Chapter Text
“Oh, Collei! Do you need help carrying some of that?” A voice muffled from behind the doorway as it came from outside his hut, making Tighnari’s ears swivel at the name as he sat at his desk. They turn further to listen to the young girl make her rebuttals to refuse any assistance.
“No no! It’s alright, I think I got it. Not much further to go anyway!” he can hear the smile she wears, sounding genuine despite the slight strain behind her voice. But, he can also hear the rattling of whatever objects she may be carrying to a location that is beyond him. He hopes it wasn’t here.
Tighnari sighs lightly before laying the pen down on its side as he goes to get up, his tail flickering as he stands to smooth any furr that might have disheveled. When he steps through the leaves blocking the entrance to his humble home, he spots the girl immediately as she walks in a crooked manner up the twisting bridge and its supporting vines. She held two large boxes in hand, and while they looked light enough on their own, the contents inside one of them were books and files, if the pieces of paper sticking out from the rim had a say in it.
“Collei, how many times have I already told you to take one trip at a time.” Tighnari scolds as he approaches the girl, Collei turning at his voice.
“Master Tighnari!” she says as the said master takes the first box to lighten the load. The fox gives her a look, tilting his head sideways as her face scrunches into a nervous grin, a light chuckle following after as he continues. “You and I both know the amount of accidents that have happened because of your incessant need for shortcuts.”
“Sorry, Master Tighnari.” Collei says as she adjusts her grip before leading their walk. “I just wanted to get everything out of the way in time.”
Tighnari quirks a confused brow at her. “What do you mean?”
Collei takes a moment to meet his gaze, finding her words before she looks ahead. “Don’t you remember? A few of the forest watchers decided to move from Gandharva ville over to Vidamara Village. Some even went back to Sumeru city to keep watch of the northern side of the Avidia Forest.”
Tighnari looks back down at the box, noticing that the things inside were her personal belongings. “I don’t remember ever dismissing you to the city so far away from my watch.” He comments, and Collei laughs.
“Don’t worry, Master, I’m not the one that’s leaving! I’m moving to a different location that’s closer to you. After that bridge broke, it’s been really tiring to go all the way around the villa just to let you check my homework, and since it doesn't look like there’s going to be any repairs to it, I decided to move into one of the empty homes.” She chirps happily before stopping short in front of a small hut. “This one’s me!”
“Oh,” Tighnari looks over at the new place before glancing in the direction of his own home. It was just a few steps away, but before he could delve whether this decision of hers was valid, Collei was already inside and putting down the box of books with a huff. Tighnari is quick to follow her to pose his question.
“Then, does your rush mean that someone will be moving into your old home?” I see all of this as an unnecessary hassle, Tighnari’s frown returns at this, not able to find the logic of all of this moving. However, when he glances at Collei, her lips quirked into a smile as she kneeled to the floor to unbox her things, Tighnari supposed that if the move makes her this excited, then there’s no real problem.
“Yup! She lives in Port Ormos- or lived, anyway. She should be on her way right about now.” Collei answers after a few short seconds of rummaging through the box Tighnari brought inside, a small frown coming to her face. “Owh- I think I left the incense bottles back there.” She whines before looking up at the male. Tighnari had busied himself to glance around her new home.
“Do you mind coming with me? They're on the highest shelf and I already bought my chair and stool here so I can’t reach them anymore.” Colleis voice sounded defeated, and when Tighnari looked back, her expression told him that she was tired too despite her earlier happiness.
“Of course.”
Making their way down to the trail leading outside of the villa, Tighnari allowed Collei to lead him to her hut as they went down the path, across the waterfall, and then back in the direction of the village. However, thinking about the amount of times the girl must have made this walk back and forth, he’s surprised that it’s only taken her a day to move.
“How have you been able to move so quickly? I remember very vividly that your home still had all of your things when I stopped by yesterday.” Tighnari ponders out loud with fingers to his chin, nodding at his statement. While there were a few piles of empty boxes, all of her things were still in order in her room.
Collei releases a nervous chuckle as they step foot on the wood of the swirling bridge, leading to the hut. “That’s- because I used my glider on my way down.” her shoulders drop. “I know it was dangerous but it saved me half the trip. Sorry, Master.” She apologizes, but her nervous grin is still present, widening when she catches the foxes stern gaze.
Tighnari was giving her the stink eye, his nose scrunched and his ears perked and facing nothing else but her, not even twitching when a bird flew from the roof. Collei whined further as she went to explain herself.
