for @citer

[cashewlater]

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[cashewlater]

[ at that, cyno's brows lift, but then.. he smiles, slow and soft. ]

Thank you. [ it's not often that cyno is thanked for doing what he does, after all. ] I'm glad to have met you, Tighnari.

[ his life is richer, for having tighnari in it. ]

I'd like to learn more about you.

[citer]

[ at this, tighnari smiles. ]

I daresay you know more about me than anyone alive on Teyvat right now. Not enough?

[cashewlater]

Well, I know you, but I can't say I know about you. Your family. Your upbringing. Though I understand if you'd rather not disclose.

[ he knows little enough about valuka shuna - only what tighnari has told him. ]

[citer]

[ tighnari's ears flicker. he considers this. the scent of mint between them is overwhelming. ]

Family... huh. Like you, I don't remember much of that. Family has always been an academic concept. I learned about it in books after I gained access to the House of Daena. Here is the logic of it: all Valuka Shuna must come from other Valuka Shuna. And yet all Valuka Shuna are eventually given away to belong to those within the Akademiya. Where do you think new Valuka Shuna come from?

[cashewlater]

[ oh. hmm. ]

I suppose.. I had assumed that not all Valuka Shuna were given away, I suppose. Is that not the case?

[citer]

I thought the same. [ the paste is done. tighnari adds a little bit of river water to dilute it, and then, mixing it, begins to unwrap the silks of his wound. the layers come apart one by one, dyed first in black, and then the red of something fresh. ]

I thought there would be a breeding stock of Valuka Shuna kept behind. But there aren't enough of us. I'd learn this later. There are five of us left, and not counting myself, three have already been given away.

[ a beat. ] I am capable of having children. If I were to have a child, they would return to being the property of the Akademiya.

[cashewlater]

Five?

[ cyno's eyes widen in abject shock, and soon after his expression settles into quiet, dangerous fury. tighnari's predicament has never sat right with him, but this.. his mouth presses into a thin line. ]

I see. I'm sorry that this is happening to your people. To anyone at all. It isn't right, and once all of this passes..

[citer]

[ cyno's fury is like that of a lit flame. it starts in the startling, titian sunset of his eyes, the set of his shoulders, and it ends in the tension of his hands. tighnari looks at him. something in him stirs. ]

Cyno. [ he calls out to him. ] I understand how you feel. But one thing at a time - Azar has resources, and the Valuka Shuna are one of them. The people that they are given to are rewarded for a reason - they are capable, and they are also at his beck and call. There will be many people to dismantle before you can get to the root of a system like this. We can't rush.

[cashewlater]

[ he knows that there is truth behind tighnari's words, knows it from his work alone, in how long many of his investigations take. he's patient. and yet. ]

I know. But people are suffering.

[ and knowing the truth of it, the depth of it - gods, it makes him feel so helpless. if he could erase all the pain and wrong from the world with the snap of his fingers - cyno sighs slowly through his nose. ]

Just know that it's on my mind. I won't let anyone take anything from you again, if I can help it. Especially not a child.

[citer]

I won't either. [ says tighnari, and he's not surprised that he means it. he smears mint into his wound, and winces at the sting. it is what it is, however. this will prevent infection. tomorrow morning, he will check it in the light, and see how deep the damage is.

tonight, he tears off another strip of silk. ]

And I trust you.

[cashewlater]

[ those words ease his heart, especially after their little spat earlier in the evening. that feels like a lifetime ago, now, despite being only a handful of hours. ]

Let me.

[ he says, taking the silk strip from tighnari's grasp. it'll be easier for cyno to wrap it, with two good hands. ]

[citer]

[ it had been the right thing to do, to verbalise it. there had been a time wherein tighnari had thought he had put all of his trust into the world already. there had only been so much of the world that he could, in fact, trust. but his world has grown wider for it, and there had been a moment tonight where the cold stone in tighnari's stomach had told him cyno, too, could open one hand, and close the other.

cyno had kept both hands open. tighnari had regretted not trusting him. he will, he thinks, trust him. not because he has to, but because he wants to.

he extends his hand to cyno. ]

Thank you. [ tighnari's tail curls around him. the tip rests by cyno's foot. ] You didn't have it easy either, though. Did many people get angry on your behalf?

