Cyno walks down the forest path, his footsteps brisk. It was one of his rare vacation days so he had no business to attend to. In his mind, however, his urgency was necessary.
A few days ago, Cyno received a letter from Collei. It was surprising to see an envelope written in her handwriting as she preferred to catch up in person. Its presence alarmed him. Something must be wrong.
Reading over the letter a few times, Cyno realized that he should be all that worried for Collei. But for Tighnari. According to Collei's words, Tighnari was working himself too hard and never allowed recovery for his illness. Collei was trying her best to get Nari to rest or eat steady meals, but he would refuse, stating that there was "more important matters".
Cyno couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's stubbornness. They are two of the same after all. But even so, if Tighnari saw him not taking proper care of himself then Cyno would be lectured by the Forest Watcher.
"If your health is not in top shape, then how will your actions to deliver justice turn out?" Cyno could just hear Tighnari's stern tone. Perhaps it should be Cyno giving him that lesson now.
Cyno didn't want Collei to get too worried over Tighnari, considering she is ill herself. He sighs and writes off three days from his schedule and sends it to his secretary. Someone needs to put the fox's head back on his shoulders, and Cyno knows that he is one of the only people who can do it.
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"She did WHAT?!" Tighnari exclaims with alarm and aggression. His hands slam on his desk and he kicks away his chair from underneath himself./p
A trainee Forest Ranger scratches his head and turns away from Tighnari, clearly intimidated by the glaring eyes and curled fists. The man speaks softly, so quietly that only Tighnari's sharp ears could pick up his murmur.
"She… took a bite of the mushroom. Ramona thought it was a regular Matsutake! But then she… passed out…"/p
Tighnari's eyes widen as he quickly grabs a buried book from his cluttered desktop. He scans the pages at a fast pace before landing on a certain mushroom species. He shoves the book in front of the Trainee.
"Did it have a flattened spiral on the pileus?
A paled face and a nod was the only response that Tighnari needed before he rushed out of the room and ran alongside the Trainee Forest Ranger to his patrol partner. The fox grits his teeth, strings of curses flying in his head.
"Why can't his comrades pay attention to his lessons? Take his advice to study plant and fungi species? And even more so… don't resort to the sense of taste to study a mushroom! Especially one that could be poisonous and possibly deadly.
"Fools." Tighnari thinks as he runs through the trees. "If they don't take note, their duties will become a death trap." He pulls back an arrow steadily on his bow, and it pierces through the chest of a hilichurl.
"Stay away from her!" Tighnari commands fiercely at the group surrounding an unconscious Ramona. Using his vision, he fires a burst of rapidly sprouting seeds that entrap the hilichurls in seconds. After a few moments, it is safe to say that he and the Trainee are able to chase them off.
Tighnari crouches down next to his fallen colleague and searches for a pulse. It is faint… but she was holding onto life. He could visually count her symptoms: swelling of the tongue and lips, decreased blood flow to the fingers, and less lung capacity for breathing.
It is a very good thing that Tighnari happened to have an antidote on hand. He is very careful and likes to create antidotes to potentially hazardous fungal species that he comes across. This species, however, is one that he learned as an Amurta student in the Akademiya.
It is a well-known red flag among those researchers.
Tighnari wraps Ramona's forearm tightly and loads a sterilized syringe with the antidote, his eyes focused intensely to be sure that he gets the exact dosage. Nothing more, nothing less. When he is ready, he injects the serum into her veins.
"She will likely be out for a few more hours. You may continue with your patrol, Trainee Ranger. Ramona will be in my care, I will monitor her recovery."
The Trainee nods and thanks Tighnari before continuing his route. When he is out of sight, Tighnari lets out a sigh that he didn't realize he was holding in. The sigh transforms into a strong yawn, but Tighnari attempts to shake it off.
He has a lot of work to finish today. Not to mention a new patient to watch over. Tighnari knew that he was tired, but he also knew that he wasn't close to his limit of exhaustion. He could keep pushing without a problem, or so he believes.
Tighnari carries Ramona back to his office and she rests on his patient bed. He spends the next few hours immersed in his studies and scheduling charts./p
As much as Tighnari would never admit it, he began to doze off at his desk before he hears the voice of his patient. He is drawn back to the conscious world, and he presses a calming expression to his face as he explains the events to Ramona.
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It is in the earliest hours of the morning when Tighnari hears a knock on his wall. He groans and rubs his eyes. It was hard to believe that he was only just sleeping but feels absolutely exhausted. "What now?" Tighnari grumbles to himself.
"Did someone shoot an arrow in their fo-" Tighnari asks as he opens the curtain entrance to his hut, but he is cut off by the sight of Cyno.
Tighnari is completely surprised, realizing that Cyno is early for his planned visit to Ghandarva Ville. "What made him arrive so early? Does Cyno have business in the Avidya Forest?" Tighnari thinks while he allows Cyno to enter his home. His friend smiles calmly at him.
"I'm sorry for an early entrance, I didn't mean to disturb your sleep." Cyno stands in the center of the room, carefully studying Tighnari's movements and expressions.
It's not like Tighnari didn't go to sleep only an hour ago. "It's fine", Tighnari lies and pulls out a chair to sit on for conversation. "To what do I owe your arrival?"
