Archive of Our Own

“These Ruins are breathtaking!”  The blonde architect breathes out. His left hand sliding across the rough stone wall. They're inside an arched hallway. Cool sand coats the ground beneath them. The natural light fading the further they walk into the ruins. Torches hang on the walls casting elongated shadows of those who dare adventure into the ruins.

“I thought bringing you here was the better choice out of the other scholars.” The General admits following loosely behind the taller man. He watches in quiet fascination seeing Mehrak zoom around the both of them beeping what could be described happily as it scans the ruins around them in a bright green light. 

Kaveh turns his body to face his friend with a bright smile. “Thank you Cyno.” The electro user gives a little nod before Kaveh speaks again with excitement laced in his voice. “These designs are quite different from the surrounding ruins. It makes me wonder if there was some other kind of settlement that we have yet to discover! This could be huge!” 

They had finally reached a larger room after some time of walking. There are large sealed doors on the three ends of the room. Pillars with golden details stand in the four corners and one in the center for support. The only light now being from the torches on the wall guide to the two in. The room is empty except for old shattered pots and crates that rest in the corners and other ends of the room. The dendro user comes to a stop to admire his surroundings. “It's so strange…” He commented with a hand on his chin. Cyno tilts his head in question as if asking for Kaveh to continue with his thoughts. “Looking at these symbols and designs closer i'm noticing these are designs from the northern Hadramaveth Desert…” He looks at General with a frown. “..but we're so far from there. Do you think they were trying to make a settlement down here in the Hypostyle Desert but were wiped out before they could finish?” 

There's a moment of pause as if the General is thinking before he replies. “That is a good hypostylesis.” Kaveh looks at him in disbelief before he continues. “Get it… Hypostyle Desert and hypothesis?” A small grin has formed on his face. 

Kaveh feels one of his eyes begin to twitch in annoyance and he covers his face with his hands. “Oh no I get it Cyno… Let's just pretend you didn’t just say that.” He thinks he hears Cyno mumble something about how he thinks the joke was pretty good when he hears Mehrak let out an alerting beep. He looks up from his hands to see Mehrak signaling Kaveh to movement from behind one of the pillars near them. He feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Cyno summons his Polearm next to him. Silence surrounds them as the air grows thick with suspense. Kaveh quickly realizes that they have not encountered any enemies this entire time they have been exploring the ruins which makes him even more nervous. He feels his dendro vision begin to hum loudly in his mind as if to prepare for a fight when out strolls a golden fox.

“A fox..” Cyno breathes out and Kaveh lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. He smiles fondly at the desert fox. Meeting their bright piercing green eyes as he kneels down.

“Well hello little one.” The architect says as he reaches into his sack pulling out a handful of berries and nuts. “How did you get in here?” The desert fox approaches the tall man and begins munching on the mix from the dendro user's hand. 

“How do you do that?” Cyno asks in awe from where he stands a few feet behind Kaveh. 

“Do what?” Says the man not taking his eyes off the fox eating from his hand. He begins slowly petting the fox with small strokes feeling the soft fur. He smiles fondly thinking of his fennec friend. 

“They’re pretty shy creatures and you’re always so loud.” Cyno comments blatantly adjusting the grip on his polearm. 

Kaveh’s mouth jaw drops at how blunt his smaller friend was. He abruptly stands up stuttering over his words. “I-I'm not always l-loud!” Cyno gives him a look before pointing to the retreating fox. “O-Oh…” Kaveh takes a step forward towards the pillar the fox went to when he feels the ground beneath him give. His eyes widen in horror as the ground below him gives way to reveal a large pit and he begins falling. He faintly hears Mehrak beeping in panic and the General shouting out his name. “C-Cyno!” He cries out in fear reaching up towards his friend as he falls with the rubble. The last thing he remembers is the crack of lightning before something warm grabs his hand before blacking out. 

The architect is slow to come too. He hisses in pain when tries to move. He takes a moment to breathe and lay for a moment when he realizes he's laying on something warm. His body stills. Red eyes snap open and he quickly sits up ignoring his body's protest. The warmth below him he felt was Cyno who is currently unconscious and unmoving. His signature eared helmet was nowhere to be seen and his white locks were fanned out below him in a sick angelic way. “Cyno!” He calls out urgently, shaking the younger man who doesn’t even stir. Tears threaten to fall when he realizes in horror that Cyno must have taken the brunt of the fall in order to protect him. Kaveh carefully with trembling hands checks the back of Cyno's head for bleeding but his hands come back dry. He feels a minor wave of relief at that but the relief quickly shatters when he hears laughter. 

“Look at what we caught boys.” A gravelly voice comments. Kaveh quickly turns his head towards the voice but doesn’t get an answer to the voice before the butt of a crossbow hits his temple causing his vision to black out once again. 

