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Word went around that the traveler was going to return to Sumeru city soon. It made sense; Lesser Lord Kusanali’s birthday was coming up soon and surely they wouldn’t want to miss the festivities. Last time was a mess of a birthday after all and the traveler could barely even celebrate properly before the day had ended. This year was going to be different though. Dunyarzad and Nilou promised it. And this year, more people would join and help organize the festivities after everything that happened last time.
Cyno was invited to it as well. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to come yet but hearing that the traveler was going to return, he wanted to say hello.
Cyno was waiting for the traveler at the Bazaar. At this time around, it was quite busy there especially now with the national holiday coming. The stalls were bustling with people buying all sorts of fruits, treats and trinkets in preparation for the big day. He was a bit afraid he would miss his traveler friend among the crowd but just as he thought so, his eyes caught a glimpse of the blonde outlander with their flying companion. It was to be expected honestly; the two of them stood out of the crowd in any nation.
Little did he know that the traveler brought a visitor with them — a friend from Natlan, the nation neighboring Sumeru to the west. Cyno assumed the traveler went there after visiting Fontaine, meaning that they must have traversed the entire desert seeing as it was the shortest route from Natlan to Sumeru, which was quite a brave thing to do, Cyno had to admit. The dessert wasn’t for the weak.
But here they were, lively and full of energy as ever. Well, as lively as possible. That friend, Kinich was his name, seemed to be a quieter and serious person whose facial expression didn’t exactly emit any form of joy or excitement. Not that that was a big issue or anything. Cyno was a similar case, or so he was told, in the sense that he often was considered scary upon first impression by other scholars.
But as his close friends knew, he wasn’t much of a serious person. Quite the opposite actually. He never missed out on an opportunity to tell a joke even if no one really appreciated them enough to laugh.
“Hello Cyno!”, the traveler greeted him with a smile and a wave, “I brought a friend from Natlan with me. I hope you don’t mind!” The blonde gestured vaguely towards the black-haired man next to her. His eyes were fixated on the scholar with that stern expression that Cyno couldn’t really interpret. “Cyno. Pleasure to meet you,” he then introduced himself to break the ice. The black-haired nodded to acknowledge he heard him.
“Kinich. Likewise.” Was he trying to smile? Perhaps. It didn’t come across like that though. But again, that was no big issue. If he was friends with the traveler, Cyno didn’t doubt his sincerity.
Of course, just when the traveler had arrived, trouble arose from among the crowd. Nilou passed them by with lots of decorative flowers in her arms as she, too, recognized the familiar face of the outlander. “Oh, traveler, you’re already back!” Her eyes lit up with a shimmer of hope. “I’m sorry I have to ask this of you so immediately but could you help me please? There seem to be problems with the stage.” The way the traveler’s face immediately frowned was indicative enough that they simply couldn’t escape the curse of being asked to help; but since it was a good friend asking, who were they to refuse? The blonde looked back at Cyno.
“Could I entrust Kinich to you? Just for a little.” The traveler already turned halfway away on their heels, ready to follow behind the panicked Nilou. “I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
Cyno nodded. Given the confirmation, the traveler ran off — and as a result an awkward silence broke in between him and the guy from Natlan. Would a joke lift the mood? Maybe. Well, maybe not now.
Or, maybe yes. Not knowing what else to do or say, Cyno just went for it. “So, Kinich is your name?” He nodded. “Like akin spinach?” No reaction. But Cyno was used to it by now, so he just went on to explain his joke as usual. “See, because your name is Kinich and it sounds a lot like spinach. And akin means ‘similar’ so—”
“Not funny.” Cyno frowned. He thought it was funny but as per usual no one else did. That said, he figured that Kinich’s looks did, in fact, match his personality too. He could work from there with that information. “What brings you to Sumeru?”, he continued the conversation in a more casual approach. Until the traveler returned, he intended to fill the spare time with small talk even if his talking buddy wasn’t much of a talkative person. Kinich observed him very intently as if making sure there were no hidden innuendos behind his words. “I have some time to spare so I thought why not visit another nation. And Sumeru happened to be the closest to visit.”
Cyno nodded as Kinich explained himself. “Well, in that case, you absolutely need to play Genius Invokation TCG here”, he mentioned. His eyes undeniably lit up at the mere mention of his favorite game and pass time. Perhaps he could find a play buddy in Kinich if not someone who enjoys his jokes. “You’ve heard of it before?”
Kinich goes into a thinking pose, holding his chin between index finger and thumb before answering. Quite the thoughtful person, wasn’t he? “I have heard of it. I have never played it though.” Cyno grinned and put a hand on the other’s shoulder. “We should play a round. I can teach you.”
Again, the black-haired paused in his speech to think. His eyes wandered around the Bazaar, scanning the area that still hadn’t seemed to have calmed down since the traveler left for good. “What’s the price?”
“Price?” Cyno looked dumbfounded by that request. “For teaching me how to play.” It sounded like a joke but Kinich was dead serious. The matra had to think for a bit as he was unsure how to properly react or respond to such questions. “The price will be to play with me again when we meet a next time.” Kinich contemplated it for a bit before giving a nod. “Deal.”
Hours went by in such a short time. By the time the traveler returned to Kinich and Cyno, they caught the two of them playing TCG together with joy written all over their faces even if they had naturally stoic expressions. The blonde was afraid that leaving them alone for a while (and that a while turned into much longer than expected too) was a bad idea but really, it wasn’t. Even better, the traveler accidentally left them to create an unexpected bond that was sure to blossom beautifully.
“I want a rematch.” Cyno had a smug look on his face. To think that he managed to drag Kinich, a newbie at this game, into a TCG fever overjoyed him. He could never have too many play buddies and having friends from other nations as well just made it so much more fun. “Another round it is!” Cyno laughed. He was having the time of his life; and he could swear that he overheard a giggle, a very quiet one, from Kinich, too.