Chapter Text
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"I just need to relax..."
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Today had been stressful.
As General Mahamatra, Cyno was used to the stress most of the time, but today topped all the others. Today, the stress and exhaustion he felt was multiplied tenfold.
On days like these, Cyno unconsciously found himself retreating to the desert to relax and clear his mind.
The plains of sand and mute but gorgeous landscapes always comforted his tired soul. Here, he belonged. Here, he was free from scrutiny. Here, he could just be Cyno.
Despite how hard it was to survive out in the desert, how the sun scorched its inhabitants daily, or how much of a bad reputation people of the desert received from those in the city, the large sea of sand would never fail to take the sharp edge off of Cyno's heart.
This vast part of Sumeru that was often referred to as a death trap by audacious Akedemiya scholars, held so many peaceful and beautiful wonders that were blissfully enjoyed by those who dared to look beyond its dusty surface.
And one of those delectable wonders was the beautiful night sky covered by a blanket of shimmering white stars.
The view of the night sky was utterly unparalleled in the desert. Its view in the city and forest were always obstructed, either by some tall intricate building or a canopy of dense trees.
But in the domain of sands, there was absolutely nothing like that, nothing to stop your greedy little eyes from taking in the jaw dropping night sky.
And Cyno, even from a young age, had allowed his scarlet eyes to gaze upon the stars in order to quell any of his worries or stress.
"The General Mahamatra, stargazing" he mused as he made his way up a cliff to his favourite vantage spot, the best place to watch the stars without any distractions.
He, one of the most feared men in all of Sumeru, doing something so...peaceful was a joke in and of itself, it seemed other worldly due the warped perception people had of him.
But, was it so wrong for him to have things he genuinely liked doing?
If he had no hobbies and simply dedicated his whole mind, body and soul to administering justice, Cyno's sure he would've run mad by now.
As his steps drew closer to his destination, he rid his mind of any thought, stargazing with an empty head was always the best way to go about it. A faint smile played on his lips as his soft white hair fluttered gently in the cool night breeze.
His eyes set upon his usual spot. At the edge of a sandy cliff, view of the desert horizon and starry sky meeting harmoniously. The cliff was a distance away from the village, absent of any other living being that could possibly interrupt him.
Then, why was there a figure sat there...?
Cyno faltered. He had never seen anyone else come up here before, especially considering the fact that it was the middle of the night, most people would've been asleep by now.
So why was this person here? All alone for that matter. Were they just like him, in need of a silent escape away from the harshness of the real world?
He scrutinized the figure silently. They seemed to be pretty calm, their shoulders rising and falling softly as they took in steady breaths. They clearly hadn't noticed him yet, seemingly lost in a sea of their own thoughts as the faint sound of their feminine humming could be heard-only if you held your breath hard enough.
Slowly, he made his way towards them, careful not to startle his uninvited guest as the moon decided to cast a soft glow over the dark figure, illuminating them in colour and paying extra attention to the veil of red hair that flowed like water in the soft breeze.
And that hair, Cyno could recognize it from anywhere...
"...Nilou?" despite his best efforts put in trying not to startle her, she still jumped at the sound of her name being called.
Similarly to Cyno, the dancer thought she was all alone, free from prying eyes, free to truly be herself and free to express even the ugliest of emotions if she so pleased. But clearly, she wasn't the only one who desired to have that, even if it was for a single solemn night.
Nilou quickly whipped her head around, worried about being caught out here. She could already hear all the different scandals and gossip ringing in her ears, despite her intentions and actions being completely innocent.
The star of Zubayr Theatre ran away to the desert, because she couldn't take it anymore!
Famous dancer Nilou, wanted to take her own life off a cliff in the desert?!
Oh, and the list could go on and on. For a large nation like Sumeru, gossip sure did travel fast.
Most of the time, the gossip that traveled was completely false or fabricated, some of those scholars just lived for the drama.
She shivered at what those monsters would come up with, especially considering her not-so-friendly relationship with the Akedemiya.
Her incessant worries quickly quelled however, upon meeting Cyno's steady gaze. He was evidently a little worried, in turn she gave him a small reassuring smile. She wasn't completely outside the realm of questioning from the man, but at least she was sure he wasn't the type to spread silly, time-wasting rumours.
"Cyno, funny meeting you here" she laughed lightly, "what brings you here so late at night?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Nilou" he gave her a small smile.
The two have had friendly encounters before, so much so that they've reached a comfortable first name basis.
Through these encounters, Nilou always learnt something new about the general. Like his love for the famous card game: Genius Invocation TCG, his criminally bad jokes and his unnecessarily kind heart.
Each new discovery shattered the old impressions she had of him, the bad and scary impressions harboured by most of Sumeru to this day. The girl could only laugh as she thought back to the times where she was genuinely terrified of talking to this man.