******

“Oh come on Haitham you could at least pretend to be excited for me!” The blonde cries out towards the tall silver haired man who is pulling up a chair to sit next to the blonde. 

“But that would be considered lying. Why would I be excited about some ruins that you’re visiting?” The scribe comments idly removing his headphones and gently setting them on the table. 

The architect lets out an annoyed huff before laying his head on his arms resting on the table. He feels a gentle hand before meeting the forest ranger's eyes. “I think it's pretty exciting, Kaveh.” Tighnari says with a soft smile. “The Akademiya asking for you to investigate these ruins. That must mean they really trust your knowledge.” 

“Maybe Alhaithem is just jelly.” Cyno says placing a plate of toast and henna berry jelly at the center of the table before plopping down next to Tighnari. Silence surrounds the four. 

The ranger’s ear twitches in annoyance as he glares at the jokester. “Please tell me you didn’t just say that.” 

The blonde sits back up and clears his throat. “Anyways… It's thanks to Cyno that they picked me to go out. I'm sure they had plenty of better choices. So thank you.” A light dusting of pink has settled on his cheeks. 

“Nonsense.” The Electro user says and he reaches forward to grab some toast and jelly. “You were the clear choice to take anyways.” 

“If it were my choice I would have probably picked someone else.” Alhaitham says before taking a sip of his coffee. 

Kaveh gasps in horror, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table in anger dramatically. “Y-You brute! You awful man!” The blonde yells out. The General and The Forest Ranger make eye contact as they quietly take a sip of their respective drink as they watch the scene unfold before them. “So tell me Oh so great Scribe why would you pick someone else?” 

The Acting Grand Sage lets out an annoyed sigh before setting his drink down. He looks over at Kaveh with a face lacking emotion. “You are a magnet for trouble Kaveh.” There was a moment of pause, and Kaveh sees some kind of emotion begin to swirl in his multicolored irises before the man speaks again. “I just worry about you and don't want you to get hurt.” 

All the fight leaves Kaveh and he slumps back down into his chair. “O-Oh…”  He feels his ears go warm and his heart beats loudly in his chest. 

“Don’t worry I’ll be with him the whole time.” Cyno says in an attempt to ease the scribes' worry. Alhaithams gives him a confirmation hum in response. 

“How about some TCG?” Tighnari asks, trying to change the subject to something lighter. 

Cyno gives a mischievous smirk pulling out his deck. “Thought you would never ask.” 

Kaveh never comments on how Alhaithams leg presses against his while they begin shuffling their deck. Their legs stay pressed together for the rest of the evening. 

******

A beeping noise disturbs Kaveh’s slumber, he groans and curls into himself more. His head is pounding. He must have had a late night at the tavern again. “Five more minutes Mehrak…” Kaveh mumbles out. More beeping comes from Mehrak but it sounds more frantic. This causes the dendro user's memories to come back to him and he sits up quickly. He immediately notices two eremites, a thinner one sitting on Mehrak while they are poking and prodding it with their machete. The other eremite is much larger, he is currently tying up a still unconscious Cyno.

“Shut that thing up!” The larger Eremite commands, finishing up his knots and walking towards where the smaller Eremite sits. 

“H-Hey! Leave her alone!” Kaveh cries out, attempting to get to his feet. Mehrak beeps loudly in fear. The blonde tries to rush towards his precious brief case when a third Ermite grabs him from behind with strong arms. He struggles trying to get out of their arms. “Let me go you bastards!” 

“We got a live one boss.” The one holding Kaveh back chuckles out. He recognizes the gravelly voice from earlier. 

The smaller eremite stands up keeping a foot on Mehrak pinning it to the ground. “Good night little robot.” They say with a sadistic grin before they shove their machete into the center of Mehrak. The sound of crunching metal and sparks are heard from across the room signifying the damage being done. 

“NO!” Kaveh screams out in anguish. Mehrak lets out a final mechanic beep before the green lights fade away. He drops his head and his vision becomes blurry from tears. “Y-You fucking monsters..” 

A sharp tug on his blonde locks causes Kaveh to look back up. The eremite holding him back laughs in his ear. “Crying over something so silly. You poor soul. Don’t worry we’ll take care of you…” Panic floods the blonde’s body and his eyes quickly scan his surroundings trying to find a way to escape this situation. It seems that they are in the same room where Kaveh fell down, as he spots the man made hole by one of the pillars. He also notices Cynos polearm laying a few feet away from him.

A small painful groan can be heard from across the room as eyes settle on the electro user who is finally regaining consciousness. 

“Ahh… Look who's finally waking up.” The supposed leader says in pleasure. “Good morning General” Kaveh can see the fog in Cyno’s eyes begin to clear as he looks around. He swallows thickly. 

“Wha…?” The General slurs out locking eyes with the eremite. Then his gaze shifts towards the remains of Mehrak before snapping to the architect and his eyes harden in anger. “Kaveh…”  Kaveh tries to not shudder under the gaze of the General. He watches Cyno’s arms flex, testing the ropes he's currently trapped in. 