Cyno sits on Tighnari's bed, across from his friend. As normal, his face is stoic but his demeanor is much more relaxed. He takes off his headdress and smooths his ruffled hair before speaking.
"I got a letter from Collei…" Cyno starts, and those words capture Tighnari's full attention. His eyes go wide with worry.
"Wait… is she ok? Is there something that she isn't telling me? Is her health getting worse?"
"Collei is fine." Cyno states simply, his tone becoming serious. He looks at Tighnari with his arms folded, and his eyes pierced into Tighnari's very soul.
"You've stopped taking care of yourself, have you not?"
"The Forest Watcher is silent for a few moments and he shifts uncomfortably under Cyno's gaze. "Well… it is not my top priority as of late." His clawed fingers scratch at his left ear, a recently developed habit stemming from his stress.
"Nari-" Cyno is cut off by a heavy sigh from Tighnari.
"If you came all this way to lecture me for not following my own advice, please save it for when I have the energy to hear it." The fox stands and climbs his bed, laying at the far end with his back to Cyno. "I need what sleep I can get. We can talk later." Tighnari's voice holds a defeated irritation to it.
Cyno gives a nod, although Tighnari can't see it. For now, he will let the topic go.
"Alright. I'll talk to you later tomorrow. Sleep well, Nari."
As soon as the sun rises, Tighnari is at it again but with Cyno on his tail. Tighnari can't help but find Cyno's watchful gaze as annoying."Who has the interest of staring at me while I brew a strong tea? And stop staring while I eat!" Tighnari thinks but does not speak.
"So… what has caused your increase in stress?" Cyno asks, the very blunt question making Tighnari's ears twitch in irritation. Oh, what could it possibly be? A withering zone developing in close proximity of a village? Trainees eating any kind of mushroom out of hunger? A person failing to show up for a patrol? A request from the Akademiya? It is easier to say what hasn't made Tighnari stressed.
"…everything it seems." Tighnari eats as he shifts through some paperwork, paying little attention to Cyno. As much as he hoped that he wasn't offending his friend, he simply didn't have the time for a visit or a friendly conversation.
Cyno eats as well, eyeing Tighnari's plate ever so often. Cyno knows Tighnari's stressful habits very well, once he's in a pit, it's hard for him to climb out. He'll work until he passes out, or until everything is back in a balance. Tighnari won't once look at himself in the mirror, notice how rugged he is. Cyno doubts that Tighnari notices his dry skin, worn nails, eyebags, or, and this is extreme, how unkept his tail is.
"You can give me something to do. I only brought a small case to look at. Do you need someone for patrol? Logging Watchtower data? Wash your dishes…" Cyno is cut off by an annoyed glare from Tighnari.
"My sink isn't that bad." Tighnari isn't wrong, even if the dishes aren't washed, they are thoroughly rinsed to not attract bugs. "And… I can just get to it later. No big deal. I'll find someone to cover the open slot for patrol, as you are not a forest watcher, General Mahamatra.
"I could be quite qualified, I've learnt a lot from simply watching you. Come on, Nari, how hard can it be to log information into a chart? We both know how to properly conduct research." Cyno gives Tighnari a small smile, hoping to somehow edge him onto the idea. When Tighnari sighs a few minutes later, Cyno knew that he won.
But it was not a happy win. Tighnari didn't look relieved for the help as he was busy being overwhelmed by other work. It looks like taking this one burden might not be enough to impact Tighnari's stress levels as of now. Maybe when the day is done, something will be better.
Tighnari hands Cyno a thick file of research data, a bag of measuring devices, and a map to all of the logging locations. Withering indicators, ley-line leaking indicators, soil sampling… a whole plethora of things that Cyno can measure and log. Tighnari explains the documents briefly, his brief version somehow long enough that Cyno has to stop him from using terminology that Cyno is unfamiliar with.
But the day goes on, as slowly as possible. Tighnari could swear that his clock hasn't moved a millimeter for 10 minutes. With a load of caffeine, which is something that Tighnari normally avoids, Tighnari breaks down his work. Tighnari is focused, ignoring the pain in his right hand from having to write so much. He ignores his exhaustion, yearning to finish the work so that he could rest on his comfortable bed.
During this time, Cyno is carefully logging any observations and data according to his chart. He also has the help of patrolling Forest Watcher to help him understand his task further, as well as an account of what has been occurring in Gandharva Ville and the surrounding forest. He is interrupted by an emerging Withering Zone, and the lady he was with was about to run for Tighnari, but Cyno stopped her. "I can take care of this. No need to bother your Watchleader."
Cyno doesn't mind taking on extra work. A Withering Zone is just a way to occupy his time while he helps Tighnari. Looking briefly at his case, Cyno walks back to Tighnari's hut, finding Tighnari slumped on his bed. Cyno is concerned until a wide smile stretches on Tighnari's face.
"I finally did it." Tighnari says tiredly, "I got my botany log all up to date. 430 different species, each with recent inspection and data."
Cyno sits down on the bed next to Tighnari, "Rest. I'll cook dinner. You deserve it."
As much as Tighnari wants to protest, his own body wouldn't allow. Now Tighnari was aware of how his body feels; his disheveled and dirty appearance from not properly bathing; and his stomach's grumble from skipping lunch. Tighnari nods and closes his eyes. He feels Cyno brush his hair out of his eyes before he leaves the room.