Chapter Text
The first shock Kaveh gets when he returns to Sumeru City is the guards asking him to remove his Akasha and hand it in. When he asks why, he gets the second shock of that day: Lesser Lord Kusenali is taking back the Akasha from the people. According to her, it caused the Suneru people to blindly follow the information provided to them, and without it they would go back to the natural curiosity of human nature.
Perhaps it was a good change, but it felt strange to walk these familiar streets and not conduct research as he walked. It was quiet and yet for the first time since he got the Akasha did Kaveh pay attention to the buzz of the streets around him. Customers discussing prices with the vendors, merchants transporting goods, and merry chatter of locals and tourists alike.
It feels so foreign and yet it's warm and comforting. Perhaps this was how it should be.
A new curiosity blooms in Kaveh, the familiar urge to open a new page in his sketchbook and fill it with ideas. Houses, pathways, gardens, every type of building and all things connected between the earth and the sun.
He gives in.
Finding the bench closest to him, Kaveh sits down and takes out his sketch book, ready to draw the life of his own city. Was it sad that he hadn't sketched this since before he started the academiya?
The first object of interest was a simple stall, primitively simple, yet there's a certain charm to the little things too, but it could never compare to his masterpiece, the Palace of Alcazarzaray. To be honest, this was an unfair comparison but that didn't matter, the point being made was that Kaveh, the master architect could improve any building, when this sorry stall.
It's a fun challenge to get invested in and before he knows it, the sun is beginning to set. It was time to get home.
And with home he of course meant the space he was temporarily staying at, Alhaitham's house. It's a small but cosy place. Everything is always in order and cleaned. How exactly Alhaitham found the time for housekeeping when he was almost always working, Kaveh didn't know.
Moreover, why did he care if all he ever did there was sleep and cook the occasional meal? Though Kaveh was glad it wasn't a dump or he would have hated staying there. He does have a hard time staying in places that stink.
Part of Kaveh is excited to go home, sleep on a proper bed again after a week of using a bedroll.
However, he despised the thought of seeing his roommate again. Alhaitham knew how to push his buttons like no one else could. The mix of his indifference and sarcasm was the most frustrating personality Kaveh could imagine.
The cherry on top was that Alhaitham was extremely physically attractive. He was tall and muscular, and his clothing was both elegant, sexy and something one would imagine a whore rather than a Scribe wearing. He was showing off that body if only to fuck with Kaveh, he was certain of it.
Alhaitham's whole existence was the universe playing the cruellest joke it could manage on Kaveh.
Whatever, maybe he could ignore Alhaitham's words today and just sneak a glance or two at him. He would never admit it aloud, but he had missed seeing his roommate, but only that, the rest of his presence was something Kaveh could skip. Perhaps he should invest in a camera and ask Alhaitham to pose for him. No, he would make a fool of himself and only give his roommate new cards to play to infuriate him further.
Yet Kaveh wanted to let his eyes bask in the gorgeous sight off teal and golden eyes with sharp eyeliner, of grey locks that turned white at the tips and green on the underside, how the bangs would frame his eyes and face in an alluring yet mysterious way.
He wonders if those pretty pink lips taste as good as they look, muses with the thought of if he would taste Alhaitham's last meal on the spices left behind. If so, would it be sweet or salty?
Kaveh stops in his tracks.
His feet had taken him to the street leading up to Alhaitham's house on instinct, the path ingrained in his brain. What he doesn't expect to find is a young man with blonde hair already standing by the door. He's not alone either,next to him was a floating child? Was this some type of fairytale creature?
It didn't matter. The important thing at hand was finding out who these two were and why they were outside his - Alhaitham's - house.
The blonde man knocks on the door once more, but the floating thing next to him speaks instead, "Maybe there's no one home yet? We should ask around, surely someone must have seen Kaveh if he got back. He was famous after all."
They were looking for him? Few people knew that Kaveh was staying here, in fact only friends should know, unless Alhaitham went around telling everyone but that seemed highly unlikely.
As they turn around, Kaveh takes a step closer and speaks up, "You are looking for me?"
"Are you Kaveh?" The floating child asks.
"Indeed," Kaveh says, with ease concluding that these were not fans nor scholars or they would have recognised him. That only made the thought of their identities more peculiar. He continues, "Most would come looking for me at the academiya so forgive me if I find two strangers outside my door to be more than a little suspicious."
"We're not suspicious!" Says the floating thing in anger, introducing herself in the same tone, "Paimon is Paimon, and she is not suspicious!"
Her companion chuckles a little by her side, but extends a hand to Kaveh and introduces himself as, "Aether, I'm a traveller. We're both friends of Alhaitham."
