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alhaitham stood with his back to cyno’s, talwar held in his hand, paralleling cyno’s obsidian scepter in his. the ley line they stood beside crackled, almost in anticipation as it broke the hush that had settled over the area.
the two had headed out in the morning at the influx of reports from the forest rangers of a ley line disorder that a few passerbys had been affected by; while examining it, fatuus had crawled out of the woodwork — skirmishers surrounding them and proclaiming “they wouldn’t be going anywhere,” all seemingly because they were just in the same area.
one of the fatuus cocked his rifle, pulling the trigger which finally broke the standstill. cyno shot forward accompanied by a blinding burst of electro, dodging the bullet. his scepter collided with the fatuus, knocking him back. alhaitham watched before he set out to cover the general’s back, disappearing within a flash of green before reappearing to block the downswing of a hammer with the flat of his sword, gritting his teeth at the force which reverberated through his talwar and subsequently his arms. he tightened his grip on the hilt and readjusted his open palm which laid near the end of the blade before pushing back, successfully causing the hammer to avert to the side, hitting the ground.
as the fight went on, the two became separated, surrounded by the remaining fatuus, their weapons on the defense. a sound like thunder boomed, breaking everyone’s concentration. alhaitham and cyno glanced towards the sound — the previous light green ley line had turned a muddy color, almost bordering black.
alhaitham’s brows furrowed before comprehension crossed his face, his head whipping towards cyno as one of the fatuus bellowed, “flash frost!,” cryo erupting from the cannon in a vast spray. as the element hit the ley line, it finally turned black then exploded. alhaitham shoved his way through the fatuus around him, his arm outstretched towards cyno who was the closest to the blast. he recognized the signs in cyno’s face that the reaction on it was one of fear, his eyes wide and lips parted. his hand reached out towards ‘haitham’s.
“CYNO!” alhaitham yelled, his fingers brushing cyno’s as the blinding light of the ley line engulfed them.
alhaitham’s eyes opened to the sound of a screech. he jerked upwards into a sitting position, startling the red vulture perched on the rock above him.
“huh,” he said aloud as he took in the bright sun above him and boulders and sand surrounding him, a large difference to the rainforest he had previously been in. he shakily stood, using the rock as a crutch.
“curses, i hate sand in my shoes,” he muttered as he finally drew to his full height and brushed the grains off. he surveyed the area, trying to tamper down the anxiety building within his chest as he had noticed he was alone — no cyno to be found, and not even any of the fatui. he began to walk, shading his eyes and reciting physics formulas within his head.
an indeterminate time had passed, the heat oppressive and the physics formulas devolving into recalling the puns cyno had told him. alhaitham glanced up, noticing something protruding from the base of a plateau. he squinted his eyes at the sight, recognizing that it was a dwelling built into the rock’s wall. as he headed closer to it, more of the dwelling came into view: fencing made of poles and rope surrounded what could be called a yard, sparsely filled with shrubbery and cacti; stacks of crates against the outer walls of the house alongside faded pottery, a few with wildflowers poking out of them. he came to a halt in front of the walkway that led up to the house as he finally noticed there was a child sitting on the steps, a book open in their lap.
a slight grimace made its way onto alhaitham’s face, disappearing as quickly as it came when the child looked up at him. he heard them gasp and watched as they slammed the book shut.
“hello,” ‘haitham said. the kid’s brown eyes widened, before they murmured a “hi” back.
“if it’s no issue, may i take some time and rest here?”
the child’s face morphed into one filled with confusion. they said something with alhaitham only able to pick out the word ‘rest’ from their sentence. a frown made its way onto the former scribe’s face as he realized a dilemma: the dialect the child spoke was one he didn’t know, which was most definitely an error on his part. while he had studied twenty languages, he hadn’t dove into the particular dialects of the eremites.
