Chapter Text
“… And that concludes today’s meeting. Good luck to all of you, and may the Archon bless all of your individual travels.”
You inwardly groan, as you gather your various notebooks and writing utensils, and make a beeline to the door. You bow your head briefly to the head researcher as you duck out of the doorway, avoiding the various soon-to-be graduates excitedly talking amongst themselves. How could this happen to you? It may be immature on your part, you notice, but you don’t care. Why do all of your Akademiya colleagues get the opportunity to study fascinating species with esteemed graduates, while you’re stuck on a recon mission to eradicate part of the Withering near Gandharva Ville?
Not that you lack the expertise nor talent; your Cryo vision bumping against your thigh as you dredge your way back to your room. No, that wasn't what bothered you. If anything, the call of battle somewhat excited you, your elegant bow lay untouched for months on end, eager to be drawn once more. You make a quick mental note to head to target practice before you leave.
You enter your dorm room and flop onto your bed, books scattered sloppily on the desk. No, the fear of battle had long escaped you, now only a rush remained when you did need to fight. The thing that bothered you was the fact that you felt like you were being used for your Vision. Not many students at the Akademiya had Visions, and you being one of the only few, it felt like your intelligence was being undermined. You knew you were more than your physical prowess, yet the uncertainty still gnawed away at you. Have you wasted all this time at the Akademiya? Just to be sent on a mission to clear and study the Withering? Feelings of being a mindless solider again bubbled to the front...
You force these intrusive thoughts out of your head, as you push yourself up onto your elbow, your hair a tangled mess. No, your time at the Akademiya wasn’t wasted. This was the last step before you got your diploma; a six month assignment abroad. This was the last push needed before you can finally do your own research, and be free from the shackles of the Akademiya’s ever looming presence.
Still, you can’t push that aggravated feeling out of your mind. Why were you so aggravated, if not for the slight annoyance at not getting the assignment you would have preferred? Something didn’t sit right with you, but you couldn't put a finger on it. You look over lazily at your bow, and then out your window. The sun was looming over the horizon, the burnt orange sky enveloping your room into a warm embrace. Sunset. You hop off the bed and quickly tie your hair up, change into some more appropriate gear, and grab your bow. May as well get some target practice in while you can, before you have to leave tomorrow morning.
Something tugged at your brain. When the Professor handed you your assignment, you looked at the name of the coordinator who would be grading and overseeing your time in Gandharva Ville. While some of your classmates had gotten individuals you could only dream of studying under, you peered at the name on your sheet. Tighnari. Who was that? The name seemed familiar, yet you couldn't place the individual behind said name. You wracked your brain, but couldn't think of any graduate with the name Tighnari. What was going on?
These thoughts swirled through your mind as you arrived at target practice, the place deserted if not for one or two stragglers. You unsheathed your bow, pulled an arrow from it’s casing, drew it back, and aimed at the moving target. Whoever it was, you’d find out soon enough.
* * *
You stepped off the platform of the Statue of the Seven, the only closest teleport point to the small town. You scowled under the bright sunlight; you hadn’t anticipated the heat to penetrate your clothes so quickly. Bright light, chirping bugs, humid air, and lush greenery was all totally opposite to the atmosphere of the Akademiya. Normally this wouldn’t have irritated you as much, but the ever growing pit of anxiety in your stomach hadn’t gone away since last night.
You hopped down the rock, irritated there weren’t even stairs down from the Statue. A great start, you uttered to yourself. A small figure you hadn’t noticed before stirred down below, shielding her eyes as she looked up.
“Hi there! Are you the student from the Akademiya?” she happily chirped.
You gingerly made your way down to the base of the tall formation of rocks in expert timing, proud of yourself for not losing your mobility after all the time pouring yourself over books. You came face to face with the stranger; not much shorter than you, light green hair flowing in the gentle breeze, as she looked up at you with a smile on her face.
You force yourself to plaster a smile on yours, trying to remind yourself you’re being graded on this whole experience.
“Yes, I am! Are you Tighnari, by any chance?”
The small girl giggles, waving her hand in front of her face.
“No no, my name is Collei! Master sent me here to fetch you, as he was afraid you might not find your way to Gandharva Ville! It’s really nice to meet you!”
Lost your way to Gandharva Ville? You could see the town from the Statue of the Seven. Does this “Master”, who you presumed to be Tighnari, think you’re an idiot? The town looked to be about 300m from the Statue. You chuckled out of annoyance, which Collei misunderstood as friendliness.
You made your way to the small town, the pit forming deeper in your stomach. You weren’t much of a talker, so after introducing yourself, Collei filled the air with her chatter, getting you up to speed on everyone in the small town, and what each of their roles were. She confirmed that the aforementioned Master was, in fact Tighnari, the one overseeing your assignment.
