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ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ ᴍᴀʜᴀᴍᴀᴛʀᴀ ([personal profile] cashewlater) wrote2023-03-27 07:02 pm
citer: (pic#15994040)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-28 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[ in theory, tighnari knows scars. he'd spent six months with his ears pinned back beneath his veil pepper the brightest medical minds from liyue regarding eleazar prognoses, observing the excising of necrotic tissue from acute scaling and monitoring the long, extensive and painful healing process that followed. before that, it had been the specialty doctor from the bimarstan hand-picked to keep the valuka shunas healthy and hale, and before that - well, tighnari has always stolen knowledge from wherever he can.

cyno's scars speak of war, not illness. they crisscross his body like the unflinching grip of a claw, paler against his skin wherever nerve-dead tissue sunk into skin. he counts and loses count in the brief span of time it takes for cyno to raise his arm to the couch proper the number of individual scars that he wears much like a matter of fact statement. he wonders if he feels anything there, or if the nerve tissue is beyond repair.

tighnari slowly nods his head.
]

You would have remembered the ears. [ he says, another joke shared. ] But I'm not being facetious. With my ears and tails hidden, I look like any other human, though perhaps I may be less coffee-filled and sleep-deprived.

You resided in the Matra quarters, then. All your life?
citer: (pic#15994039)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-28 07:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[ at this, tighnari smiles.

before he is able to speak, the door's soft, silver chime interrupts them. the household staff carries in their meal: a steaming platter of vegetarian biryani, perfect, fluffy golden grains of basmati rice cradling a bouquet of saffron, cilantro and delicate sprigs of freshly-picked mint. six gleaming roasted figs arranged artistically around a sumeru rose-shaped ceramic container of a pale, white cashew dip, escorted by a crescent of assorted smoked and dried meats soaked in enough spice that tighnari's nose twitches at its scent. two, pale-white namkeen lassis stand in tall glasses rimmed with padisarah petals carefully pressed into salt-and-sugar crystals.

the head of household introduces the platter, her eyes only lingering a little upon the scandalous hitch of tighnari's sleeves, still tied back like that of a common port-side labourer. to her credit, she says nothing - the platters are placed in front of them on the low table, and the household files out in neat, orderly lines. tighnari watches the door slide shut behind them, and then, because he can, he pushes his sleeves up just a little more.
]

Food, first. [ his eyes glint. he holds out a fig to cyno. ] And then I'll tell you about how this isn't the first time we've spoken.
citer: (pic#15994037)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-28 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[ when cyno holds his breath, the entire world seems silent in return. interesting, tighnari thinks. he watches the household as if he himself is prey, not predator.

a fig for himself, and a tidbit filed away for later perusal. tighnari's eyebrows quirk.
]

You also seem like a driven man. I have my doubts that you'd eat while we talked, unless I were to wrangle a promise out of you to that effect.
citer: (pic#15994040)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-28 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it suddenly occurs to tighnari, sitting across from the general mahamatra with a veritable feast for the eyes and soul between them, that he's never had anyone's word before. the realisation that he doesn't quite know how to gauge it, or even what to do with it - that rankles at him in a way that he can't quite parse. but even valuka shuna are the children of sumeru. like the children of liyue, who uphold contracts at the expense of their soul, and the children of mondstadt, who choose freedom above all else, any child of sumeru would choose to seek wisdom beyond the pall of what's reasonable. even a little thing like this piques him, it has him hungry in a way that has nothing to do with food.

so, his ears flicker. he takes a bite of his roasted fig. the caramelised flesh of the fruit melts like butter upon his tongue.
]

One more thing. [ he's pushing his luck, he knows. but curiosity sits nestled in between the sharpened points of his incisors, and he's always wanted to know what it would taste like if he bit down. ] After I explain, I'm going to ask you for a favour. I would like your word [ he savours the words there like the sugary aftertaste of a well-roasted fig, slowly and with no little pleasure - ] that you would consider my request seriously.
citer: (pic#15994037)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-28 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ... tighnari smiles. ]

I believe you.

