Canon Compliant, Angst, Near-Death Experience, Happy Ending

He should've heard it coming. Honestly, he didn't even know how he had missed it in the first place- perhaps he was just too busy chatting with Collei and Cyno to have noticed the rustling leaves up ahead. When he finally registered the sound, however, it was too little too late; before he knew it, a hoard of eremites had ambushed them, weapons at the ready and aimed directly toward them.

Tighnari had half the brain to scold himself for such a rookie mistake- but now wasn't the time, what with the enemies standing directly before them.

"Th-there's a lot of them here..." He could hear Collei trembling as she reached for her bow. "I think we need to get backup-"

"There will be no need for backup." Cyno stepped forward, drawing his spear and holding it with a firm grip. "We've got everything we need right here."

"Really? But-"

"Collei." Tighnari flicked his gaze toward his trainee. "Cyno is right. We can handle this." He watched as his trainee frowned, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. Just remember what I've taught you and you'll be alright." He smiled softly, squeezing her lightly. "Promise."

Collei smiled in turn, nodding along. "A-Alright."

"Enough with the chit-chat!" One of the eremites howled out, slapping the flat of his sword against his palm. "We've got shit to do so let's make this quick."

"Oh, it'll be quick, alright," Cyno huffed. "Collei, with me! Tighnari, go scout the surrounding area for any others!" He ordered.

Tighnari lightly pushed Collei forward in an encouraging manner, both of them knowing better than to question the commands of the General Mahamatra. She'd be in good hands, for sure. Not sparing them a second glance, he hurried off into the forest, searching with both his eyes and ears for any other potential threats.

Cyno definitely made the right call- not even a few seconds after he had went his separate way could he hear the sound of yet another group not too far away. He advanced with steady steps, balancing his weight as best as he could and avoiding stepping on any loose foliage in order to remain undetected. The others nearby were none the wiser, chatting idly as Tighnari staked out behind a nearby rock, examining just who he was up against.

There were only four of them, all close together. Easy enough, he surmised, taking out one of his vijnana stormhearts and a bit of twine. What he had in mind required a bit of tinkering, nothing which he couldn't handle. Tying the smokescreen bomb to one of his sturdier arrows, he pulled out his bow, shuffling to the side and aiming toward the ground near them.

"Hey, numbskulls!" His taunt caught their attention almost instantly. He fired the arrow as soon as their heads darted in his direction, the little bomb instantly releasing some fumes as soon as it came into contact with the ground. Not wasting a second, he used the guise of the smoke from his vijnana stormheart combined with their surprised yelps to his advantage- sneaking up to them. "What's wrong? Can't see?" Before they could respond, he swiftly delivered rather rough blows to each of them, effectively taking them out with in a matter of seconds. He huffed out as the smokescreen dissipated, wiping the sweat off his brow with a faint smirk on his face. "That's what happens when you underestimate the forest rangers."

Tighnari carefully prodded one of the enemies with his foot, watching as they could only groan in response. These guys probably weren't going anywhere anytime soon- he could safely scout out the rest of the area without having to worry about them.

And so he did just that, continuing his trek through the perimeter with his senses on the lookout for unusual activity. After a few minutes or so, he found nothing out of the ordinary- the dusk birds were still chirping and there were no footsteps to be heard. The forest was perfectly serene and normal. If anything, it was actually a bit quiet.

A little too quiet for Tighnari's liking. He started heading back to where Collei and Cyno were situated, no longer listening for any foreign noises but instead the voices of his companions. His unease grew with each second that passed by with no sign of them. His steps became more hurried, restless eyes scanning his surroundings, until, finally-

"Master Tighnari!" He heard Collei yell from a distance.

But the frantic way she was calling out for him did nothing to put his mind at ease. He broke out into a full on sprint- jumping over bushes and weaving past trees until he spotted her familiar green hair. "Collei!" He gasped out, rushing up to her and gripping her shoulders, immediately looking her up and down to check for any wounds. "Are you okay? What happened? Did you get hurt?"