“rest,” he repeated, hoping they would understand each other enough, even willing to pantomime if needed.
the other hesitated before they nodded. alhaitham let out a sigh of relief, sitting on the lowest step then groaning as the soreness set in at last. he put his head in his hands, taking the period of respite in. he continued to sit there, listening to the sound of pattering feet move away from him and a door opening; it seemed the kid was done staying outside, which was no problem to ‘haitham. he settled in to massage his temples, losing himself in the action. a tap on his shoulder caused the smallest flinch before he paused and looked up, a cup shoved into his face. he was mistaken in his previous assessment — the kid was not done.
the child said a few words, and at alhaitham’s neutral face, let out a sigh before offering the cup once again. alhaitham took the cup, looking into it to find water. he looked back up at the kid and gave a small smile in return. the kid plopped down next to him, the wariness from earlier seemingly gone. as ‘haitham sipped at the water, he glanced out of the corner of his eye to see them peering up at him with a hand outstretched. noticing they’d been caught, the kid quickly retracted their hand and blushed, spouting something off. they then pointed at their own brunette hair then alhaitham’s grey head.
“old?” the kid asked. alhaitham choked on his water. the kid let out a bark of laughter, kicking their bare feet in delight at ‘haitham’s flustered state. alhaitham coughed and shook his head, finding the corner of his mouth lifting up at the child’s glee. as he made to turn towards the kid, he heard the sound a woman’s voice call out.
“cyno!”
alhaitham felt a bolt of shock go through him as the kid rose from where he sat, pivoting towards the voice.
“cyno?” he said, taking in the boy’s face as he turned back to alhaitham at his name. there was of course the fact he was brunet now and that his eyes were colored a deep brown, yet alhaitham began to recognize the familiarity in his facial features, even through the youthful roundness of it.
“cyno!” the woman called again, and as cyno made to go towards her, alhaitham’s hand reached out. as soon as his fingers brushed the tiny wrist, his vision whited out.
once the spottiness cleared, alhaitham took in the mostly silent area, occasionally punctuated by the lined braziers on the walls that held sputtering fires. he levied himself up, inwardly sighing at the weird turn of events.
“some sort of… traveling through… time…?” he muttered, hesitant to even label the event before waving the thought away. he would worry about the breakdown of this experience when he returned back to where he belonged. he walked through the empty halls, glancing back and forth ever so often; the stillness was beginning to unnerve him. as he turned another corner, he bumped into something, or more like someone.
“cyno,” he breathed in relief, taking in the still brunet child, who had looked up indignantly at him before relief also crossed over his face, which then morphed into joy. alhaitham was floored at the unadulterated emotion at the boy’s face, before he flung himself at the man. alhaitham froze at the action before he took in the fact that the boy had wrapped his arms around his waist… hugging him. the man put his hand above cyno’s head, hesitating before he settled it atop it. he felt as the boy began to shake, a dampness seeping through his shirt; he pulled back, hands coming to rest on cyno’s shoulders as he kneeled and took in the tearful eyes and blotchy face.
“my mama,” was all the boy said before a sob broke out of his mouth, his hands flying up to cover it. alhaitham had known from the limited information given by cyno that he had cherished his mother, who had passed when he was at a young age from an undisclosed reason, but it hurt his heart to see the grief in person. he understood the feeling well, still dealing with the waves of it from the loss of his grandmother even now.
he pulled cyno towards him, hugging the boy who hid his face in the crook of alhaitham’s neck, trying to stifle his cries.
“it’s alright, cyno,” he murmured, running his hand over the child’s hair. “it’s okay, you can let it out.”
as cyno finally wore himself out, alhaitham once again separated from him. the boy offered a smile, sniffling as he rubbed the remaining tears away.
“thank you, mister sprout.”
alhaitham let out a sound of bewilderment, the kid laughing at it.
“your hair,” he offered, pointing at alhaitham’s oft stubborn cowlick, which was tinged a mint green at the end. alhaitham let out a snort, then a hum of intrigue as he comprehended that they seemed to understand one another better.
“you seem to understand me better,” he voiced aloud.
“i studied!” cyno proclaimed, devolving back into his own dialect as he rambled about something before returning back to their shared one.
“my… my mama got me some books on language. and now, the temple has a bunch of them! and people who talk like you! so i’m learning!”
alhaitham felt a grin break out on his face, raising a hand to touch his cheek, almost astounded at it. he felt such fondness bloom within at how cyno was the same, no matter his age — a man voracious for knowledge and one who overcame any obstacle. then something within the sentence tickled at the back of his mind.
“the temple?”
