for @citer

[cashewlater]

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[citer]

[ cyno approaches. the shade cast from his body alone is comforting. tighnari leans into it with just the barest hint of remaining grace. he breathes in the steady warmth of his scent, and then, because he is tighnari, casts an assessing glance up and down. injuries? signs of struggle? the prick of a cactus, or the bite of a scarab?

he relinquishes half of the sunsettia to hanan, then pulls himself up with a flick of an ear. ]

A real one, or another one of those sand ones?

[cashewlater]

[ no, no scarab bites or cactus pricks. he'd run into a handful of eremites, but they'd recognized him as the general mahamatra and fled, rather than engaging. sometimes his reputation is useful. ]

Yes, a proper one, with plenty of water and shade. [ a beat. ] Really, Tighnari, we can return you to Aaru Village and I can do this on my own. There's no need for you to torment yourself.

[citer]

Ugh. [ tighnari chances a glance out of the shade - and his entire head goes up in flames for it. the heat is stifling. he retreats with a shake of his head. ]

Normally, I would be happy to be stubborn - but I think reason and clear thinking needs to win out. Will you walk me back?

[cashewlater]

[ cyno half-expects that tighnari will be stubborn about it, but it's a testament to just how miserable this is for him that he instead relents. cyno releases a soft, sympathetic breath, and nods. ]

Yes. Ride with me on Hanan. It'll keep you better shaded, and you won't need to exert yourself.

[ unhooking his waterskin, he hands it down. tighnari has one of his own, of course, but cyno's is freshly refilled from the oasis, and the water is still cool. ]

[citer]

[ cyno hands tighnari his waterskin. tighnari takes it. the skin itself is warm to the touch, but a quick sip of the water shows a vast improvement from the lukewarm skin that tighnari has. he drinks gratefully as he stands there, the flick of his tail brushing gently against cyno's leg in a wordless gesture of thanks. ]

It's vexing. [ is what he says with a sigh, finger still curled around the cooling lip of the waterskin. ] I'm far more useless to you here than I thought I would be.

[cashewlater]

[ a weary smile, also sympathetic. he knows full well how terrible it must feel, when this is something they decided to do together, but some things cannot be foreseen, and the desert is an incredibly harsh environment. ]

Your company alone has been useful to me. You can make use of yourself in Aaru Village, as well, so try not to worry too much.

[ he offers a hand down. ]

[citer]

[ cyno extends his hand. tighnari takes it. he hefts himself onto hanan's back, carefully arranging himself in the shadow of cyno's body. tighnari winces - in the height of the desert, cyno's usually comforting heat is sweltering. his tail flicks once, then stills. ]

Oh, no, I'm not worried. I'll dry up long before I'm able to. But there are people to question in Aaru village, and eremites pass through periodically enough that I won't lack for people to talk to. It's frustrating to know that I'm useless out there, that's all.

[ a sigh, soft. ] How far away is this oasis?

[cashewlater]

[ dalir is leashed to hanan, and they begin to ride - cyno wastes no time. the sooner they get to the oasis, the sooner tighnari can find some relief. the wind, at least, will alleviate some of the heat, though it, too, is wickedly hot. ]

An hour's ride, if we're quick. Hang in there.

[citer]

Hang in where? [ the bleary flicker of tighnari's ears. ] I only have your arms.

[cashewlater]

[ heh. cyno manages a dry smile, and he cranes his head to press a soft, brief kiss to tighnari's damp temple. such things have become.. absurdly easy. ]

Close your eyes, focus on breathing. We'll be there before you know it.

[citer]

[ despite the stifling cage of heat - the kiss bleeds through, something cool and kind. tighnari sighs. his hand squeezes cyno's, before it falls away - best not to trap heat further. ]

I'd hope so; I don't want to be lucid for every moment of the journey. But if I close my eyes now, I might fall asleep. I might never wake again.

Pose me a question.

[cashewlater]

Honestly. The dramatics.. [ falling asleep sounds like a fine idea, to cyno. ] But very well. What's the first book you remember reading?

