Chapter Text
“I hate Tighnari.”
You tell yourself everyday, as a sort of tradition. Ever since childhood, you’ve had this special hate stored inside your heart for that fennec forest ranger wannabe. Half of you didn’t even know why you hated him, him being Tighnari. But the other half told you everything you needed to know.
His stupid face, the way his ears twitch in disgust whenever he sees you. Ugh, his god-awful lectures. Everything about him made your nose scrunch up in disgust, scoff and roll your eyes, and promptly die.
————————————Avidya Forest, 11:09AM
You kicked a rock, letting the pebble make its feeble descent down the trail.
This was a fun aftermath of work. Wake up, eat, work, give up, sleep. It was always your dream to be a ranger, but you didn’t expect to share it with Tighnari… He was so condescending sometimes, and always petty about small details! Archons, was he annoying as fu—
“Y/N~!” Someone called out in a singsong and cheerful voice.
“Yeah?” You replied, trying to match her enthusiasm. Collei, she was your best friend. And also Tighnari’s. And Kaveh’s. There's a lot of people she’s friends with, actually.
“Finally I found you! We’ve got to get to the bazaars! I heard from some other rangers that theres new pop ups, and I’ve got to check them out.” Collei grinned, grabbing you by the wrist and skipping along the paved roads in the Akademiya. You let out a gasp alongside a “wooaaoa-“, taken aback by her attitude. It was hard to stop the gnawing feeling to smile back, her optimism contagious as always. You were extra delighted because Collei initiated physical contact. You’ve known her since she arrived in Sumeru, so you were proud to be called a close friend.
You quickly got yourself back on track
and ran alongside her. Your mind trailed away to whatever the bazaar pop ups could contain, a far distance from its preceding thoughts. Your black boots clacked on the textured cement pavements that surrounded the stands. The sage green awnings of each of them shielding you and Collei from the harsh rays of the sun that day. You skimmed through the stalls as Collei looked at at bought almost everything there. She wasn’t the greatest haggler in the universe, so you helped negotiate the price to something super low, for the sake of her spending problems.
By the time you both finished buying and strolling, it was time the sun set. The moon had risen over the horizon, and the air cut through your sleeves cold. Curse the winter season! You couldn’t afford mose coverage because the heatwaves lasted longer than the cold, but you were like a popsicle.
“C-Collei—it’s so cold…”
You say, crossing your arms to shield them.
Collei laughs it off and replies;
“You’ll be alright! Although I don’t think I ha—“
She cuts herself off. She grins as if she has a bright idea that would solve world hunger.
“Here, I believe I have an extra hoodie.”
Nodding, you agree, too cold to care about what she could’ve been planning. You take it and thank her, quickly putting it on. So much better! It was so plushy and soft and thick, the cold didn’t bother you anyway!
But it looked, familiar. Not a Collei familiar, you’ve never seen her wear this, but you shrugged it off.
“Collei, lets get going! It’s getting cold and we have patrol duty tomorrow.” You tell her, waving your hand to signal a “get over here!”. She promptly follows, and starts looking at her purchases this afternoon. The moment the walk ensues, Collei gushes about her items, calling them all types of compliments. You try to counter and say to not buy too much next time, but she just rejects the idea immediately.
——————————Y/N’s house, 8:32PM
A knock on the door echoes through the hall. You quickly made your way through the corridors and to the entrance of your house. Turning the knob, you greet the person at the door with a warm smile.
But the moment you open the door, as if rain clouds fell from the sky, your mood was dampened by the sight before you.
“Tighnari..” You spoke, confuzzled by his sudden presence.
“Y/n. I asked Collei to wash my clothes as a favor, and I feel like I’m missing some of t—“
Tighnari deadass stared at you for a couple of seconds.
“Why do you have my hoodie on. It’s freezing out here and I’m cold.” He questioned, not quite processing the thievery going on.
“What. Collei—that—urgh! She said she had a spare, I don’t want your disgusting hoodie!” You shout, quickly taking it off and throwing it into his arms. Your face was embarrassed because you didn’t expect it would be that ass—nope, jerks hoodie. It was comfy too:(. Even if you wanted to keep it, you shoved the thought down and slammed your door shut, hastily ending your brief interaction with him.
“You absolute idiot of a lummox! Stay away from my stuff!” He yelled out childishly. The funny thing about your rivalry, your childish antics really reflected on him…oh well.?!
Tighnari’s hair breezed backward from the force of the door slamming. His eyes looked like he was deadpanning, and he just clutched his hoodie.
He returned back home in a disgusted looking face, his nose scrunched up and his ears twitching; his knuckles going white from how hard he gripped the hoodie on the return back to his abode.
“Collei! I’m gonna need bleach and holy water!”
“...Master-! It’s not that bad!”
“You wouldn’t know Collei!”
Tighnari frowned, looking exasperated.
There was just something sooo infuriating about you. You were always a stubborn and annoying kid, even when you were both young. Ugh! He just wished you’d stay in your own lane for once, dear archons…
————————————————————-
Your day ended quite abruptly, the shock of seeing that annoying idiot rat was an unpleasant surprise. But at the end of the day, it kind of made you smile.
A life without conflict was quite lonely, but who knew being constantly at war with a rat—fennec fox, (sorry not sorry Tighnari, leave my life. - Wise words of Y/N) made each day worth it?
You don’t know at all, but you’ll figure it out.