"No-" the trainee shook her head, her eyes widened in an anxious look. "It's not me. It's Cyno."

Tighnari's grip on her shoulders loosened, his arms falling limply to his sides at her words. He was so caught up in the fear that something might've happened to Collei, he failed to take Cyno into consideration at all. He turned his head immediately, looking around, his heart thrashing in his chest as he prepared himself for the worst.

What he didn't prepare for was the fact that Cyno was nowhere to be seen. "I- I don't know where he went," Collei choked back a sob, her words coming out jumbled and distraught. "We were fighting together, but then we sort of split up, and the last I remember he was over here, near this pond."

Tighnari stared at the area she pointed out to him. He noticed the sets of footprints on the ground, but they were too close together to properly discern. "Where are the enemies you were fighting?" He asked.

"They ended up retreating that way after we took down a few of them." She pointed toward the north, away from the pond that Tighnari was currently looking at. "I don't think they took Cyno with them, but I'm not sure where else he could be."

Collei's logic was sound- there was no way they managed to capture Cyno. He'd put up one hell of a fight- one that even the trainee would've noticed. So then, where did he go? His gaze flickered to where the enemies had fled, lingering for a moment before turning his gaze back to the water.

It took him a second to notice something dark situated at the bottom of the water, his heart instantly sinking in his chest. Collei followed Tighnari's gaze to the water, staring for a second before she tensed up, nearly choking on her breath. "Master Tighnari, you don't think-"

She never got to finish her question, left to watch in silence as Tighnari dove into the water.

At the very bottom of the pond was none other than Cyno, as stiff as a board with eyes closed. Tighnari had never swam so fast in his life, ignoring the stinging feeling that came with such a morbid sight. He haphazardly slung Cyno over his shoulders, pushing his feet against the rocky floor and propelling himself up toward the water's surface.

He burst through the water with a gasp, swimming to the edge and sliding Cyno off of him and onto the forest floor, pulling himself up immediately after and sitting next to him. He pressed his two fingers against Cyno's neck, moving them around in search of any sign of a pulse.

He grit his teeth in frustration, unable to find anything. "Collei, head back to Gandharva Ville and get an AED!" he barked out. "Hurry!" The only indication that she heard him was the sound of her footsteps running back to Gandharva Ville.

Placing one hand atop the other and both in the center of his chest, Tighnari started the chest compressions, pressing down as hard as his trembling body allowed him to, keeping his rhythm as steady as possible. "Wake! Up!" he grit his teeth, words accentuated by each press of his hands. "C'mon... Don't do this to me..."

He alternated back and forth between chest compressions and rescue breaths, tears welling up in his eyes with every second that passed. After what felt like an eternity, Cyno's head suddenly jerked forward, a flood of water spilling from his mouth as a torrent of coughs racked his body. Tighnari sighed in relief, tilting the general to his side to allow the water to leave his system with more ease.

He did it; Cyno was alive. "Cyno," he gasped, watching as all of the water slowly left him. "Thank archons you're okay,"

Cyno nodded his head weakly after he had finished coughing out all of the water he had ingested, falling onto his back as soon as Tighnari let go of him. "Yeah," he huffed, peering at Tighnari through half-lidded eyes. "I'm breathing, so I guess I'm okay. My chest hurts like hell, though, and my head..." he trailed off, closing his eyes. "It feels like my head is swimming."

Tighnari could only stare at Cyno. "You- you almost went and died and you still have the nerve to joke at a time like this?! You- you-" Tighnari's words got caught in his throat as he stared down hard at Cyno, clenching his trembling fists. "You absolute fucking idiot!" He sobbed, unable to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes. He lowered his head to Cyno's chest, finally allowing himself to cry. "You had Collei and I so worried."

"I know," Cyno mumbled, softly patting Tighnari's hair.