“the temple of -,” cyno began, stumbling over a few words before landing on, “- silence.”
alhaitham felt a thread of uneasiness make its way through him. cyno had always been secretive about the temple of silence. the former scribe had let it lie, for he knew when not to press, but it astounded him now at just how young cyno was when he joined them. he opened his mouth, about to inquire more, when he noticed one brazier’s flames seeming to expand and brighten. the flame flared up and the burst of it’s light consumed his sight.
“i’m getting tired of this,” alhaitham sighed as he stumbled getting up. at least he was apparently still in the temple, which while the desert had its own beauty, was cooler compared to its scorching heat. he set out again, tracing his fingertips along the wall as he walked.
eventually, he came across a hallway of doors. he raised his hand to his chin, considering the options. one of them opened, and of course it was no coincidence that it was cyno who stepped out; except, now he was taller and his face a little sharper. everything else was the same though as the last visit: brunet hair, cut to chin length, and brown eyes; sleeveless undershirt, tapered sirwal, and bare feet. alhaitham felt an eyebrow raise at the idea that no matter his age, cyno refused shoes.
the boy let out a soft gasp as he noticed alhaitham, then rushed over and grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the room he had come out of. he popped his head out of the doorway, glancing back and forth before closing the door.
alhaitham took in the bedroom with sparse furnishings, the only thing showing that cyno used the room being the neat stacks of books and the wardrobe half open with clothes hanging in it.
“you’re here,” cyno says, a pause hanging between them as the boy takes alhaitham in. “how did you even get in the temple? i didn’t question it a couple years ago, but…”
“let’s simply say getting here wasn’t much of a hassle.” alhaitham motioned his head towards the bed, cyno letting out a huff as he moved towards it, ‘haitham following along. the both of them sat on it, the taller male clasping his hands within his lap.
“what or who are you? i’ve been calling you ‘mister sprout’ in my head- don’t laugh at it. i was six, okay?” cyno protested at alhaitham’s quiet chuckle. “anyway, are you a spirit of some sort? a jinni?”
“no. nothing like that. i’m just a simple human.”
cyno hummed, crossing his arms. “who are you then?”
“a feeble scholar.” cyno scrunched his face up, caught off guard by the line. he looked alhaitham up and down.
“a feeble scholar… whatever you say.”
“i believe our time would be better spent with me inquiring about you. you’ve improved vastly in your speech. what else have you been doing here in the temple?”
“studying and training to join the akademiya. the temple is affiliated, and i’ve been recommended. i’d… actually like to pursue the title of general mahamatra; i’ve visited the city, and the amount of scholars who delve into the cardinal sins astounds me. although, i’m… I’m nervous.” cyno lowered his voice, embarrassed at the admission. “there isn’t many desertfolk within the akademiya, and i’m nervous that i’ll be an outsider.”
“your nervousness is valid for the fact you’re taking a step out of the familiar to join a world that isn’t wholly yours. however, i know- i believe that you’ll be a model student; already, you’ve shown your perseverance and thirst for knowledge — which is the number one requirement for the akademiya — with the fact you pursued the study of the sumeran forest dialect when you had only met me once.”
a flush rose on cyno’s cheeks.
“you know, huh? are you sure you’re not some type of spirit meant to bring me guidance and comfort?”
“again, no. i’m just a-”
“do not say it. i’ll concede.”
both of them went quiet before laughter erupted out of cyno.
“archons, this is so strange,” he managed to get out between his laughs. alhaitham let out his own huff of laughter, taking in the sight of the usual dimples that appeared when cyno grinned. despite everything that was happening, it brought a finality of calmness over the thrumming anxiety that had been within alhaitham.
“you know, with you, stranger, i’m more open. it really is weird, as with others i’m closed off and in return, often told i’m very ‘monotonous’ or ‘like one of those machines.’ yet, i feel like i’ve known you longer than the handful of times we’ve met, and that i can do as i please. this does circle back to my first question: who are you?”
“i apologize, but that’s archived information,” ‘haitham teased.
“well, mysterious stranger… will i be seeing you again?”
“i suppose we’ll have to wait and see.”
cyno pursed his lips, brushing back wispy flyaways. after a moment of contemplation, the boy then smiled at alhaitham. “don’t be too much of a stranger, okay?”