[citer]

Ah... first book. [ thinking through mire is a slog - but the question focuses tighnari's tired mind. he leans back against cyno as he considers this. ] It must've been a picture book, though I couldn't describe it as reading. There were humans in the book. It wasn't the first time I've seen them, but I remember thinking that I didn't know humans had hair in those colours. Blue, green, silver...

Though if I open my eyes right now, I would see an example of the latter colour, wouldn't I. Or would the sun have me see red and blue instead?

[cashewlater]

[ a soft huff of a breathless laugh. ]

You'll simply have to see for yourself. [ no more desert for you, tighnari.. ] A picture book, then. And when did you first discover your love for the natural world?

[citer]

[ at this, the curve of tighnari's smile is a felt thing: ]

When I'd just learned that something as small as a little red mushroom could poison someone, obviously. [ obviously!! ] There seemed to be plenty of uses for that sort of thing. Mind you, I wasn't interested in seeing anyone dead - but a week's worth of discomfort would have been nice for certain researchers who

Ah, you're making me think. An overdose of Henna berries could be terrible, too.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno huffs a soft sound, turning his mouth and nose against tighnari's hair. ]

Remind me to never get on your bad side.

[citer]

Didn't you already do that? [ but it's light, for all the heat and drama. tighnari leans back into cyno's touch. there's a odd purr to his bottom lip as he considers this. ] I didn't even take a single bite out of you, so I'm not sure what you're so worried about.

[cashewlater]

That hardly counted.

[ it was only a tiff!! but tighnari will feel cyno's smile curving against his hair. ]

I can kill a man in a thousand different ways, but none of them involve poison.

[citer]

Isn't that why you have me?

[cashewlater]

It is now. [ cyno chuckles, breathing in tighnari's scent, and hums. ] Rest. We'll be there soon.

[ in fact, the glimmer of water can just be caught on the horizon. ]

[citer]

[ for a moment, tighnari's attention prickles. the stillness comes at a stifled beat. odd, he thinks - he knows cyno's motions. he knows the warmth of cyno's embrace. the sun flickers, and tighnari lets his eyes lid.

no, the moment passes. the oasis stretches just beyond the horizon. tighnari looks.

it turns out that there are more than just fungi ringing the little oasis that springs out from the middle of two, flanking sand dunes. alligators with their teeth spread wide - desert foxes scurrying away for the shade of the ajilenakh palms. tighnari dismounts gratefully, taking no time at all to make his way into the water. his ankles stir up mud. the waters are cool; he could submerge himself, though he would have to fight an alligator. he might just do that. ]

Bring the waterskins. I know you have three on you. [ and then - ] Are you truly so unaffected by the sun?

[cashewlater]

[ the oasis is a breath of fresh air, the wind itself a few degrees cooler where it blows off of the water. they dismount, and lead the horses to the shallows, where they drink gratefully beneath the shade of several ajilenakh palms. cyno eyes the wildlife around them, but nothing is approaching, so he unhooks the waterskins and carries them forward. ]

Of course not.

[ the heat takes its toll on cyno, as well, and its weight is writ across his face, skin flushed warm, sweat dampening the hair that clings to his skin. he drops his hood and takes a breath. ]

I feel it, just as you do. I'm simply good at bearing it.

[citer]

[ tighnari takes the waterskins. his fingers skim cyno's - the warmth there is like that of a little sunburst. he wrinkles his nose. ]

Has there been heat you could not bear?

[cashewlater]

Mm. Only once.

[ stripping off his cloak, cyno drapes it over a low slung palm and steps into the water just enough to submerge his ankles. ]

Heatstroke, when I was very young.

[citer]

[ in turn, tighnari fills their waterskins to the brim. he passes two along to cyno, and has the other one sit next to him as he dips the tip of his tail into the water. it's wonderfully cool.

a thoughtful murmur: ]

This would be before or after the Akademiya took you from the desert?