for @citer

[cashewlater]

Comments

[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.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno considers this, with a frown. going too fast on one's first day on horseback isn't ideal, but they could get to the city more quickly if they speed up a bit. ]

Let's have the reins back, then. I'll take her up to a canter, but no faster.

[ and the tone of his voice says he's firm on that. ]

[citer]

[ his ears twitch beneath his cloak. tighnari eyes the reins still clutched between his hands, and then, because common sense always wins out, he hands them back. ]

Shall I have to move differently with her in a canter, or is it much the same theory? Up and down?

[cashewlater]

Up and down, forward and back. I think you'll get a feel for it once you experience it.

[ with the reins back in his hands, he eases hanan into a quicker gait, and when he's sure tighnari isn't falling off of her back, into a canter. it's always an exhilarating feeling. the wind of their movement blows back his hood, cyno's pale hair streaming against his back. he has to raise his voice a little, to be heard over the sound of hanan's hooves. ]

All right?

[citer]

[ hana begins to fly. tighnari braces himself, first with the caution of a first-time horse rider, and then with wide eyes as he allows himself to fall into her rhythm, braced against cyno's chest and feeling far more secure for it.

the scenery passes them by. he smiles, wide. ]

She has such a smooth gait. [ if his voice is a little high, just a little giddy - well. ] Does it not feel as though the world flies by?

[cashewlater]

[ cyno chuckles, the sound low and rich and warm. tighnari is doing well, and he seems to be enjoying himself a great deal, though cyno can hardly blame him. riding a horse is always an exciting, uplifting sort of feeling, and for tighnari, who has never experienced it before.. he's sure that feeling is strong. ]

Yes.

[ sumeru is a blur of beautiful browns and greens mingled with the blue of the sky as they ride, and he can't help but be reminded of tighnari's eyes. ]

Enjoying yourself?

[citer]

[ it doesn't feel ashamed at all to admit it. ]

I am. Hanan is a marvel. [ there's a hitch of a laugh there as they skip over a rock on the path, hanan's hooves quick and sure as she canters forward. there's a moment where tighnari grips cyno's arm lightly so that he can maintain his balance - he leans into him, eyes bright. ] And you so rarely take her out for a run. Look at what you miss by walking from Sumeru City and back.

[cashewlater]

[ tighnari's excitement is palpable, contagious, and when he leans back into cyno's arms he does not bite back the urge to press closer, his cheek pressed to the side of tighnari's head, into his soft hair. his breast swells with warmth, comfort, fondness. ]

Well, she'll be getting plenty of exercise soon enough, once you choose your own horse.

[citer]

[ cyno presses close, and tighnari warms. his ears flick beneath his cloak, the press of which is like a warm tremble against cyno's cheek, separated only by a layer of fabric. his tail thumps again, pleased. ]

Ah, you refuse to share Hanan. I see how it is.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno's heart thumps hard against his ribs, against tighnari's back; he hopes he does not read anything more than the excitement for the ride into it, but tighnari is sharp, and perceptive, and cyno has done a poor job of hiding his affections.

still, the flick of that ear and the thump of his tail pleases cyno. ]

Heh, don't be greedy, 'Nari. A horse of your own is not enough? You need mine?