The larger Eremite begins approaching Cyno tapping his sickle against his palm causally. He squats in front of the General, squeezing his cheeks roughly in his hand. “We’d like to thank you for visiting us. We can get a pretty mora for catching The one and only General Mahamantra.” 

“Also we'd thank you for bringing this pretty doll here.” The one holding back Kaveh says before blowing into the blonde's ear. Kaveh can feel a slight tremble take over his body. 

“You know…” The large Eremite begins. He uses his hold on Cyno to turn his head back to forth slowly. The large man licks his lips before revealing a toothy smirk. Kaveh can see The General's eyes widen slightly in fear. “You're quite the looker yourself. Maybe we'll just have some fun with you before we turn you in.” 

Kaveh sees red. 

He immediately leans his head forwards before using all his strength to headbutt the man behind him. He hears a sickening crunch and a howl in pain as the grip on him is loosened enough for him to escape. He quickly makes a dash for the golden polearm. He faintly hears the Eremites shouting over the pounding of his heartbeat. He quickly grabs the weapons but stumbles at the unexpected weight and balance of a different weapon. It's so light.. He thinks as he turns towards the three eremites that begin to circle him. 

He once again hears the loud hum of his vision in his head as he adjusts his grip on the weapon. The Eremites draw closer. However he realizes the normal hum he typically hears with his vision sounds different. The typical one tone hum now screams with two tones in his head. 

He activates his vision. 

******

A drunken laugh slips out of the dendro user's mouth. “Y-You’re telling me that for a brief moment your friend had two visions?” He wiggles two fingers exaggerating his point. “You have told me some crazy things, but that I don't believe!” He ungraciously slams down his mug of beer.

The Traveler smiles, opening their mouth to continue the story when the floating emergency food buts in. “Yes Kaveh!” She huffs out. “It's so true!” She stomps her feet in mid air. “Paimon saw it with her own eyes!” 

“Even if that did happen… How did that even work? There is no record of anything like that in the Akademiya.” Alhaitham questions with a hand on his chin pondering. 

“Maybe the power of friendship?” Tighnari chuckles out, too drunk to understand what's going on. 

“It did happen!” Paimon shrieks. 

“Does this friend wear glasses?” Cyno asks casually after taking a sip of his beer. The traveler shakes their head. “Oh I thought you know maybe because if they had glasses they would have double vision…” A hiccup escapes from Cyno. 

Everyone rolls their eyes and Paimon groans loudly for everyone. “Cyno, that was not funny!” 

Kaveh rests his elbow on the table with his hand in his palm. He smiles to himself. “I do like the idea of the power of friendship…” 

******

Purple dendro cores surround Eremites. His eyes widen at the cores in front of him. The Eremites seem surprised too as they freeze for a moment before taking a menacingly step forward. Kaveh feels the hairs on his body standing, he quickly regains his composure and slams the butt of the polearm to the ground with a loud bang. Lightning strikes the cores causing them to explode sending the Eremites flying towards the hole in the ground. 

“H-Holy shit!” Kaveh drops the polearm that now burns hot in his hands. The polearm clatters to the ground loudly and the two tone hum of Kaveh’s vision retreats back quietly to its usual one tone. Kaveh looks at his trembling hands in awe. 

“What the fuck..?” Kaveh quickly whips his head to the voice. Cyno sits on the ground with eyes wide.

The blonde rushes over to his friend, dropping to his knees. “Cyno! Are you alright?” He starts on the ropes that entangle the shocked electro user. 

“Y-Yeah I think so…? Kaveh what just happened?” He whispers out. 

“Im n-not honestly sure… but right now let's worry about getting out of here without any more casualties, okay?” He gives a sad smile to the smaller man. 

Cyno gives a nod in agreement. His eyes wander towards the broken briefcase on the ground while he waits for the dendro user to free him. He frowns in thought thinking about what Kaveh was able to do just then. Then he sees movement behind the blonde. “Kaveh behind you!” 

Kaveh stands quickly turning around just in time for a blade to pierce him deep in the abdomen. The blonde arches his back as he lets out a painful cry. His hands quickly grasp the blade in his abdomaned and his knees buckle. His hands instantly feel warm and wet from the red iron leaking from his gut. “You damn bastard!” The leader of the Eremite yells out, blood drips from the Eremites temple and a faint burning smoke is coming off his clothes. He sways on his feet as he weakly digs the blade deeper into the tall blonde. Kaveh stumbles forward letting out another pitiful cry as his blood begins to splatter on the ground causing the sand to clump. The blade is roughly ripped out of his abdomen, the force causing Kaveh to fall backwards. He falls into a pair of warm arms. 

Alhaitham?  

He thinks faintly before succumbing to the pain. 

