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A pair of fluffy ears sat atop the Akademiya Scribe's head, a matching grey tail peeking from his backside, stiff as a stone.
Both appendages flicker intermittently.
To those who know of the Forest Watcher Tighnari, it is a clear sign of irritation.
…Err.
In the students' defense, it was a complete accident.
A short transport gone wrong thanks to carelessness— with the Akademiya's scribe being the unfortunate bearer of their darling experiment in the form of Valuka Shuna features.
Alhaitham is welcome to throw any and all offense in return for the incident, but it would neither give him relief from the situation, nor a solution.
Looking at the cowering students with narrowed eyes, he simply sighs and instructs them to find a cure as soon as possible, and to be much more careful when transferring dubious concoctions across the Akademiya. Archons know how much trouble and sleep deprivation some students can get into when deep into research– there's a very fine line between Desperation and Insanity as deadlines loom close and they grow more frantic and careless.
(And while they're scary enough with those two options alone, the hidden third objective of The Simple Method of Fucking Around and Finding Out is much more terrifying.
Alhaitham knows. He was a student, too.)
He watches the students scamper off to grab materials needed to clean the leftover mess from the accident before anyone else gets included into the mess, and walks off to hide in his office.
It won’t be long before the news spreads; for an educational institution like the Akademiya, gossip tends to escalate fast, and he’d prefer not to be gawked at while he’s out and about.
It won’t be long before a certain architect would hear about it either, but he’ll take the handful hours of peace he can get until it’s time for him to clock out of work.
“Scribe Alhaitham! Your presence is needed for a meeting at the House of Daena.”
… Or so he thought.
.
The meeting adjourns a little over two hours, a slow crawl from calm minutes of discussion that ends with heated words exchanged between those present.
He walks away from the table with a barely noticeable pinched expression, the end of his tail waving very slowly.
A few of the sages and senior Akademiya officials had gotten into an intense discussion, and while it wasn’t a problem on a normal day, his… new senses pick up the most unnecessary of sounds and smells.
The changes in volume of their voices. The repetitive, irritated tapping against the table. The scratch of quills against rough parchment. The heavy, suffocating coat of perfume one of the sages wore.
Things that never quite bothered him before now nip at his senses, poking at him, demanding his attention. Me, focus on me!
Al Haitham flicks an ear, ignoring curious stares of passing students as he makes his way out of the area to retreat in his office. How does Tighnari deal with this every day?
He supposes it has its usefulness, finding a mild amusement at hearing the smallest of curses or whispers from some of the officials the moment they are forced to back down over a decision or an argument. Currently, however, the disadvantages are heavier on the scale.
It was a shame that his original headphones couldn’t quite fit the shape of the furry ears— if the students couldn’t find a cure soon, he might need to pay a visit to the Forest Ranger and see if he ever had a similar gadget to use for his own.
(He has low hopes for it, however. His memory is excellent, and he had never seen the ranger wear any kind of similar technology whenever they crossed paths when they were still students.)
He just has to make do until then.
Nothing to worry too much about.
.
The sun is starting to set by the time he's left the Akademiya, his mind determined on keeping to his usual schedule. A change in limbs and amplified senses is not a total hindrance.
A familiar silhouette greets him by the path, and for a second, Alhaitham had the mind to look back up at the sky and wonder if it was still morning at the sight of the architect.
"Whoa," he picks up his voice easily despite the distance, "they really weren't kidding." his housemate followed with an amused snort, "Nice ears, ‘Haitham." The light of Kshahrewar greets him, a lazy grin on his face.
Hm. Alhaitham frowns.
Perhaps the sun had set after all.
“...Kaveh.” He acknowledges with a nod, before he continues marching forward, expression set to neutral.
"Wah– hey! Don't be like that, I came all the way here and everything!" The blonde chases after him, a clear pout on his face as he catches up to Alhaitham, gaze intent on his fluffy ears.
The Scribe resists rolling his eyes— if he remembers correctly, Kaveh should be on the other side of the city working on construction. Not… at the Akademiya, ‘picking’ him up.
“If it’s to simply gawk at my new features, I worry about your employer’s ability in picking people to hire for work.”
He wasn't even looking, but he knew by now that Kaveh would puff up by his comment—just like an angry anemo slime.
"Why you–!" He would pout, and follow it by a returning bite, "I do excellent work, thank you very much! Not unlike you who sits in his office all day writing whatever useless discussion the sages spit out these days!"
Despite the remark, Alhaitham oddly feels… relief, falling back into banter like this, his tense shoulders gradually relaxing. His enhanced senses have been getting to his nerves the whole day, but with Kaveh to focus on, the rest seemingly fades to the background, even just for a little while.
The walk back home was filled with their usual bickering, but nothing they weren't familiar with. It was something simply ingrained, a kind of comfort.
