Chapter Text
“You want me to do what now?” It was just shy of noon when Tighnari received a phone call from Kaveh.
“I wouldn’t ask this of you if I wasn’t forced.” Kaveh’s voice was laced with irritation. “Chief Nahida wants to start hosting fundraisers annually. Nilou proposed a charity dating event, saying it was a success for her troupe when they were in a tight pinch last year. Chief loved the idea immediately, and she assigned me to contact Akademiya’s biggest names. Even Cyno is doing this. Please, Tighnari? Chief has a handsome reward for your participation.”
“Might I ask what that reward is?”
“25% of all proceeds will go to Avidya BioTech. She’s making this a pretty big event, so I expect the overall revenue to be high.”
Tighnari’s ears twitched, and a defeated sigh escaped between his lips. He was never one to say no to Nahida, no matter how far fetched her requests were.
“A bit excessive for a weekend’s worth of participation, but okay. What’s the dress code?”
Tighnari left Collei a list of tasks to complete while he left Avidya BioTech for the weekend. She gives him a sympathetic look.
“Maybe it won’t be so bad? And if it is, at least Cyno will be there to suffer with you.”
“Haha, very funny, Collei.” Tighnari let out a sarcastic laugh and rolled his eyes at his assistant.
“At least your trip won’t be in vain. Avidya BioTech could definitely use the funding.”
“That we can both agree on. Give me a call if anything happens, and I’ll come rushing over. I’m sure Nahida will understand.” Collei gives Tighnari a brief hug and a look of confidence.
“Don’t worry about it, Master Tighnari. Have a little more faith in your staff. It’s been a long time since we last had an incident!” He gives her a comfortable smile, grips his suitcase firmly in his gloved hand, and begins his trek to Sumeru City.
The ringing in his ears reminds Tighnari of why he doesn’t visit the city often. The streets are full of people chatting loudly on the phone as they rush between jobs. Vendors have set up small shops of food and trinkets for those whose eyes linger even the slightest bit off a straight path. He can even hear the sounds of children laughing and playing in Devata Park, followed by plenty of happy barks from all kinds of dogs. It’s a good thing Cyno gifted Tighnari a pair of headphones specifically for his unique ears. He has many playlists made for specific kinds of trips or when he’s feeling any particular kind of way. He opens his music and scrolls until he finds his “Wandering” playlist. Hitting shuffle, Tighnari can’t contain his smile when his favorite song pops up first. “Let’s take this luck as a good omen for the weekend,” he thinks to himself as he heads off for Akademiya’s main site.
“Glad you could make it, Tighnari! I’ll send Chief Nahida a quick message letting her know you’ve arrived,” Kaveh greets him kindly. He gets up from his desk while typing out his message. “Wait right there for a few minutes. She’ll be out shortly.” He walks off towards the main hall. As promised, only a few minutes go by before Tighnari’s ears pick up the faint sound of hurried footsteps.
“Tighnari! I’m so glad you could make it!” Bare feet slapping against marble flooring and the sweet jingle in the delicate yet quiet voice of Nahida brings Tighnari a sense of joy he can’t really describe. She’s only tall enough to hug his knees, but it’s a Nahida hug all the same, full of meaning and love.
“It’s good to see you, Chief Nahida,” Tighnari chuckles, softly ruffling the top of her head.
“No formalities needed between friends! Besides, I’m still not used to the new title,” Nahida lowers her voice dragging on her sentence, a sheepish blush brushing her cheeks.
“Alright, Nahida. I won’t tease you any further. Where’s everyone else?”
Nahida reaches out for Tighnari’s hand. “I’ll bring you to them. Most everyone is already here; we were having snacks in one of the ballrooms.”
“I didn’t think you’d accept the invitation, Tighnari,” Cyno greets his friend with a raised eyebrow.
“I should be the one saying that to you. I’m surprised you agreed to help at all,” Tighnari chastises Cyno. Nahida grips Tighnari’s hand a little tighter. He looks at her and instantly recognizes guilt swimming in her shimmering irises. Cyno notices this too. The two look at each other and seem to think the same thing: Do it for Nahida.
