Rules and Roses - Cynonari AU

Untitled Part 1

It was yet another plain morning, when Cyno went on patrol. He lived in a small hut made of mud that he built himself near an oasis in the desert. It didn't look the best, but it served its purpose. He headed out before the sun was at its highest point and swished his tail slowly, perking up his ears to detect any unusual sounds.

He hummed a simple melody to himself and fiddled with his spear. It seemed like there was no danger lurking around, as it was quiet. Too quiet. He had stranded far away from his little hut and he looked around himself, wondering why there wasn't any creatures in the area. How strange...

He looked up into the sky, to maybe spot a vulture, yet all he could see was the cloudless sky that seemed to be getting darker with every second. The wind was getting stronger and it messed up his neatly brushed white fur. A sandstorm was beginning to form. Cyno couldn't turn back to his home and was forced to retreat in the opposite direction, towards the rainforest.

The storm chased him farther away and he hid away in Caravan Ribat, only to be questioned by the locals. What was he doing there? Who was he? Did he have a passage permit? So many stupid questions. He told them his reasons why he fled here, yet they continued to eye him carefully, as if he was a dangerous criminal. When he tried to continue his way and go into the rainforest, they started chasing after him and yelling for him to stop. Cyno ran faster than he ever did and manage to escape. Now he needed to find a place where he could stay for a while. Luckily, his ears led him away from places with people.

He walked for a while, hiding away from the eyes of other people. More towards the evening, he stumbled upon a small village, where not a lot of people lived. Maybe he could seek shelter there.

In that village lived a forest watcher, who also happened to have sharp ears and a fluffy tail. The watcher immediately heard a faint breathing and swishing of someone's tail. He followed the sounds and discovered the hiding jackal hybrid.

"Tighnari the Forest Watcher. State your name and business," he demanded.

"Geez... calm down, I'm not a threat. I'm Cyno," he replied.

"Alright then, Cyno. What are you doing in Gandharva Ville?"

"Gandharva Ville? Is that how this place is called?"

"You're dodging the question and testing my patience."

"Archons you're impatient. I fled here from the desert. I got caught in a sandstorm and-"

He was cut off by Tighnari.

"The desert's pretty far from here, quite a few hours to be exact. Don't fool me, I'm not dumb," the forest watcher rolled his eyes.

"I'm telling the truth! I was taking a patrol around my home in the desert, when I got caught in a huge sandstorm. I fled to Caravan Ribat where they chased me away, and I fled here."

"Sounds more reasonable, though it still sounds like lying to me. However your body language tells me otherwise, I must admit."

"Huh?" Cyno asked and realized that his ears were flopped back and his tail seemed to be relaxed.

"You seem very lost, Cyno. Just what did you think to run away... allow me to walk you back," Tighnari sighed.

"No, I'm not going back that fast. They'll search for me. I'm not trying to get caught here," he protested.

"Sigh... I suppose you do have a fair point. I guess you could consider staying in the village, but I suggest you find a hut to stay in, outside is simply not safe."

"Just how bad can it be, come on," Cyno rolled his eyes.

"Mess around and find out if you will, I warned you. I was thinking of letting you stay in my house, but since you insist on sleeping outside..."

"Ah now that I think about it, that seems like a great offer, no?" Cyno quickly changed his mind.

"Making quick decisions, you really are an interesting person," Tighnari chuckled and led him back to his place.

"Heh, that's no bigger than my hut," Cyno quickly noticed as he walked in.

"If you don't like it, you always have the outside all for yourself. Anyway, if you intend on staying here, I'll be taking the floor," the forest watcher said.

"I'm the 'guest' here, you're taking the bed, and I will not argue about it." Cyno crossed his arms on his chest.

"Jeez, okay, then. I won't argue with you either. I have some leftovers from lunch if you're hungry,"

"Thanks, I'm starving, actually," he admitted.

Tighnari chuckled to himself and brought his guest the food. He ate in silence, cleaning up after himself.

"I'll go to sleep now, you do whatever you want. Just don't touch any of my science stuff," Tighnari said and climbed onto his bed.

"Yeah, yeah... I'll go to sleep as well, I'm tired."

They both went to bed and sure enough they were both drifting off. Cyno kept waking up through the night, a little cold and uncomfortable. After he woke up for the third time that night, he had enough and carefully climbed onto Tighnari's bed. Just what was he thinking climbing into a stranger's bed? Surely it couldn't end badly, right? Fennec foxes loved sleeping together after all... For some reason, the bed was almost inviting him, a familiar and calming scent radiated from it. Maybe it had something to do with Tighnari being a fox hybrid.

In the morning, Cyno woke up earlier and laid back down on the floor, hoping that the sleeping forest watcher didn't notice him.

As he got out of bed, heimmediately heard the man speak.