“I can’t come to dinner,” Jing Beiyuan shouted, stroking the sable’s soft back as he lounged in the day’s last golden light. “I’m trapped.”
He heard a soft snort from inside. Then, Wu Xi called, “Lu Ta! Go fetch your father, and wash your hands.”
The sound of Lu Ta’s light footsteps changed as he moved from the wooden floor to the soft ground in front of their house. “Dad, Shifu wants you.”
Jing Beiyuan gestured, helpless and dramatic, at the sable curled up on his lap. “I can’t move.”
Lu Ta’s sigh was exactly like Wu Xi’s, Jing Beiyuan thought fondly. So was the way he shook his head and scooped up the sable. “Now you are freed,” Lu Ta said, very seriously, and turned to take the sable inside.
Jing Beiyuan scowled at his back. “Disrespectful child!”
“I am respecting Shifu.” Lu Ta glanced back as he passed the threshold. “You’ve told me to prioritize his wishes, Fuqin.”
Jing Beiyuan grumbled to himself as he stood, but he couldn’t argue this point; he loved Wu Xi too much. “Fine, fine,” he said, and laid a hand on Lu Ta’s growing back. “Come, let’s join your Shifu for dinner.”