“I know! I know! But I was busy studying to do any of this earlier and then I completely forgot about what day it was so I had to move everything out by tonight and using my glider was-”
“-incredibly irresponsible.” Tighnari cuts in. “Not only is it reserved for emergencies when out in the forest, but the span of the wings need a lot of space, and you opening them up on that bridge could have seriously injured someone.”
“I’m sorry…”
Tighnari would like to continue, scold the girl for improper use of a glider among other things, but her look of sorry and the fact that they arrived at the hut, he forced a sigh that indicated his irritations while letting the lecture wash out of him to not further dampen the mood. Collei was obviously exhausted and he didn’t want to add more to her plate.
“That’s quite alright.” He breaths out, stepping forwards to open the leaf curtains for the both of them. “Let’s get this done quickly, and after, I can treat you and Cyno to some dinner.”
Collei perks up as she stands to her full height again. “Cyno’s here?” she questions, a new smile blooming to her face before she goes through the entrance, Tighnari following soon after.
“He’s on his way, yes.” He corrects before looking up at the various empty shelves. “Now, which one has all of the incense you were talking about?” he asks as collei mutters a small ‘yay!’ to herself before getting back to business.
“Up there. They're all stored in a box, and there should be a flat, metal, sensor next to iiii-eek!” She squeaks when hands slid underneath her arms and lifted her into the air. “What are you doing, Master Tighnari!” Collei squeals as her legs dangle in the air suspended below her, turning her head to try and get a look at the fox.
“Well, it’s not like I could reach them. I may look tall, but it’s the ears that give people that illusion. This is the next best, practical, thing that I could think of.” Tighnari explains before stepping forwards towards the pointed shelf, raising the girl higher as she makes a noise of uncertainty.
“Think of me as an extension of yourself and grab the box.” he instructs. “I’ve got you, so don’t worry about falling. You already know the workouts a bow and arrow can do to a person.”
Collei hesitates for a few moments more before she nods at his statement. While she may not have yet mastered the bow and arrow herself, the strength and balance needed to keep it steady was a lot on its own. So, without further delay, she reached up to the shelf and quickly snatched the box and the center before clutching them to herself. Shortly after, Tighnari lowers her back down to the floor.
“There. Is that the last of it?” He asks as he looks around the room. The only furniture left was the bed by the window, and the many shelves lining the walls. The desk, however, was in its place so any thought about whether Collei might want to take the mattress and shelves with her were discarded. Especially when she nodded.
“Yup! Once I get these back I can get started with unpacking.” She tells him as she heads for the door. Tighnari nods as he goes to follow, but a click and a resounding ‘tak’ to the floor, he stops to see the gold trinket and his green half cape unclipped themselves from their place on his back shoulder. His ears droop lightly as he goes to pick them up, worried that the colored glass might have cracked as he crouched to inspect them.
“Master Tighnari?” Collei’s voice calls, her head popping back through the leaves. Tighnari hums in a acknowledgement but his eyes are focused on the gold lining, his gloved hands going around the rim. “… are you coming?”
“Yes I’ll be right there. You go ahead.” He dismisses as he stands, trinket in hand before going to the bed to sit.
“Alright.”
Tighnari busies himself with one of the circular colored glass, seeing that one of them was close to popping out before he turned it to inspect the clipping mechanism. His eyes focus hard onto the metal plating, finding nothing out of place as they track every inch with his ears twitching every so often on their own violation.
“There’s nothing wrong with it…” he mutters as he unclips the pin, finding the resistance needed to do so before he taps at the needle's edge. Then, his ears perk as his eyes widen as he quickly takes off the sash over his shoulder and turns to look at the cloth. He sees a rip in the fabric that makes him slump into his seat on the bed, sighing to himself before he goes to unwrap the white sash from his body.
Maybe I should forgo the magnifier. I don’t want to have it damaged any more than it already is. The fox thinks to himself, forlorn as he ducks his head over the final tuck of the robe, folding it on his lap with the torn piece of fabric facing up. He’s going to need to sow it later.
With one last sigh, he gets up from his seated place, dusting himself off before fixing the jacket over the tight undershirt he still wore. His ears swivel in the direction of the window at gruntwork coming from outside, so Tighnari quickly gathers his things before heading for the entrance.
Is collei having trouble with the bottles? He asks himself as he hears the clinking of glass knocking together, a hand extending to the leaves acting as a doorway.