******

“General.” Cyno hears the scribe call out to him. He turns from where he stands in front of the dendro user's home. 

The small man crosses his arms mimicking Alhathaim who is leaning against his front door. “What is it Alhaitham?” He feels the cool sumerian night air gently blow between them. Tighnari stands next to him waiting patiently. 

“Keep an eye on him.” Alhaitham pushes himself off the door and turns to let himself back inside. 

“He’s a lot stronger than you give him credit for.” The electro user states a flicker of anger in his voice.  

Alhaitham pauses with his hand on the doorknob. Without looking back at the two he replies quietly. “That's exactly why he worries me.” 

The Ranger and the General watch the door shut quietly. Cyno frowns where the scribe once stood when a gentle hand curls around his bicep. Tighnari smiles fondly before tugging him along towards their home. Cyno follows along wordlessly thinking about Alhaitham’s words the whole way back 

******

Trekking through the forest at night never gets easier as the moon provides the only source of light. Cyno’s foot slips in the mud and causes him to drop to one knee. His grip on Kaveh slips but he catches him before he could drop him. With a pained grunt he rises back up and adjusts his hold of Kaveh’s thighs so he's properly resting on his back. He tenses when he feels something wet and warm drip onto his shoulder. He turns his head to see blood dripping out of the blonde mouth. “Don’t worry Kaveh, we’re almost there..” The electro user looks up at the tree that houses the people of Gandharva Ville. The warm glow of huts shepherding him home. He looks back at Kaveh with a pained smile. “Tigh will fix you right up..” He says in a false hope to himself as he begins the trek up towards the tree roots. 

It doesn’t take long before Cyno stumbles into Chief Forest Rangers hut. Plants litter every service of the hut and it brings a wave of comfort to the desert dweller. He quickly spots the green haired girl standing in the kitchen washing dishes. She lists off ingredients he's sure of that go to some medicine she recently has been studying. “C-Collei..” He weakly calls out to her. 

“Rukkhashava Mush- Oh Cyno I didn’t know you would be visiting.” The young one says turning around from where she stands by the sink. Her smile instantly falls from her face as she sees the two before them.The normal put together General of The Mahamatra stands disheveled, his helmet missing and his hair and skin is stained with blood and dirt. Collei can barely make out the architect on his back as his body is tainted red with blood. His golden locks being the only distinguishing feature. The room is cast in an eerie silence besides the dripping of blood onto the wooden floor. 

The ceramic bowls that were once in the archer's hands shatter upon impact from the floor. Shuffling can be heard along with a muffled voice. “Collei?” Tighari’s voice comes through before he appears from another room. “Is everything all ri-” He freezes when his eyes land on the two in front of him. His eyes widen in horror and he swallows thickly. “Collei… go to the city and get Alhaitham.” the ranger walks with a purpose towards the electro user eyeing him up and down examining him. His fennec ears are pressed low to his head. When Collei doesn’t move he barks out her name again. 

“R-Right!” She says and rushes out the hut at full speed. 

Cyno feels his knees buckle again when a gentle hand caresses his cheek. Tears threaten to fall from his eyes. “You did so well. Let me take it from here okay?” Tighnari says so calmly. How can he be so calm at a time like this? Cyno thinks before nodding at the fox. 

Tighnari leads them to his bedroom and helps Cyno place the bleeding blonde onto the bed. Kaveh doesn’t even make a noise at the movement. Cyno steps back and watches with trembling hands. The Ranger is now fully alert and moves quickly and efficiently around his room grabbing the supplies he needs. He watches as Kaveh’s blood soaked tunic is cut revealing the wound and fights a wave of nausea at the sight of the destroyed flesh. Breaths become rapid and uneven for the General as he thinks back to earlier today. 

“-no… Cyno!” Tighnari calls out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Are you with me?” Cyno noticed Tighnaris hands already soaked with their friends blood as he applies pressure to the wound with clean gauzes. He quickly nods at the man causing his head to spin. He grabs his head in pain. “Are you injured?” The fox asks with worry laced in his voice. 

He shakes his head gently. “I hit my head when we fell in the ruins…” 

“Ill check you over for a concussion once I get Kaveh stable or you can get another ranger.” Tighnari tell him. 

“N-No im fine… How is he?” Cyno steps closer to the dangerously pale blonde. 

He doesn't look up from his work before responding with a frown and an ear twitch. “Not good… but I think he’ll live. He's too stubborn to die.” The gauzes are pulled away soaked red. The archer is quick to begin cleaning the wound. He pauses looking back at Cyno before sighing. He looks exhausted already. “ Cyno… you are useless right now. Go clean up.” He nods towards the attached bathroom. The general frowns before Tighnari continues. “I told you… I got this.” He has a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. However he nods in defeat to the Forest Ranger glancing one last look at Kaveh before retreating to the bathroom. 

Once he's finally behind closed doors does The General Mahamatra cry. 

