My Forest Watcher | Tighnari Fluff Sequel

Lunch with Him

"Has your brother been causing you any trouble?"

Oh. Tighnari was right. You were completely caught off guard by the question, but tried to keep your cool.

After all, it would remove much trouble if your brother got put in jail.

"Y/N?"
"Ah, sorry. I zoned out but um...did Tighnari tell you about him?" You asked, trying to dodge the question.

Cyno nodded. "Yes. Does that bother you?"

"Ah- no, it's okay. Anyways, he hasn't bothered us recently. Thanks for asking!" You replied, trying to behave normally.

Cyno nodded as Tighnari looked at you. "Are you okay?" Tighnari whispered. You nodded a bit shyly.

"Mm..yeah," you muttered. You weren't expecting things to get so awkward around Cyno, you expected him to just crack a few cheesy jokes.

"Soo...do you still play TCG?" You asked, trying to fill the silence. Cyno's eyes lit up.

"Oh, yeah! Ahem...yes. If you'd like, I can show you the new deck I built later." He suggested. You chuckled softly. "Sure, I'd love that."

For a second, you saw a tint of red fill Cyno's cheeks, but you didn't think much of it.

Tighnari nudged him. "Hey, what's up with that stern face? It wouldn't hurt to crack a smile, would it?" He asked.

Cyno sarcastically grinned. "Better?" He asked. You giggled.

"Hm, it's certainly an improvement."

"Anyways. We should go now." Tighnari added. You smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Cyno." You waved.

Tighnari started to walk off, just then you felt a hand grab your wrist. "Wait,"

You turned around. "Hm?" You asked, turning to Cyno.

"I need to speak with you about something. Care to join me for lunch?" He offered. "Oh? Well alright, I'll go let him know." You replied.

Cyno let go of your hand, you then ran to Tighnari. "Nari!" You called, throwing your hand around his neck from behind.

"Huh? Was I walking too fast? Hah, do you want me to carry you?" Tighnari asked teasingly. You shook your head.

"I'm gonna have lunch with Cyno, I'll come back later." You replied. "Oh? Well alright. Don't take too long!" Tighnari responded.

You nodded. "Okay, bye!" You waved as Tighnari waved back.

You returned to Cyno. "Where to?" You asked. "I know a tavern." He responded.

You nodded. "Sure, lead the way."

Cyno and you arrived at the tavern, which was located in the city. Obviously, it was a really long walk from Caravan Ribat, but you said nothing.

"Take a seat." Cyno said dryly. You sat down across from him. "So..what did you need to tell me?" You asked.

Cyno sighed and pulled out a newspaper. "Are you familiar with Canned Knowledge?" He asked. You nodded hesitantly.

"Are you aware of what your brother did 8 months ago?"

You shook your head. "What do you mean?"

"A Divine Knowledge Capsule was stolen by him. Presumably, he used it, but it's my job to track him down and serve corresponding judgement." Cyno stated.

You couldn't believe what you heard. When did this happen? Why did you not know about this?

Knowledge Capsules were illegal?

"..."

"Are you okay?"

"Ah! Never better, I'm fine." You snapped quickly. Cyno nodded.

"I'll ask again. Has your brother been troubling you recently?" He asked.

You sighed. "Well, yeah. You can..uh..ask Tighnari, I'm not great at explaining things." You responded.

"Will do. Anyways, lunch is on me. Pick anything you want." Cyno added.

You shook your head. "I couldn't—"

"My treat." He said quickly.

"Hah..well thanks,"

"..."

"Would you like to hear a joke?"

Although Cyno insisted for you to order more, you ordered a mushroom soup. Simple, but filling.

And of course, it wouldn't be lunch with Cyno without him cracking a few jokes.

"You sure that's all?" Cyno asked. You nodded contently. "That'll do, I have to go on patrol in less than an hour anyway..I'd rather not feel full," You replied.

Cyno nodded. "Thank you for listening. If you'd like, I could walk you back." He suggested. "Nono, that won't be necessary..haha.." you replied nervously.

"If you say so. I'll see you around, you may leave now."

You awkwardly left the tavern, feeling a bit weird about leaving alone.

You walked back to Tighnari's house and saw him asleep on the porch. From the looks of it, he hadn't even entered.

You quickly ran over to him, worried he might've passed and and tried to wake him.

"H-Huh?! Oh..it's you."

"Why are you outside?" You asked quickly. Tighnari sighed. "I forgot to take the keys from you," he replied.

"Oh. You've just been outside?" You asked. Tighnari nodded. You felt a wave of guilt overcome you.

Tighnari noticed your droopy shoulders and patted your head. "Hey now, don't worry about it. I quite like the outdoors," he comforted.

You didn't respond. He sighed and kissed your forehead. "You do have the keys, right?" Tighnari asked.

"Oh, yeah. We should go inside now, hah.." you replied awkwardly.

You hurriedly opened the door, eager to let Tighnari in since he had been outside so long. He finally walked inside and collapsed on the couch.

"How was lunch with Cyno?" Tighnari asked. You chuckled. "Very fun, you could say." You replied.

"I'm surprised you find his jokes funny. You'd be the first," Tighnari remarked. "They're good though!" You countered.

Tighnari shrugged. "Hm, maybe to you. They're quite unbearable, in my opinion." He said simply.

"Aaanyways..what did you do when I was gone?" You asked.

"For a while, I looked for Collei. I remember giving her a spare key just in case she had an emergency, and I did find her, but I'd rather not bother her. Amber would be leaving today and the two of them were talking." Tighnari replied.

You didn't say anything for a second. "If we um..theoretically needed to lock the door, could she enter?" You asked. Tighnari raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, what would we need to lock the door for?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Nothing, nothing. Anyways, I'm gonna go find those two. Byee!" You said quickly, darting out the door.

Tighnari smirked and leaned on the door. "Don't be late for patrol!"