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Tighnari was FREEZING!
He was just a kid! Why was HE the one tasked with picking up branches for the fireplace?! That’s not fair at all! Just because he had maintained his ears and tail better than the rest of his family doesn’t mean he’s best suited for this job. Sure, it doesn’t snow much in Sumeru, but he’s not the most resilient fox compared to his relatives! Tighnari’s too young for this. The place is positively humid and there is little to no room for his whining unless he would devolve into a fit of sneezes.
With “Grrr"s turning into "Brrr"s, young Tighnari cloaks himself up with the same scarf by adding more layers to protect his neck. When he went out, Tighnari’s hair was wild and unruly, constantly falling in his face as an act of immature defiance. He didn’t care how much his mom preached about appearances as the kid fennec stomped to the rainforest.
The rainforest was positively duller than it was in any other season, and he can’t even perceive colors. All greys and darker shades. Then again, he’s just a kid so that’s only natural. He’s not as lucky as his mom and dad who found each other back when they were five. And yet, woe is Tighnari for being seven years old and unable to tell plantains and bananas apart.
Grey… grey… grey… everything was dreadfully grey. Why can’t it snow here now like it did in Liyue? That’s not fair. He wanted to see something lighter and more cheerful than this cold sight.
Tighnari trudged through the place with his tiny legs, hoping to pick up what he needed and head home fast. He whined and his shoulders sagged. In the common egocentric view of children his age, he complained loudly as he picked up a branch as if he was Atlas and it was the Earth. Tighnari rebelliously waved the stick at the sky for a bit when he did pick it up.
Now would be a good time for him to gain a vision, Celestia! It’s Celestia’s Day Eve! Do you hear his thoughts?! A pyro vision would be great, thank you very much!!!
When Tighnari noticed four mushroom boars cuddling up to one another, he came to a complete halt. The cold must be hard on them too, huh? They stand out against the less vivid background because of their lighter fur. Tighnari might be able to bring some home.
He instinctively reached for his bow but stopped midway.
Hold on– Dad didn’t send him out here to hunt! He’s supposed to bring back lumber like a grown-up!
Tighnari pouted.
Ngh… but hunting’s much more fun, though!–
Hold on.
His eyes widened. His ears jolted upwards as Tighnari revolved his feet on an axis. He turned his heels around in an alert stance. There was no danger around him– there were no ruin guards, no eremites, no fungi– but his surroundings drastically changed. Tighnari kept shooting glances at the new world– the real world around him.
… What is that…?
“What color is that?!”
His hold on the branch tightened, squinting at the small leaf that grew on its side.
Green… green! This has to be green !
He grabbed his tail. Green– dark green? This is green! Are all of these leaves green?
Tighnari grinned widely.
His young and simple mind had decided that he liked the color green.
… Green… Yellow-green…
Those were the first colors he saw, but they didn’t come from the trees and the sprouted leaves surrounding him. What do other colors look like? As he was about to hastily scout the area for Sumeru roses, a dire thought occurred to him.
… Why did he start to see colors?
His heart dropped as he looked at the herd again.
… Green… Yellow-green boars…
Oh… oh no… to think he was just planning to kill them earlier…
Is his soulmate… a BOAR?!
His knees buckled down to the ground, the dewed tall grass scraping it slightly. No, it can’t be. Tighnari laughed humorlessly. His parents take great pleasure in their son’s innate intelligence and curiosity. It’s only natural that he likes reading books– he leafed through some encyclopedias so there’s no way for Tighnari to miss that boars…
… have a life expectancy of 10 to 14 years.
"Ngh…!” Tighnari nearly teared up.
How… how can he fall in love with a boar, especially when they’ll die before him? H-how can he kiss a boar? Is that even okay? Won’t his friends make fun of him?! Then again, if it’s love, then there shouldn’t be anything wrong with it, right?
But the rainforest… it’s greatly affected by the withering…By the time Tighnari graduates, he may not even see his soulmate frolicking in the grass anymore…
… That’s it.
The child clenched his fists. Tighnari’s knuckles grew pale– he had never felt this much resolve in his childhood years. It doesn’t matter how long his soulmate lives, as long as he can help extend what little time they have, he’ll make the most of it. Tighnari wasn’t going to let them die young, nu-uh! Especially not after he saw how beautiful the world is in full color.