******

The young electro user sits quietly in the Akademyia garden sorting his TCG cards when he hears people pass by him giggling. He sighs internally when he hears them.

“Oh you better watch out for that feral desert dweller.” A student with square glasses says snidely. He says it is loud enough for Cyno to clearly hear.

A girl with curly brown hair nods before giggling into her robes. “I can believe they let someone like him in here.” 

The one with the glasses smirks. “Soon enough they'll allow Melusines in here.” The two laugh loudly. The young electro user tries to ignore them. 

“HEY!” a loud obnoxious voice interrupts the two's laughter. Cyno looks up to see a beautiful blonde man storm over to the two scholars. “You're being assholes! Maybe you should try to get to know them before you say rude things about someone!” The blonde huffs out angrily. 

The two eyes widen in fear after being called out. The brown hair girl shamefully bows. “W-Were so sorry Senior Kaveh!” The glasses one follows quickly behind with an apology.

“Nuh uh I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.” Kaveh crosses his arms in disapprovement.

It's then that the two young scholars turn towards Cyno and bow mumbling apologies before rushing off. 

Cyno stares in disbelief at what just happened when the tall blonde sits next to him grumbling in anger. “Archons! It really pisses me off when people are rude to people they don't know.” 

“You didn't have to do that.” Cyno admits. 

Kaveh turns and smiles at him, raising a finger. “But then they never learn. It's best to call them out on their bad behavior before so they can change for the better. At least that's what my father always said.” A hand extends out towards him in an offering. “I'm Kaveh.” He offers with a sweet smile. 

“Cyno.” The younger one takes his hand shaking it. 

The blonde suddenly leans in close looking over the electro user lap pointing to the cards sitting next to him. “Are those cards for the new TCG game?” He nods confirming. “ Do you know how to play?” Cyno nods again. “Will you teach me how to play?” Kaveh asks. 

“Wh-What?” The young Matra looks up at the scholar with wide eyes.

“I’ve always wanted to learn. Will you teach me?” He asks again. 

“Okay.” He smiles softly feeling something warm and twisty in his stomach.

Joy lights up the architect's faces. “Great its a date!” it takes a moment for the words to fully process into the blonde head before his cheeks match the colors of his eyes. “N-Not like a date date!” He stumbles up from where he was sitting. “B-But like uhh-” He begins fiddling with his hands nervously.

“It's a date.” Cyno confirms and if the blonde face could get any reader it does. Thankfully for Cyno his hair covers his red tainted ears. 

“R-Right! Well…” Kaveh stumbled backwards into a decorative pillar. “I have a lecture I have to attend… Goodbye Cyno!” He says abruptly before dashing off in the opposite direction of the lecture halls. 

Cyno stares dumbfoundedly where Kaveh once was. 

“You better close your mouth or a crystalfly will fly in.” The electro user snaps his mouth shut and turns his head to face his fox friend who stands before him holding a potted plant. “What happened to you?” He asks with a smirk.

“I think I just made a friend.” Cyno says with confusion. 

Tighnari bursts into laughter in front of him

******

“Cyno?” A voice comes from outside the bathroom door. He weakly raises his head from where sits in the bath. “I'm coming in.” The door swings slowly open revealing a freshly changed Tighnari. He blinks slowly at him as if he was in a daze. The Forest Ranger kneels down in front of the tub and puts a hand in the water. “Water is getting cold… let's get you warm and dry.” He says softly with a warm smile. The hand that was once in the water caresses his cheek. 

“K-Kaveh…?” He chokes out. For a moment he fears he didn’t make it. That he didn’t bring his friend to help in time. That he failed.  

A soft thumb wipes away a tear that sneaks out. “He's resting…  Come on. I'll brush your hair.” The cool water slowly begins the drain around the General. Tighnari helps him to his feet and out of the tub. A fluffy towel laid over his head as the archer begins towel drying his hair. Once he finishes he begins towel drying the rest of his body. For a moment Cyno feels bashful but remembers its only Tighnari. Once fully dry the dendro user pulls out a jar of ointment smelling of Padisarah and silently applies the ointment to the cuts and bruises that litter Cyno’s body. Finally satisfied with his work he puts the ointment away and hands fresh clothes to the desert dweller. “I'll be right outside when you’re done.” Tighnari says softly before placing a chaste kiss on his lips and leaving.

Cyno is left alone again and quietly dresses himself with the archer’s clothes. He takes an embarrassing moment to bring the fabric to his nose and takes a deep breath. The smell of flora and the oils Tighnari uses on his fur explodes in his nose bringing a wave of comfort to him. A soft smile forms on his lips as he lets go of the fabric. Cyno takes a deep breath before stepping out of the bathroom. When he walks out he sees Kaveh, still unconscious but with more clolor to his skin and his breath coming in evenly. His abdomen is neatly wrapped in bandages along with other cuts and scrapes. He lets out a sigh of relief that's long overdue. 

