for @citer

[cashewlater]

Comments

[cashewlater]

[ a quirk of his mouth. ]

Yes. You've made your interest in plantlife abundantly clear. I look forward to seeing what you do with the gardens, should it interest you to maintain them.

[citer]

And if I decide to turn your ornamental garden, which was designed not to be walked in, into a herb patch?

[cashewlater]

Do you think that would bother me? Do what you like, with it.

[citer]

Good. [ another flick of said tail. ] Because I was thinking of it when I was being walked in today.

Did you know that half of Sumeru is experiencing a water shortage? With the way your groundskeepers have been watering that thing, I feel as though they're afraid you won't have a swamp on your hands by the end of it. I get a headache just looking out onto the terrace. At the very least, a herb garden will grow the medication needed to mitigate migraines, rather than create them, wouldn't you say?

[cashewlater]

You have an opinion on everything, don't you?

[ said without bite, only amusement, as cyno takes another drink of his lassi. ]

Very well, I'll tell the groundskeepers that you're their new lord. [ he's sure they won't love that. ] Everything regarding its maintenance goes through you. You're the expert, after all.

[citer]

[ his eyes glint at this. yes, he will be looking forward to their faces. ]

I am not an expert in all things that I have opinions on, but in this, I do. You seem eager to offload responsibility of this estate. This isn't to your taste, is it.

[cashewlater]

[ at this, cyno grunts his displeasure. ]

I've no need of all of.. this. It would be rude to reject it, of course, but no, it's not to my taste. [ clearly enough. ] But it is what it is.

[citer]

Make it to your taste, then. Otherwise, the resources put into it will go to waste. You might as well make do.

[cashewlater]

Make it to your taste. Like as not you'll be here far more than I will, and I want you to be comfortable.

[citer]

Do you have a second abode in the city? Or are you speaking of the Matra quarters?

[cashewlater]

Neither. I spend a lot of time working.

[citer]

You must eat. Sleep?

[cashewlater]

Of course. Still, sometimes I'm out of the city for days, or longer, if I'm tracking a suspect. Especially if they attempt to escape to the desert. Even in the city, my days are long.

[citer]

[ finally, tighnari lifts his head to take in his surroundings proper. the opulent room they're in stretches more than several wing-spans, doors with arched doorframes leading to mazy corridors upending in more rooms, and even more rooms to boot. the singular door leading to the bedroom is one that he'd explored earlier, while trying to figure out where they were hiding all the cacti.

his ear curves. tighnari stretches his toes. ]

I see. [ is all he says. ] I'll make do, then. Be sure to tell the relevant people of my newfound authority. You won't like the arguments that will break out otherwise.

[cashewlater]

I will.

[ he'd rather tighnari not be mistreated and belittled in his absence, though he gets the impression that tighnari can look after himself easily enough. ]

Are you displeased?

[citer]

[ there may be a new flower patch when he returns. there may be bodies in it. ]

Displeased? No. I was taking a measure of the place. It's smaller than the Sanctuary of Surasthana. The only thing two the places have in common is that neither were built to be lived in, but I've made do before. I will again.

[ his ears tilt back as he finishes his lassi. stomach full, he pulls his second foot up, his tail a comfortable curl around him as he smiles. ] But we are off topic. I only intended to tell you how we've spoken, and also that your contact who consulted me gave me a brief overview of what you are capable of. You were speaking of your powers - go on.

[cashewlater]

[ ah. at that, cyno needs to backtrack the conversation in his mind, a little, to remember why he had brought them up in the first place. ]

You'd asked if I'd resided in the Matra's Quarters my entire life, and my answer was no. Before that, I was kept privately by the Akademiya. [ a beat. ] For research purposes.

[ cyno, too, sets down his mostly empty glass of lassi, and reclines again, his gaze dropping briefly to that very plush looking tail, then back to tighnari's face again. ]

It's public knowledge, that a second spirit resides within me.

[citer]

[ his smile fades. tighnari's ears pull back, a quick flicker of a thing. his solemn gaze rests upon cyno, considering. ]

Hermanubis.

[cashewlater]

Yes, Hermanubis. The sages were very interested in my abilities. I was taken in by a Spantamad professor, until I was able to graduate and become a Matra.

[ tighnari looks somber, but cyno speaks matter-of-factly, his expression smooth, and easy. ]

And after that, well. Here we are.

[citer]

[ as if being researched for a spirit within you were mere fact within fiction. tighnari thinks of this for a moment. ]

Does the spirit disrupt your functioning in any capacity? Personality shifts, perhaps?

[cashewlater]

Not anymore, no. It did, once. [ a thoughtful frown. ] When I was a child, it was much more difficult to control; I've since learned the discipline needed to keep it leashed.

[citer]

I see. You must have had to work hard at it.

[cashewlater]

Mm.. I had help. I wasn't alone, not once I was taken in. Professor was very good to me, and gave me a chance that few desert-born are given.

[ cyno's gaze shifts toward the terrace doors, where the slanting light of sunset has given way to dusk, the sky darkened save for a soft glow on the horizon. ]

Are you tired?

[citer]

[ is he? tighnari finds that he doesn't know. it had been quite a day. they'd finished the food, at least. the platters stand empty; he'll bring it over to the door to be retrieved in time, and then he'd like to see the other plants in the building, to begin moving them to areas where they will thrive, rather than languish in shadows for the sole sake of people to marvel over their slowly dying forms. but that can wait. there will be time for that. there will be too much time. ]

No. [ he says, slowly. ] But overwhelmed, perhaps. It has been quite the change today. Do you feel the same?

[cashewlater]

[ cyno smiles, the curve of his mouth soft, and genuine. ]

Yes. This evening certainly took an unexpected turn. [ he certainly hadn't expected a legendary concubine to be dropped so suddenly into his lap. an opinionated, fierce, difficult one, at that. ] I know this isn't the ideal, for you. That this surely isn't how you wanted to live your life, but.. I hope you'll be as comfortable as possible, here. With me.