for @citer

[cashewlater]

Comments

[citer]

I'll come with you. I've never seen your headquarters. I would ask if your subordinates are there, but as the General Mahamatra, are all matra not your subordinates?

[cashewlater]

It's hardly interesting, but if you'd like to see it, I won't deny you - and yes, they are. It still feels a little strange.

[citer]

How so?

[cashewlater]

Well, they were my equals, once. Not so long ago. Some of them don't approve of my appointment.

[citer]

Have they shown their displeasure?

[cashewlater]

No, and I don't think they will. They're loyal to Sumeru, even if they don't like me. Thankfully, it's only a handful of men.

[citer]

Does it bother you enormously?

[cashewlater]

Enormously? No. They're loyal, and do their work, they can think whatever they like.

[citer]

I see.

[ they ought to start from the opposite end of the spectrum, but tighnari thinks - he might know how this feels, in a strange sort of way. ]

When I began speaking to the doctors and Herbads, there were looks of suspicion. I had no rank or identity, but I had limited freedom in doing what I did. And then, when I started gaining knowledge, those that I spoke to found it unconscionable. How can someone without a background or a Darshan know what I know? How can that be allowed?

The heart's of people are prone to envy, I find. There are always those who don't accept, and covet, the talents of others.

[cashewlater]

Mm.. you're right. Though I think there was more to it than envy.

[ cyno is, after all, desert-born, and he is not a renown researcher, either. more than a handful of people think him undeserving. ]

[citer]

Perhaps. Though I don't suppose that fundamentally changes anything. They limit their own growth by picking at the leftovers of others. If they had time to cast annoyed looks, they have time to bury their noses in another paper, for all the good that will do them.

[cashewlater]

I suppose they're capable of multitasking.

[citer]

Do they seem like it? I've seen them from afar. None of them looks like they're capable of handling one task while walking a straight line, let alone two. At the Akademiya, I once observed a Matra officer bring a ladder to a bookshelf. His quarry was on the bottom shelf.

[cashewlater]

Ah..

[ cyno frowns. his face warms. ]

Well, I have no excuse for that.

[citer]

[ ... wait. ]

That was you?

[cashewlater]

No!

[ tighnari please!! ]

But as General Mahamatra, I am responsible for my officers.

[citer]

[ suspicious glance. ]

... I suppose you wouldn't have much reason for a ladder. You would just jump, or climb. I've heard you can round up three hundred men in a single night's work; a bookshelf wouldn't pose significant trouble.

[cashewlater]

Well, it took a bit into the morning, too.

[ cyno is.. very good at his job. he frowns, giving tighnari a playful pinch to his hip. ]

Don't give me that look.

[citer]

[ at that, tighnari's look of suspicion, which had been thin to begin with, melts into a laugh. ]

I'm teasing. And there's no need to take responsibility for some of the actions of your men. As General Mahamatra, I doubt there is any training you can conduct to impart common sense.

Let their envy and grumbling be bygones. I know your worth; is that not enough?

[cashewlater]

[ at that, cyno's brows lift just a bit, and tighnari will feel him settling, calming, and the hum he breathes is soft, fond. ]

.. it's enough. It's more than enough.

[ cyno has no desire to prove himself to anyone, after all, but he finds he desires tighnari's approval regardless. ]

[citer]

Good.

[ says he, and means it with a faint sense of marvel - after all, who would take seriously the opinions of a valuka shuna? but he has been heard today, and cyno's presence is steadfast behind him. he pats cyno's hands, and then gently shuffles to get the reins back. ]

So, how far off a ride are we now? Will we take a break at the village?

[cashewlater]

I hadn't planned to break, no. We're about an hour off. Are you getting tired?

[ of course he's trying to get the reins back. cyno smiles, and allows it. ]

[citer]

No. [ tighnari says, shaking his head, and he finds that he means it. the fresh air does one good. ]

When you travel alone, is there anything in particular you do to pass the time?

[cashewlater]

Well, when I'm riding, I'm usually moving much faster than this, so my attention is mostly on the road, and the horse. When walking, my thoughts alone keep me company.

[ work thoughts, usually.. though as of late, they have been drifting. ]

[citer]

Is that so? [ there's a keen glint there as tighnari eyes the road. ] Let's have Hanan trot, then; I can't have you suggesting that I slow you down.