When in reality, he was as soft as a teddy bear on the inside.
Nilou didn't know everything about him
though, those scarlet eyes of his still held a myriad of knowledge and secrets. Like the one she'd been so fortunate to discover today, she never would've guessed he'd like...
Stargazing.
Nilou silently gave herself a pat on the back, making sure to treasure this new discovery in the depths of her mind. She loved finding out these little things about him, it made her realize how contradictory he was as a person.
The hard and cold front he put up contradicted with the softness that could be found on the inside. The hard muscle that accentuated his body and face, almost like he was sculpted from stone, contradicted with the soft head of hair that spilled down like a waterfall.
Maybe it was a little creepy of Nilou to make all these observations.
...
No, these were completely normal things to take note of.
It wasn't like she was obsessed with him or anything...right?
"You okay?" his warm voice took her out of her idiotic thoughts, making her realize he had taken a seat in the sands, right next to her.
"I'm fine," she answered honestly, "just a little tired and stressed out..." she let out a sigh before letting her gaze drift towards the canopy of stars.
His eyes followed hers to the celestial lights floating in the sky, "I can definitely understand that," shifting a little closer, he let his feet dangle off the edge of the cliff, "that's why I came all the way out here in the first place"
For a second, she spared him a knowing and understanding look before returning to her leisurely task of stargazing.
The two soon fell into a comfortable silence. The soft sounds of breeze and other nightly noises being the only thing to fill in the gaps, as they both enjoyed the view.
Then, Cyno suddenly moved. Reclining backwards until his back met the cool sands. Taking in a deep, satisfying breath, his entire body relaxed.
Nilou watched as he laid there, the soft glow making his eyes twinkle like precious jewels. She blushed softly as he gently patted the spot next to him for her to lay down.
She complied easily and once she was in the same laying position that he was in, she silently thanked him. The view of the stars was much better this way.
"You probably think I'm being dramatic..." she whispered out accidentally.
He didn't bother looking her way nor did he sound startled at her sudden decision to speak, "Hm? Why would I think that?"
"Star of Zubayr Theatre, who does nothing but twirl around and look pretty" her words were bitter as she spoke, "What could I possibly have to be stressed out about?" she laughed dryly, already hearing those exact comments from the snarky voices in her insecure head.
Now, he turned to face her, "We're human Nilou, no matter how different our fields of work are, we'll always have something to be stressed or worried about" his voice came out soft as he gave her a rare smile.
"I mean, kids get stressed out even though they're royally unemployed, so don't beat yourself up about it" he tacked on the last bit sarcastically, making the dancer beside him giggle at his unnecessary dig.
She felt...understood, "Yeah...you're right"
He smiled again, this time a little wider. How does her mere presence make it so easy for him to be himself?
"Feeling better now?" Cyno couldn't even remember when the two had turned to fully face each other, the stars bleeding into nothing but a mere backdrop as scarlet and ocean eyes locked.
She spared a moment to think before nodding earnestly, "Mhm! I feel a lot better now, but I know something else that could make me feel a hundred times better" her smile quickly turned mischievous.
He raised an amused brow, "Oh? And what's that?"
She giggled, back to her usual sunny self, "A joke from the great Cyno, of course!"
He rolled his eyes with a playful scoff as he turned away from her.
"Oh, come on!" she pleaded, tugging on his arm to coax him into facing her again, "gimme your best star pun!"
"Fine" he finally agreed, turning back to look at her. Nilou happily clapped her hands together.
He cleared his throat a little, "Why did the star refuse to tell any jokes?"
She blinked cutely with a curious smile, "Why?"
"They were all too out-of-this-world"
His tone was so monotone, it threw her off a little. Nilou waited a second for the real punchline. But as Cyno stared at her expectantly, she couldn't help the silly smile that plastered itself across her face when she realized that was the punchline.
And soon, that smile broke into full blown bellows of laughter.
Cyno couldn't help but chuckle as well, "I'm shocked you're laughing at that, most people find my jokes utterly horrendous"
She wiped a tear from her eye as she tried to catch her breath, "Are you kidding? That was hilarious!" she thought for a second, "...or maybe my humour is just broken"
The general laughed at her, making her give him a playful pout. Soon, their giggles and laughter died down, another silence washing over them.
Not even a few minutes had passed before the dancer decided to speak up again.
"Hey...Cyno?" Nilou just really loved breaking these silent moments huh?
"Mm, yes?" their gazes were still fixated on the starry night sky above them.
"Let's do this again sometime" she suggested in a small whisper, "I've loved getting to know you better...even under these circumstances..."
"Same here. Besides, stargazing is better with a friend, no?"
She smiled, "Yeah...yeah, it is"