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The rain showed no sign of stopping.
Collei holds the makeshift umbrella she fashioned out of several dozen leaves over her head (and even then they fail to keep her dry), squinting her eyes on the road she's traveling on, cursing herself for traveling so deep in the rainforest for too long. She's lucky her Eleazar had stopped tormenting her a few hours ago, or she would've had a much harder time out here. By now, the rangers probably sent out a search party for her, and while theoretically she could be found by just staying in one spot and waiting for someone to come across her, but she didn't wish to do that. She's been in the rainforest a handful of times by now, surely she can just find her way back.
And she's having a pretty hard time doing just that. At this point she probably walked in circles without even knowing.
Another rumbling of lightning causes her to flinch, it was especially powerful this time around. Collei clasps a hand over her rapidly beating heart, urging it to slow down as she continued on with her quest back to Gandharva Ville and likely failing miserably.
Collei sighed, drawing in deep breaths.
It's just lightning, you're fine. You've heard thunderstorms before and they always turned out fine.
Once she managed to will her heartbeat to slow down, she continued on trudging through the rainforest, keeping an ear and eye out for anything in the wilderness.
Soon enough, she found a path with lanterns illuminating the road. Collei felt relieved and proud of herself, having managed to find the path leading to Gandharva Ville on her own.
She began to walk down the road, but as soon as she does, she catches a pair of figures walking down the same path. She recognised one of them as her best friend from the Akademiya, Cyno, his cloak, hood and white hair a dead giveaway. The other one was someone she was unfamiliar with, a fluffy green tail sticking out of the cloak they were wearing, with large fox like ears visible underneath. They were facing each other as they walked, seemingly having a conversation that Collei can barely make out due to the rain.
"We're almost there." Cyno mutters as quietly as he could, something that intrigued her. "The storm should end soon and-"
He was cut off when thunder rumbled in the distance, this time much louder than usual, and the figure with the tail collapsed to the ground, hands flying up to their head and the large fox like ears dropped as well. Something that sounded like a ragged breath and a weak scream left the hybrid, seemingly in pain.
Cyno reacted immediately, dropping to his knees and trying to gently coax them out of this state, his hands reaching out to place them on their shoulders.
Their head looks up, and their hands leave their ears to try and pry Cyno's hands off of their shoulders.
Collei ran up to them, though she wasn't sure what to do, she knew she couldn't do nothing.
"What's going on?" She called out, her voice louder than it needs to be.
The figure - the boy - looked up at her with wide, glassy eyes, unrecognisable emotions in them, his face scrunching up in pain.
Collei stared back, unsure of what to do.
-
"So...his name is Tighnari?"
Collei spoke softly, looking back over her shoulder to find the young boy wrapping himself up in blankets on the bed, his ears dropping. A twinge of pity rose up in her chest at the sight. Though she may not know him yet, she can tell he hasn't had the best luck with life thus far. And if Cyno's protectiveness over him was anything to go by...
"Correct." Cyno's voice dropped to a whisper as they enter the hut next to the one Tighnari was staying in. "I understand that the details of the story may be...complicated to hear, but you need to know. "
They managed to get back to Gandharva Ville without much issue other than the storm frightening the fox boy. That too has ended by now, but Collei still can't help but pity him for having such a reaction to lightning. Cyno told her that his hearing was far too keen and she needs to her to lower her voice to a whisper around him, and she apologised to both of them as quietly as she can.
"I can handle it."
"Very well..."
Cyno launched into the story, and the more it went on, the more anger Collei felt boiling in her chest, nausea beginning to rise from the disgusting details, and she became appalled by how the boy was treated for so long by someone who should be helping others. Experiments of the worst kind, tortured and tormented, used and ridiculed by so many people even when he escaped...
"I eventually sealed the spirit away, but it came at the cost of great agony. Once he recovered enough to be deemed well to travel, I brought him back to Sumeru, to here where he can live peacefully."
"But...why me?" Collei asked, fighting to keep her fists from shaking.
"Because I trust you Collei. I trust you to keep him safe." Cyno responded. "I'm not exactly fit to be a caretaker."
"What? But you're so kind even with that stare of yours! I know you Cyno, you're a big softie."
"Be that as it may, I am still not cut out for this. My father lives in Sumeru City, and I do not want to give him exposure to an area where sound is prevalent, considering his condition." Cyno says. "Aaru Village isn't suitable for him either, as he is not accustomed to the desert nor does it have proper education there."
"Wait, let me get this straight." Collei raises a hand before he can talk any further. "You want me, your clumsy friend, to be his teacher?"
"And caretaker." Cyno added unhelpfully.
Collei is confused. There were so many other capable rangers available who would be excellent for this, anyone but her. She's not cut out to be a caretaker, especially for someone like Tighnari.
Of course that doesn't mean she doesn't want to help, she does wholeheartedly, but can she really take on this much?
"But-"
"I know you too Lei." Cyno's face had the smallest hint of a smile. "You're empathetic, kind and lenient. I understand that this is a lot to take in, but-"
"I'll do it."
Collei still wasn't sure if she would do a good job at this mentor business. She's not exactly cut out to be one with how many flaws she has, but if Cyno trusts her, and if there's nowhere else for the boy to go...
...then she'll try her best.
-
"Uh...hello there." Collei stepped into the hut, careful to not create too much noise with her choice of footwear. She waved at the fox boy sitting on the bed, attempting to smile.
Tighnari stared at her, covered in the blankets. He was cautious, but there was also something akin to curiosity in his eyes, blinking owlishly.
"I'm Collei. Cyno probably told you a lot about me." She can't begin to imagine what kind of embarrassing moments he shared with him, or if she would live up to his expectations. "I'm...going to be your mentor from now on. I know that's a lot to take in, and I probably won't do a good job, but I'm going to try my best."
Tighnari doesn't seem to react, sitting as still as a statue.
"Uh...um..." Collei looks around, trying to find something to break the awkward tension between them. She spots a pair of scissors on the table and carefully but swiftly walks over to it. "Would you like a haircut? Your hair's pretty long, or at least Cyno told me that."
That got a reaction out of him, as he raises his head, then quickly lowers it when he sees the object in her hand.
Right, he's not a fan of medical or surgical objects. But this one's just for daily things, not for cutting people open.
"It's okay." Collei walks back to him, dropping down to one knee to take a look at his expression. It was twisted in pain. "It's not going to be used on your body. Just your hair. I won't hurt you, I promise."
Tighnari sent her a glare, looking away from her. His mouth opened, but no words came out as he mouthed something. Collei barely had any experience reading lips, but using her training from the rangers, she can make out a few words.
He said that too.
"I'm not him." Collei reassured, choosing her words carefully. He was fragile, and something she says can mean that this conversation can turn into something else entirely. She doesn't want that to happen. "I'm just going to cut your hair, if you want it that is. Or we can do something else if it makes you too uncomfortable."
The boy looks back at her, appearing to be caught off guard by her words. He stares at her again, before his hands go up to his hood, hesitating to take it off.
Collei remembers his condition, and stands up. "We can go to a less crowded area if you want."
Tighnari nods, and manages to muster up a small smile, grateful.
She returns it with a similar smile of her own.
"We can start some basic lessons tomorrow. Something like...writing your name?"
Though the road ahead seems unclear, she's determined to make sure this boy gets everything he deserved and needs for the rest of his life.