Chapter Text
“Could you quit talking about Alhaitham and assist me?” Tighnari grunted, struggling with a heavy, large handful of thick ropes. His fluffy tail was taught with tension as he wobbled under the load, leaning this way and that to balance.
“Oh! Yeah, I’ll hold some.” Embarrassed from his rambling, Kaveh shuffled over and took a few bundles of rope. He began to unwrap them, then he was laying them out on the ground.
The two were working on a land survey and subsequent layout of a plot of forest land, preparing for the upcoming construction of a lighthouse.
Inspired after Kaveh took a trip to study the architecture of Nod-Krai, its main purpose was to assist the forest rangers at night—or at least the ones who don’t possess Tighnari’s impressive night vision.
Normally, Kaveh doesn’t concern himself with the physical construction of his projects, but he offered to assist if only to be away from Alhaitham—who had somehow become even more insufferable lately.
The already distant man had now taken to sneaking around whenever Kaveh got near; he could tell that the scribe was hiding something. But every time he attempted to bring up the subject, Alhaitham easily brushed him off with an infuriating, perfectly crafted argument. Somehow, his mouth had decided to ramble the entire story whilst ‘working’, leaving poor Tighnari to do most of the heavy lifting.
“Perhaps he’s just trying to do something privately,” Tighnari suggested, pounding a nail into the dirt and beginning to wrap rope around it.
“Him? No way,” Kaveh grumbled, trying and failing to hammer his own nail in; he distractedly slammed the metal into the ground and splattered dirt all over his face. His frown deepened, upset creases and valleys cracking around his lips. “Don’t let that man fool you, he’s not one to hide anything. In fact, he usually makes it everyone else's problem.”
The now-vexed forest ranger sighed; he had long since learned that there’s practically nothing that could change Kaveh’s stubborn mind. All the architect does is talk about Alhaitham, and Tighnari imagined the only thing going on in the head has to do with Alhaitham too. It was useless to try and change Kaveh’s obstinate course, though sometimes he wonders about the two. He’s seen Alhaitham carry a very drunk Kaveh out of taverns, and likewise he had seen Kaveh sharing meals with the scribe at cafés. Despite Kaveh’s immense grumblings, Tighnari couldn’t help but wonder…
The two continued to work, now in relative silence (excepting Kaveh’s increased sputtering as every single bug in the jungle seemed to fly into his mouth). After about another half hour of work, a large plot had been marked out with taught rope, and Tighnari gathered himself up.
“This looks good for now. Would you like to come back to the village for lunch?”
Kaveh sat up, looking utterly appalled at the muddy state of his favorite white shirt. “Uh, sure. And perhaps a bath, please.”
Tighnari rolled his eyes, but still led Kaveh back over to Gandharva Ville, which was situated only about a mile away from the future lighthouse’s location. They ate a quick lunch of pita pockets, and Kaveh spent about an hour scrubbing his shirt in the river before he gave up and accepted his new muddy future.
After the quick rest, the two decided to head back to the site and make sure absolutely everything was perfect before the foundation would be laid.
On the way back, Kaveh found himself rambling about Alhaitham again—this time about the man’s absolute refusal to deviate from his bland wardrobe choices. Tighnari had pressed his ears down completely to peacefully block out the rant, though he attempted to offer a ‘mhm’ or nod every few minutes.
Kaveh was in the middle of a particularly passionate tirade when he caught sight of a teal-yellow wisp trailing alongside him; the bitter argument on his tongue trailed off. The wisp of energy was very faint compared to the sunlight already beaming through the canopy, but it was unmistakably separate from the humid vapors of the forest. It curled against the leaves in a carefree billow, and seemed to trail forward almost endlessly.
Tighnari—sensing the sudden silence—followed Kaveh’s gaze, eyes widening when he saw it as well.
“That’s—”
“Ley line energy,” Kaveh finished. He was all too familiar with this energy, though in his experience it came in a much more toxic form: the withering. It had destroyed his magnum opus, and in some ways was the catalyst responsible for his ‘downfall’ into debt. It was also quite dangerous—especially this close to the Forest Ranger’s base.
“It’s leading straight towards the site!” He exclaimed, already stumbling alongside the golden trail. “Pick up the pace, Tighnari!”
Tighari sputtered. He wanted to say: ‘Don’t go towards it you idiot!’ But he knew getting Kaveh to prioritize his well-being over his projects was as difficult as taking a fish from a starving cat—impossible and bound to end in a hissyfit. So he jogged alongside; his bouncing tail gets caught in twigs and branches in an attempt to keep up with the blond’s frantic pace.
Kaveh’s mind was racing alongside his heart, sprinting forward at an astonishing speed. He would not let the withering take away another one of his projects. Especially considering this one could legitimately help people. Not again. Never again.