He made up his mind. Starting today, he’s going to be a forest ranger to save his soulmate’s natural habitat!
“I-I…!” Tighnari puffed his cheeks out. The child didn’t care if he looked stupid, especially when his only audience was the silence of the rainforest. “I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE UGLY! I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE A BOAR!”
He shut his eyes tight, mustering the courage to accept his (hilarious) fate. If he had them open, Tighnari would’ve noticed two (h/c) protruding fox ears at the center of the bewildered herd.
“I’M GONNA LOVE YOU!!! I’M GONNA BE FOREST RANGER AND I’M GONNA PROTECT YOUR HOME!!! PLEASE STAY STRONG AND DON’T DIE YET!!!”
“W-Why are you screaming?!”
An unexpected voice called out. Tighnari froze, opening his eyes.
A fox, you, suddenly appeared in the sea of yellow-green fur. Your face was coated in dirt, and your wool jacket was littered with hair that wasn’t yours. You were a bit smaller in stature, probably younger than him, and you pulled your ears down to feign meekness and pain from Tighnari’s previous wailing. But most notable of all, you donned a nervous yet mischievous smile– a smile Tighnari will increasingly grow accustomed to for the entire duration of his life, and it gets better each time he sees it.
Your (e/c) eyes blinked, groggily realizing something was amiss.
“O-Oh, woaaahh, COLORS !!!” You gawked in awe, mimicking the same movements Tighnari did when he gained the ability to see in full colors. “Hey, are you my soulmate?!– Achoo!!!”
Wait, is his soulmate one of the boars or…?
He shyly combed his hair down, now hyper-aware of how embarrassingly messy it was. Tighnari should’ve listened to his mom earlier. He didn’t know he was meeting his soulmate today!
“I… I’m not sure…” Tighnari blinked, visibly perplexed. He glanced at the boars, troubled. A person was cuddling between those stinky animals? How could a fox’s nose even handle that? He could barely keep his jaw from hitting the floor.
“Whack!” You blew a raspberry, your small fennec ears drawing back down. “W-Who else would it be other than ME? The boars???”
He grumbled. ’Well, excuse me, prince/ss’, that was exactly what Tighnari thought earlier since you were hiding under their fur like an egg waiting to hatch.
“Never mind that! How about you? What are you doing here alone? Where are your parents– and why are you snuggling with them?!”
“C-Cuz it’s cold, alright?!” You sneezed again. Your voice echoed, cute and high-pitched. “M-My parents are adventurers and I wanted to follow them cuz they’re leaving me alone on Celestia Day b-but–”
You sneezed for the umpteenth time.
“B-But I don’t know where they went… I just wanted for us to drink hot cocoa b-but…“ You sniffled.
"S-so I’m hanging out with my REAL family now! They’re nicer and they gave me mushrooms. HMPH!!!”
You proudly put your hands on your hips as your fluffy ears pricked up. You mimicked a "dignified” posture you observed in exaggerated storybooks, pointing your chin upward.
Tighnari clicked his tongue. “Whatever, Boar Prince/ss . Get out of there before they ram their noses to your butt!!”
His weak threat only made his fellow fennec grouchier. “H-Hey! My name is (Y/n) and I’m five years old, th-thank you very much!”
(Y/n)… That’s a really pretty name… He wouldn’t mind saying it often.
“Whatever, I’m still gonna call you Boar Prince/ss. My name’s Tighnari. I’m seven so I’m two years older than you.”
“T-Tighnari, Tighnari. Heh. S-Sounds cool. What’s your last n-name?”
“Huh?”
“O-Obviously I don’t wanna keep my papa’s last name after they abandoned me, so I’M taking your last name, soulmate.”
“Gah– D-Don’t say things like that, you big lummox!!!” Tighnari huffed, his angry breath visible in the cold air. “And they probably didn’t abandon you, you’re just stubborn and you didn’t listen to them like a bad kid.”
You purposefully ignored his last remark. “Why not? Aren’t we going to get married someday?”
Tighnari paused, his face heating up. Technically, you’re right, but he didn’t want to admit that.
