Chases

       Black robes fluttered in the breeze, soaking up the hot sunlight that flooded one of the grounds outside the educational establishment, the most famous in Teyvat. His black-haired target twitched his ears, hiding in the sapphire-colored and cool shadows with some of the students. It was hard to hear what they were talking about since it was recess and there was a buzz of conversation everywhere. People in white robes with green tops and inserts on floor-length kurtas rushed around him in streams, getting in the way of his work.        Cyno had been observing this extraordinary student of the Academy for some time now.        The young long-eared man in the distance didn't seem to appreciate this environment either, and so he pressed his ears down in an amusing way so as not to hear the people clamoring nearby, trying to shout over the crowd. His opponent wasn't too embarrassed by this and was talking relentlessly, his mouth moving in a nervous smile. And the fox remains silent, listening.        Mahamatra was attentive and very responsible, but he happened to be distracted - he couldn't hear anything anyway, and it didn't make much sense to come any closer.        He examined the exotic attributes with interest: long-long fluffy ears of dark color. It was so hard to make out exactly what the color was. Behind his back, a tail with a distinct green tip swished restlessly against the white cloth of the Academy's uniform. It wasn't very common. Cyno could hardly remember exactly how many times he had seen anything like it. Or maybe he himself had never noticed anything like it before this moment?        He had heard disturbing rumors that this neat, pretty man was arranging something underground, which certainly fell under all six deadly sins. Everyone who had contacts with him was shy and scared during interrogations, but they said that fennec was not doing anything bad. It looked strange, although the fright can be thrown off by the fact that everyone was afraid of him to the shaking in their hamstrings.</i>        In any case, he was watching, sniffing, stalking, trying to hear at least out of the corner of his ear or out of the corner of his eye to notice something for which he could gallantly accompany him by a white hand to the court.        But he didn't hear or see anything.        "Mr. Tighnari, please tell me whether I should attach a survey in this paragraph of the document or in this...?" it sounded one day when he pretended to be part of the furniture in the library, pressing himself against the wall so that the victim of persecution, forbid him Archons, wouldn't notice him. The tired fennec willingly distracted himself from his work, beginning to explain in a soft and quiet voice what to do.        "Please, advise the literature that you usually use!" sounded during a particularly hot lunch hour on the street. Sweating profusely, Tighnari forced a smile and listed in his soft, velvety voice. Even the most purebred sumeru roses, growing under the delicate care of Tighnari in Pardis Dhyai, could not compare with this texture.        "Will you help me with my lab work? I missed a lot because of my illness, and now I can't make out anything!" they begged him, and of course he did not refuse.        No matter how much Cyno watched, this calm and trouble-free fox did nothing illegal. He just lived. He just studied and pulled every outstretched hand out of the swamp, indiscriminately. He just craved knowledge in an acceptable manner and helped others get this knowledge.        Something blossomed in his chest, as if under the influence of a dendro, as he saw Tighnari at his noble scientific work. He imperceptibly began to <i>overdo with observation. He was curious about fennec's measured day. How he glued dried specimens of plants to the herbarium with special trepidation and taste and wrote reports next to them in small, strict handwriting. How he walked away from the crowd when there were full breaks to quietly eat the food he had brought with him in the benevolent shade of a tree.        And now he watched as the botanist carefully, as if he were treating a baby, planted a new variety of some flower whose scientific name he couldn't even pronounce in an elegant greenhouse. But Tighnari could without hesitation. In his ingratiating, soft and sonorous voice.        Everyone leaves, and they are left alone. And then Tighnari stands up with a sigh.        "I know you are here." He speaks with a subtle intonation of annoyance and weariness. "Have known for a long time now. There's no point in hiding."        For a brief moment, the unshakable Cyno is struck by an icy, deadly lightning bolt, making him shiver and feel the frost pass over his body, only to evaporate immediately, returning his body to its former warmth. He dies off, scolding himself in his head. He could have been more skillful at hiding. Or better yet, stopped watching altogether when he realized that Tighnari was no threat to the rules put in place to restrain the scientists from doing something horrible.        A white-haired and swarthy young man steps into the archway, outshining the evening light of the setting sun. Tighnari scrutinizes his pursuer, for the first time bothering to recognize what his face looks like.        "Am I in trouble?" clarifies the botanist warily, realizing perfectly well that the scary and terrible Mahamatra would not follow him for no reason.        "Not at all." He answers unequivocally, dry as heat-cracked clay.        "Then why the extra attention? Not even my meals go by without you." Cyno would grimace if he could. So that's how it is. He's been aware of his offenses for quite some time. And his seemingly affable and gentle fox had turned out to be rather sarcastic. Well, he had a right to be - it wasn't pleasant to be followed here and there. And for no known purpose.        "I needed to make sure of something. I won't bother you again." He bowed his head in a ghostly gesture of benevolence. Only for Tighnari to realize there was no malice intended.        And the fennec only scratched his ear, his neat pale face contorted with deep thoughtfulness.        "You'd better explain it in more detail, so that I can feel more at ease."