Perhaps his excitement was over the top, considering the project wasn’t even built yet, but the teasing billows of ley line energy spurred him on further. He skidded to a muddy stop once the site came into view; he pants heavily. Tighnari arrived right behind.
To the relief of both of them, there were no dark and sinister telltale signs of the withering. Instead, the wispy energy gathered up into a tight glowing knot, hovering like a loosely connected flower bud over the ground. It was odd, but certainly more manageable.
“It’s just…just a blossom,” Kaveh panted, leaning over and planting his palms on the knob of his knees as he caught his breath. “Just…just a blossom…”
Tighnari hummed in acknowledgement, loosely circling the ley line blossom. It had sprouted right in the middle of the site, and would need to be cleared for any further construction. It seemed harmless enough, but his tail still swished uneasily.
“It looks odd. I would recommend not touching it. We should investigate it first.”
Kaveh groaned immediately, unhappy at being delayed. Still, he couldn’t help but agree. After his heart calmed down from the impromptu sprint, he assisted Tighnari in observing the ley line blossom from every angle.
He tripped into it once, but nothing seemed to happen—other than a faint buzz of static. After an hour of no discoveries, he slumped down a tree trunk, peeved and exhausted.
Tighnari joined him, pulling some pita out from a small pouch. He shared a piece with Kaveh, as well as a curious little dusk bird that had fluttered down.
“Just great,” Kaveh grumbled through a mouthful of bread. “If this thing can’t be cleared, I’ll—I’ll have to choose a new location, and completely redesign the base! Not to mention the—”
“Shh!” Tighnari hissed suddenly.
“Did you—did you just shush me?!” Kaveh’s face turned a furious red, and he hopped up to his feet. The little dusk bird that was eating crumbs at their feet jumped back at the sudden movement.
“No, seriously, shush!” Tighnari growled, standing up as well. His ears had begun to twist and flick in a furious fashion. “I hear something. It’s big.”
Kaveh paled, instantly shrinking back towards the tree bark. Tighnari had many times pulled his leg, but he could tell the fox-eared ranger was serious. They stood completely still, the only noise filling the space was light breathing, and the hollow peck of the dusk bird on the forest floor.
Suddenly Kaveh sees it, two peering red eyes shown from the undergrowth. Slow and calculated, muscles flexing and rippling like liquid, a rishboland tiger emerged from the shadows. Its jaw was curled up into an ugly snarl, a deep rumble spewed up from its chest. Normally the tigers keep to themselves, but the two must have encroached onto a newly formed plot of territory—something a young male tiger like this would not easily forgive.
“Kaveh, stay very still,” Tighnari whispered. His hand moved at a snail’s pace up to his bow. “Don’t do anything rash.”
Kaveh would nod if he wasn’t frozen still. The tiger approached. Its snarl crinkled upward to the menace in its eyes, causing the red irises there to glint sharply. It moved slowly towards Kaveh, muscles tense. It took all of Kaveh’s willpower to not step back.
It steps closer. Kaveh swallows.
Closer. His fingers twitch.
At this point, he could feel the feline’s warm, heavy breath. Tighnari is glaring at him now, his hand inches away from getting to his bow. Don’t move, don’t move…
It padded one step closer, and the tension snapped with Kaveh’s heavy flinch that followed. It snarled, an ugly revving sound, then pounced. The terrified blond stumbled back with an ungodly shriek, and Tighnari whipped out his bow. Kaveh’s entire line of sight became filled with the angry furry mass, and it seemed like this would be the end.
His back brushed against the ley line in his backward scramble, but this time it didn't produce that fuzzy static feeling; it erupts.
A blinding white exploded out of the ley line, engulfing all of Kaveh’s vision. The thick void swallowed the sound of the tiger’s roar, of Kaveh’s shriek, Tighnari’s yelp, and the incessant squawking of the dusk bird. The rapid bloom continued to build, swallowing the architect’s entire vision in white until his consciousness mercifully faded away.
-
He didn’t know how long he was out, but Kaveh figured it was a long time—if the swelling press of a headache making itself known was any indicator. His eyes fluttered open, followed by a rumbly groan; a tinny ringing made itself known in his ears.
He attempted to get up, but all at once his body felt much too heavy and awkward. Just what did that ley line do? Suddenly remembering both Tighnari and the tiger, he pushed harder, sitting up onto all fours and not much further. Why do I feel so weird?
“Tighnari? Are you all right?” Is what he would've said if his mouth worked. Instead, all that came out was a deep rumble. Panic shot through his heart like a blistering arrow, all the oddities piling up into something undeniable. Something is really not right.
When Kaveh looked down, he didn’t see his sun-kissed skin, nor the faint fluttering of his white shirt.
He saw two bristly paws.