Chapter Text
Kaveh fell down to the ground with a loud thud as the wind was knocked out of him.
His attacker came closer, rearing his head looking to deal the final blow. He weaved out the way and landed a punch right in his chest, causing the attacker to wheeze. Feeling confident he tried to trip him over with a swift kick but the attacker dodged. Kaveh’s leg was grabbed as he was pulled between his attackers legs.
His attacker crouched down, inspecting him, then grabbing his leg. Pulling it up high, where Kaveh definitely heard a bone crack and a tendon snap. Tears pricked his eyes as the aggressor stared him down.
“Call it,” Those silvers filled with some sick victory.
“Fine!” Kaveh whined. “You win.”
Al Haitham’s similar frame came into view as he helped his senior up. “Age catching up with you?”
Kaveh gave a single dry laugh as he went to pour a glass of water.
“You’re getting better,” Al Haitham commented. “Maybe you might stand a chance against Cyno.”
“Oh please!” Kaveh rolled his eyes. “If the ‘feeble scholar’,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “can beat me up then I definitely can’t beat the Mahamatra.”
“Just apply yourself.” Al Haitham said. “You won’t always have your weapon or vision so you need to learn about martial arts just in case.”
“Why all the training all of a sudden?” Kaveh asked as Al Haitham started setting the chairs back in place. “You’ve been acting paranoid. You barely sleep too. What’s wrong?”
“I’m starting to realize that I’ve made a few enemies.” Al Haitham sat down looking exhausted.
It’d been a few weeks since the hive mind incident. Kaveh was obviously worried about Al Haitham. He’d try coaxing him into telling him how he felt or just anything that would tell him about his general well being but to no avail. Al Haitham was not an emotional person like Kaveh. That’s not to say he doesn’t have them, it just takes lots of pestering to get it out. But sometimes it might show in small acts like hugging. Or drastic changes like not sleeping for two whole nights. Then it’ll move on to straight paranoia.
“I understand,” Kaveh rested a hand on the scribe’s back. “Having someone create a hive mind to destroy you must have been rattling.”
“Still managed to fail like I thought.” Al Haitham jest as Kaveh continued.
“Listen,” Kaveh sat beside the scribe as their eyes drifted slowly towards each other. Al Haitham’s tenseness seemed to evaporate as stared at the architect. “You can’t hold this stuff in and pretend it doesn’t bother you.”
“It really doesn’t.” Al Haitham stifled a yawn that Kaveh could clearly see.
“You haven’t slept properly in days and you haven’t slept at all in two days, you’ve had me doing martial arts for the past five weeks, and you’re convinced that someone is following you.”
“I’m telling you that lady that passes by is up to something.”
“That lady has dementia and thinks she’s still in the Akademiya.” Kaveh shook his head at his boyfriend's ridiculous claims. “Remember? We basically know her family at this point.”
“You know her family.” Al Haitham said. “I wouldn’t know them if they called me by my full name.”
“What I’m getting at is that you holding stuff in is only leading to your detriment.” Kaveh grabbed a small mirror. “Look at yourself! You look awful! Your eye bags are aging you faster than your hair.”
While Al Haitham hated to admit when Kaveh was right…he really was right. His eyes drooped down low and were as dark as his cloak. His face seemed hollowed out and his face was full of stress marks.
“I’ve looked better,” Al Haitham admitted as Kaveh gave a sympathetic sigh.
“Just take a break or something.” Kaveh looked at the clock and frowned. “Cyno and Tighnari will be at our usual spot. Want to come?”
“No,” Al Haitham said as he got up. “I think I’m going to take a nap.”
Kaveh smiled as they went their separate ways. He got dressed with some time to spare and passed by Al Haitham’s room.
“Haitham,” Kaveh peaked through the door. “I’m off.”
Al Haitham laid in his bed with a book covering his face.
“Of course you tried to read.” Kaveh walked through all the books that scattered the scribe’s room. “How do you even walk through this?”
Carefully, he lifted the book off the man’s face. Al Haitham looked a lot better asleep. The stress lines of the day slowly edged away as bags started to look lighter, though his eyes still looked heavy.
Kaveh found a bookmark and set the book at his bedside and threw a blanket over Al Haitham’s sleeping frame.
“Sweet dreams Haitham,” Kaveh gave him a small kiss on the cheek as he left.
