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Tighnari's long ears twitched. His eyes slowly opened, blinking away the sleep and sitting up straight, he saw that he was sitting inside the main greenhouse at Pardis Dhyai. Slowly getting to his feet, Tighnari took in more of his surroundings - the sky was a warm grey, with the whole place washed in a strange light. Everything was a little fuzzy around the edges.
Perhaps the fox had hit his head particularly hard, and was now surrounded by a concussion-altered reality. He rubbed his eyes hard with the heels of his palms, which were missing his gloves. Pulling his hands away and seeing funny colours dancing in his vision, he was overtaken by the scholarly curiosity to investigate further.
"Hello?" Tighnari called out into the fog; there was always at least one Akademiya student milling around here. He heard no answer. He shivered. The fog was getting denser and colder now. Tighnari couldn't tell if he had been walking for minutes or hours - he imagined what the faces of the students that hung around Pardis Dhyai would think, seeing the forest watcher wandering around clutching at himself like one of the mad scholars in Aaru village. A set of footsteps picked up behind him. Immediately, Tighnari was rooted to the spot. He felt that warm prickling tingle that came before the scare - a chill both freezing and scalding that overtook him. His ears refused to swivel to capture the sound better. But, as soon as he had stopped walking, the other footsteps had ceased too.
He gave an involuntary shiver. Digging his nails into his palms, he wrenched himself out of his scared stupor and kept walking; the destination that his legs had in mind had not been shared with his brain, but he simply just had the instinct to keep moving. Keep moving through the fog and stone and clamminess.
Every now and then as he continued on his eternal path, he felt a breath on his skin, an indistinct whisper, a light brush of a hand. It was driving him mad. When the fog seemed to finally start thinning out, Tighnari looked around at the scene around him. He was right back where he first entered the fog: the main path that led out of Pardis Dhyai.
Something felt very wrong then. An unexplainable foreboding overcame him. He clutched at his chest, as his heart and lungs started to malfunction. His heart was beating far too fast, his breath coming far too shallow and quick. Tighnari was doubled over now, almost falling headfirst into the pavement. A shadow loomed behind him. It sprawled over the grey, engulfing him. Tighnari couldn't move-couldn't breath. Couldn't turn, or hear over the rush in his ears. He felt the crackle of energy behind him, the threatening violet glow.
He bolted up, tangled in the soft sheets that were bunched around him. Tighnari's hand was still clutching at his chest, but without the barrier of a shirt, his sharp nails dug themselves into his flesh. His other hand of sharp nails was creating punctures in the linen under him.
Tighnari was trapped - he needed to leave, escape from the clutches of that electric glow that had scrawled its mark on his back. Hands trembling, and brown-green eyes wide, his breath was coming in hoarse gasps now. He screwed his eyes shut as tears spilled down his clammy face.
"Tighnari? Why are you awake at this hour?" A low voice thick with sleep grumbled from his side. Cyno's voice, his hand on his lower back, brought him back to the present. He tried gathering his shattered focus and directed it toward that warm, grounding touch. That familiar voice. His lips twitched, trying to form words - something, some kind of explanation for his strange behaviour. It was like his mouth had been wired shut and his throat stuffed with thorns and leaves.
"Nightmare." He managed to whisper, barely audible. Cyno turned to him, face drawn taut with concern, and propped himself on one arm. Tighnari swallowed down the fresh tears threatening to fall.
"Hey, breath. I'm here," Cyno sat fully up with him, reaching out and cupping his face, "Stop hurting yourself, and take a deep breath." He whispered, brushing away the forest watcher's tears. Tighnari did as he was instructed, forcing himself to unclench his hands; his limbs moved mechanically and awkwardly from the muscles being tensed for so long. He grimaced down at his left hand - his fingernails were crusted in his own blood, with a collection of little wounds on his chest. Archons, he really didn't need any more injuries. He hung that hand in the air, not wanting to stain the bed. The hand that was on his lower back earlier had been replaced by a gentle touch to his head.
They stayed like that for a few more moments, with Cyno combing his fingers through Tighnari's dark hair, and Tighnari trying to wrestle for control over his own breathing. Getting control of his heart and breathing took an insurmountable effort, like climbing and descending the central tree of Sumeru City five times without a single break. Maybe wearing the Akasha terminal all those years had some benefits if it meant he wouldn't have to have awful dreams. With one more deep breath and shoving that train of thought off its tracks, he laid back down on the warm sheets.
Cyno watched him for a few more seconds, then moved to get up. Tignnari closed his exhausted eyes when the other turned on the desk lamp on the other side of the room. It was too bright for his sensitive eyes right now. His ears twitched at the clinking and shuffling he heard, though. The matra must be getting him something for his chest. His back tingled. The sudden awareness of the scar on his back made him want to scratch all his skin off. He needed to get his mind off that wretched nightmare.
He thought of happier memories, ones that didn't burn when he touched them. Cyno in his old Akademiya uniform that was slightly too big for him, and his corny jokes, and the big toothy grin he'd got when he would finally get a laugh out of Tighnari. The subject of those very memories was now back, kneeling over him. He had a jar in one hand and some bandages in the other.
"Please tell me if it starts to hurt too much." White hair tied in a knot and the bandage laid to the side, Cyno looked right into Tighnari's eyes, silently asking still for his permission to help. Tighnari smiled weakly up at him, clasping his hands over his stomach.
The sting of the ointment was bearable - the forest watcher had endured worse. What did almost drive him to tears again was the gentle and careful way in which it was applied. Cyno's vermillion eyes constantly flicked between the wounds and Tighnari's face, watching for any sign of discomfort. The hybrid simply closed his eyes and let the other work. His face went a little warm, and a far nicer feeling flooded his aching chest - one of a glowing warmth. The warmth of being cared for.
Cyno carefully wrapped the forest watcher's wounds with the thin bandage he had found in the desk drawer. He didn't allow Tighnari to help at all, rather lifting and lowering the man himself. His shoulder gave a slight ache at being used at this ungodly hour. Cyno finished his ministrations and leaned back on his heels, silently observing the other. These silent moments weren't uncomfortable, they were both far from chatty people after all. Silence was comfortable and familiar between them. Words simply weren't necessary.
Tighnari opened his eyes again, stifling a yawn. Cyno left to put the jar back, coming back with a damp cloth this time. The hybrid took it and cleaned his nails with disgust. The other simply watched in slight agony; it pained Cyno greatly to see him like this. He felt the whisper of a phantom pain on his own chest, a matching set to Tighnari's. Training himself to not betray a single thought on his face was a useful skill. Tighnari handed the cloth back to him.
Cyno slowly placed the bloodied cloth on the desk, turning the lamp off. The room was once more plunged into darkness, with the only sound punctuating the air being a small, sharp intake of breath from the bed. Cyno immediately made his way back, moving into the covers and whispering more comforts. They both threw away the concept of personal space then, tangling into each other and preparing to sleep again. Cyno placed a small kiss between the other's long soft ears. Utter peace encased this moment.
Outside, a million stars winked down at them, Sumeru roses dipped and swayed in the light breeze, and crickets chirped their songs.
The world moved and breathed as it always did. As it always will.