"We- we thought you had-"

"I know," Cyno repeated, cutting Tighnari off before he could finish his sentence. "I thought that I was done for too." His voice quivered at the end of his sentence, hand running through Tighnari's hair and brushing against his ear.

Tighnari sniffled as he nuzzled his face against Cyno's chest, finding comfort in the way his ears could pick up the sound of Cyno's steady heartbeat. "I'm so glad I made it in time, Cyno." He clenched his eyes shut, more tears falling from his face. "I don't know what I would've done if-" He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, and so the two of them sat there in silence for a while, save for the sounds of Tighnari's cries and occasional sniffles.

So focused on listening to Cyno's heartbeat, Tighnari would have missed the sound of heavy footsteps nearby if it weren't so loud. It didn't sound human at all- was it a Sumpter Beast, perhaps? But they didn't normally venture into this area. He looked up toward the source of the noise, noticing Cyno also lifting his head up- albeit a little weakly. "You hear it too, right?" He asked.

"Yeah." Cyno clicked his tongue, squinting. "It sounds like it's coming this way."

They could now see the Sumper Beast approaching them at full speed alongside the shape of someone riding atop it. It was hard to make out who the person was at first, but as soon as they got closer both Tighnari and Cyno recognized the face in an instant. "Holy hell," Cyno mumbled in surprise. "Is that-"

Before the beast could come to a complete stop, the person in question had jumped off of it, landing on her feet with a thud and rushing over to the others, a red satchel slung over her shoulders and an AED in her hand. "Master Tighnari!" Collei called out. "I got the AED! How is he-"

Collei froze in her tracks as soon as she made eye contact with Cyno. She nearly dropped the device in her grasp, clutching it tightly to her chest to make sure she didn't let it drop. "Cyno...?" She breathed out in surprise, her eyes widening.

Cyno smiled weakly, propping his elbow on the ground and sitting up. "Hey."

Collei's face wrinkled up, her lips quivering and her brow furrowing as she started to tear up. "Cyno!" The trainee cried out, shoving the AED back into the satchel as she rushed over to his side. She essentially flung herself at Cyno, collapsing to the ground as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Cyno!!!" She wailed, burying her face in the crook of his neck and squeezing him tightly. "I'm so sorry! I should've noticed you were in the water sooner!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Cyno cooed as he used his other hand to pat Collei's head. "Don't apologize. You did a good job dealing with the rest of the eremites. I'm very proud of you."

"Who cares about them?!" She wailed. "I'm just happy you're alive, Cyno!"

"I'm..." Cyno's breath hitched in his throat. "I'm happy too." He suddenly pulled both of them in for a tight hug, clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm sorry," Cyno hissed out from between gritted teeth, his entire body starting to tremble. "I'm so sorry for scaring you guys like that." Now it was his turn to cry, a few tears slipping out of his eyes as he clung onto them for dear life. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"I second that," Tighnari hummed, reciprocating the hug. "As soon as we get back and rest up for the day, I'm teaching you both how to swim."

From that day forward, swimming lessons were added to the list of training courses offered to both Forest Rangers and the general public.

Author's Notes

Decided to write angst for a change based on a little hc I had of Cyno not being able to swim (and also due to a friend of mine who likes angst). A little brief PSA from a swim instructor: Please don't hesitate to take a swimming lesson if you need it. There are plenty of free courses to be found, just ask around. And to anyone who says life jackets don't work: Do not listen to them, they're called life jackets for a reason. They are very helpful for new and experienced swimmers alike. Anyways, enough with the serious stuff, sorry this one wasn't very Cynonari- the family dynamic is too strong to not touch base on. Don't worry, though! The usual fluff will resume shortly. Thank you very much for reading! Let me know if you liked this change of genre and if I should write more angst (or if I should just stick to fluff).

Word Count: ~2.3k Words

If you saw this posted as Untitled Part 3, no you didn't <3