“Over here.” Tighnari waves him over to the plush couch that sits against the wall. Cyno walks over sitting next to the archer before falling face first into his lap. Tighnari lets out an amused breath before he starts running a brush through the white hair. Cyno quietly drifts off to the gentle brush of his hair and quiet hum of Tighnari singing. 

He’s beginning to dream when a gentle shake causes him to wake. He realizes he's still in Tighnari’s lap when he opens his eyes. He’s about to question why he was woken up when the sound of heavy footsteps rush into the room. Alhaitham stands at the door, breathing heavily from what he assumes running all the way from the city. His headphones are nowhere to be seens and his hair is a mess. Collei stumbles up behind him panting with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. 

“Kaveh..” Cyno notices the voice crack in the scribe's voice as he quickly crosses the room towards the bed. He kneels down taking the architect's left hand in his own gently rubbing small smoothing circles with his thumb. 

Cyno is forced to finally sit up when Tighnari rises to his feet and makes his way over to the lovers. “He’s stable Alhaitham.” A gentle hand is placed on the blonde's forehead checking his temperature. “He lost quite a bit of blood but he’ll be fine.” 

Alhaitham finally tears his eyes away from the sleeping blonde to glare at the General. “What happened?” Venom drips from his voice. 

Cyno feels a faint pounding in the back of his skull. “There was a trap… and some Eremites took advantage of us.” He says plainly towards the Acting Grand Sage. 

“You said you would keep an eye on him. I see no major injuries on you. So clearly you failed at doing your job.” Alhaithem spits back at him. 

Cyno clenches his fist in anger but doesn’t fight back. He knows it's a useless fight against Alhaithem. Collei is the one to break the silence. “I'm sure Cyno did his best. You know he would never let something like this happen on purpose.” Her mentor smiles fondly at her. 

“She's right. Everyone just take a deep breath.” The Chief Forest Ranger says calmly. “It's late and I think everyone needs some rest.” He looks pointedly at the one electro user.

“Where Mehrak?” Alhaitham asks, ignoring the fox next to him. 

Cyno looks down defeated before meeting the scribe's eyes once more. “It got destroyed.” 

Alhaithem stands ubruptly. “Where is she?” 

Cyno looks confused for a moment before answering. “Uhh.. it's still in ruins… Why?” 

“I know Kaveh will be devastated if we can’t retrieve her. He'll be able to fix her once he's well. I'm going to the ruins.” He starts making his way towards the door. 

“The Eremites destroyed it with a machete… Can he really fix it?” Cyno asks cautiously.

“Besides it's late Alhaithem. Why don't we wait till morning at least. “Tighnari pleads. 

The Acting Grand Sage turns to face them. He glances towards the sleeping claymore user before eyeing the others. Several emotions are resting in the colors of his eyes.“He’s a lot smarter than you give him credit for.” There's a heavy moment of silence. “Also I’m not really a patient man.” He states before walking out. Tighnari sighs into his hands. 

“W-Wait Ill come with you!” Collei pipes up. She turns towards The ranger and the general and smiles. “Get some rest, I’ll go cover him.” 

“Make sure he doesn’t go blindly killing anyone, Collei.” Cyno says to the young one before she nods, heading out after the scribe. 

Once they're alone, besides the resting blonde, Cyno watches Tighnar begin his nightly routine. ”Well I'm dead tired…” He yawns out after a while, leaning back to lay on the plush couch once more. Eyes beginning to close, he feels the warm familiar weight of the archer settle on top of him. The lights have been snuffed out only leaving one lonely candle in the room. 

“Let's skip the dying jokes until after Kaveh is out of the woods yeah?” The fox says with his chin resting on the desert dweller's chest with a sleepy smile.

Cyno snorts. “But Tigh we’re all in the woods right now… get it because were in the Avidya for-” Tighnari lets out a groan shoving his face into the others chest cutting off the other from finishing his joke. SIlence falls onto the two as Cyno rubs his lovers back absentmindedly.

“In all seriousness though…” Tighnari pauses. He leans up on his elbows to look at him with big eyes full of uncertain emotion. “Don’t try to scare me like that again…” All the electro user can do is nod his head before the other continues. “I can’t even imagine what Alhaithem is going through right now.” He glances over at the architect.  

“I love you Tigh…” Cyno confesses for the millionth time. 

The other smiles so fondly and full of love before kissing him gently. “I love you to you dork… Go to bed.” 

Cyno falls asleep to the gentle hum of Tighnaris voice once again. 

******

A loud crash, a slamming of a door, and rushed footsteps. 

“Alhaithem!” Kaveh rushes over to the scribe who's reading on the divan. 

Said scribe looks up from his book taking in the blonde before. His beautiful locks are messy from countless hands running through them in concentration or frustration. Deep bags rest under his red eyes. Clothes he can tell that have been worn for days have grease stains. However, the architect stands proudly holding some sort of briefcase. 