The moment he steps out, another body bumps into him and in an attempt to both balance himself and the weight of another, the leaves rip and tear. There's a yelp and a voice he doesn't recognize apologizing as you both manage to stubble into the home still standing.
Tighnari's eyes focus on the newcomer as his ears catch every clang of glass bottles as you gauged your balance back, careful of the box you had in hand. He didn’t say anything in favor of letting you check your supplies, watching as you picked through them with low mumbles of worry before you sighed to yourself.
However, you were quick to look up at him. “I am so sorry. I saw Collei on my way here and wasn’t expecting to bump into someone else.” You apologize, sincere as you clutched onto the box of colorful liquids. Tighnari's eyes catch yours, watching just in time as they flicker upwards, before he shakes his head.
“No harm done. While I was here to help Collei with something, I stayed behind because I had some wardrobe issues.” Tighnari says as he holds up a hand to ease your worries while the other has a steady hold on his sash. “I’m assuming you're the new transfer?”
You nod with a quip hum before you adjust your grip so you can hold the box in one arm, your body leaning to the side for support as you introduce yourself. “I work as a vendor!”
Tighnari looks down at the offered hand before shaking it with his own with a steady grip, a greeting smile coming to his face to match yours. “Tighnari, Forest watcher of the Avidia Forest. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Oh!” You say as you pull your hand away to balance the box again, voice straining momentarily at its weight. “I’ve heard of you from Collei. Not enough to know who you are, but she’s mentioned your name in passing. Nice to finally put a face on a name as curious as that.” You laugh lightly before going to a nearby wall to place your belongings down, huffing.
“I- could say the same… Do you need help?” He mumbles before taking notice of the beads of sweat lining your skin and sticking to your clothes. Mainly your chest, arms and back after he noticed the large pool of damp cloth there. Not to mention the irritated skin at your hands and the inside of your elbow now that the box was out of the way.
And you looked exhausted. Just what was this woman doing to make her look so worn out. It’s not even that hot outside, especially with all of the shade from the trees.
You hum in question as you look back at him, staring for a few moments as you consider his words before your shoulders rise in an unsure manner. “...there's a lot out there. I wouldn’t want to drag you into something you don’t really want to do…”
“Not at all. I offered and it's part of my job to make sure everyone here in Gandharva Ville is well taken care of.” Tighnari says as he puts a dutiful hand to his chest to show his sincerity. He looks at you as his stance relaxes. “And you’re our newest member in this humble space we call a home. You can see this as a way of welcoming you.”
Your heart soars at the welcome, a warm feeling shaking your very body until it manifests into a happy smile. “In that case, I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“Excellent.” Tighnari says before making a shortstop to deposit his sash and trinket onto the bed. “Let’s get you situated.”
When Tighnari follows you out of the door, his eyes immediately spot the cart stopped on the trail behind the home, massive in size with four small, yet incredibly thick, wheels supporting it. The cart was unlike the ones they had here in the villa, as those have two large wheels on each side of a wooden crate with poles meant for a sumpter beast to pull from in between.
This design is like the ones they have in Port Orthmos, but… he looks over to the reins as you unlatch a few of the ropes. Where’s the sumpter beast?
“Did you- pull this yourself?” He asks after making a short deduction in his head. The sweat and exhaustion, the rashes on your hands and in the creases of your elbows, and no sumpter beast in sight. “And all the way from Port Orthmos, no less?”
“What? Of course not!” You say, waving him off with a laugh as you go to grab another box, more glass clinking inside as you turn. “I’d be dead and dry by now.” Tighnari sighs as he goes to take it from your arms. Maybe it simply wandered off to get some water and the redness is from all of this heavy equipment she loaded.
“That’s a relie-“
“Just from Vimara Village, which is why I’m not dead and dry and just…” you look down at yourself “-Tired and wet.”
Tighnari gives you an incredulous look, eyes wide as he stood in place next to the cart as you turned around to grab a heap of folded cloth, rough to the touch. When you didn’t immediately turn back to look at him, Tighnari stepped forward with a pinched expression.
“That’s still an hour walk away!” He shouts after you as you walk back to the hut. “You should be resting instead of staying under this heat any longer than you already have.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Then I must insist on asking why.”
“Because.” You sigh as you walk inside the home, putting the rough cloth against the wall. “If I stop now then I’ll never get this done in time. I’ll take a break when this is all finished.”