He walked out the door before realizing something.
“Almost forgot,” Kaveh grabbed the door before it closed and picked up his key. “Don’t want to wake up Haitham.”
BANG!
Al Haitham awoke to a strong bang that practically shook the house. He took some time to collect himself. He was reading then he fell asleep. Looking around he saw a blanket was laid over him and his book was resting on the bedside table.
Kaveh must have checked on him before leaving.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“I’m coming Kaveh!” Al Haitham yelled as he got out of bed and looked at the clock. It wasn’t even elven. Why’d he come back so early?
This was pretty out of character for Kaveh. He wouldn’t knock this loud no matter how drunk he
was. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. But then again, Kaveh would have just started tapping his windows if that was the case.
Al Haitham walked through the house in a sleepy daze as Kaveh continued to hit the door.
“Calm down!” What was up with him? How much did his boyfriend drink? “You’re going to wake the neighbors!”
That last part seemed to pacify him as he stopped banging on the door. Al Haitham searched for his key by the doorway. The streetlamps from outside being his guide in the dark. He finally got his key and unlocked the door.
“You came home early.” Kaveh walked past him looking weak. His normally tan face was now pale as a sheet while his cheeks were sunken in. He looked nothing like he had earlier. But this was Kaveh. Same mouth, nose, and eyes. Even his hair was done in the same way. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing,” Kaveh said.
Al Haitham grunt at the obvious lie as he rested the key down and realized that Kaveh’s key wasn’t there. He looked back at Kaveh who simply smiled.
“Your key isn’t here,” Al Haitham summoned his dendro sword behind him.
“I must have dropped them sw-,” A dendro blade flew through the air and cut the cheek of the imposter. Blood slowly dripped to the floor.
“You’re not Kaveh,” Al Haitham summoned another sword that he pointed at the fake. “But if you did something-“
“Calm yourself Scribe,” The imposter said as he wiped the blood away. “The Light of Kshahrewar has done nothing to hurt me and I would never drag an innocent into this.” The imposter took out a set of daggers as he gave him a sinister look. “My grudge is with you.”
Al Haitham wasted no time in throwing the second blade that the impostor narrowly dodged that landed on the table. Before he could summon another, the impostor closed the gap and slashed him with his daggers.
A stinging pain blossomed on Al Haitham’s chest as he saw blood spread.
The imposter pulled out a strange mask. A metal mask that seemed rusted. Two large glass eye pieces that fogged at the edges. What should have been the mouth was some sort of canister that had a mesh filter covering it.
“Sorry Scribe,” the imposter fastened the mask on his face as a silver ball fell to the ground. “But I’ll miss my ride if we keep fighting.”
Al Haitham moved as far away from the ball as possible and grabbed a towel. It exploded covering the entire hallway in a sky blue gas. The air now smelled of flowers and mint. Some flowers he recognized and remembered Tighnari talking about them. Flowers that were commonly used in sleep medicine.
His body was starting to feel heavier as his eyes started to sting. Even though the gas wasn’t by the kitchen it was strong enough to affect him. As if the situation couldn’t be any more dire another ball was dropped right in front of him. He ran but was caught by the imposter, grabbing his arms causing the towel to fall to the ground.
“It doesn’t smell that bad.” The imposter said, Al Haitham could see a sick gleam in ruby eyes that carried no such malice. “I used fresh flowers just for you.”
Al Haitham put his leg on the man's thigh and summoned a blade that cut through the man. The imposter screamed in pain as Al Haitham made a dash for his room. A sharp pain came from his knee and he buckled. Looking down it was the dagger from the intruder.
“Eye for an eye you son of bitch!” The imposter threw his other dagger at him and came crawling towards Al Haitham. From sheer willpower alone he was able to make it to his room and locked the door.
Al Haitham slid down the door as the pain started to grow more and more intense. He tried to stand but his leg would buckle from even the slightest movements. He couldn’t properly bandage himself because the first aid kit was in the kitchen.
“Fuck,” He muttered as another wave of pain shot through his leg.
His only chance for escape was to go out the window and to get help. With his one knee gone it was going to be a hassle but he’d have to make it. He dragged himself to the closet and looked through anything he could use to stop the bleeding. He grabbed the closest thing he could find, one of Kaveh’s scarves. Kaveh would probably throw a but it this was dire and he was sure the architect would understand.
