this heroic figure as he realised what she was saying. Until this moment, no one had ever suggested he could amount to more in life than bringing down the herds from the high pastures and bagging marmots with his slingshot.

There was a brief commotion at that moment, as someone, somehow, seemed to have either fallen into the river or suddenly appeared there and everyone rushed to assist. By the time the excitment was over, Namkha had managed to calm himself and regain most of his senses, or at least enough to think about the practicalities.

He bowed clumsily to Yi Han as he had seen warriors do to show respect, and grinned at her. "I would be so honoured if you would teach me. Oh, I know I could never be as good as you, or them," he indicated Shuai Tiao and the Samurai. "It must take years and years of practise to get so good," he said wistfully, then seeing the glint of amusement in her eyes he added hastily, "Not that you're old, I mean you must started learning when you were a lot younger than I am now."

Yi Han nodded, the amusement now also evident in her smile telling him no offence had been taken and she understood what he was saying. She assented it was true, but he was not too old to begin now.

"I am quick to learn," he assured her hopefully, adding with a broader grin "And I will try and not accidentally kill either of us!"

At that moment he didn't care what lay ahead of them. It was for others to decipher the clues on scrolls and make magic - he was just determined that he would rather die than cause Yi Han to regret her offer. Proudly, he hitched his pack across and offered her the last of the dried apricots. "I noticed you liked these, so I saved them for you. When do we begin?"