Canon Compliant, Spoilers for Cyno Story Quest Chapter 1, Hurt/Comfort

It's been a restless four days. The time he spent out and about were as ruthless as a raging sumpter beast, rushing back and forth from place to place whilst apprehending people left and right.

"You should really rest, General." He'd often hear whenever he passed by his camp. And he really should've- but even if he forced himself to hold back, there's no way he'd be able to get through a decent night's sleep without tossing and turning, knowing there were still people out there who had yet to meet their proper judgement.

It was only after spending every waking hour traversing the entirety of Sumeru, from the raging desert all the way to the Fontaine border and back, until all three hundred members of the organization were in custody, that Cyno could finally take a break.

He currently stood alongside a railing in Caravan Ribat, elbows resting on its rusty surface as he drummed along the worn metal with his fingers. The hum of traveling merchants and the buzz of his fellow matras helping to pick up the remaining pieces was a mere backdrop to the cacophony in his head. It was a jumbled mess of scattered memories, everything from the time he spent with Taj to a few criminals he apprehended over the past few days.

With so many thoughts swarming about, they started to jumble together, melting away into a blurry canvas. The only thing that remained was a singular phrase.

"Doing your job without mercy will only drive people away from you."

It was one of the last things that Taj said to him. He really wished it didn't have to end the way it did. But in the end, it was Taj's decision and his alone. It didn't particularly matter whether or not it clawed through his ribcage and struck into his heart- what mattered was that everything was finally resolved.

Yet, he still couldn't bring himself to fully relax.

"Doing your job without mercy will only drive people away from you."

The phrase had haunted him ever since the words had entered the atmosphere- it was almost as if Taj were behind him, repeating the mantra into his ears over and over. The words would echo and bounce around in his mind, making its mark like a predator's fangs sinking into the neck of its prey; yet what stung the most was the look in his mentor's eyes. If not for revealing his past, the pang of his voice and the quivering of his fingers as they clutched the polearm told Cyno everything he needed to know:

This was a warning- a genuine one at that- one from a man who spoke through experience.

"Doing your job will only drive people away from you."

Before he knew it, the words started to twist around in his brain in the same way his heart twisted in his chest. It couldn't be true, he told himself as he hunched over, gritting his jaw and clenching his eyes shut. It couldn't be true. It couldn't be.

The more he repeated himself, the more he was unable to believe in himself. So caught up in his desperation, Cyno found himself praying to a god he wasn't even sure he believed in- anything, just for that brush of reassurance that Taj's threat was empty.

"Doing your job will only drive people away from you."

Much to his dismay, there was no archon to heed his plea, leaving Cyno alone, with nothing but the memories of all the people he apprehended who were with their friends, with their families, at the time of their arrest. "It has to be done," he'd respond coldly to their cries for mercy, taking away the wrongdoer without a second thought.

His fingers suddenly gained a conscious of their own, gripping onto the railing with all the force he could muster. As much as he didn't want to believe that he drove others away, he could see it in the way people at the Akademiya would shuffle away from him as he walked in their general direction. He heard it in their uneasy mutterings, gossiping about how cruel and harsh he could be at times.

Perhaps they were right.

"You drive others away from you."

The final blow to his heavy conscious was a streak of light green in his thoughts. Even Collei, the little girl who he brought to Sumeru all those years ago, the same girl who he'd visit frequently to make sure she was doing alright, was still apprehensive of him, subconsciously tensing up whenever she first saw him.

He knows that she doesn't mean it. It's just an instinct of hers- he couldn't blame her for it after everything she had been through. But any and all justifications he could muster are unable soften the impact of such a heavy weight atop his shoulders. He felt his knees weaken, his stomach drop, his throat swell up.

Too caught up in the flood of his sudden guilt, he failed to notice another streak of green pass him by. He didn't even register the fact that someone was standing directly next to him- it was only after he felt the brush of a familiar tail paired with a voice he hadn't heard in so long that he was finally able to come to his senses.

"I got your message and came as soon as I could," Tighnari sidled himself up right beside Cyno, leaning his side against the railing. "How's everything faring?" He asked, watching as Cyno turned his head to him at a painstakingly slow pace.

"You drive others away from you."

It couldn't be true.

Because if it were, then why did Tighnari come all the way from the rainforest just for his sake?

The forest ranger in question raised an inquisitive brow after a few seconds of silence. "Uhh, Teyvat to Cyno? Are you-"

Before he could register what he was doing, his body was moving on its own. Prying his hands away from the railing, he essentially pounced at Tighnari, moving too quickly for his hat to keep up, uncaring as he felt it fly away from his head. He gripped Tighnari's shirt as if it were a lifeline, burying his head into the crook of his neck and squeezing his eyes shut.

"-Oh?" Tighnari's tail swished in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden embrace. He snaked his arms around Cyno's back, leaning his chin against the top of the General's head. He could feel the shaky breathing against his skin as he slowly moved his gloved hands across his back in a soothing pattern. He was tense, yet he was trembling all the same.

"Tighnari." Cyno muttered, his breath hitching in his throat in the form of a hiccup. "Thank you."

Tighnari nibbled the inside of his cheek- inhaling suddenly from the ticklish feeling of Cyno's breath directly against his skin. "There's no need to thank me. It's what I'm here for."

Cyno's grip loosened at the words that left Tighnari's mouth. Even after spending weeks, months apart, they could always come back to one another, conversing about this and that as if they had never went their separate ways in the first place. He softly inhaled Tighnari's scent- the familiar fragrance of woodlands and shrubbery making him feel at ease- making him feel at home.

As the only person who was never intimidated by his outward demeanor, Cyno regrets the fact that it's only now he's realizing that Tighnari was dear to him. And judging from the way the ranger mumbled sweet nothings into his ear, he was confident that Tighnari regarded him in the same light.

"So," Tighnari whistled. "I take it everything's not faring well?"

"No."

"Do you want advice or do you want comfort?" Tighnari asked, tracing figure eights across the expanse of Cyno's back.

"Can we just stay like this?" He dared to ask, unable to bring himself to let go in order to look him in the eyes.

"Of course." Tighnari hummed softly. One of his hands trailed up toward his hair, running his fingers softly through the white locks. "We can stay here for as long as you need."

Where would Cyno be without Tighnari by his side? It's an alternative reality he hoped he'd never have to experience.

Author's Notes

Cyno's story quest had me FUCKED up. From Taj's little monologue all the way to that one Tighnari line where he says "He's fine, he just looks a little more lonely than I remember." Like, OHHHH MY GOD?!?! Anyways, this story quest was what pushed me to start writing Cynonari Stories, so I really hope this one resonates with you in the same way it does with me :)

Word Count: ~1.4k Words