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.
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. ]
[ 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?
[ 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.
[ if cyno is here, tighnari thinks. but he is smiling, and he has made accommodations on tighnari's part. he is gallant, and he is worth is word.
tighnari's own lips curve in turn. ]
And you with me.
[ heh. ] Though let's see if you revisit that opinion once I tell your household to stop spicing their meats the way they do. The amount of seasoning on it today was unacceptable.
[ for better or for worse, cyno thinks he'll be pleased with his new companion, indeed. cyno does not.. make friends easily. most are frightened of or intimidated by him. others look down on him, for being born of the desert. but tighnari doesn't seem to do either, and he has a spark to him that cyno is quickly growing fond of. yes, he'll be comfortable. ]
Well, I doubt they like me any more than they like you, so. Say whatever you will.
[ that earns a flick of his tail. but he's warm, and full, and the day - well, it could have gone worse. tighnari nods. ]
Take a bath, then. And before you ask, I don't mind sharing a bed. They haven't prepared a second bed in this oversized palace of yours - don't get me started on what good having five other rooms is if none of them are hospitable - and I don't fancy sleeping on a couch. Do you mind?
[ a bath. that sounds.. very nice. cyno was out in the sun and humid air all day, he could use it. ]
No, I don't mind. [ though he's not used to sleeping beside a partner, he supposes he ought to get used to it. with a heavy sigh, cyno hauls himself to his feet. ] In that case, make yourself comfortable.
[ tighnari, please!! cyno's ears flush warm again, his thoughts briefly - very briefly - wandering. he's quick to tamp them down, and clear his throat. ]
I'm joking. But if you have need of it, you only need to say so. I do not belong to you, but we can be friends.
[ with a swish of his tail, he curls up into a stretch. and then, reaching for the platters, he begins stacking them. ] I'll go look into the other rooms in the meantime. I believe there are warcrimes being committed upon plants within this palace.
[ leaving tighnari to leave the platters outside. a silver bell calls for an attendant to take the plates away. he leaves instruction for clean sleeping clothes and undergarments to be left outside of the general mahamatra's bathroom, and then arranges for fresh blankets to be delivered instead of the silly, pompous silken things that they have decorating the bed, because who can get a good night's sleep on bedsheets that you can slide off of in the middle of the night?
the plants are indeed living a terrible and oppressed life. he moves no less than three trellises from little shady alcoves that would have them wilted in a fortnight or less, opening windows to let in the fresh air and to let the plants breathe. the evening air is pleasant. sumeru is warm in all seasons, but the temperature drops at night, when the sharp scent of the desert carries across the trees' canopies. tonight will be clear, he thinks, with nary a cloud, and few, highborn stars to look down upon sumeru's children. he thinks of the books he left behind in the palace of surasthana; perhaps he can catch cyno before he leaves tomorrow to have them delivered here. he will have to fight the archives for it, but it could possibly be done.
by the time he meanders back, time has passed. he picks up his veil from where he had left it on the divan, and makes his way over to the bedroom's doors, a pitcher of water in one hand and a slip of silk in the other. ]
Cyno.
[ he calls out, in case the man isn't decent and is going to be nonsensical about it. ]
he's had harder days, certainly, days much more difficult on his body, days much more exhausting, but this day was tiring in an entirely different way. he's not accustomed to being so social, to having so many eyes on him at once, to having gifts, some of them living and breathing, laid at his feet. tighnari was right to call it overwhelming, and the moment cyno sinks into the bath he finds his weight sagging, his eyelids heavy. one moment he's reclining in the hot water, his mind whirring with a thousand thoughts, and the next he's snapping awake at the sound of a voice at the door. ]
Ah - [ he starts, surprised, only mildly groggy. there's the sound of sloshing water as he unfolds himself and climbs to his feet, reaching for a thick towel. ] - a pot need moving?
- was just thinking that if you drowned, it would be a shame.
[ he sighs the way a long breath would, bated, held and then let loose upon the world. tighnari grabs a towel from where the maids had laid out cyno's sleeping clothes. ]
Hn. Glad to see you so concerned with my well-being.
[ and cyno thinks to protest, that he can certainly dry himself, but.. tighnari wouldn't be offering if it weren't something he wanted to do, and he knows full well that some people simply enjoy fussing. besides, it allows him to draw nearer to that sweet, floral scent again. and so he does, the door creaking as he releases it, and steps toward tighnari. ]
[ cyno comes in close, and tighnari meets him with the rough end of the towel. you have to get all the water out, you see. the first pass-through is a hair-ruffle. the next is to bleed the hair dry. and then, slowly but surely he works his way to the back of cyno's hair, smoothing out tangled rough patches as he works along. it's mindless work, but it's rewarding - before long, his hair is dry again, slowly gaining in volume with every pass of tighnari's hands.
there, he thinks, as he lets cyno go. ]
... better. Like this, you almost look yourself again.