Halfway, Kaveh notices that the stiffness in Alhaitham's ears has gone into a lazy tilt, an attentive ear towards him, while his tail has brushed against his own leg a handful of times.
Being fond of animals and belonging with the same friend group as Tighnari, he's familiar with the body language—taking in his observations for a moment, he concludes that Alhaitham's… unsurprisingly more catlike.
He would dare to call it adorable–if it weren't for the fact that they're bickering in the middle of the street and that Alhaitham is. Well. Alhaitham.
"Any idea when you'll get a cure for that, oh mighty Scribe?" Kaveh cuts off their current back and forth abruptly as the other opens the door to their house, gaze intent on his roomate. Quietly, a thought wanders in if he'd be allowed to touch the fluffy looking ears.
"... It was a trial experiment, and it wasn't supposed to be used yet, so a cure wasn't in the works before it was splattered on me." Alhaitham replies, holding back a sigh. "I was promised they'll get to it soon, but it will be trial and error until they have the right cure, so there is no estimate."
"Ah. How unfortunate, then." Kaveh says with a snicker as he hangs his cape by the couch, finding amusement in the scribe's troubles.
Alhaitham rolls his eyes. "Better cherish the time you can see me like this before it goes away." He absently raises his hand to his ears, looking for a dial, before remembering that he couldn't wear his headphones and lets out his sigh this time, ears twitching in irritation.
As much as Kaveh's voice was easier to focus on while they were outside, they still hurt from his time earlier in the Akademiya. Now in the comfort of his house where it's quieter and sounds are more likely to bounce louder, the echo of both their voices ring harsher. It's… uncomfortable.
He couldn't help but find himself frowning, and Kaveh, ever the artist with sharp eyes, is quick to pick up on it.
"You have some spares aside from your current pair, right?"
"Huh?"
"Your headphones," Kaveh gestures to his ears. "They don't fit your ears. I can fix one up to fit them." If you'd like, goes unsaid, but Kaveh would still do it even if the other didn't want to.
Alhaitham's frown deepens. "That's…" he turns his head to the side, "That's unnecessary." He says, as expected. "I won't have a use for them when I get the cure."
"Nuh-uh," Kaveh tuts at him, walking over to flick at his forehead which earns him a glare, "give me one of your spares now or I'll nag you until sunrise." He threatens.
A slight twitch to the scribe's eye paired with another glare is his only response—and the architect grins smugly, knowing he had won.
A tired Alhaitham is sooner to agree just to escape from lengthening something he knows Kaveh won't back out from, and this is one of those times.
He comes back with an older pair from one of the shelves which he hands to an eager blonde, and retreats to his room for some semblance of peace.
Kaveh hums as he immediately sets to work, a small, goofy smile on his face.
Alhaitham had said nothing when he handed the pieces to him, but he had brushed his tail against his thigh– knowingly or subconsciously– as he walked away and… well,
That may as well be his quiet way of saying 'Thank you'.
Kaveh's simply happy to be able to offer help to his stuck-up roommate.
.
There was a bit of a commotion at the Akademiya the next day.
Alhaitham had been in his office, quietly chewing over a headache that he didn't realize has been steadily brewing since yesterday.
The day had started normally enough— a dull ache within his head that was blanketed by the morning daze, yet as the hours tick by after he came to work, the discomfort steadily grew and grew like a rishboland tiger waiting to pounce.
Yesterday was—tolerable, his body adjusting to his new set of senses. Leaving the comfort of his house where the scent of familiarity clung to him like a warm blanket with Kaveh's tinkering a background song that lulled him to sleep, returning to the hustle and bustle of the Akademiya was like inviting himself into torture.
It started with a chorus of cheers near his office.
The sound of a group project that finally achieved results—a reason for celebration for them later, for sure, but the high pitched whistles made the scribe flinch, his ears laying flat against his head. He takes a deep breath. It's fine. He can manage it.
Then, the cheers turned into horrified yells.
His feet moved on their own before he could even think on it— whatever went wrong with the students' experiments, it better be stopped soon lest it disrupts others and lengthen the paperwork he has to copy for the archives, his current discomfort be damned.
There were already eremites working for the Akademiya that surrounded the area by the time he arrived, a series of small explosions assaulting his ears and nose with heavy smoke.
He can feel himself tense from the overwhelming scream of his instincts to run away, find a safe place, yet he keeps his feet planted to the ground, taking hold of the situation.
A voice of authority—at least, until the sages arrive to take control of the situation and he can give in to the urges to hide.
Through the cloud of growing anxiety, he contains the mass of bubbled up, foul smelling material within the cage of his dendro abilities, while a crowd gathers at the mess, sharing exclamations of disbelief and laughter, a couple of voices steadily growing into a crowd.
The noises are jarring. Has the lights in the Akademiya always been this bright?
Alhaitham can feel the noise of their murmurs starting to turn into white noise as he stood there frozen, his heart rate steadily rising and rising.