Approaching the Ville, you were greeted by various members of the Forest Watchers, and you politely nodded and introduced yourself to each one. However, the one individual you are supposed to meet, is in all actuality nowhere to be seen.
Finally, Collei takes you to a hut at the edge of the quaint town, where you see someone sitting at a desk, pouring himself over neatly arranged documents. You notice his large, fluffy ears, which twitch upon hearing the two sets of footsteps approaching, though he continues writing. Collei knocks at the door frame, and the individual puts the pen down, waiting a beat before turning his head.
He was extremely good looking, and it already pissed you off. As he stood up, you noticed an earring hanging from his right ear, and then your eyes were drawn to the bright green streak in the centre of his navy cropped hair. Your attention then fell onto his hazel eyes, his condescending gaze looking you up and down. His fluffy tail, which you hadn’t noticed earlier, swished back and forth, in what you could only assume was annoyance at being disturbed. You already didn’t like him, and you had a sinking feeling you knew who he was.
“Master! S-sorry to bother you, but this is the Akademiya student! Their name is—”
Tighnari scoffed, and crossed his arms, looking at you up and down once again.
“It’s quite alright Collei, I could already tell by their attire who they were. Thank you for guiding them to the Ville, please do me another favour, and fetch some of the medicine for Affan in the other room.”
Now left alone, the silence hung heavy in the air, as his hazel eyes continued to scrutinize you, almost uncomfortably. Your ego wouldn’t allow you to back down, so you returned his gaze with an icy one of your own, one hand coming to rest on your hip. He was so clearly arrogant, and it drove you absolutely insane. Perhaps due to your own arrogance, but he had definitely already struck a nerve with you.
Tighnari clicked his tongue, clearly as unhappy about the situation as you. His eyes fell on your Vision at your hip, eyes widening marginally.
“Well, at least they had the sense to send someone with a Vision. Maybe these six months won’t be useless after all,” he drawled, his gaze slowly returning to your eyes.
Now you understood the pit in your stomach, and what it signified. Almost like a wave, the memory of hearing Tighnari’s name for the first time hit you, hushed in the libraries of the Akademiya. There was an uproar of a student leaving the Akademiya the year you arrived, which caused quite an shock in the faculty and students alike. The Akademiya was extremely prestigious, and only a select few students were admitted every term, so leaving voluntarily was practically unheard of.
You continued to observe him, letting the silence after his statement hang heavy in the air. He didn’t seem to be much older than you, maybe even the same age, yet his aura seeped of confidence and authority. On one hand, you were used to people like this, as a large portion of the Akademiya’s individuals had this exact same comportment. On the other, you were no longer in the walls of the Akademiya, so you were free to answer him as you please.
“I’m surprised they allowed an ex-student with a reputation such as yourself to oversee such an important aspect of graduating criteria,” you retorted, crossing your arms, showing him you were clearly not impressed either.
This did not go unnoticed by Tighnari, and he let out a breathy chuckle, letting his arms fall to his hips, his tail completely motionless, ears perked. He was still a few inches taller than you, he noticed, so he was able to look down on you both physically and mentally, something that did not go by unnoticed by you. He wasn’t used to people talking to him in such a manner— he was more accustomed to either the Akademiya kissing up to him, or the Forest Watchers treating him with respect and admiration.
This was new.
Usually, interacting with humans was like nails on a chalkboard for Tighnari, or that they were weak and in need of help. More often than not, both ends were a hindrance to his studies. He much preferred studying various plant life and making breakthroughs and new discoveries, but— he also didn’t mind helping humans in need. He did, after all, have a heart.
Annoyed? Intrigued? Interested? He couldn’t pinpoint the feeling starting to form in the pit of his stomach, as he continued to gaze upon your lithe frame, ears fluttering ever so subtly. He was only doing this as a favour to the Akademiya, he told himself— when in all actuality, he begrudgingly agreed to do this in exchange for some much needed rare materials— used as bait by the Akademiya, no doubt. He would have immediately denied their request, had there not been an increase in Eleazar patients, causing their supplies to dry up quicker than usual.
Holding your eyesight longer than necessary, he turned to his desk, and rummaged through the various stacks of papers there, before pulling one out, and turning back to you.
“Listen, I think we can both surmise neither of us are happy about this… situation we’re in,” he stated, scanning the paper. “However, I think it would be within our mutual best interests to tolerate the other for the time being, seeing as we both need something out of this,” he said, as he handed the paper to you, eyes holding your gaze once again.
You grabbed the paper from his hands, a little too roughly you mentally told yourself, scanning your personal information. His condescending, over-confident, matter-of-fact tone drove you absolutely insane. He was right, however. You had no idea why he was asked to oversee your assignment, but it didn’t matter. All you had to do was last six months here, and then you’d be home free, degree in hand, and you never had to look back.
He waited expectedly for your answer. You sighed, and dropped your hands to your sides, defeated, when you looked up at him.
“Fine, then. Where do we start?”