--Rememberance--

Chapter 3 - 1

"It'll be best if we go through Aaru village, then follow the path north. It's the safest way," I explained, tracing my finger across a map.

Tighnari nodded. We were already travelling towards Caravan Ribet, and only stopped briefly to fill around a billion water skins.
He never did well in the desert, which worried me. Apparently when he was a kid he fainted there just because of the heat.

But Tighnari was very eager to see the Traveller, and I respected his wishes.

"Why do you want to see the Traveller so badly?" I asked.

"Oh, just to ask a few things," he replied quickly.

I felt like he wasn't telling me the whole story, but I wouldn't push it. Tighnari was always quite stubborn, and so was I. Which made some situations difficult.

Soon, we made it to Caravan Ribat. I led him to my office, where I grabbed the last of the supplies we needed.

"How long will the journey take?" Tighnari questioned, sipping at some water carefully.

"Depends. We could get attacked by Eremites or monsters, get trapped in quicksand, fall into a mechanism, get caught in a sandstorm, fall off a ledge... or everything could go smoothly."

"Oh," Tighnari squeaked, blinking dumbfoundedly.

...

We began our journey to Aaru village. It was a relatively short journey. I constantly turned to check on Tighnari. He seemed fine, which relieved me.

By the time we made it, the sun was already setting. I spotted Candace and Dehya, my good friends. Candace was almost like an older sister to me. They waved at me and Tighnari.

"Hey, Tighnari, how you doing after... that?" Dehya asked, giving him a firm pat on the back.

"I'm doing good, thanks. It seems you're doing well."

Tighnari and Dehya walked further into the village while chatting, leaving me and Candace.

"Cyno... you should stop staring at Tighnari. It's creeping me out," Candace mumbled, poking my helmet.

I didn't even notice I was staring. Candace grabbed my ear and twisted my head so it faced her.

"...Oh Archons, that look on your face. I didn't know you had a crush on him-

"Candace, I am not gay," I snapped, flustered.

"You got drunk after your graduation and a scholar friend that was around told me you came out as bisexual to a few completely random people."

"Oh."

...

I woke up as faint sunlight went through the window. I looked at the sundial outside. It was almost 6am.

"Hey, Tighnari, wake up."

"Don't worry, I woke up a while ago and had breakfast as well. Just waiting for you."

"Huh... you don't sleep a lot, do you? I need a lot more sleep."

"Because your limbs get close to falling off every time you have a mission," Tighnari muttered sarcastically.

"I'm just gonna eat this Pita Pocket on the way. Let's get going..."

"Are we not going to thank Candace and Dehya for their hospitality?"

"No. Candace will call me gay again, even though she's in love with Dehya."

"...What?"

We carefully snuck out, and started our real journey towards the desert. It was probably going to be quite grueling, for Tighnari, at least.

I wanted to protect him, but I was also afraid my role as the General Mahamatra would draw danger right towards us.

(551 words)