Chapter Text
Whispers of an unknown blond gentleman spreaded across Pardis Dhyai and to Tighnari's ears. He was inside checking on the padisarahs when he picked up faint whispering outside. Curious of what was going on, he sneaked closer to the doors to eavesdrop on the two outside.
"Did you see him?!" The first friend whispered to the other.
"Who?" The second friend whispered back.
"Okay, I didn't hear a name but oh my gosh! You- You have to see him!" The first friend exclaimed and Tighnari had to fight back a chuckle when he heard the excited friend shaking their friend by the shoulders.
"Chill!" The second friend brushed their friend's hands off their shoulders then crossed them over their chest. "Since he's this drop dead gorgeous man, where is he?"
The first friend giggled then pointed somewhere Tighnari could not see. "He's sitting over there and oh! I think he's a traveling artist or something. I saw him with a sketchpad on his lap but.." The excitement in their voices died down, "The paper was blank."
"Oh? Then why did you say he was a traveling artist?" Tighnari nodded in agreement to the second friend's question.
"Because I heard someone say that." Tighnari started to scan the area for this gorgeous blond but he doesn't really know where to look.
The second friend sighed then started pushing their friend away. "Come on, let's go see him." The two friends giggled in excitement to see this man and failed to notice Tighnari tailing behind them.
Tighnari stood close by after realizing where they were heading. Hm, no wonder he didn't see anyone over here, the bushes have grown a bit too tall.. or maybe he's too short. He shook his head because he liked to believe he was good for his height.
"Heheh, thank you! Have a great day!" The friends said while holding back giggles.
"You too, you two." The three laugh and poor Tighnari had to yank his tail in front to keep it from wagging. Why is it even wagging?! All because of the voice of an unknown man?! How dumb of a reason.
Tighnari groaned as he rubbed his forehead. Had all this curiosity grown unnecessary feelings within him? When he noticed the friends had left, he started making his way up the stairs to see this popular blond man himself.
"Ah." Tighnari stopped at the top of the stairs and watched the pencil roll towards him. "Oh hehe, can you hand that to me?" He looked up to see that this mysterious blond man is very gorgeous!
Tighnari kneeled down while still holding his tail because the damn thing wants to wag itself off. He walked over to the blond then held the pencil over his opened palm. Tighnari narrowed his eyes at the man before letting the pencil go.
"Thank you.. uhh, what's your name?" The blond man tucked the pencil behind his ear then patted the seat beside him.
"Tighnari." He sat sideways over the spot the blond patted so he could see his face without having to turn his head.
"Tighnari.. nice name! Mine is Kaveh." The blond smiled and also turned his body slightly towards Tighnari.
Tighnari nodded although he knew that from his first glance thanks to the akasha but Kaveh doesn't seem to be wearing one. He would have believed Kaveh was a traveling artist if the akasha didn't reveal who he was.
"So are you doing here?" Tighnari let his tail go but it stayed curled up onto his lap.
Kaveh awkwardly chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. He mumbled a few sounds before looking down at the blank sketchpad.
"Well I came for inspiration for an upcoming project!" Kaveh smiled then it quickly fell into a sour pout. "However my mind has been clogged and nothing has come out," he sighed then looked at the overgrown bush, "so the.. friend of a friend- well my roommate- he told me to come here because he said it might help clear my mind."
Tighnari listened to Kaveh's explanation with a nod before smiling at the end. He had his guess of who this friend of his roommate was but that he could check by himself.
"Mn, that friend sure knows their places." Kaveh nodded with a smile. "I wish you the luck on finding a way to drain that blockage but feel welcomed to walk around to see if anything can help." Tighnari stood up, ready to help out because he simply came to see who and why this blond was here.
"Thanks." Kaveh looked down for a brief moment then looked up at Tighnari. "Actually, if you're not busy, can you show me around? I don't know these flowers very well to know what I'm looking at."
Tighnari nodded then stepped back so Kaveh could stand.
"Well guess I'll be your personal guide, Kaveh." Tighnari crossed his arms over his chest with a proud smile because he can surely answer any of Kaveh's questions. Out of everyone here today, Kaveh chose the right one to be his guide!
The two walked around Pardis Dhyai with Kaveh leading Tighnari around. Whenever Kaveh had a question, they would stop, and Tighnari did his best to answer in a simple way for Kaveh to understand. Although he had a sketchpad with him, Tighnari never saw Kaveh write anything on it. Curious as to why, Tighnari stopped them.