[cashewlater]

I managed. I was very fortunate, I think, to have been picked up by the Professor. He gave me a chance at education, gave me a life I never could have had without him.

[ and cyno is grateful for it. carefully, but snugly, he wraps the silk around tighnari's hand with the skill of someone who has wrapped many wounds. his work is neat. ]

Why would anyone be angry on my behalf? Especially on this side of the wall?

[citer]

I was just thinking. [ tighnari's head bows. the tips of his ears nearly alight themselves upon the crown of cyno's head. ] You get angry on my behalf so easily. So it wasn't a learned behaviour.

It's just you.

[cashewlater]

.. mm.

[ it's just him. this, perhaps, is what makes him good at his job - cyno's ability to see injustice and act on it, with all the righteous fury of a god. his hands slow for a moment, as he frowns, before he's working at the wrap again. ]

I was.. jealous, I think. Tonight.

[ a feeling he's never really experienced, before. ]

[citer]

[ tighnari's ear flicks. he looks up. ]

Jealous? [ ... ] Of me?

[cashewlater]

Of them. I..

[ he keeps his gaze down, on their hands. ]

You seemed so happy, with them. You were radiant. I suppose I was worried that my company would never be good enough, that I couldn't compare.

[ he may be intelligent, and an akademiya graduate, but his field is very different from what tighnari is interested in. inadequacy is not a color he wore with grace. ]

[citer]

[ tighnari's silent as he considers this. the premise seems so patently absurd that he needs a moment to think, to process, and to rewind. it had been two hours. he had enjoyed it. and by the end, he had been ready to go home. ]

Compare to what, exactly? The men and women there would have sold me to Natlan royalty if they had thirty seconds to spare. And unless you suddenly developed an interest in the breeding and migration behaviours of Sumeran butterflies, you would have been bored stiff in that conversation.

I was happy, yes, but it was a different kind of happiness than when I am in your presence.

[cashewlater]

[ it absolutely is absurd, which is why cyno feels foolish even saying the words aloud, but insecurities do not always make sense; in fact, they are irrational more often than not. ]

That I couldn't compare to them. That you would rather spend your time among like minds, than you would with me.

[ cyno sighs, as he finishes, tying the silk bandage off in a neat knot. ]

Foolish, I know, but that's simply how I felt at the time. I should be happy that you were happy.

[citer]

[ cyno finishes dressing tighnari's wound. he flexes his hand experimentally, and finds that he still has the full range of use for his fingers - just a little stiff, but it feels better than it had all the ride here. tighnari dips his head in thanks, and considers this. ]

I don't see why you need to be. [ he says, at last. ] Being my friend doesn't mean you need to be happy whenever I am happy, or so I understand from the definition of friendship. Furthermore - that's an unrealistic burden to put on your shoulders. You should be allowed to be happy whenever you want to be, and annoyed whenever you want to be.

Just as I have the right to be annoyed at your annoyance.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno huffs through his nose. ]

I suppose so. I don't know that I entirely agree, but that is my right as well. [ a beat. ] How is the bandage?

[citer]

It's good. It'll hold. [ tighnari breathes out. ] But I won't be able to hold a bow until it heals, and perhaps I am not nearly as good with a knife as I need to be.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno nods, reaching for two packets of rations from the little table beside them. one is offered to tighnari. ]

You were good enough to take down an assailant, but there's always room for improvement. We'll continue your training. If we hit another ambush, I'll cover you, but with any luck we'll get to Caravan Ribat swiftly.

[citer]

[ in exchange, tighnari hands cyno three fresh zaytun peaches he'd found in one of the jars. as dinners go, it's kind of a nice one, he thinks, as he breaks into the rations with a thoughtful hum. ]

And it's into the desert from there, right? Where?

[cashewlater]

Yes.

[ cyno hardly realizes how hungry he was, until he bites into that sweet, fresh peach. he hums. ]

Aaru Village. It's not far beyond the wall, but I doubt Azar will pursue us past it. We'll be able to rest, and formulate.