Home Is When I'm With You - Cynonari

Comfortable and Unaware - 17

Not a particularly large room, the same size as most of the lecture halls. But without the levelled seats. Instead, the students sat at their individual tables

The first few weeks of classes had started back up and passed just as quickly as it came. The past week held more stress for everyone. Even the people who weren't taking exams - me, and a few others. Instead, I held up my newly appointed role with a sense of duty. Halfway into the week, and this was the fourth exam I had helped watch over. Each one, two hours of making sure students didn't cheat.

It was boring, very much so. But that didn't change my attitude or my focus. I knew what I had signed up for when I enrolled in the course, took those exams, and accepted my title among the matra.

There were a few other matra in the room. Looking just as weary and tired as the students taking the exams. Though not as stressed. One of the matra, my classmate who had been appointed at the same time as me, stood on the opposite side of the room. He looked exhausted, just because the number of classes we took went down, our workload doubled thanks to the exams. He was slouched over, his eyes struggling to stay open.

At this point, this job having been one of the only things I've had to do since being appointed as a matra, I'd gotten used to it. I knew the exam would be over soon. After that, I had the rest of the day off. Even if it was only late afternoon, once I got out, I would head back to the dorms and collapse into my bed.

And Tighnari would be there waiting for me. Maybe. Hopefully.

I watched carefully as the clock ticked by, far too slowly. My eyes glanced around the room to look for it. As my eyes darted across my vision, they landed on something. Not what I was looking for but at the same time, was. I always seemed to be at least.

I hadn't even noticed he was in the room for the majority of the exam, scribbling away on his test paper. I guess I'd been too focused to notice. His straight dark hair fell smoothly past his shoulders and onto his table and his ears stood up tall. His focused eyes staring down at his paper. Unlike the majority of the room, he was calm, poised and not the slightest sign of distress.

Even if he wasn't here, even if he wasn't taking this test. He would have still come to my mind. He always did. My head had always found a way to cycle my thoughts back to him. Even when I wasn't with him, he consumed every aspect of my life.

I loved that about him. That care he put in almost every little thing he did.

Then again, what did I not love about him?

I stared, and I felt my mind start to drift, wandering around my consciousness with no goal in particular.

It had been a couple of months since classes had started back up, a couple of months since Tighnari and I...

The first week or two, things had been a bit awkward. But we warmed up to each other quickly. Since we spent a lot more time hanging out, just the two of us.

We went down to the tavern a few times for lunches and dinners, and a few more times around the Grand Bazaar. We'd even spent more time than usual at the training centre. And most of those two months we'd spent sleeping in each other's room, though mostly Tighnari's.

We hadn't seen each other much in the past week, mostly because we had both been so busy. A few days ago, I even found some flowers at my doorstep. I'd never appreciated flowers until they were from him.

I'd never been nervous before, not like this. I would have never known someone could have that kind of effect on you.

My mind wandered and wandered around beautiful thoughts of him. My thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise from the front of the room. All heads turned, and all pencils and quills dropped. The exam was over. The examiner announced a few things, and the students quickly stood up and filed out of the large room. Among the chaos, I felt myself follow the crowd in search of one thing, one person.

But there were too many people, I let myself fall behind as they left the room once the large crowd. I did so as well.

***

Tighnari pov

As the hall emptied out around me, my mind replayed the exam I had just sat. Every question, every answer, ignoring the bustle of nervous students surrounding me. I'd spent hours upon hours studying, so of course I felt confident to a certain degree. I'd spent so much time studying that I'd avoided human interaction for a few days.

I'd be more than happy to see the others, well, mostly Cyno.

I sighed to myself, letting my shoulders relax for the first time in two days. Looking ahead at a crowd of too many people talking too much, I held my ears down with my hands and pushed my way through the crowd. It didn't change much, but it did deafen the noise a bit. I Weaved past people panicking, chatting and even some spewing on with their unparalleled arrogance. Once I finally pushed through and the crowd thinned out, I found myself in the far side of the House of Daena.

I figured a few other exams must have ended at the same time as mine, as far too many students poured out of other halls surrounding the one I had just left. As the room only got louder, and the sounds of more people echoing off shiny marbled walls, I held my ears down harder. This time, it had even less effect.

I felt my tail curl around my body as if it was doing anything to shield me from thundering noises. I pushed on, soon enough, I'd be in my room and away from the deafening noises. I continued walking, holding down my ears and my tail curled up around my hip and torso. I'd tried to avoid the largest crowds making the most noise. But then a noise cut through everything else, it was closer.

"Hey, are you okay?" A concerned voice called out from behind me and even in all this chaos, it was the one thing I was okay with hearing, the one thing I wanted to hear. I turned to look at him, letting go of my ears slightly. I smiled at him, he looked worried and concerned, his arms stretched out as if to comfort me. But he didn't touch me, his hand didn't come any closer.

"It's just loud in here," I replied, my ears still wrapped around my head.

"Then let's get you back to the dorms," He said, his hand finally reaching my shoulder. But just before he placed it, I noticed a slight hesitation in his hands. We walked together until we reached the dorm. When I let go of my ears, his hand had slipped into mine, I wasn't quite sure when, just that it happened.

Exhaustion I didn't know was there kicked in as we walked through a somewhat busy courtyard but not loud like the library. Maybe sometimes I did care about the eyes that followed me everywhere like a lost puppy. But maybe right now, I didn't really care. Maybe that's why I let myself rest my head on his shoulder as we walked.

His heartbeat quickened and he didn't look down at me. We just walked. Past all those staring eyes. Ignoring them. Just us alone in our perfect little illusion.

***

3270 words