The younger man raises his eyebrow inspecting the briefcase. “What am I looking at?” 

Kaveh blows a stray piece of hair out of his face before shoving the briefcase closer to the scribe's face. “It's my latest invention! A fully automatic briefcase!”

Pushing the case away from his face Alhaithem replies. “Why not just use a normal briefcase?” 

“Because!” Kaveh presses some buttons on the handle and suddenly what could be described as a green robotic face appears at the center of the case. “It's gonna help me with my future projects! It can hold my tools! Scan stuff and I even made it so it can assist me in combat! Pretty neat right!?” The blonde is looking at his junior with bright eyes. 

Alhaithem looks at the now floating case before glancing back at Kaveh. “And how much did this cost to build?”

The blonde's face goes red as he steps back clutching the briefcase. “Wh-Why does that matter?” 

“It matters when you have to pay me rent.” Alhaithem says sternly crossing his arms. 

The flustered claymore user huffs turning his back towards his junior. “Don’t worry Haithem… I'll make sure I'll pay rent.” He says quietly.

The scribe breaks the moment of heavy silence. “So what are you gonna name her?”

“H-Huh?” Kaveh turns quickly back around facing the scribe. He's back to reading his book, but Kaveh knows he's just pretending. 

“Usually people name their inventions. Typically female.” He says without looking up. 

“Oh..” Kaveh thinks for a moment before deciding with a fond smile. “How about Mehrak?” 

The case beeps happily.

******

Pain. 

It's the first thought put together in Kaveh’s scrambled brain. Warmth was the second. The blonde manages to open his eyes and is greeted by the sights of flora surrounding him in a warm light. He figures out quickly where he is from spending several nights in Gandharva Ville. Through his daze he looks around the room realizing he's alone. Frowning, he tries to sit up but is stopped by two things. Firstly, a stabbing pain in his abdomen. Secondly a mop of silver hair resting on his left arm. He carefully lays himself back and brings his right hand to gently run his fingers through the short hair. 

The man below him begins to stir before tensing. Then he quickly sits up looking directly into the blonde's eyes. Kaveh notices how tired he looks and how abnormally disheveled he appears. “K-Kaveh…” The scribe chokes out as his eyes become misty. The architect takes his hand previously used as a pillow to caress the man before and he smiles weakly. 

His throat is dryer than the Hypostyle Desert but he manages to croak out a few simple words. “I'm here Haithem…” Alhaithem moves quickly to cover the injured blondes lips with own in a hungry kiss. It's all tongue and teeth as they try to meld into one. Kaveh tries to keep up but is forced to pull away quicker than he’d like. A light pink covers both of their cheeks as the blonde lays there panting. The sage places another chaste kiss to his lips before pulling back to sit back on the chair he originally sat in. 

“Th-The others?” Kaveh asks after Alhaithem helps him to some water. This throat already feels much better, but can he still feel the rawness from the screaming. “Is Cyno okay?” 

A flicker of annoyance passes through Alhaithem before he responds. “Cyno is fine, only suffered a concussion. He’s the one who managed to bring you back here. The others are all out there.” He nods his head towards the door. “It's the middle of the afternoon.” 

“O-Oh.” Kaveh gives a half smile after hearing the good news. “That's a relief.” 

A heavy silence fills the room and Kaveh begins to absentmindedly fiddle with the ends of Alhaithems belt. Something clearly plaguing the blonde’s mind. The junior calls out for the other but only receives a hum in reply. He calls out to him again, finally getting his attention. “About Mehrak..” Alhaithem starts when a sob escapes from Kaveh’s lips. 

“I couldn't save her…” He chokes out. Alhaithem grabs his hand in comfort. “N-Now she’ll waste away is some damn ruin!” 

“I have to disagree with that statement.” Alhaithem says plainly before nodding over to the briefcase that sits on a side table across the room. 

Kaveh’s eyes widen and he quickly rubs his tear stained eyes in disbelief. “H-How?” 

The sage smiles softly. “Collei and I made a trip to the ruins last night.” 

The blonde blinks several times. His eyes glance back and forth between the case and Alhaithem. “Why would you do that?” 

He gives a little shrug before answering. “Because I knew you would never stop complaining until you got her back.” The Scribe says pretending to sound annoyed.

I love you 

Kaveh squeezes the scribe’s hand tightly. Large tears threaten to spill from the blonde's eyes. “Thank you…” 

I love you too

“Look who's finally awake.” 

The two look over to see Tighnari leaning against the doorframe holding a mug, his tail swaying slowly. The archer approaches the bed. “How do you feel Kaveh?” 

The man in question sits up with the help of the scribe before replying. “I'm fine.” He smiles weakly. 

