Dark eyes blinked quickly as he looked down at the princess who so suddenly appeared before him. He cleared his throat and pulled both hands down and behind his back suddenly, taking the usual 'at ease' pose from the dojo. A moment in the position and he caught himself and shifted his weight again, letting his hands drop to his sides as he cleared his throat and fidgeted a bit. Oh why was this so difficult suddenly?
He forced the flush from his face and moved seamlessly into a series of rapid blinks and Xiu started talking and... simply did not stop. He broke a small smile as he listened to the babble, soon offering, "Well I was tempted to knock and then run away." He hoped it sounded like a prank, not the actual reason for his considering doing so. Heh.
"I just... wanted to... uh..." He placed his weight on one leg as he rubbed at the back of his neck and lowered his eyes a moment. Clearing his throat and gathering himself again, he faced her much more confidently. "I wanted to see you, and wanted to ask if you had... seen the performance... at the Festival..." He had been quite proud of how the display from the Sword and Fan had gone off, and he was somewhat annoyed with himself and how overly eager he was for Xiu's approval of the performance.