[ touch is.. a strange thing, for cyno. technically speaking, he touches people often enough, but it is generally only in violence, never in tenderness. he can't remember the last time someone touched him like this, with a gentle(ish) hand - almost affectionate, and cyno finds that he enjoys it. for a moment his eyelids droop, and he presses his head into the rub of tighnari's palm, like a dog leaning into its master's touch.
before he knows it, it's over, and his fiery gaze flickers to something normal again. ]
[ like a titian sunset, tighnari thinks, and smiles. ]
Not yet. But I've convinced myself that the kalpana lotus trellises still being tortured under this roof can survive one more night in the shade. I need a bath something fierce. Have you left me any warm water?
[ tighnari has a lovely smile. cyno can't help but feel a little privileged to see it, to be the cause of it. he brushes past tighnari, toward where the clothing has been left beside the door. ]
All things considered, there should be plenty. Enjoy.
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[ 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?
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No. [ he says, slowly. ] But overwhelmed, perhaps. It has been quite the change today. Do you feel the same?
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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.
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tighnari's own lips curve in turn. ]
And you with me.
[ heh. ] Though let's see if you revisit that opinion once I tell your household to stop spicing their meats the way they do. The amount of seasoning on it today was unacceptable.
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Well, I doubt they like me any more than they like you, so. Say whatever you will.
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Take a bath, then. And before you ask, I don't mind sharing a bed. They haven't prepared a second bed in this oversized palace of yours - don't get me started on what good having five other rooms is if none of them are hospitable - and I don't fancy sleeping on a couch. Do you mind?
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No, I don't mind. [ though he's not used to sleeping beside a partner, he supposes he ought to get used to it. with a heavy sigh, cyno hauls himself to his feet. ] In that case, make yourself comfortable.
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[ tighnari, please!! cyno's ears flush warm again, his thoughts briefly - very briefly - wandering. he's quick to tamp them down, and clear his throat. ]
That.. won't be necessary.
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I'm joking. But if you have need of it, you only need to say so. I do not belong to you, but we can be friends.
[ with a swish of his tail, he curls up into a stretch. and then, reaching for the platters, he begins stacking them. ] I'll go look into the other rooms in the meantime. I believe there are warcrimes being committed upon plants within this palace.
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Suit yourself. Call if you need me to do any more heavy lifting.
[ and with that, he's disappearing into the en suite. ]
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the plants are indeed living a terrible and oppressed life. he moves no less than three trellises from little shady alcoves that would have them wilted in a fortnight or less, opening windows to let in the fresh air and to let the plants breathe. the evening air is pleasant. sumeru is warm in all seasons, but the temperature drops at night, when the sharp scent of the desert carries across the trees' canopies. tonight will be clear, he thinks, with nary a cloud, and few, highborn stars to look down upon sumeru's children. he thinks of the books he left behind in the palace of surasthana; perhaps he can catch cyno before he leaves tomorrow to have them delivered here. he will have to fight the archives for it, but it could possibly be done.
by the time he meanders back, time has passed. he picks up his veil from where he had left it on the divan, and makes his way over to the bedroom's doors, a pitcher of water in one hand and a slip of silk in the other. ]
Cyno.
[ he calls out, in case the man isn't decent and is going to be nonsensical about it. ]
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.. if he manages to stay awake in them, that is.
he's had harder days, certainly, days much more difficult on his body, days much more exhausting, but this day was tiring in an entirely different way. he's not accustomed to being so social, to having so many eyes on him at once, to having gifts, some of them living and breathing, laid at his feet. tighnari was right to call it overwhelming, and the moment cyno sinks into the bath he finds his weight sagging, his eyelids heavy. one moment he's reclining in the hot water, his mind whirring with a thousand thoughts, and the next he's snapping awake at the sound of a voice at the door. ]
Ah - [ he starts, surprised, only mildly groggy. there's the sound of sloshing water as he unfolds himself and climbs to his feet, reaching for a thick towel. ] - a pot need moving?
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Did you fall asleep in the bath?
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.. yes.
[ and, quickly wringing out his hair, cyno steps from the bath and slings the towel around his hips, before he moves to open the door. ]
I'm sorry, I suppose I was more tired than I thought. Do you need something?
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[ he sighs the way a long breath would, bated, held and then let loose upon the world. tighnari grabs a towel from where the maids had laid out cyno's sleeping clothes. ]
Come here, you'll catch a cold like that.
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[ and cyno thinks to protest, that he can certainly dry himself, but.. tighnari wouldn't be offering if it weren't something he wanted to do, and he knows full well that some people simply enjoy fussing. besides, it allows him to draw nearer to that sweet, floral scent again. and so he does, the door creaking as he releases it, and steps toward tighnari. ]
I'll be fine.
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there, he thinks, as he lets cyno go. ]
... better. Like this, you almost look yourself again.
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before he knows it, it's over, and his fiery gaze flickers to something normal again. ]
Finished with your plants?
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Not yet. But I've convinced myself that the kalpana lotus trellises still being tortured under this roof can survive one more night in the shade. I need a bath something fierce. Have you left me any warm water?
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All things considered, there should be plenty. Enjoy.
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