The ranger rolls his eyes before offering the mug. “You don’t have to lie to me. I know you’re probably in quite a bit of pain. Drink this.” The blonde carefully takes the mug trying not to spill any of its contents. “It has some herbs that will help with the pain.” 

“Thank you Nari.” Kaveh says before taking a sip. He grimaces at the taste. “How's Cyno?” 

“I’m fine.” The electro user answers, walking to stand at the foot of the bed. He offers a small smile to the architect. 

“Oh Mr. Kaveh! I'm so glad you’re okay!” Collie bounces up behind Cyno, worry still laced in her face. “When Mr. Alhaithem and I went to the ruins, we saw so much blood…” 

Kaveh offers her a sad smile. “I’m really sorry to have scared you. Thank you for everything.” 

She waves her hand dismissing him. “That's what friends are for right? Besides, I feel like I didn’t really do much.” 

Cyno puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You were there when we needed you. You also help bring back Mehrak and my helmet. So thank you Collei.” The student blushes looking down bashfully. 

“I am curious..” Alhaithem says breaking the silence. “How did you two manage to defeat the Eremites in your state? While we were in the ruins I saw some strange remnants of some dendro cores, but they definitely weren't normal. And if Mehrak was destroyed, how did you use your vision Kaveh?” 

“Uhh…” The General and the Archeitect say in unison looking into each other's eyes, They have a silent conversation trying to decide if they tell them what happened in the ruins. 

“I think Nari said it best that one night… the power of friendship?” Kaveh says without a shred of confidence.

Cyno nods confirming. “Yes, the power of friendship.” 

Alhaithem frowns at their secretive response. Collie beams. Tighnari looks between the two of them confused before saying. “When did I say that?” 

****** Bonus Scene ******

“Over here!” Collei waves them over from where she sits with Tighnari in the tavern. 

Kaveh pushes through the crowd pulling Alhaithem behind him. “Sorry we were late!” He says before sitting down. 

“No worries, we went ahead and ordered drinks for you.” The fox says pointing to the drinks in front of the taller men. 

“Thank you.” The scribe says before taking a sip of his dandelion wine. 

“I’m glad we got here when we did. It's pretty busy tonight!” Collei says after a sip of her tea. 

Kaveh looks around taking in the packed tavern. It’s his first night here since his trip to the ruins with Cyno. For the past few weeks he's been cooped back home recovering. He feels refreshed being able to come out and see his friends in a public setting. 

A plate of Charcoal-baked Ajilenakh cakes is set in the center of the table. Kaveh looks up to see the General nodding in a greeting before sitting down. 

“General.” Alhaithem says mockingly in greeting. 

“Alhaithem.” Cyno spits back. He's leaning back in his chair, arms crossed in an attempt to appear casual. Tighnari and Kaveh roll their eyes at the two. “Why are you guys late? I thought you guys haven't been given the green light yet.” Cyno says reaching for his drink. 

Kaveh chokes on his wine. Collei offers a sympathetic smile as she bites into her cake. “We’ve been following the doctor's orders as given.” The scribe says curtly before continuing. “Kaveh was finishing up a project.”  

The fox’s ears flicker. “Oh? Kaveh I thought you weren’t on any projects while you were recovering?” He asks, reaching for a cake.

Kaveh smiles proudly resting his chin in his hand. “Nothing official.” He says before suddenly a beeping noise can be heard. A mechanical briefcase appears behind Kaveh. Green lights flash before a robot face appears and a happy beeping follows. 

Collei gaps in excitement. “Mehrak!” She squirms in her seat in excitement. “Oh it's so good to have you back!” The briefcase floats towards the green haired girl beeping excitedly. 

Tighnari smiles in relief. “I'm glad you were able to repair her.” 

“I can't exactly be the Light of Kshahrewar without her.” The architect says smiling fondly at Mehrak and Collei’s interaction.  

“Are you injuries healing nicely?” The Forest Ranger asks.

“Yes!” The blonde replies absentmindedly rubbing his abdomen. “ Thank you again Nari, and thank you Cyno.” Both men wave off the thanks. 

“I bet you're glad you don't have to keep drinking that tea.” Cyno grimaces at the thought of the tea.

Kaveh nods in agreement. “Oh I know it was just terrible!” He whines out. Tighnari huffs in annoyance. 

“Maybe don't get hurt next time.” Alhaithem says casually, an eyebrow is raised.

“You know the taste of the tea actually reminded me of updog..” Cyno says in all seriousness. 

Collei’s head tilts in confusion. “Huh? What's updog?” 

“COLLEI NO!” Tighnari practically begs. 

Cyno looks at her with wild eyes. “Nothing much. What's up with you?” 

Alhaihthem immediately gets up and leaves the table. 

Kaveh’s head comes crashing down onto the table with a loud bang.

Tighnari cries into his hands. 

Collei looks around very confused.

Cyno looks like he just won the world championship of Genius Invokation TCG.

Everything is right in the world again.