***

       Stalking, as creepy and strange as it sounded, had become a special part of their communication.        It was stubbornly easier for Cyno to appear suddenly, slipping through the crowd like lightning through clouds, with no thunder heralding its arrival. And Tighnari knew in advance, catching the peculiar footsteps with his ears, that the most terrifying punisher of all unscrupulous scholars would approach him.        And surprisingly, the two managed to bond. Cyno respected Tighnari immensely. The way he treated his craft, with great affection, the way he treated other people, politely and with a slight tinge of mentorship, the way he wasn't afraid of him, like a brazen fox who knew he wouldn't be touched by the fed-up jackals unless he did something bad to them.        And Tighnari respected Cyno, too: for his ability to listen and pay attention (which didn't go into joke territory, of course), like those times when he deliberately spoke softly and generally tried to keep his voice low so as not to disturb the fennec's sensitive hearing. Or, for example, for his restraint and non-invasiveness. Everyone needed Tighnari's attention, his knowledge, his picture, his ears and tail, he was in demand. And of course, what could be better after such turmoil than the company of a silent conversationalist who stayed out of the way?        They often sat just next to each other. Cyno watched the light lay white against the black top of his head. Watching the graceful hands tracing out letters on paper. The tail that wagged in a shallow wagging motion. And Tighnari went about his business, feeling comfortable and at ease in such silence.        Mahamatra didn't notice the moment when something changed, but he didn't mind when, behind the carved and colored greenhouse, in the light of the hot sun, Tighnari pulled him against him, kissing him discreetly, but sensually. He didn't mind when his delicate long-eared flower uncompromisingly wouldn't let himself be pulled away. He was in favor of letting his white hair make contact with his dark, swarthy skin with his pale, dark robe with light colored clothes.

***

      On a dark night, understandingly sheltering all those, who's hopelessly in love, they were together again. Tighnari was no longer a student, and they were no longer behind the greenhouse, but in the cozy cabin of the Forest Watcher.       Bumping his nose against the shaved nape of his neck, Cyno could smell the scents of the forest that the fennec carried with him. A silky-soft tail sheltered their feet from the cold of Mistress Night. Long ears twitched and nuzzled at times, the tips touching the top of his head. His poor Tighnari, even in his sleep, couldn't stop hearing the sounds around him.        It was their way of saying goodbye before a long separation. Cyno wandered back and forth across Sumeru like a pack yak for a long, long time. And Tighnari had to stay in the forests, keeping an eye on it's condition, eliminating withering zones and rescuing wayward travelers.        Cyno was always missing him, but he couldn't not go - it was duty and obligation. And so he did his best to mitigate his absence: he sent letters, gifts, and upon his return, he made sure to stay the night. Even if there was no time, and it was necessary to set off again immediately.

***

       It was a grueling journey. For four months straight he and his caravan had traveled to the ruins. They had been buffeted by a sandstorm, a particularly bloodthirsty and fierce one, and they managed to get a bit lost, losing a lot of resources.        All survived, however, marching down the boulevard by the harbor, which they had crawled to with their last strength.        Everything was quiet and peaceful, but the responsible and attentive Mahamatra noticed the pursuit. He didn't even think about why or how. It was simply a lingering happiness for him to see the pursuer's long ears sticking out and almost black-green hair.