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When he finds you, you’re already near tears, and the sky is heavy and gray.
“ Tighnari… ” You’re whimpering his name softly as he comes rushing towards you- needing no more of an invitation than that of the sight of you. In by your side in seconds. A quick sprint just to fall to his knees. It must have been obvious from the way he found you sitting pitifully on the ground with your materials still scattered a couple feet away that you were hurt. But to what extent? You’re still not sure. The pain is a little too blinding for you to think straight right now. “I think it’s…I think it might be-”
“ Shh .” He shushes you, green eyes quickly flicking to your face as he notices your distress before moving his attention to your leg once more. You let out another whimper. And this one, you’re not so sure if it’s because you’re embarrassed or if the pain is truly that bad. But one thing is for certain. You hate this feeling. You hate being weak. You hate being work. And you hate disappointing your Chief. “I need you to let go of your ankle. If you’re hurt, I won’t be able to help you if I can’t see it.
You hate it.
But still, you find yourself gingerly relieving the pressure you’re putting on your ankle and letting Tighnari use his own hands to replace it. You hiss at the feeling, and once more he gives you a look out of the corner of his eyes. By the grace of the archons- it’s not one of anger or disappointment. No, it’s a look of understanding. Eyes filled with worry and a lip twisted up with concern. But then he turns away quickly. And you can’t help but wonder if he notices just how hard you’re trying to keep the tears in as he feels the around the area where you hurt yourself.
But in the distance, you hear something. In fact, you both do. It starts with a twitch of one of Tighnari's ears. A second later, you see them shift their position. A flicker of sorts. And then all of a sudden, you hear a distant rumble. The sound of thunder. Far away now, but one glance at the clouds tells you that it’s coming quickly. And judging by the way Tighnari stops what he’s doing for a moment to lift his nose in the air and breaths in deeply with a deepening frown, you have a feeling it won’t be long before it’s directly over the two of you. And you have a feeling TIghnari knows that all too well.
“ We don’t have much time… ” He murmurs absently, eyes still up and looking at the clouds before falling back on the face. His eyes trace the tear tracks on your cheek for a moment, and your embarrassment once again grows. But like the good mentor, he’s always been, he doesn’t make you feel little. He doesn’t make you feel small. Instead, he gives you a kind look and speaks to you slowly, as if hoping his voice could give you something besides the pain to focus on. “Tell me what happened while I set your leg. I don’t want you standing on this.”
It’s an order only thinly veiled as a question. But even if he wasn’t the only thing you have out here to save you, you’d still listen to anything he told you in a heartbeat. And so, you tell him. You tell him what happened after the two of you decided to separate on your patrol route to cover more ground. The two of you had heard reports that the flora was particularly bountiful in this part of the forest and that people were having a hard time identifying some of the plants a little off the path. As one of his best botanists, you were an easy choice for Tighnari for this particular trip. Halfway through the usual route was when the two of your decided to split. And you had been wandering for a little under an hour before it happened.
As you were surveying one of the newer species of plants on this side of the forest, you found yourself knee-deep in your portrait of this new plant. You had already marked off on the map where exactly you found it. Though if you could just get some more opinions, you might be able to identify the genus! And so, you kept your nose buried in your notebook. But then something happened.
One minute, you were lifting your head to get another good look at the leaf patterns. The next minute you found yourself toppling over- and your ankle exploding in pain.
You tried your hardest to recover. At first, it ached and ached and ached. But you thought you were being too dramatic so you swallowed down your tears and went to stand up. But you couldn’t put an ounce of pressure on it before you find yourself crying out in pain. Nor could you do much but drag your body across the forest floor a mere couple of feet before being blocked by the uneven and wild terrain. You tried to reach where your notebook had landed. You tried, and you tried, and you tried. But it was just always out of reach. And your ankle? It felt like it was white hot in absolute pain.