“Was Tighnari the last person we were waiting on?” A deep voice approaches the group; it’s Alhaitham.
“Yes! Everyone is here now! Tighnari, please help yourself to some snacks. Kaveh and I are going to set up our presentation for the charity dating event!” Nahida fails to hide the excitement in her voice, but something about the childlike wonder makes Tighnari happy.
“So, Alhaitham, Tighnari. When’s our next game night? It’s my turn to pick the game and I’m dying for another night of Uno and shots.”
“Well, Kaveh has a large project he’s working on with Nahida. I'm adjusting to my recent promotion in the Akademiya’s Historic Preservation Division. You’ve had your own share of cases this quarter, and Tighnari’s had his hands full with a restoration effort for a rare mushroom Dori smuggled for him last summer. Suffice to say, there’s no telling when it’ll be,” Alhaitham gets out in one breath.
“I mean, we could host it tonight if we wanted? It just depends on the itinerary for this weekend,” Tighnari suggests.
“Hey! Don’t plan game night without me!” Kaveh cries from across the hall. “My ears are burning and that can only mean you’re discussing plans without me, AGAIN!”
“You know, we could always wait to get our dates and do it then as a giant group activity?” Cyno, though not usually very expressive, can’t conceal his anxiety. “To be blunt, I’m anticipating the worst for whoever bids on me, so whatever I can do to make myself more comfortable, I will.”
“I actually like that idea quite a bit,” Alhaitham agrees. “If our partners aren’t the most ideal, we can at least lean on each other.”
“I also agree, but I don’t think Uno is the best as far as icebreakers go,” Tighnari throws in his two cents.
“Count us in also. We could potentially use the help too.” Candace walks up to the group with a wave and a smile. “I share the same anxiety that Cyno does.”
“Same here,” Dehya comes up next to her friend, “Though maybe it’s the other way around. I’ll probably be too scary for anyone to want to bid on me.”
“Don’t say that, Dehya! You’re incredibly approachable, and beautiful!” Nilou bounces over. “But yes, I agree that a group game night would definitely put all of us at ease.”
“If an extrovert like Nilou is having that feeling, then we’re doomed,” Cyno sighs in defeat.
“Ahem.”
A curt cough silences the friend group instantly. All eyes turn to Kaveh and Nahida. She stands atop a highly elevated platform, while Kaveh sits at a desk with the presentation on his computer.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. It means a lot to know that I have such a dependable group of friends and colleagues. The premise of this event is charity dating. For those who are unaware of what that means, the goal is for people to bid on dates for an elongated period of time. Because most of our guests are of financially prestigious backgrounds, all bids will begin at a minimum of 10,000 mora for a 48 hour span of time. Bidders, of course, may increase the price with no maximum cap on money, however there will be a maximum cap on time, as that would be unfair to you all. The maximum amount of time someone can bid for is a week. They must bid at least 250,000 mora to request the full week.”
“That’s not the kind of money I was expecting,” Dehya whistles, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Most attendees are faithful donors to various Akademiya branches, while others are potential business partners looking to buy their way into a relationship, especially with the recent additions of niche branches like Avidya BioTech,” Nahids explains. “They are all aware of the estimated price ranges, and every attendee has the appropriate amount of money prepared to use. Though many will not “win their bets”, they still have options to donate to divisions of their choice, and we also ask that you all cooperate with a cordial Q & A to allow ample opportunity for potential collaborative projects. You are some of the most sought after alumni in Akademiya history.”
Kaveh moves on to the next slide titled Itinerary.
“Check-in for all guests will begin tomorrow evening around 4:30 and will last until about 6:30. Everyone will congregate in Deshret Ballroom A for a welcome dinner and a run down of proper procedures such as zero tolerance policies and codes of conduct. Your physical safety is our main priority, and while we have already expressed this when inviting guests, we will reiterate that we have every right to revoke a bid if any such inappropriate behavior occurs. There will be no refund in this scenario.” Nahida explains the well-developed visual guide of the itinerary, which contains maps of the main locations, where all the groups will be located, as well as guaranteed privacy from all attendees up until the actual bidding. Everyone is impressed with the care and detail Nahida, Kaveh, and Nilou put towards this event.