He reached his hand out to help you get out of the boars’ place. “S-Shut up! Before you freeze, why don’t you come over to my house? My parents can make some pretty good hot cocoa.”
Your eyes beamed at the suggestion. “Drinking hot cocoa? Hmm… But I wanna do that with my cousins though.”
Tighnari’s eye twitched. So much for “soulmates”.
“HMPH! If you don’t wanna drink cocoa at my place then be one with the forest!”
“W-Wait up!”
Tighnari walked faster, a few paces ahead of them. You profusely apologized to your “new family” as you swerved out of the herd. Unfortunately for him, despite nearly shivering to death, you’re a faster runner than Tighnari. Your hand seized his tail, and he felt his face and ears warm up. You could have yanked him playfully, but you chose to look at him and catch a glimpse of yourself in his eyes.
You decided at that moment that you like the color green, too.
“Hehe, your tail’s prettier than mine.”
He felt his heart race again.
“W-Wa…” Warm…
“Wah?”
Tighnari trembled in jittery frustration.
“W-Watch your step, our place is near s-so it shouldn’t be long until we see mom and dad. And grab my hand instead, won’t you!” Tighnari huffed. His place WAS near, but that doesn’t mean he won’t complain about being ordered to pick up wood earlier.
You did what was instructed, and Tighnari suddenly recalled that you referred to him as your soulmate numerous times. He looked down and noticed how much your hands fit perfectly with his.
A perfect fit… A perfect match…
“Hey, soulmate?”
He answered reluctantly. “…Yeah?”
“I like how warm your hands are too…”
“Ngh!”
Tighnari’s hand is sweating and his heart can’t take it. It’s physically impossible for him to fire a sassy retort to that. He closed his eyes again, overwhelmed.
Slightly, he wished that he couldn’t see colors so that he wouldn’t notice how cute his soulmate is with that “pink” blush dusting their face.
——-
“Oomph– y-you surprised me, love.”
Neither of you can believe it’s been 14 years since you both found each other– and this would be your 12th year spending Celestia’s Day together.
Tighnari, now visibly older but just as energetic as he was before, captured your waist from the back. He put his head on your neck, humming contentedly as he basked in your presence.
“Sorry, I just missed you…”
You smiled and ruffled his hair slightly. “I missed you, too…”
That’s right, 12th year. You’re finally home after a two-year-long expedition in the Chasm with Miss Yelan. Suppose being a bit adventurous does run in your blood. However, you weren’t too late to not witness the nation of Sumeru change because of the traveler’s influence. Since your return, Tighnari frequented your house more often– leaving the rangers with more work. Not that they mind, they’d rather pitch in than see their forest watcher mopey and depressed. Besides, you might’ve missed the Sabzerus festival, but you won’t leave your fiance at his lonesome again for Celestia’s Day.
It’s impossible for him to keep under wraps just how much he adores you. Tighnari sighed dreamily, his expression softened as he looked at you. His fingertips shyly brushed against yours until he intertwined your hands. Although you were slightly tense, you relaxed into the hug and squeezed him back.
He whispered in your ear, his soothing tone complimenting the crackling of the fireplace. “I’m not letting you go… Ever…”
“I know.”
“You know what? I’m locking the doors.”
“Then what’s the point of inviting the others to spend Celestia’s Day if you did that, hmm? Do you want poor Collei to be alone on the holidays?”
His nose scrunched. The kid was sleeping soundly upstairs after she got tired of waiting for the traveler and Cyno. Tighnari’s never going to abandon her, she can’t be alone when she got the best parental figures with her. Better than those boars, at least.
“Collei can stay in, she’s like your daughter at this point. The others can perish.”
“OUR daughter. Plus, last time I checked, it was your idea to invite them.”
His hug tightened, “I made a grave mistake. I don’t want to hear Cyno’s jokes under the pine tree."
By no means a novice to his snark, you chuckled softly. As time flew by, your old playful happy-go-lucky nature refined to be more serious, but never dull. You’ve both matured into fine adults. However, you’re behaving rather timidly compared to your usual banter, which only pushed him to act skittish.
Tighnari pouted intentionally cute. “Honey… you know there’s no one else in the world more gorgeous than you, right?”
You tell each other everything, and this is often his best conversation starter for it. “What is it this time, love?”