Kaveh was looking at a padisarah when Tighnari stopped them. He crouched down to get a closer look at it. He was acting as if he had never seen one before despite some already being across the city.
"Why are you carrying that sketchpad if you're not writing anything on it?" Tighnari crouched down beside Kaveh.
Kaveh smiled at Tighnari then looked down at the blank sketchpad. He chuckled once then smacked the notepad against his face. His ears and cheeks quickly turned red but Tighnari was shocked by the smack to notice.
"I want to write but.. I lost my pencil." Kaveh whined.
"Ehh.." Tighnari was judging Kaveh so hard right now because the pencil wasn't lost. It was still tucked behind Kaveh's ear so Tighnari has no clue how he could just forget that. "It's right here." Without thinking, Tighnari reached out to Kaveh's ear.
Tighnari's fingers curve along the edge of Kaveh's ear down to his earlobe. Why? He doesn't even know but he was too committed to completing it once his fingers went too far low. After a small tug on Kaveh's earlobe, Tighnari snatches the pencil from behind his ear.
"Haha maybe that'll help you remember where you left it next time!" Tighnari said in a panicked voice while trying to shove the pencil into Kaveh's hand. When Kaveh won't let the sketchpad go, Tighnari looks to see Kaveh's wide eyes and red cheeks but the ear he touched was the darkest red he has ever seen.
"Thank you." Kaveh quietly said and shakily took the pencil. Still crouching, he slowly spun himself around to start drawing, but his hand wouldn't move.
Tighnari wished to throw himself out to some hydro fungi he saw earlier. Now he couldn't face Cyno because no doubt Kaveh would go tell him that Pardis Dhyai is crawling with a creep like him!
"Is there any flower you like?" Kaveh's voice trembled which showered Tighnari in guilt.
"I think nilotpala lotus are very pretty." Tighnari answered and hugged his knees so he could lay his chin in between them.
"Mm." Kaveh hummed and that would be the last of a casual conversation for that evening.
For the next time they talked, it was when they were saying goodbye as Kaveh claimed to have cleared the clog in his head. Tighnari wished that was the truth but he believes he creeped Kaveh from staying any longer.
"Thank you for showing me around today. You're a good teacher." Kaveh said with a small smile.
A touchy one at that.
"Thank you," Tighnari smiled, "and you're welcome! If you ever need a lesson about anything here, you know where to find me- well uh, I think searching for me at Gandharva Ville would be better."
"Gandharva Ville." Kaveh mutters underneath his breath before nodding. "Okay! I'm looking forward to seeing you again."
"Me too." Tighnari smiled and waved at Kaveh until he was out of sight. Once he was gone, Tighnari smacked his hand against his face. Does this mean he didn't creep Kaveh out and that they'll be meeting again?! How again will they be meeting?!
Tighnari's tail wagged in excitement as he began to think about their next meetings. Will they be just about flowers or will they get to know more about each other? Tighnari sighed in relief that all went well for the most part and that this friendship still had a chance to sprout.
Cyno laid about on the couch reading one of Al Haitham's books while Al Haitham cooked dinner. It was relatively quiet apart from the natural sounds of their activities when the front door swung open. The two got up quickly to see the cause of it then backed down when they saw Kaveh.
"Don't break the door." Al Haitham sighed then turned to head back to the food before it got burnt but turned back around because of the sound of rushed footsteps.
"Do you know where I can nilotpala lotus?!" Kaveh asked while shaking Cyno by his shoulders.
"Seems like you met him~" Cyno snickered but that only made Kaveh shake him more.
Al Haitham watched the two then narrowed his eyes at Kaveh to silently tell him to stop but that made Kaveh start shaking him by the shoulders instead.
"Al Haitham, did you know?!" Kaveh whined but Al Haitham brushed his hands to return to cooking.
"Yes, Cyno mentioned Tighnari a couple of times." Al Haitham answered while the two followed behind him.
"Why did no one tell me he was so touchy?!" Kaveh dropped his sketchpad on the counter then went to the table to sit down. He let out a big whine before dramatically dropping his head on the table.
Cyno stood speechless because when has Tighnari ever been touchy? Well that's fine! As long as he could still touch Tighnari's ears before either of these two.
Al Haitham rolled his eyes while Cyno went to take a peek at Kaveh's sketchbook. Cyno smirked when he saw the sketch of a padisarah beside a rough sketch of Tighnari smiling. Cyno patted himself on the shoulder then went over to Kaveh for the details.