“i’ll try not to be, cyno,” alhaitham said, fondness peeking through. at his words, the world went white.
alhaitham let out a scoff as he landed on moonlit sand; it seemed the time spent in the temple was over. graciously, he landed within a one-person camp, the aforementioned person sitting by the fire, positioned facing him.
“stranger,” cyno said, standing up. a cloak drowned him, one he’d only seen a few times when the general would gather the items he needed for a mission. despite the change in location, one major difference that stood out to alhaitham was that cyno’s hair, albeit being the same length as last time, was a brilliant white, along with new carmine eyes.
“a divine covenant,” cyno offered, noticing the stare. he settled back down beside the fire, leaving a space beside him that alhaitham moved to fill. the sage’s thoughts toward the spiritual contract that he had always been intrigued by, considering how tight-lipped the general was on it converged into one word: “why?”
“it was a reasonable path considering my natural constitution,” cyno started, the explanation sounding hollow and flimsy; a lie that had appeared to have been repeated for far too long.
“tell me the real reason.”
“… it was to be an honor to hold the once greatest sage’s spirit, hermanubis, within me. who better than to signify that i will uphold the ideals of justice, to prevent those who wish to enact deeds based on the cardinal sins? with this gracious gift, i’m to help maintain the way sumeru is now — no more destruction at the hands of those who seek knowledge in the wrong places.
“but, stranger, if i’m as honest with you as i always am, it was terrifying. in making a deal with hermanubis, i had to lay my soul bare and prove my worth. i desperately wished to prove myself; not just to it, but to those at the temple and to those i’ll meet soon within the city. it asked me what my purpose was, and i hesitated. i didn’t fully know the answer. then it came to me: i want to fulfill my duty. i don’t particularly care if i’m seen as a lunatic, but my own personal duty is to uphold justice. maybe i’ll be led by the temple or even the akademiya in that aspect, but i won’t just rely on their rules — i have my own code that i’ll stick to. i wish for everyone to obtain knowledge, just not by putting themselves and others at harm in order to do so.”
cyno took a breath, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth as he waited for alhaitham’s reaction.
“i understand your reasoning better, thank you for sharing this with me. like in our previous conversation, i… know that you’ll be a model student. and i’m glad you’re becoming confident in your own beliefs. however, don’t forget to take care of yourself as well.” alhaitham felt an ache in his chest as he looked at this cyno, who already carried too much on his plate; he wished he could whisk him away to somewhere peaceful and safe, an infeasible oasis.
cyno nodded, shifting to close the gap between them. ‘haitham watched out of his peripheral as cyno hesitated before laying his head upon the taller man’s shoulder, who positioned himself to make cyno more comfortable. he stared at the colorless hair that curled behind the smaller man’s ears and at the nape of his neck. a hush blanketed the camp; the few minutes together were all that mattered in this space that consisted of just the two of them.
the younger man lifted his head up after a while, the both of them gazed at each other before cyno leaned up and gently kissed alhaitham’s cheek.
“thank you for everything, mister sprout,” cyno said cheekily, the shine of the fire reflected in his eyes. the glow increased, overtaking everything.
motes of dust dance through the air, illuminated by the dim lighting. alhaitham examined the house of daena, tranquil without the sounds of gossiping scholars or frenzied freshmen scrambling to put their theses together.
the sound of heels on marble broke the peace as he followed a path he knew by heart — towards an alcove that he had deemed as ‘cyno and i’s.’ they had met in that alcove when alhaitham was newly inducted into the akademiya, cyno his senior; throughout the years, they’d always met there, working in silence, appreciative of each other’s presence.
alhaitham’s breath caught in his throat as he saw cyno - his cyno, in his mahamatra uniform with his shoulder blade-length hair, sitting at their table in the chair he’d always claim. the cloth on the headdress swayed as the general turned to him, his face calm.
“alhaitham. i’m glad you’re here.”
warmth erupted in the sage’s chest. he took the seat beside cyno, setting his hand on his thigh, palm facing upward. cyno instantaneously put his own atop and intertwined their fingers.
“are you alright?” he asked, even though he had taken stock of the fact that cyno wore none of the injuries he had gained during their fight.
“i’m fine. are you okay?”