There's too many people.
(Since when were there so many students gathered in one place?)
Too many scents.
(Too many voices.)
The sound of heels walking and running to the area is joining the cacophony of noise, sharp and grating. (Click-clack, click-clack)
Alhaitham can't breathe, suddenly—he feels both too hot and too cold. It's rare for him to get a fever though, so maybe it's just the weather that's making him feel this way. Ah. He could hear one of the eremites calling his name, asking about what they should do next as students continue to flood in, but one of the sages seems to have arrived, and he's lecturing the students that caused the ruckus so loudly and his voice is harsh and rising and rising and the students are wailing apologies and it—
It hurts.
Too loud too loud too loud and oh. Maybe the coffee he drank this morning made his heart rate worse but it won't stop going louder and it's deafening and it's too much too much and he feels like he's. he's going crazy maybe he wants to go home home home where it's safe where it's quiet and it's where he is and and and—
"–tham! Are you okay?!"
Kaveh.
He takes in a gasp of breath as if it's his first time ever breathing, before he's submerged in water again.
.
.
Kaveh had come to the Akademiya to deliver the headphones he tweaked overnight and morning with the various materials he had in his arsenal, along with the tinkering knowledge he already had of the particular gadget when he offered to fix Alhaitham's headphones a handful of times.
( "I can just get new ones made." "A waste of money when I can just fix it!" "...don't you have deadlines to chase after?" "I need to work on something else before I can go back to it with fresh eyes, Haitham!" "...Tsk. Fine. Do whatever you like." )
It was supposed to be just a simple delivery with a take-home banter.
Seeing Alhaitham frozen on his spot with flattened, fearful ears, and wearing a wide eyed look shot worry in him faster than anything could.
He ran over, unapologetic as he bumped against some students, carefully taking a hold of Alhaitham's wrist and pressing his fingers worriedly on his palm.
There was a panicked gasp– a small bout of recognition– before the scribe is once more unresponsive and Kaveh's worry rose tenfold. He needs to get him out of here, fast.
His usual smile is replaced with a quiet glare as he makes his way through the students, willing them to silence while his hand gently guides Alhaitham out and away from the area, keeping a steady arm around his back and shoulders, a reassuring warmth.
They reach a space under one of the arches near the Sanctuary of Surasthana, but Alhaitham's heavy breathing and trembles are yet to subside.
Kaveh's heart aches at the sight.
Sitting them down, he pulls Alhaitham closer to his chest, and begins to hum.
.
.
The world comes back to him slowly in pieces.
Alhaitham doesn't remember getting out of the Akademiya. Only a familiar voice, familiar red eyes. Only a constant pressure by his shoulders had kept him grounded, and a familiar scent of home.
He can feel a calm heartbeat against his ear, and the thrum of someone talking… singing? He doesn't know which.
All that matters is that he feels safe .
His erratic heartbeat slows, followed by his breathing. There's a pair of arms around him, shielding him, and while he'd normally feel inclined to reject unnecessary contact on a normal day, he keeps his focus on the feeling and the way the voice that talked and hummed softly was easy to his ears.
Where was he…? He remembers… the commotion. The eremite guards. The sages. The students… and– and Kaveh.
He abruptly looks up, eyes wide. Kaveh, his mind reminds him. Kaveh, the tension bleeds out of him.
"Finally back, are you?" Kaveh's voice sounded teasing, but his red eyes were filled with relief. Alhaitham feels a hand absently patting his ears and wiping the sweat off of his face, but he likes it too much to complain. It grounds him.
"You scared me for a moment there, smartass," Kaveh continues, a clear, chiding pout on his face. It melts into worry, expression turning into a frown. "I shouldn't have let you out of the house until I got your headphones all fixed up if I knew the students were brewing trouble enough to get you like that…"
"…"
Alhaitham says nothing, the cogs in his throat still stuck.
He can still feel the remnants of his anxiety swimming inside his chest, and it brings him discomfort that the overload in his senses brought him to such a state. He's… supposed to be stronger than that, and yet.
"Quiet." Kaveh grumbles to his ear, distracting him, "I can hear you think. Ah-ah! Don't look at me like that. Archons, relax . Here, I brought these. It'll help, okay?" He pulls away to retrieve the bag where the headphones were stored, and fits them on Alhaitham's head like a headband.
The sounds around them become more muted immediately, and Alhaitham feels himself melt in ease at not being able to hear everything all at once.
Kaveh snorts softly at the evident relief on his roommate's expression and nods in approval, happy to have helped. He doesn't ever want to see the scribe like that ever again. He thanked the stars above that he came over when he did, but he wished it didn't have to happen at all.
He snaps out of his thoughts when he feels a bump against his chest, Alhaitham having given in to the Valuka Shuna instincts, just for a moment.
"... thanks. Kaveh."
Kaveh smiles.
Very catlike, indeed.