for @citer

[cashewlater]

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[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.

[citer]

[ cyno's hand slides down the exposed line of his back - and tighnari shivers. the shiver carves through him. it fills him; it makes him hollow. the twitch of his ear is curious - but the moment passes, and the coolness of the moisture from cyno's palm settles. he sighs, and peels himself off of cyno so that he can assess tonight's campsight.

the palm leaves above sway. they will make a fine cover. the blankets on the horses, the branches available... ]

Let's move those rocks over here. [ he points. they aren't particularly large, but they'll serve as a good way to hold branches in place. tighnari stand, and absently reaches for his tail so he can wring water out of his fur. ] Also, can you find a branch long enough to reach the canopy? I'd like some of the nuts from the trees; after we've eaten them, the shells of the largest ones can be used to boil some soup.

[cashewlater]

[ the shiver is not lost on him, cyno feels it rippling against his palms, and it makes warmth bloom in his belly; tighnari often has this effect on him. but there's work to be done. once they've seen to camp and eaten, there will be plenty of time for them to rest, and indulge in one another.

and so they set to work. ]

No need for a branch for that.

[ instead, cyno leaps deftly onto the dip of the nearest palm's trunk, swinging himself easily upward, climbing to the apex of the tree to collect its nuts with little enough effort. ]

[citer]

[ heh. tighnari grins. it takes but a moment for him to fetch his bow - and then, he is aiming, the cant of his head thoughtful. the next nut that cyno reaches for is shot from its branch.

tighnari looks up. ]

You're right. No need for a branch.

[ he nocks his arrow. he points at the next tree. the challenge is clear. ]

[cashewlater]

[ oh, so it's to be a contest, is it? cyno would like to think he isn't competitive, but.. the moment tighnari takes aim at the next tree, cyno feels his adrenaline spike. all right, then. crouching, cyno tenses and leaps straight into the next palm, seizing the trunk and shaking it. ajilenakh nuts tumble freely into the sands. ]

[citer]

[ light a bolt from the blue, tighnari thinks. cyno in motion is visceral. he is lighting, and he is the resounding clap of thunder. he is a jagged line that blitzes into the canopy, and before long, nuts rain down. tighnari laughs. ]

Is this a contest of skill, or brute force? [ but his bow is already nocked and pointed towards an even further tree. his arrow sails - and crumbles upon impact. the shards split, the force of which concusses. the ajilenakh nuts spill from their mooring.

his bow turns again. ]

Across the oasis, Cyno. [ he nocks another arrow. another tree across the pond is in sight. ]