Chapter Text
Did dreams, or nightmares in Tighnari’s case, extend to when the person was, infact, very awake after chugging 3 cups of coffee? Tighnari could practically feel the caffeine running a marathon throughout his body, pumping him with energy. His best friend was still missing, not unusual, since the man was often tardy.
(“Why are you always late?! Even Tighnari is earlier than you, and he comes from Avidya Forest!” Kaveh drilled, yelling preposterously. Tighnari would say Kaveh was furious at the desert dweller, had he not watched the absurd amount of drinks Kaveh had throughout the night. He watched, amused, as the drunk and swaying Kaveh yelled at the calm and composed General Mahamatra. “Do you not enjoy time with your friends?! Are we really that un-important to you?!”
“Not at all,” Cyno promptly replied, without hesitation, putting down his cup of water as he spoke, “Scholars run throughout Sumeru every day to avoid judgment, and It’s a part of my job to hunt after them. I don’t control where I go, nor do I control when I come back. It takes a while to travel back to Sumeru City, so my apologies for being late.”)
He silently chuckled at the memory, remembering how Kaveh had drunk himself to sleep and a killer hangover, so much so that poor Alhaitham was forced to carry him back and be his begrudging caretaker the whole day.
Speaking of which, the man himself sat in front of him, arms crossed over his chest, more serious than usual (which was odd, since the man is the embodiment of an enigma), while Kaveh, the “annoying” architect roommate of the man, sat to his right, rambling like he normally did every other Friday for TCG. Tighnari enjoyed playing games with his friends in the tavern, but Archons, he absolutely hated the trek from the forest to the city. He would have to leave before sunrise in order to barely make it before the event. It wasn’t like the trek was long – there were just so many complications to face when leaving the forest. Before he could even step foot outside of Gandharva Ville, he had to make sure his duties for the day were properly passed on to somebody else or do them before he left. Somebody had to make sure Collei wouldn’t slack off with her homework in favor of studying TCG strategies (a habit picked up from Cyno) or wandering about in the forest. Say there was, for example, a withering zone he discovered while on his leave. He couldn’t just ignore the withering, and if he didn’t take care of it then and there, some innocent civilian may stumble upon it and perish a dreadful death. By the time he got to the bridge leading up to the city, he was tired and bored out of his mind.
The people in the city weren't any better. Fox ears tend to stick out amongst a crowd, which drew people's attention towards him, and not the good kind. Sumeru, in general, had very few hybrids, Tighnari being one of them. When he was studying in the Akademiya, people grabbed his tail or ears forcefully, disregarding the owner of them, numerous times. He couldn’t count how many times people sent him scornful, hateful looks, nor could he remember how many times he’d decline invitations to partake in Hybrid experiments. At some point, he remembered people pounding at his door during the night, which was one of the reasons why he left the city in favor of the forest.
Cyno, however, was one of the people he missed when he left. He was Tighnari’s closest friend in the Akademiya since– well– Tighnari didn’t have any friends before Cyno. He remembered when Cyno had transferred to the Akademiya, and from the start, Cyno had been shunned by the rest of the Akademiya for being dessert-born. Naturally, two shunned people became friends with each other, and he doesn’t regret that at all. Cyno stuck up for him, swatting away people’s hands from touching Tighnari and he glared back at those who hated him.
Cyno– overall– was just a good friend to him at the Akademiya.
(He was awake before they stepped up to his door. Who in the right mind would show up at this hou–
Tighnari groaned, realizing what they intended to do.
This was the third time this week they showed up to ruthlessly bang at his door, hurting the fox’s sensitive ears and disturbing his sleep. He has no clue why they wanted this, and what they wanted to achieve from this crazed behavior, but all he knew was that they were specifically targeting him because he was a hybrid.
At first, he thought it was a prank by his seniors, or maybe a social experiment with little meaning in the Akademiya. However, when it didn’t stop after 2 weeks, and only after he confessed to Cyno about this, he realized that they were specifically targeting him- and him only.
Stupid scholars.
He sighed, glancing to his right at the aforementioned man. Cyno, when sleeping, was truly ethereal to look at. From the way his white hair fanned out on the pillow below him to the peaceful look on his face created this nighttime beauty.
Tighnari was apologetic for the onslaught of banging that was about to occur.
He braced himself for the rude and infuriating banging by covering his ears with pillows, even though they did little to nothing.
Cyno was awake by the first one, red eyes wide awake.
“Sorry,” the fox hybrid whispered, “they do this a lot.”
“Its ok, I’ll fix it”
By the 5th, Cyno was out of the bed.
By the 8th, Cyno swung the door wide open, knocking the people standing right in front of it to the floor.
“Leave. Now.”
He went back to sleep before they made it down the hall.)
Besides, the forest was far better than the city. Not only is he surrounded by nature, he can freely partake in any of the activities he so wishes to. As an Amurta Scholar, he can study the environment around him. It sucks that he’s so far away from his friends but that doesn’t matter to him that much, since he sees them every other friday. He has Collei to keep him busy too. Also, Cyno visits him infrequently for dinner, but lately he’s been seeing the Matra every month, which is far more than enough company for hi–
“Cyno’s missing,” Alhaitham cuts off his train of thought and Kaveh’s ramble, “he never came back from his mission yesterday.”
The table went silent.
All eyes laid on Alhaitham.
“Thursday morning, Cyno was sent to Apam Woods after a scholar broke one of the 6 cardinal sins – tampering with life and death,”
He stared at the gray haired man as a pool of dread slowly dripped down his spine.
“He should’ve returned this afternoon for a meeting with the Dendro Archon, however, he never showed up.”
He felt like crying
“Lesser Lord Kusanali wants this to remain private, since news of the missing general would cause distress amongst the rest of Sumeru and people–mostly scholars– would try to take advantage of it.”
He couldn’t breathe– archons- he couldn’t–
“Alhaitham– that’s a poor attempt at a joke!” Kaveh accused, but all that showed on his face was shock and disbelief, not an ounce of rage. After a beat of silence, he added, in disbelief, “You’re joking, right?"
“I’m serious,” Alhaitham deadpanned, “Sumeru’s archon recommended that we investigate the disappearance, since we are close with him. I recommend we go now, before the civilians start to notice.”
Suddenly, the absence to his left felt heavier, somber.
Cyno could be stuck, left in the forest to starve to his death.
He could be tied up, left to face the monsters of the forest.
He could be passed out in the midst of a withering zone, left to rot.
He– he-
He could be dead..
To realize that the missing person from the group was in danger, while they were having a good time, felt abysmal, like a real, living nightmare.
Did dreams, or nightmares in Tighnari’s case, extend to when the person was, infact, very awake after chugging 3 cups of coffee?
He still doesn’t know, but he knows that he wanted – no- needed to save Cyno.
“Alright,” he shakily said, standing up from the table. He could feel concerned eyes staring at him, but he ignored them, “Let’s go.”
“It's settled then,” Alhaitham stated, closing his book as he stood from the table. The group made their way to the exit.
Tighnari had only one thought in his mind.
‘Cyno needs me’