He wrapped the scarf around him tightly. He crawled out and looked at the door. The door knob was shaking and jiggling out of place. Fighting through the pain he half ran, half limped towards the window and opened it. The chill of a Sumerian night beckoned him as he was about to jump out when something knocked him back.
Mint and flowers invaded his nose as his eyes started to burn. He collapsed to the floor as he heard footsteps and then the window being closed. Breathing hurt as any attempt for fresh air was replaced with the sickening floral scent that made him wheeze and cough.
His body was starting to grow heavy as he struggled to get back up. His mind was cloudy as he tried to fight whatever effect the drug was having on him. He lifted himself up only to fall back to the floor. His eyes started to grow heavy as his vision returned. A person in all black went to unlock the door.
He crawled towards them, trying to tell them off as he continued to rise and fall. The last bits of his energy were almost gone. A gloved hand grabbed his face and they were wearing the same mask as the imposter.
“Hush now Scribe,” The person said, they sounded like a woman, a smooth deep voice. “Sleep and have sweet dreams,” She said as he felt his eyes close. “For they will be the last ones you have.”
“That was a great game,” Cyno nodded as they walked back to Al Haitham’s house.
“It was only a good game because you won,” Tighnari sighed. “If you didn’t you’d be whining to me like a baby right now.”
“That,” Cyno hesitated, “is an exaggeration.”
“Doesn’t matter who wins or lose,” Kaveh preached as he could still feel the alcohol in his system. “Just that we spent time together right?”
“Oh, you are so drunk,” Tighnari held him up as they got closer to the house. Tighnari stopped in his tracks and sniffed air a few times. “Kaveh, do you burn essence?”
“Not anymore,” Kaveh said glumly. “They give Haitham headaches.”
“Weird,” Tighnari said as they approached. “It smells like a blend I use for sleep but more potent.”
Kaveh glared at Tighnari and went to the door. It was already unlocked.
“I definitely locked this,” Kaveh said as the door slowly nudged open from the breeze. “I think someone is here.”
Cyno took out his staff and opened the door. It was dark but there was a copper smell in the air.
The flick of the lightswitch revealed everything they needed to know.
The heavy scent of mint and flowers perfumed the air in an overwhelming way that Tighnari gagged. The floor was covered in sky blue dust and multiple pools of blood. Walking further to where Al Haitham’s room was, paintings had fallen from the wall and his doorknob was on the cusp of falling off. His room was almost the same if not for the trail of blood that went to the window. Followed by the imprint of his body made from the same dust from the living room. And the final nail in the coffin: his vision laid on his bed. Still shining a bright line green.
“No,” Kaveh started to fall to the floor as a laugh escaped his mouth. Why was he laughing? This isn't funny. This was a nightmare. Why the hell was he laughing? “He was just being paranoid. People weren’t actually following us. There’s no way.”
“Kaveh?” Tighnari turned to him and held his arms firmly. It was probably the only thing helping him from becoming hysterical. “Kaveh, just breathe. It’s going to be okay. Just breathe.”
Kaveh couldn’t. Everything felt wrong, like it wasn’t real. Because it couldn’t be. This was a nightmare. It was a nightmare and he would wake up; and Al Haitham would be beside him and he'd talk to him about getting Kusanali to bring back the Akasha so he’d never dream of something like this again.
The room started to spin and his heart began to race. Was he having a heart attack? He couldn’t breath and everything felt tight. Like the walls were closing in. He felt something climb from his throat as it burned and made him salivate.
“Kaveh, just breathe,” Tighnari repeated but Kaveh could barely hear him with the ringing in his ears.
Kaveh lurched forward and began to cry.
Kaveh was in Gandharva Ville now. Even though he had thrown up on Tighanri he had taken it well. He let him stay in his room since the house would just stress him out. But that was a bit of a lie. He heard Cyno telling him to take him there because he might be a target too.
The Matra were currently investigating and nothing much could be found until later. Cyno had allowed him to take the vision with him. It had no clues that could help.
Kaveh held the vision up his face as it continued to have a steady glow. If it was glowing then he was still alive.
“Oh Al Haitham,” Kaveh pulled the vision towards his chest as tears began to fall. “Why do you always have to be right?”