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The night wasn’t particularly pitch black, but a deep shade of blue that made Tighnari’s tail swish side to side in awe of its beauty. It had a quality to it that was slightly different than the night prior.
Then again, that didn’t surprise Tighnari either. Every nighttime sky and daytime breeze were different from each other in distinguishable ways to him and his heightened senses. They brought something unique to the lives of all the Forest Rangers in Gandharva Ville, special fox race or not.
One of the first things Tighnari could remember about looking up at the brilliance of the starry sky in the dense area of the forest was when people were still calling him a ”General.” Even just thinking about those days made Tighnari squirm a little, memories of overenthusiastic voices and eager eyes flooding his senses.
Back then, Tighnari was still teaching Collei the importance of literacy and all its facets, especially in a land as gluttonous for knowledge as Sumeru. The other Forest Watchers would quietly drop by Tighnari’s place from time to time, leaving small letters of encouragement for her to read once she improved, but all the attention had the young girl nervous more often than not.
It was then that Tighnari worked out a schedule for her studies, reserving the evening time for her to replenish her energy and rest well for longer and more numerous days of monotony ahead. Not that she seemed to mind outwardly, Tighnari mused. Collei was as resilient as they come, and he couldn’t be more proud of her.
On those evenings, in the early days of her arrival, the Dendro wielder would sit outside as the sunset came upon the horizon, mind and heart in disarray. How many nights had he sat there, outside his home as Collei slept fitfully, wondering why that true General had come and gone as quickly as the Mondstadt breeze he’d brought with him in the first place?
As if the constellations couldn’t answer his seemingly unanswerable questions, Tighnari would just raise an arm, stretching up to the sky in defeat, his pensive mind already setting up patrol schedules for the next week.
Shaking his head of the memories, Tighnari wanders off a little further into the Avidya Forest, checking to make sure Amir hadn’t left behind any bags while training the dogs. The moon felt gentle, enveloping the forest with a light that glowed through the canopy. With his bow gripped in his hand, he carefully steps around tree roots and overgrown fungi with practiced ease, the routine song and dance for him now.
The small carvings etched into the bark of the trees were aged and weathered, Tighnari running his gloved fingers across each one, knowing his location from them alone. He’d once remarked to the other Rangers that keeping a bit of special dendro-infused dye on them at all times would allow them to make noticeable carvings into the trees with their knives without exposing the bark to pests and diseases. Instead, it made dendroglyphs that were trackable for those who were exploring previously seen territory.
And, of course, it would help in case of a Withering Zone’s appearance.
All seemed well in the forest though, so Tighnari sighs and slows himself to a stop. “There’s no need to continue any further,” he muttered under his breath as he picked at a stray leaf on his boot.
Taking the time to lace them once more for the trek back, Tighnari looked up at the night sky in a strange sense of nostalgia. He’d done it so much for all the times he’d patrolled, and yet it still felt like a new experience every time.
He didn’t have time to dally though, so after a deep breath of the forest’s atmosphere, he turned his back around and was on his way.
---
Almost like a neverending Akademiya paper, the days pass on for Tighnari with a stale repetition that eats at him.
Collei remarks on his restlessness a few times throughout the week, but Tighnari would rather her worry more about her own condition than his. He composes and sends a letter to Izad in Pardis Dhyai to ask and see if any new breakthroughs from students or researchers have occurred. His natural curiosity spans larger than the Avidya Forest, but Tighnari knows he’s destined to be right where he is.
In the letter, Tighnari also inquires about any ecological updates since he’d been stationed there. If Izad had any news, it would definitely ease Tighnari’s mind a lot more considering just how rapidly Withering Zones had popped up in the last month or so. It would be troublesome if they began to proliferate just as quickly outside of the forest as they are inside of the greenery.
His hands began to ache as he grinded an extra batch of medicine for Collei. It was provisional surplus, “just in case,” is what he told himself. It couldn’t hurt to take precautions with her worsening Eleazar, and Tighnari found himself hunched over textbooks again the way he had when she had first been brought to him by Cyno.
Cyno. Absent-mindedly, Tighnari let himself wonder of the General Mahamatra’s condition and whereabouts. If he was alright wherever he was, chasing down academic idiots and law breaking buffoons.
Every time he thought of Cyno, the Forest Ranger felt his heart clench. The last time he saw him was quite a while ago, one of their characteristic dinners together in order to catch up and update each other of their situations, and Cyno had been uncharacteristically quiet at the time, more so than of his usual nature.
His reticence had made both Collei and Tighnari uneasy, but the electro vision holder just dismissed it with a wave of his hand at the time, and they both consigned to dropping it. If he’d known how restless he’d become in the coming days, he would’ve pushed Cyno then.
Dwelling on the past wasn’t something Tighnari had the luxury of doing though, so he kept working on the mortar and pestle, his hands a little less strong after thinking about the General.
—
It is only after another week passes that Tighnari sees Cyno again, composed as he could be while trying to outmaneuver Tighnari’s ears.