“Hypothetically speaking, what if I told you I accidentally gave the others the wrong map?”
“…The wrong what?”
“The wrong map to your house.” His voice was muffled this time as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. You’re used to the sensation of him hiding his meek expressions behind you. “What if I told you I mailed them Collei’s drawing?”
You put your hand on your chin profoundly, your ears drooping down. You’re something of a schemer yourself, so it’s in your nature to doubt his claim. “Ah yes, because I’ll definitely believe you did that accidentally after you just said you don’t want them to come over.”
“Yes– cause this time I’m not lying.”
“Sure, you rotten fox…” You grumbled. “I can’t believe you’re exposing to everyone that I’m the Boar Prince/ss. It was supposed to be a secret!”
Tighnari laughed, his joy so contagious that your pretend dismay collapsed in an instant. The both of you stood by the fireplace for a while, your ears listening to the sound of your soulmate’s breathing.
It’s the warm and comfortable moments of silence like this that can wash two years of loneliness away.
Life has kept you both so busy that the beginnings of your somewhat haphazard love story have been buried behind numerous tasks and research papers. Nevertheless, regardless of the conflicts you two had experienced, it all comes down to one tale. It is a wonderful serendipity that both perspectives coalesced into a single, cohesive narrative of a child who believed a boar was his soulmate and another who was unexpectedly adopted by the herd while looking for their parents.
Tighnari traced the engagement ring in your hand. His eyes were intensely green yet soft whenever he gazes at you.
Green’s such a beautiful color, especially when it paints his features. You’ll never grow tired of observing his face.
“(Y/n)… I’m so glad that you’re alive, unlike a boar’s lifespa–”
As if to ruin a magical moment in a Fontaine rom-com film, the door busted open, revealing a particularly unamused scribe with a mercenary, a dancer, a general, a gliding champion, and a traveler trailing behind him like lost puppies. You flinched at the sound while Tighnari put a distance between you and the “intruders”. He only relaxed when he saw Cyno lazily raise his hand.
“Motherfu– See? I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, Dehya.”
“Relax, Haitham, what matters is we’re here now.”
“We would’ve gotten here earlier if SOMEONE didn’t trust a crayon map.”
“I’m sure Tighnari didn’t mean to send us that one.”
“Stop defending him, Cyno, you’re not his damn lawyer.”
While carrying a sizable sweet madame, Lumine shrugged at the very back and looked directly at you and Tighnari. Paimon drifted next to her while sluggishly drooling.
"Happy Celestia day!”
Despite being worn out, the traveler tried her best to ignore the miserable arguments being had by everyone with a large smile.
You snorted behind your hand as Alhaitham brushed off the snow in his cloak by the carpet. You found it funny that none of them, except the scribe, ventured to doubt the quite literally sketchy map. It’s impressive that they managed to read Collei’s handwriting.
Deciding not to point that out, you helped them get inside. Dehya stood behind him with a sheepishly amiable smile with Nilou directly next in the queue. Nilou giggled as Alhaitham muttered a string of curses under his breath about how he’s too feeble of a scholar for this amount of legwork. Meanwhile, the person who you assumed was “Amber”, looked around for any signs of her Sumeruan friend.
Your satisfied smile never left your face as you watched your friends chat heartily. Celestia’s Day with friends and family… it’s just like what you asked for 14 years ago.
“I’ll go and wake Collei up,” Tighnari muttered before he pecked your cheek. You nodded along. It was your idea to surprise Collei with Amber after all.
“Bring out the mugs and hot cocoa too.”
“On it.”
Alhaitham noticed the fox was about to leave and scoffed, his face souring in an expression similar to his housemate’s. Oh, he’s pissed.
“You…" He pointed an accusatory finger at you. “Why did you send us to the middle of the rainforest? And why on earth is it jam-packed with boars? Is this some high-level joke I can’t comprehend?”
“That’s what I would also like to know too, actually,” Nilou mused, but by the teasing lilt of her voice, it seemed as if she already guessed the answer. “Why did you mark the boars’ habitat as (Y/n)’s home?”
You and Tighnari looked at each other in unison. Your shoulders shook as you both silently held back your laughter.
“Yeah, well, about that…”