[ it's said simply. faith starts like this, he knows. tighnari pulls his tail up next to him, and begins to card his fingers through the dried meats, searching for the least seasoned slice of it to swallow. ]

You have been working on a case. Researchers from Spantamad Darshan have disappeared, all of whom have expertise in robotics and elemental fuel for artificial creations. Further more, various parts and orders from Port Ormos have gone missing as well, their disappearance tied to a series of forest fires in northern Vissudha field. You were dispatched to find the person responsible, and bring them to justice. I trust that this is more than familiar, so far?
citer: (pic#15994032)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-28 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[ it's remarkable to tighnari that cyno's body language is as expressive as it is. he feels, rather than sees, the tension in cyno's shoulders, the way he examines him as if looking for a crack within a mysterious veneer. a question unasked - not for the lack of curiosity, but, tighnari thinks, of trust. he's also continued to eat his biryani.

in turn, tighnari fetches for himself another slice of roasted fig.
]

A crucial clue you found was the crushed petal of an unknown flower. Amurta driyoshes consulting on the case noted that it was a petal from a young flower of the Tacca genus, though the plant is not known for any commercial uses and its general location within that quadrant of forest is not well-studied. Knowing where to look, however, would allow you enough time to capture those involved without further sacrifices, or time allowed for them to complete their project.

Your colleague consulted with a source in order to map out the possible locations where the Tacca genus could cluster based on soil composition, weather patterns, nutrient pathways and leyline disturbances within the past year. [ his ears dip. the fig disappears between his fangs. ] I was the source. The report you read on the matter was mine. So in a sense, I have spoken to you.
citer: (pic#15994040)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-29 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
[ he's never been called incredible before. rationally speaking, each word will eventually be applied to each individual at some point in time in their lifetimes. what tighnari did was not particularly exceptional: he had time, and the wherewithal to live inside the house of daena until he pulled up each and every topographical survey done in the past decade of the vissudha river. only a slave without purpose would have the sheer time and energy to do so.

cyno's lips quirk. tighnari- well.
]

When you detain the culprit [ he says - when, as if it were a foregone conclusion, because it is. because it's the general mahamatra - because it's cyno. ] I would like to see the project they were working on before it's destroyed; the project of creating sentience.
Edited (im sorry that punctuation was going to bug me) 2023-03-29 00:37 (UTC)
citer: (pic#15994032)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-29 12:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ the onus is on him to explain, he knows. the issue is, tighnari isn't sure how to. he's never had to, not once. nobody has ever expected an explanation of him, because valuka shuna were not listened to. he finds that he likes it, this new accountability, and the steady cast of cyno's eyes as he studies something in tighnari's expression beyond what tighnari is able to guess.

he takes off his veil. the silver jangle of the chained baubles keeping it looped around his ears slide onto the table between them. he pulls one padded foot up onto the couch, and swishes his fingers for yet another less-seasoned slice of meat.
]

I'm likely to explain it inadequately. [ he admits, ] But I know something about being created, or a born, for a purpose outside of one's control. Whatever it is, if it has sentience or not, I think someone who understands what it went through ought to acknowledge it before it's gone from the world.

[ ... ] That's what I think, anyway.
citer: (pic#15994040)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-29 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ it's an honest response. tighnari had only asked for cyno to consider his request seriously. he has been, he thinks, considered seriously, with the same weight that those making the same request would deserve.

it's a novel feeling, to know that he is being treated on equal footing as all of the other children of sumeru. he is pleased by it, and it shows in the dip of his ears.
]

Please do. [ he says, and means it. then: ] Are you going to finish that biryani?
citer: (pic#15994032)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-29 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
What is it?

[ says he, half-way through burying a small plate with biryani. ]
citer: (pic#15994032)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-29 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ ........

it's such an unexpected thing that tighnari has to pause to reorient himself. his ears cock, first to one side, and then to a confused other. there are some rapid reassessments being made right now, and he's not sure what to address first.
]

You're speaking of the duty to satisfy you sexually. [ he says, slowly. because just making it clear - is this the thing that they're not saying outright right now??? ]
citer: (pic#15994040)

[personal profile] citer 2023-03-29 01:59 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ah. he shoots cyno a discerning look from across the divan. ]

I appreciate you giving me the choice of it. I assumed that this was simply a need that was commonplace, to be fulfilled between people. [ a hesitant beat. but in full disclosure: ] It should not surprise you, but as Valuka Shuna, we are trained.

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