But now it’s almost two hours after you hurt yourself, and Tighnari is so, so gentle as he takes the best sticks, vines, and cloths that he could find to give your ankle a makeshift set. He’s reassuring as he works to help you. Constantly assuring you whenever your sharp breath of pain and yelps of discomfort start to pour more readily from your lips. Constantly informing you of what he’s doing so to distract you.
Every once in a while, a roll of thunder in the distance distracts him momentarily. They sound closer and closer with every strike. It makes you nervous, but Tighnari is always able to detect them seconds before you can. Each strike pulls his eyes and ears away as if he’s considering his odds. His hands will still be working though. Tying something tight. Holding something still. Rubbing small, absent shapes into your skin. Always working. And it doesn’t take too long before he finishes. It’s the nicest brace he could have managed to make given the scenario and the time crunch. And while he had worked well into the first couple of raindrops falling onto your nose, he still manages to finish setting your brace, grab your lost materials, and pick you right as the first bolt of lighting can be seen through the tree covers.
“I’ll wrap it better once we get home,” He tells you as your arms start to circle his shoulders for more support. He looks pleased when you nod without any fuss. And even more pleased when he notices that the tears had stopped a little while ago and that you were in a much better state than you were when he found you. “You’re gonna be okay. I’m happy I got to you when I did. I’ll take care of you.”
Your heart melts at his words. Your face warms at his kindness. And overall, the look in your eyes face becomes lighter, and a small smile makes its way onto your Chief’s face at your reaction. But the expression on his face quickly changes as a strong gust of wind rips through the air. It rips at your clothes and pulls at your hair. You look at Tighnari, and he’s no better than you are as his bangs throw themselves around his face the wind is so loud, you swear it howls with discontent, but the trees in its path are tall and strong. They slow down the wind but and the chill it brings. But even so- the wind still manages to do one thing.
Bring the rain.
At first, it’s just a few light raindrops. Another one on your nose. And one landing straight in the middle of your hair. One must have fallen onto Tighnari too. Because you can’t help but watch his ears as they flatten in discomfort and his nose twitches. Once….twice…and then, a third time. Then for a moment, there is no sound between the two of you. For a moment this is no movement. Not a single whimper or whisper. Not a single shift or sprint. Nothing .
Until…there was something. Something that you heard beating on the tippy top of the highest leaves before it ever left a splash onto your clothes. But something that Tighnari was able to detect before you could ever hear such a thing anyways. Or to put it more simply…
Tighnari breaks out into a sprint before you know what even hits you.
It jostles you for a moment. The feeling of being shifted around his arms before his feet begin to move. It’s your one warning. Your absolute and singular warning before he takes off with you in his arms. And all you can do is yelp in surprise as the arms holding you up tightens her hold, and Tighnari starts to run in the same direction you saw him approach from. And just like that- you’re off.
Twist here. Turn there. He moves swiftly and soundlessly. He lifts you easily and without complaint. Hair whips behind him and ears more alert than you’ve ever seen before as he navigates away from the storm and closer to home.
The pain in your leg flares up with every harsh movement. But the shadow of rain grows closer and closer every second. It started as a mere drizzle that Tighnari was running from. But not even a minute later, it turns into a downpour. A heavy, heavy downpour turns the sky dark and makes the hair smell damp enough for you to notice. It drums so, so hard onto the leaves of the trees above you. And it brings the type of coolness to the air that makes you wish even more that you’re sitting in front of a fire right now- basking in the glow with a blanket around your shoulders and good food in your belly. But that’s not what you’ll get. Not for now, at least. Because there comes another twist here. And another turn there. All as Tighnari tries to outrun the elements chasing behind the two of you.
And it’s nothing like home. It’s not even close to home really. But your only hope is that the cave you spot him rushing towards a few hundred yards away is enough to keep both dry. You hope the man who carries you- the man whose eyes flicker down at your expression with soft, concerned gazes every second he can- will provide will be enough to keep you sane.
And you really, really, really hope that something like a rainstorm and a broken ankle won’t be enough to keep you away from home. However long the journey takes. However bad the pain may be. It’s what you want most of all.
It’s what you want most of all.