Tighnari had decided to repot certain flowers that needed a soil refresh since they were beginning to lack the luster he’d potted them for. It was then that his ear twitched, a familiar yet distant set of footfalls reaching him. His heart leaped from its position in his chest.
The night sky was vast above him, as he’d decided to come outside his house and do housekeeping since his recent restlessness wasn’t allowing him to sleep early. It must’ve been by pure coincidence that Cyno would choose to come now, Tighnari thought. He didn’t know if he could handle any big news.
Once Cyno’s steps were close enough, Tighnari noticed that he wasn’t hiding them or being extraordinarily quiet at all. The bow wielder realized that he must’ve known Tighnari would sense him and dropped any subtlety. Tighnari smiled wryly at that; Cyno was finally learning.
“If you’re looking for Collei, she’s asleep already,” Tighnari commented aloud, his hands making themselves busy again with the flowered plants. “Other than that, I’m afraid I’m the only company you’ll have at this hour of the night.”
Cyno, finally, emerges from the canopy, jumping down onto the platform of wood that his home is situated on. “Why do you say it like it’s a burden?”
“I imagine it must be burdensome for the General Mahamatra to be in every corner of Sumeru at once,” Tighnari says, his voice softer along with the smile on his face.
Cyno scoffs, but remains silent. He approaches the pot Tighnari is working on moving, his fingertips brushing the leaves softly. Tighnari notes how much more calloused his hands were from the last time they’d seen each other, and yet his touch was as gentle as ever. It makes his smile drop slightly.
“Have you been taking care while you’ve been away?”
Cyno looks at Tighnari from where he had been staring intently at the flowers, his hand releasing a petal. “I do. Does it not show?”
“That’s not quite it,” Tighnari huffs out a laugh, hands gripping onto chunks of soil at a time. “I was just wondering, is all.”
“I wanted to ask that of you, Tighnari,” Cyno says tenderly, his brows furrowed. “You seem tired.”
Tighnari pauses in his ministrations before sighing into his sleeve as he wipes sweat from his brow. “What gave you that impression?” His deadpan tone didn’t help.
Cyno stares at him for a moment, but moves to the flower pots, picking them up one by one and moving them around the back of the part-fox’s house. Tighnari would stop him, but he knew Cyno was trying to make a point to him, so he reluctantly let him do as he pleased.
Once the General Mahamatra finished moving all his supplies, he sits down next to Tighnari, who’d hung his legs over the sides of the walkway. “I thought it was strange that you were awake,” Cyno remarks, “you seem troubled.”
Tighnari lets his tail openly swing. Even if he wanted to hide his anxiety, it would be impossible to hide anything from Cyno with his Matra senses. “Sorry for not sending letters as frequently. The Withering Zones are getting worse every time I’m called to deal with them, and Pardis Dhyai hasn’t had any new news either. I’m prepared enough, but…”
The words go unsaid between them but Tighnari knows Cyno understands his hesitance and apprehension. The longer Irminsul remains sick, the harsher it is for not only the environment, but all habitable life within it, including the livelihood of the people of Sumeru. He really didn’t want his reunion with Cyno to be so bleak, but between the two of them, there was no need for sugarcoating anything.
“I understand,” Cyno says simply, his hand reaching to cover Tighnari’s own. His grasp is light, almost not there, and Tighnari flips his hand over to steady Cyno’s hand within his own.
It was grounding in an odd way, Tighnari thought, that Cyno could fully know what he’s struggling with and quietly offer comfort that Tighnari would’ve brushed off from anyone else. The boundaries of their relationship were strange, yet comfortable.
“Where has work taken you, Cyno?” Tighnari clears his throat, the lump that was previously there being forced down.
Cyno hums a bit. “Scholars on the run find many places to hide, so I’ve been around.” He adjusts his grip on Tighnari’s hand to lay their hands in his lap, his left hand caressing their joined ones. “It’s not of any concern though. Justice will reap what was sown for them.”
Cyno goes on for a bit about the Akademiya’s new regulations regarding the Puspa Cafe’s sale of alcohol and the Zubayr Theater’s latest monitored performances, and yet Tighnari can’t help but let his heart drift off. The familiar clench isn’t there anymore, instead replaced by an all encompassing warmth as he feels Cyno’s hand stroke their intertwined ones.
The warmth reminds him of how things have always been with them. Never one step ahead or behind, but standing on equal footing, equal ground. Tighnari’s full awareness is on Cyno and the General would do the same for him, that he knows. The subtle glint in Cyno’s eyes as he speaks, trying to conceal the passion he has for his duties and yet some escapes anyways, endearing all the same.
Cyno’s voice slows to a stop as he assesses Tighnari next to him. “Nari?”
“I’m glad you came by,” Tighnari says under his breath, slowly reaching his free hand to Cyno’s cheek, and drawing their lips together.
When he feels their hands untangle, both of Cyno’s reaching toward his face, he feels the stress of the past few weeks melt away in his hold.
An unconscious blossoming of feelings under the stars that had burst into fullness, and he wouldn’t have had it any other way.