“i’m fine as well. i must apologize, though, for the fact that i’ve somehow, most likely, messed with time. i seem to have jumped through it and landed in certain moments involving you. and if you’re here, does this mean you’ve also experienced this… time travel?” alhaitham inquired, not feeling as ludicrous as he had before when he thought of time travel. even though it had been aided by the akasha, the samsara that had occurred during the sabzeruz festival showed that nothing was out of the realm of possibilities. then he realized if cyno did, he might have seen the past versions of him. it felt odd to acknowledge that just as cyno’s low points were bared to him, the reverse had been done for cyno.
“no,” cyno stated, straight to the point. “it’s not simply time travel. it does involve the ley line and time, except you weren’t leaping through time itself. you were moving through my memories, which i imagine were pulled forth by the ley line, and i think the only reason it was you going through them was because of our proximity.” at that, alhaitham recalled the feel of barely touching cyno’s fingers with his own, which felt as if it had occurred years ago. he tightened his grip minutely, grounding himself in the feel of cyno’s calloused hand and the sharp nails that grazed his knuckles — they were together again, and that’s ultimately what was the most important thing to alhaitham.
“hm. i was moving through your memories - i take that as i was in your head?”
“yes. i trust you; i think it’s why everything was so open to you. when the ley line absorbed us, i felt as if i was lost in an abyss. yet with your appearance, i felt you pull me back to the surface. it helped that you were there in the moments when i was most alone; getting me inch by inch out of the darkness. i believed you would find me, and you believed that you would too.”
cyno scooted the chair to fully face alhaitham, who copied the action as well.
“thank you, my stranger, my ‘mister sprout.’” a dimple revealed itself on cyno’s cheek with the appearance of a lopsided smile. ‘haitham’s eyes crinkled in response. he reached up his free hand and cupped cyno’s dimpled cheek within his palm, his thumb tracing the edge of it. they both leaned in, their eyes closing. a heat spread throughout them as their lips touched, and alhaitham opened his eyes
to a ray of thin sunshine across his face. he squinted his eyes, lifting a hand up to guard against it. he slowly sat up, perceiving that he was on a cot, in a hut. he heard a groan next to him and looked over, seeing cyno on his own cot, white eyelashes fluttering as he came to.
the curtain of leaves that were in place of a door rustled, tighnari pushing them aside as he entered.
“good to see you two up. you’ve been out for a while,” the forest watcher informed, putting his hands on his hips as his ear flickered just the tiniest amount.
“the fatui?” cyno asked, having sat up.
“they’ve been handled. some of the rangers contacted the matra, who escorted them back to the city. i had you guys remain here as i thought it would be best to not move you too much, and i could also keep an eye on your conditions.” tighnari spoke not just as a medicinal researcher, but a friend, concern at their previous predicament bleeding through. “what exactly happened?”
after cyno recounted the experience and his theory, along with interjections from alhaitham, tighnari released them with the statement, “if anything else crops up, go to the birmarstan… or come and knock at my door. don’t climb through the window,” which greatly humored alhaitham at the jab towards cyno’s interesting quirk.
they wandered the path back to the city, side by side, silence pervading their every step.
cyno made the first move: getting closer until he could intertwine their fingers once again. alhaitham looked down at the man and fully appreciated all the parts he’d come to know of him. the same curls at the nape of his neck, albeit longer; the lightness on his feet; the same consciousness that seeped through every action and reaction he had; alhaitham could go on — he had cherished him before, but the reciprocated acceptance and trust, spoken aloud, had made it flourish into something even more. he slowed in his steps, his arm tugging at cyno’s as he fell behind. cyno glanced back at him, then fell into line, the both of them halting.
alhaitham lifted his hand up, cupping cyno’s cheek as he had done moments ago. cyno leaned into it, looking up through his light lashes.
“may i kiss you?”
“yes,” cyno breathed out. alhaitham leaned down to kiss him, cyno meeting him halfway as he reached out to grab at the collar of his cape and stood on his tiptoes. the kiss is sweet, a persisting fondness accompanying it as alhaitham felt his lips twitch upwards.
‘i believed… and you believed,’ rung through alhaitham’s head. their lips separated, and ‘haitham places his forehead upon cyno’s, opening his mouth -
‘i’ll always believe in you.”