“Layla will be your main point of contact should you have any questions or concerns between now and the event. As much as I would love to be your main head of communications, I have a feeling my attention will be pulled in a multitude of directions, and I don’t want to seem as though I’m ignoring any of you. I hope you all can understand.” Everyone nods politely. “Does anyone have any questions?”
“Is the Q & A before or after the bids?” Alhaitham asks with a raised hand.
“It will be after. We’ll officially release you to your dates after the session. This guarantees satisfaction for those who don’t win their bets to be able to converse with whoever among you they want. The Q & A will last about an hour with a 30 minute extension should it be necessary. Having it before would also defeat some of the mystery surrounding you all.”
“How could there be much mystery when you and Kaveh sent a list of our names? They could easily look us up online,” Tighnari inquires.
“That’s the part where I come in,” Layla speaks up, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Dori and I were able to hide your profiles on most public websites, and I believe Nahida requested that all the attendees have some level of integrity and not spoil too much for themselves. The only information she provided for them were your names, ages, sex, darshans, and current occupation. She’ll elaborate on you all during the actual event.” Nahida nods in confirmation.
“Any other questions, comments, or concerns? You all will be staying in a separate building from all the other attendees, if I forgot to mention that.” Everyone looks content with the information provided. Nahida smiles and lets out a sigh of relief.
“Alright, with all that said, it’s getting late. Let’s all get some rest and relax tomorrow. If you have some last minute shopping to do, tomorrow afternoon would be a great time to do so. Ok! I’m really looking forward to kicking this off two days from now!”
“Do you need to shop for anything tomorrow, Cyno?” Tighnari asks while he, Alhaitham, and Kaveh get comfortable in their hotel room.
“I kind of want to get a new tie for my suit. It’s too boring in my opinion, and I kind of feel like being “the jokester” for this event. I’m hoping that will make me seem more approachable.”
“What kind of tie do you have currently?” Kaveh questions.
“It’s just a boring, solid colored purple necktie. Here, I’ll show you my outfit for Saturday,” Cyno says, beginning to rummage through his luggage.
“Oh, I’ll pull out mine too. Maybe I should do the same thing and see if I can spice up my accessories,” Kaveh agrees, doing the same as Cyno.
“I don’t mind being a plain Jane. I’m hoping that’ll score me someone easy to tolerate,” Alhaitham calls from the bathroom, just now stepping out from his shower.
“Good luck with that,” Tighnari snickers. “Girls always find a way to flock to your personal space despite you doing absolutely nothing. I have a feeling the same thing is gonna happen Saturday.” Alhaitham shivers quietly at his friend’s teasing words. Kaveh and Cyno giggle like high school girls about what kind of accessories to shop for tomorrow, the cherry on top being Cyno daring to buy a “neon purple penguin tie” because why not. Tighnari rolls his eyes at their antics.
“I’m gonna go ahead and get my shower so I can sleep. If you want to find that tie then you better be prepared to wake up early,” Tighnari warns, giving the two a knowing glare.
“We’ll wake up early, mom, we promise,” Cyno and Kaveh swear with their hands over their hearts. Tighnari rolls his eyes one more time before hopping into the bathroom.
It’s Tighnari who can’t seem to get some shut eye. Everyone else is sound asleep, the quiet snores of Alhaitham being the only sound in the room. Tighnari quietly lifts his sheets and scuttles out of bed, gently opening the patio door to get some fresh air. This event shouldn’t be bothering him as much as it is. Despite all the care and attention Nahida and Kaveh put into guaranteeing a safe and fun time, Tighnari can’t help but feel nervous. There weren’t many people who looked like him, what if all the bidders don’t like his ears or tail? What if he’s not as well dressed? What if he’s too nerdy? Doubt creeps up his shadow, stalking the rapidly increasing beat of Tighnari’s heart. It’s ready to pounce, but it holds back for some inexplicable reason. Despite his anxiety, there’s a small grin hiding behind his lips. There are plenty of people out there, and many of the attendees tomorrow want some form of collaboration.
Somebody has to stick, right?