for @citer

[cashewlater]

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[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?

[cashewlater]

Before. Just before.

[ when his parents left him alone to die in the sands, and take his hellish power with him. the waterskins are replaced, one at his hip, another hooked to hanan's saddle. dropping low, cyno cups water in his hands, splashing it over his face. ]

Are you going to soak? I can keep the beasts at bay.

[citer]

[ just before. the heat is an inexorable blanket upon the alacrity of tighnari's mind, but even he cannot miss the implications. he lets his tail trail, and then, shaking his head, breathes out. even his breath feels scalding. it lingers between his teeth. ]

Do I need you to? I'm of a mind that I will wrestle them myself it they interrupt me. [ and then, because he's tighnari, there's no modesty in the world that prevents him from bending down and submerging his head entirely. he re-emerges with a gasp his ears flicking water up and out like a miniature rainshower. ] - ah.

That's better. I can think.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno can't help the fondness in his expression as he watches tighnari dip his entire head beneath the water, after insinuating that he would wrestle an alligator. despite how well they've come to know one another, cyno finds that tighnari always finds ways to surprise him with his specific brand of charm. ]

Well then, don't let me stop you, then. I'll enjoy spectating.

[citer]

Will you?

[ because you know what foxes do when their fur is wet?

tighnari begins to shake. ]

[cashewlater]

[ oh COME ON. so much for that swell of fondness. cyno is showered with droplets of fox water, and his expression soon flattens, deadpan. ]

.. I don't need help washing myself, thank you.

[citer]

[ tighnari's grin is infectious. ]

And yet you seemed to enjoy it back in the baths. Something wrong?

[cashewlater]

There were marked differences.

[ cyno lifts an arm, quick as lightning, and sends up a great splash toward tighnari with his palm. ]

[citer]

[ tighnari laughs. his tail wags through the water, solicitous, before he, too, sends a wave back. it's only fair. ]

Yes. You were bare, and I was scrubbing your back. I should've used my tail to do it - you seem to like it enough here.

[cashewlater]

[ that laugh is good to hear. tighnari has a lovely laugh. ]

You might as well have, it looks as if it would make an excellent scrub brush.

[citer]

You would call me a brush. [ the affronted flick of a wet ear - which only coincidentally sends a few droplets cyno's way. ] I don't know whether to be insulted, or whether to inform you that you are spoiled. A brush has bristles - shall I use my claws next?

[cashewlater]

Is that a threat? Are you threatening the former General Mahamatra?

[ cyno stretches back, resting his weight back on his palms. ]

Spoiled, hm?

[citer]

[ tighnari grins. ]

Can the former General Mahamatra not take the truth? Shall you arrest me?

[cashewlater]

Come closer, why don't you, and I'll show you.

[citer]

[ the very tip of tighnari's tail flickers. but this is tighnari; the alligators give him a wide, wide berth, and deservedly so, as he advances on cyno, wading through the water like a seaborn creature himself. tighnari is mere three inches away when he leans in, one hand on cyno's knee. ]

So? [ says he, damn and glistening in the water, ] Show me.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno's eyes follow him as tighnari slinks through the water, and the moment he is within range, cyno's hands strike out as quick as snakes, seizing tighnari and yanking him into his lap with a splash. ]

[citer]

[ as expected, cyno is quick. tighnari, who is not really in a hurry to get away, allows himself to be hauled up and out into cyno's lap with a laugh. half-soaked, he settles his weight against him. his retaliation comes in the form of a wet hand pushing through cyno's hair, dragging the silver strands back away from his face.

cyno's eyes look larger like this. tighnari's ears drip. something shivers through him. tighnari's lips part, and then shut - startled. ]

Alright, I'm here - I'm here. And now you're soaked, too. Happy now?

[cashewlater]

Yes. I am.

[ soaked, yes, but the water feels nice, wonderfully cool against overheated skin, so he's not complaining, especially when tighnari's hands drag through his hair. with a low hum, he butts their brows together, nudging his nose alongside tighnari's, inhaling his scent. ]

We'll make camp here for the night. It's going to get cold.

[citer]

[ cyno leans in, and instinctively, tighnari does, too. the long line of his neck is bare, his head lilted as he laughs into the proximity. behind him, his long, soaked tail begins to wag. ]

I'm going to relish the cold. I keep thinking that there must be some merit to those myths from desert tribes, with heroes that shoot down the sun with an arrow. I can think of no better heroic act.

[cashewlater]

[ cyno's mouth curves into a soft, easy smile, one hand hooking behind tighnari's nape to pull him in, to kiss him on the mouth, soft and sure. how good it feels, to be able to express himself in this way, to feel so close to another person; cyno has never known such warm, easy intimacy. he nips tighnari's lip, kisses him again, breaks away. ]

As a lover of plants, I would think you would have a better appreciation for the sun.

[citer]

[ cyno smiles. tighnari feels warm in a way that has nothing to do with the sands of the hypostyle, of the unending sear of the sun. he kisses him. tighnari kisses back. the flush of his lips, he knows, will be red tonight. it always is after cyno kisses him. the sensation cards through him once more, and behind him - the green of his tail is a waving, palm-coloured plume.

in turn, tighnari wrinkles his nose. ]

The sun had been about to set my fur on fire! Don't even mention it - I can feel it try again. Come, let's get out of the water. [ the swivel of his ears is sure - but this is cyno's territory. he asks: ] Should we shelter by the ruins, or under the trees?

[cashewlater]

[ cyno is skilled at reading people, and tighnari makes it all the easier with his features - he's long since learned the language of tighnari's ears and tail. he's pleased, and that pleases cyno. his hands skate down tighnari's back. ]

If your drama could keep you cool, you'd have no trouble surviving the desert. [ he teases, before he's ushering tighnari (regrettably) out of his lap. ] Here, under the trees, should be fine. No tribes hold territory here.