Tighnari doesn’t say anything, watching you out of the corner of his eye as he puts your things down as you stood idly by for a few moments before going back outside. He follows after a few seconds, catching up to you easily as he flicks his tail.
“If that’s what you want to do then that’s fine, but I’d advise you to drink and hydrate your body. From the looks of it, you’ve already lost a lot of fluids through your excessive amount of sweat, and it would be best to recuperate what you’ve lost.” Tighnari says, firm as he steps into the cart to help you with a box.
“Just tell me to drink some water.” You laugh. “No need to insult me. I know how I look.” You pull the box to yourself with a heave before you turn to walk back to the hut.
“That- wasn’t my intention.” Tighnari half mutters as you walk further away from earshot. “Do you have a bottle somewhere?” He calls out as he looks around the cart, his tail swishing behind him as he walks. Your reply comes late and hesitant.
“By the front next to the tracing paper!”
Tighnari nods as he repeats the words to himself in a whisper as to not forget, eyes scouting before spotting a large metal jug wrapped in leather. He quickly grabs it before making his way down the creek, careful of his steps before leaping off the last rockside.
You become unaware of his short absence as you bustle and hustle through your things, going to and fro from the cart to the hut. Tighnari only makes himself aware when he grunts through his climb back up, making quick work with his feet as he comes back into the pathway again to spot you, noticing your stare in his direction as he twists the cap back on.
“And here you go. Fresh water.” Tighnari presents the jug, still dripping in water from his collecting. You look down at it with a mildly disturbed expression, feeling unsure as you take it from his hands to uncap it and give it a sniff. Tighnari doesn’t bother to wait and goes back to work. By the time you work up your answer, it was not the ‘thank you’ he was expecting.
“Did you just get this from the river?”
“A creek, yes.”
“….” Your silence is loud enough to make the fox turn your way, seeing that you were still looking at the jug suspiciously. His face drops into an annoyed scowl that pinches further when you speak.
“Won’t it taste like fish and fish pee?”
“It won’t taste like fish and fish pee, I assure you.” The fox explains with a huff. “Unlike Port Ormos, this water doesn’t come from the sea, therefore it's not saltwater. It comes from a cove in the direction of the statue of our Archon.” He gestures southeast-ways with a flippant hand.
“And this water is Gandarva Villes main source of life, used in cooking, bathing, and drinking after being transported into their own homes.”
Silence follows from your end before he hears you sipping the water, ears twitching to listen to you taste it with a satisfied hum.
“It’s cold.” You observe, and the pleasing tone of your voice makes the fox grin as he nods along to further explain that it's the work of the cave. Keeping the water away from the sun and flowing directly into the village.
The rest of the move goes the same, but little conversation is made as you go back and forth to the very last box. You smile proudly inside your home and Tighnari stands next to you to see the progress that you’ve made. Piles of boxes stacked together, heaps of different textured cloth and paper lining the walls, and the little amount of furniture that consisted of a desk, some chairs, and a small dining table.
After a few seconds, Tighnari comes to frown at a discovery. “I don’t remember bringing in any personal belongings.” He voices as he turns to look at you. “Clothes, maybe some conservatives and toiletries a person might need.”
You chuckle, the fox hearing the nervousness coming from it as he listens, before you go to scratch at your head. “That’s because-… they're still back at the port.” You sigh tiredly despite the nervous smile still on your face. Tighnari's brows rise in surprise. He wants to shout another trip?! But you beat him to his word when you notice his expression.
“Oh, not that- you have to come, don’t worry! You’ve helped me enough as it is and I don’t expect you to go as far as-“
“Coming with you?” He interrupts, your brief silence at the interruption giving him enough time to cross his arms across his chest. “That’s exactly what I will be doing. If you had a sumpter beast to make your trip back, then that would be a different story, but I can’t simply let you go all the way back and push this all on your own again.”
“But-“
He brings a hand up to interpret that he wasn’t finished. “We have sumpter beasts here that you can borrow.”
“Okay- thank you for the concern, but it’s really nothing! Here to the village is no biggie. Also, I’m tight on money so I can’t exactly rent one-“
“We’re not asking for any payment.”
You pause at the words, your eyes sweeping him to gauge whether he was serious or not. Tighnari was more sincere than serious despite his straight posture and commanding tone of voice. You’ll admit, his fact spitting and snarky remarks aside, he still helped you. Gave you water after staying parched for so long, got his clothes dirty from all of the stained packaging, and offered a fast-pass across the heat of the sun… it was hard to decline his offer(s).
