".<Claws>." (Cyno x reader)

~-The Dissappearance of the Ruins.-~

_-Y/n-_

"Where to now?" Y/n stretched as she walked, kicking sand along. 

"Now, we search where the next ruin is."  Dehya smiled. The group met the energetic young woman earlier that morning. Candace wanted someone to watch over the group, even though Cyno claimed they were more than capable of not having a babysitter. 

Cyno turned rather quickly. 

"Now. We need to think about where our next ruin will be..." 

The group brainstormed while Y/n thought about the tablet.

"I feel like we are missing something..." Y/n mumbled to herself.

"Wait... I think I recognize the symbol on the bottom left there." Kaveh called out as he peeked over Y/n's shoulder.

"Really?" Y/n glanced up towards Kaveh, and he nodded back confidently.

"Back when I was a first year, we were taken to different ruins that were, of course, permissioned from the Akademiya. We were supposed to gather inspiration or whatnot, but i saw this exact symbol in an above ground ruin." Kaveh stopped and explained as he kicked out sand from his shoes.

"Do you remember its location?" Alhaitham raised a brow.

"Somewhat. I don't have an exact spot, but I think some landmarks can help me out. I know it was near King Deshrets' Mausoleum. Maybe a couple miles to the left of that."

Kaveh finished clarifying and shrugged.

"I just hope it's still there. It was almost swallowed by the dunes." Kaveh hummed.

"Then it's final. We will head over and check it out. It's worth at least looking even if it is gone." Tighnari confirmed.

"Odd. I never noticed those ruins then. I've walked that area thousands of times, it's near an Eremites camp. I often check up to make sure they aren't doing illegal trading, after all, it is far from the Akademiya, giving them a perfect spot to do shady dealings. I'd recommend we all move cautiously. They are particularly aggressive over on the western side of the deserts." Cyno warned.

"I'm sure we will be fine. Almost all of us can fight." Alhaitham crossed his arms.

"And of course, if we get into any trouble, I could always help. I do know a few of them myself." Dehya comforted.

The group started walking again, Cyno keeping the pace steady but not too fast. Y/n dropped behind and met with Alhaitham. 

"Cyno sure knows where he is going..." Y/n whispered.

"Yeah, well, he does most of his work in the desert. I would also expect that someone born here would know some of the way around." Alhaitham shrugged.

"Wha-" Y/n stopped as someone came behind her and pushed her to keep walking. This person kept their fingers wrapped around her upper arm, keeping her speed up. She glanced behind her to see Tighnari.

"I wouldn't mention it... He gets really defensive." Tighnari shook his head as he let go of Y/n and paced to her side.

"Why?" Y/n asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"I can't say... I really don't know the entire reason. I assume it's because of the bad light on desert born." Tighnari whispered.

"Oh, right... That makes sense." Y/n glanced up and watched Cyno as he told his jokes to Kaveh, who in turn dragged his feet and sulked into his hands.

"He says it  doesn't affect him much anymore, but he's not the cold Matra everyone is convinced he is. I know it gets under his skin. He just doesn't say it. He had a hard time adjusting to the Akademiya, and a lot of Sumeruans from the city hated the fact that Cyno, being the desert born he is, was getting a spot of power. Even if it was just a Matra position." Tighnari explained quietly.

Y/n nodded slowly as she kicked sand along.

"That's really sad." Y/n nodded. Tighnari hummed in agreement.

-----------------

Y/n spent the rest of the journey there quiet. The group happily chatted, and Y/n kept her pace a distance way. Her thoughts were bubbling like a stream. About Cyno, yes. But also about the mural they saw earlier.

How is it that a goddess was lost to time. It was almost like she never existed at all. Of course, a few stories have been passed down through generations by tongue, but other than the few elder desert dwellers, it seemed she was just never thought of.

Looking up and glancing around, the rolling dunes of the deserts sand seemed to stretch on forever.

"It should be somewhere around here..." Kaveh mumbled, darting his eyes around the area.

"Are you sure it was here?" Tighnari rested his hand on his hip and pinched his nose.

"Positive!" Kaveh retorted.

"It may have been covered by sand. You did mention it was almost swallowed up already, and if I recall correctly, this area does get a lot of sandstorms, right Cyno?" Alhaitham raised his brows and crossed his arms.

"That is most likely the case. If the ruins were here, they would probably be a couple of feet under the sand. Either that or they have already been eroded away." Cyno agreed as he took a few steps forward.

"So, this trip was all for nothing?" Dehya sighed, disappointed.

"Not entirely." Cyno grunted and pulled up a small slate of rock. He brushed some scarce sand off of the slab as he held it out in front of him.

"I have a suspicion it wasn't covered with sand. It was more likely destroyed." Cyno said with an even tone.

"Why and who would do that?" Kaveh exclaimed. "As far as any Sumerians go, we are the only ones who know about the project we are on, well, us and the sages."

"Exactly." Cyno agreed.

"So, you're suggesting the weasel is inside of the akademiya? Either that or they can get intell through someone else?" Tighnari asked, flicking some sand off of his ear.

"It seems very likely. I highly doubt it's the sages that requested this investigation for obvious reasons, but there are six others that could have played a role. If not, then our culprit is either getting intel through connections with a person of high ranking position or..." Cyno continued. He turned and faced the group, glancing at all of them.

"We could have someone in our ranks pretending." Cyno crossed his arms, and his eyes caught on Y/n a few times.

Y/n, in turn, casted a sour face back at him. 'Why is he acting like this? It's like we weren't just getting along fine a bit ago... Jeez...' Y/n thought.

"Wait, wait, wait... Let's not jump to any irrational conclusions. We can't be sure if the sages are completely oblivious to this. They have eyes and ears all around the akademiya, so they are bound to have heard something?" Tighnari shook his head, narrowing his gaze at Cyno.

"Tighnari is right. If we start becoming paranoid of each other, then it would be difficult to finish what we started. For now, let's just stick to the facts and draw conclusions and hypotheses from that." Alhaitham agreed with a level tone.

"Of course. Thank you, Alhaitham. For reminding us not to act irrationally and accusatory." Y/n shot a glance in the Matras direction with a forced smile.

"Anyway... This led to a dead end... Perhaps we should visit Port Ormos? It is not that far, and people there are definitely more knowledgeable about folk tales, not to mention many who hail from the desert trade there." Tighnari explained.

"Alright then, it's settled. We will visit Port Ormos and ask about the disappearance of the ruins. From there, we will ask about any similar ruins people have seen. If you can, see if you can ask about any shady people hanging around the ruins." Cyno agreed and crossed his arms.

"Sooner or later, we will find the truth." Cyno mumbled.

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Authors notes-

I really need to apologize for the lack of chapters😭. I really just packed up and left for a while bc I've had writers block for like a year💀. Also, my writing skills are probably dusty. Sorry for the filler chapter.
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Word Count: 1375