Chapter Text
The soft rustle of leaves and the sounds of critters is what Tighnari is used to hearing upon waking on a normal day. This of course, was not one of them, proven by the gruff voices of strangers and harsh clinks of metal.
The forest watcher stirs, and groans when he's met with a familiar sight. Cloth-induced darkness, it's nothing to worry about however, because he can already feel that his hands are tied with the flimsiest rope in tevyat.
He can't blame them he supposes. Growing a brain is impossible after all.
After the voices ceased, he swiftly freed his hands from their poor-quality confinements. Briefly stretching them before moving onto the blindfold and surprisingly–the rope on his feet too.
Huh, what do you know, some of them do have more braincells than others. He'll have to write this phenomenal discovery down somewhere... Aaand nevermind, they kept his vision right beside him, how brilliant of them.
He ponders upon how they managed to keep him unconscious this time, perhaps they used a drug this time around–proven by the slight drowsiness he feels–he'll have to take it easy when he gets back. He thinks, clipping on his vision.
He gets on his feet–albeit riddled with aches he seemed to be fine. Ignoring how his vision swims, he takes in his surroundings. The room seemed to be underground–not that far down though, he deducts due to the sunlight seeping in through cracks. To his left is a ladder–how convenient, and to his right is a table with an array of several vials and bottles of blood.
So that's why he felt so lightheaded.
He locates the needle stuck into his arm and gently pulls it out. Snatches the rest of the vials–no way he's gonna let them get away with that–and sneaks past the sleeping, probably on duty guard guessing from how they're NOT tied up.
He pushes the trapdoor sealing his underground confinement and is greeted by the sun, hotter than usual, maybe that's because he's in a desert.
Wait
Dear archons these abductors just may have indeed grown a brain after all, because he's now outside, contemplating on going back in.
He grimaces at the ever-growing heat and pushes on anyway... Can't be that far... Right?
Unfortunately, it seems that his presumed blood loss had finally come into play again, because his head has made contact with the sand–not willingly either, it didn't even bother to ask for his consent!
He struggles, pushes himself up and continues forwards... If he's going to pass out he'd prefer it to be under shade–and where he can't be found by his ever so welcoming captors.
The last thing he registers is stepping inside some ruins–promptly losing strength in both of his legs and being greeted with pure darkness.
.
Not many knew, but it wasn't unusual for the general mahamatra to visit gandharva ville. But this time he headed there on the call of a letter, not from his beloved forest watcher–but from Collei. In the letter, she had expressed urgency for him to come at once, and so he did.
As he progressed forward, his eyes caught the panicked figure in the distance, she played with her fingers nervously–a habit obtained from who knows where.
"Collei." Cyno called out, he watched as she turned around and darted her eyes around until she found the source of the voice. "Cyno! It's Master, he- I don't know where he went! He was last seen home but- it's been almost two days and-" her voice broke and she quickly swept away any tears that had formed. "Easy, Collei, I'll bring him home. I'll make sure of it." He wasn't at all good at comfort- FAR from that actually, but he gently held her shoulders, that was more than enough to let her know that he was absolutely genuine with his words.
She led him to Tighnari's hut- it was a mess, a rare sight when open to the public eye. Various stacks of books knocked over, and there seemed to be dents in the floor from something heavy. Cyno took in the sight and started to piece things together.
In truth, this was far from the first time Tighnari's been kidnapped, being Valuka Shuna and all, he was someone that would be wanted for research. The forest watcher had told Cyno this one night, and after countless reassurances, he finally believed that Tighnari could escape unharmed. (He didn't, but he'd just need to eliminate the source) Just in case, Cyno had given him tips on what to do, and told Tighnari to contact him if they became a bigger problem.
Tighnari smiled, and laughed (butterflies soared inside Cyno's stomach, but he didn't need to know that) "I'll be fine you worrywart, now, can I do a quick check up on you? You only just finished work after all" a warm smile was cast, directly at him. In that moment, Cyno rummaged his brain to find a suitable answer, in the end- "I don't mind, after Collei-ing it a day, I'd like to make sure I'm in good shape- though, I'm alright as far as Cy-no." The watcher's eyes sent a playful glare towards him, with a groan he muttered "Let me see, you big lummox."
If Tighnari couldn't make it back, it was either the state of captivity he was in or the place in which he was brought, both of which are to be concerned about. As he pondered, in the corner of his eye he caught a glint of light from broken shards below. He wordlessly picked one up and examined it. Whatever the object formerly contained was suspiciously similar to the drug he had found in several underground criminal hideouts. The worrying thing about this however, was that the liquid could only be found in the desert, and if these kidnappers knew Tighnari even the slightest but they'd know that the desert is the worst place he could be in.
Cyno clicked his tongue and stood up, he gave Collei a reassuring glance, "I'll make sure he's back home, safe and sound to us" then sprinted away, starting his search. The young forest ranger could only sigh and wonder, "When will those two pick up each other's hints? Haha..." She giggled to mask herself from her own anxieties.
.
When he awoke a second time, he was greeted with nothing but sand. Great.
The memories finally started flowing back to him, kidnapping, desert, blood vials. This was going to be a long day... he mumbled, while pulling his hood over his head
Gently, the forest watcher pushed himself up and swayed for a bit, before steadying his feet. Further observing his surroundings proved that he was not in fact kidnapped again. He definitely needed some water though, proven by the spots dancing in his vision. To his relief upon further observation, there was a small oasis not far from where he was. Quickly, he used the formerly obtained bottles to gather water. He shudders at the thought of how some of them were meant to store his blood. Then, he constructed a makeshift filter using the materials near the oasis, as well as using the blindfold-turned cloth as replacement for cotton.
Not the best but it'll have to do to ensure that he doesn't accidentally bring a parasite home. He briefly stops and longs at the thought of the forest, Cyno was supposed to visit around, tomorrow? He can't tell how many days it's been but they were going to play genius invokation TCG and teach Collei some new tactics.
He downed a bottle of filtered water and sat down, resting his head on his hand.
He really wishes he could hear one of Cyno's bad jokes right about now.
Shaking his head, he stood and started picking off some of the big leaves, once he had enough he constructed a makeshift cloak to shield most of his skin from the sun while also letting it breathe. Did it look absolutely ridiculous? Yes, did he feel slightly better? Also yes, he'll just have to deal with it for now, and come up with a plan on how he's going to get out of this desert.
He can already feel a fever forming.