Kaveh gives them a look somewhere between confusion and amusement, "And here I thought he didn’t care for making friends, but very well. Has he sent you on an errand to find me?"
"Well…" Paimon's anger is shattered like glass, eyes bug and full of worry as she fiddles in the air uncomfortably.
"Could we talk inside?" Aether asks.
"No," Kaveh states coolly, crossing his arms and his suspicion rises. Letting strangers into one's home was like begging to be robbed.
"It's a sensitive issue," Aether gently tries again.
It breaks a little bit of Kaveh's resolve to see those puppy dog eyes and genuine fright for what they were carrying in their hearts. Kaveh wonders why that could be and why Alhaitham's supposed friends would come talk to him instead of the man himself when they lived together, unless-
"This is about Alhaitham, isn't it?" Kaveh asks, feeling his own worry well up. He questions when he last saw Alhaitham. Was he well? He might have acted like it, but was he hiding a cough? Could he have worked himself to the bone and fainted from exhaustion?
He had to know before the questions in his mind overwhelmed him.
All he gets in response though, are nods from both of his visitors. Fine! They wanna talk inside, they can.
Kaveh sighs, "Move over."
He unlocks the door and heads inside, hearing it close moments later behind Aether.
All three take a seat in the small living room. Normally Kaveh finds this space to be cosy, a lovely spot to relax in on the late evenings, but today it felt cold and lacking. Perhaps it was merely Kaveh pushing his emotion onto other things, but seeing the faint layer of dust over the sofa table has him terrified. Alhaitham kept this place spotless, why suddenly was there dusk enough to see with the naked eye?
Something was wrong, so utterly and terribly wrong.
"Have you noticed anything lately?" Paimon then asks, "Any rumour that we can clear up."
Kaveh shakes his head, "I got back to Sumeru today and decided not to visit the academiya yet. The only strange thing I have encountered is the loss of the Akasha."
Paimon nods, looking at Aether, "Okay, it seems like we will have to tell the long story."
Aether nods.
Kaveh can tell by the seriousness in their looks that he's in for quite a ride of a tale and wonders what exactly could be in store for him. He finds out very quickly that he hadn't been prepared for any of what he is told.
His protests and interruptions are many but there's so much information poured onto him at once that Kaveh needs to ask a lot to sort all this information clearly.
Kaveh can tell that the story is reaching its conclusion as they get closer and closer to today. The two tell of their grand plan to free Lesser Lord Kusanali - well, Alhaitham's plan.
It starts with Alhaitham taking them to the academiya. The three would pretend that they would break into the Grand Sage's office but intentionally get caught.
The goal had been to send Aether and Paimon into confinement, while Alhaitham would pretend to use a divine knowledge capsule and go savage from it, all a disguise to switch some knowledge capsules on the Grand Sage's desk and then be dragged away by the Corp of Thirty. When he would be pulled away, he would signal for Nilou to do the next part of the plan-
Kaveh's focus breaks from the story, an urge to interrupt too overwhelming, "Go savage? From knowledge capsules?"
"Yes," Paimon says, "Remember the start of the story? We told you that there was a big beefy guy who used the divine knowledge capsule and then attacked his own ally. That is what Alhaitham wanted to make it look like."
"Look like?" Kaveh asks, unable to help the breath he holds as he anxiously waits fir a reply to his next question, "You mean as in pretend, right? He didn’t actually go insane, right? Tell me he's fine."
Both Aether and Paimon go eerily quiet.
Kaveh feels his breath quicken and he stands up in a flurry heading towards the door. He has to find Alhaitham now, to make sure he's okay for himself!
"Hey, slow down!" Paimon complains, following him to the door, "Where are you going?"
"Take me to him, right now!" Kaveh demands, "I don't care if we have to go day and night through Sumeru all the way to Aaru Village, just take me to him!"
Aether holds his hands up, gently laying one on Kaveh's shoulder, but he flinches away. He didn’t need comfort, he needed proof.
"We will go tomorrow," Aether says, "Both me and Paimon are very exhausted. You just got back from the city too. We can use some rest."
Kaveh huffs, "Then I'll go by myself."
He opens the door and manages one step outside before Aether adds, "He's not in the desert."
"All the more reason to go now if it's a short trip."
Kaveh hears the sigh from both Aether and Paimon but reluctantly they start to head out on this nightly adventure with Kaveh.
He finds out very quickly that Alhaitham is staying at Pardis Dhyai, and is under Tighnari's medical care. Kaveh knows Tighnari fairly well and trusts him to be a competent healer, surely he could treat whatever was wrong with Alhaitham too.
Much as Kaveh wants to drag on the journey and keep pushing forward, he's terribly exhausted. Perhaps he had to give into Paimon's complaining and let them take a rest, but only for an hour or two, just an hour… or …two.