Too much time must have passed for your answer, because Tighnari’s arms dropped to his sides as he turned to the door— or what remained of it at least. “I’ll go get us one so we can get there and bring everything back before sundown.”
You watch as the last of his tail flutters behind him before disappearing into the outside sunlight.
“Wow,” You say from atop the sumpter beast, keeping a steady grip as the massive body of furr moves from side to side. “It really didn’t take that long to get here.”
“All thanks to our friend, here.” Tighnari smiles as he pets the beasts side with the same hand that held the reigns, guiding it from the ground as he walks. His ears catch your following laughter before looking up, seeing you lean forwards to scratch at its broad back and shoulders.
“Indeed it is! You saved me quite the trip there, huh?” You coo at the beast before looking up from the trail, your expression lighting up as your arm rises to point towards the river.
“Right over there, that’s where my boat is.”
“Boat?” Tighnari parrots confusingly as you nod.
“Well yea. How else did you think I got from Port Ormos to Virama Village?” You explain as you go to hop off of the stumper beasts back with a huff as you land on the ground. When Tighnari doesn’t see you come around, he leans forwards to look behind the creature to watch as you batted away at a bush to get to the riverbank before his gaze goes back to the trail they were walking down.
Virama village is further that way, though.
His ears swivel back as he hears your voice waver, gaze going back to where you disappeared to and listen to you struggle. When he catches a flail of your arm, he sighs as he guides the sumpter beast to the nearest tree before coming to your aid.
“Just what in the world is she doing?” He mutters with a shake of his head, footsteps thumping between blades of grass before going through the same bush you went through minutes prior, eyes and ears searching until they landed on you. He comes to a stop a few feet away from the riverbank, and crosses his arms as he watches you struggle making your way onto the boat.
Only, it wasn’t a boat. It was a wave rider, and that alone told him that the boat wasn’t yours to possess and that you were a renter. Not that anything was wrong with that, in particular, but rather the added decking attached to the rear that rocked clumsily left and right.
“I hope you realize that it’s not meant to accommodate two people.” Tighnari voices, watching as your head turns towards him in light startlement amidst your struggles. He raises a brow when you pause and look at the boat.
“Oh…. right.” Your voice trails off and Tighnari can hear where your thoughts are wandering two, so he steps forwards in a means to help you climb aboard.
“I’ll stay here with the Sumpter beast until your return.” He extends a gloved hand to you, your eyes going down to it as you push yourself back onto dry land, the leg that stretches to reach the boat coming back to help you stand upright again.
“A-are you sure? You can go back- it might take a while to get all my things packed and secured on this thing.” Your hands come together nervously as you look at the male, eyes flickering between his to pinpoint any anger or annoyances that he might be withholding to the news. But, Tighnari shakes his head.
“I offered to take you here and back and as a Forest Watcher of the Avidiya forest, I can’t go back on my word.”
But this has nothing to do with the forest… You think before glancing at the village a ways away behind him, now becoming visible from the river without the trees and hills blocking the view. And we’re in Ardravi Valley territory.
However, at his generous offer and not wanting to prolong the conversation any further, you nod with little hesitance. “Alright. Then, uhm- i’ll be as quick as possible. It’s mostly clothes, sheets, and curtains so I can get it done a few hours before sunset.” You tell him, fingers tightening in lieu of watching for his reaction. Sunset is hours away, and it’s barely past lunch hour, and the time you give him for your estimated arrival is too far away for him to simply just sit and wait.
“I’ll repay you!” You blurt as the nerves bubble into your throat. “You’ve already done so much, and- and I'll find a way to return the favor. Whatever you need, i’ve got it covered.” You say with gesticulating arms before your hands come together again. Tighnari only laughs lightly before the hand he’s extended your way comes closer, inviting you to take it as he nods over to the boat.
“I’ll hold you to that when you actually get going. The longer you stay, the longer it will take for you to come back.” He says and you nod at his words.
“Right. I should- get going then.” You say before you go to turn towards the boat, only pausing when Tighnari steps closer.
“Need a hand getting on? We wouldn’t want you to get wet before the ride.” He muses as he recalls your stretched leg onto the docking. Your cheeks redden lightly before you quickly grab onto his hand with a noise of agreement, hanging on tightly as you hop onto the vehicle with Tighnari's generous help.
Once you’ve docked, Tighnari steps back as he watches you float down the river with short bursts of power until you disappear completely from his line of sight.