𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 . 𝐜𝐲𝐧𝐨

𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎

☆꧁༒꧂☆

Aaru Village - Late Morning

Cyno sighed, impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. He knew not to expect F/N to get up as early as yesterday, but they were really starting to test his patience now. Just as he was about to go and wake them up himself, F/N stepped out of their temporary residence.

"Good morning," They yawned, tiredly waving to Cyno, "What time are we leaving?"

"Right now. You slept through most of the morning," Cyno slightly glared at F/N.

"Oops?" They shrugged, adjusting their bag, "Let's go, then?"

Cyno nodded, turning away. He began to walk in the direction of the main desert. F/N followed behind him, looking around as they walked, taking in the surroundings. As they were close to leaving the village, Cyno stopped, noticing a tall woman waiting at the exit to the main desert. He approached her calmly, while F/N followed behind hesitantly.

"You're leaving later than you said you would," The woman noted.

Cyno gestured to F/N, "We would've left a lot earlier if somebody didn't decide to oversleep."

"I'm sorry?" F/N frowned, visibly offended, "I can't control when I wake up, you know. Besides, I was having a really nice dream about-- wait, that's irrelevant. Nevermind."

The woman glanced at F/N, "So, you must be F/N? Cyno mentioned you quite a few times while asking if there was anywhere the two of you would be able to stay. I'm Candace."

"Hello, Candace," F/N smiled, "I hope he didn't say anything bad about me."

Candace smiled back, "Quite the opposite. But, we can discuss that another time. I won't hold the two of you up any longer. Goodbye."

Candace waved to the pair and walked back to the main village. Cyno gestured for F/N to continue following him. They followed after, before finally managing to walk beside him.

"What did you say about me?" They asked, naturally curious.

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"And I think it is. After all, it was me you were talking about. Therefore, it should be my business."

"I'll tell you another time. Now is not a good time for this discussion," He frowned, glancing around every so often at the cliffs. This went on for about two hours, before Cyno finally spoke again.

"We're close. Get ready."

F/N nodded, getting their weapon out of their bag swiftly. The two walked slowly against one of the cliffs, before Cyno stopped. F/N bumped into him, and almost yelled at him, before remembering they were keeping a low profile. He looked around the corner, before looking back at F/N, nodding. He prepared his polearm, before gesturing for F/N to make the first move. They peaked around the cliff to find out what they were dealing with. A group of Eremites and three merchants. Nothing too difficult, but attacking directly would be risky.

They turned to Cyno and whispered, "Take this and wait for my signal," They passed him their weapon, before demonstrating the "signal". 

Cyno looked at them in confusion, but nodded. F/N stepped out from behind the cliff, and approached the merchants.

One of the Eremites raised their weapon, "Who are you?!"

"Hm? A potential client for these merchants. If you're going to attack me like that, I might just change my mind."

"Lower your weapon, Ammon."

The Eremite lowered his weapon and stepped aside, revealing the three merchants. One of them gestured for F/N to approach, and they did.

"Hm... A Vision holder. That's a first. What would you like to discuss, my friend?" The middle merchant asked, smiling.

F/N hesitated slightly, "Well, sir, I heard rumours of a group of merchants selling confidential information about the Matra, the Akademiya and the Corps of Thirty. I was led to the three of you by some rumours."

"Oh! Aren't you well informed?" The merchant on the left noted, "Might I ask why you need this information?"

"I'm currently a student at the Akademiya, in the Haravatat Darshan. The Akademiya have been rejecting a lot of my thesis proposals and... well, frankly, I want to get revenge for that."

"How intriguing..." The final merchant muttered, "Well, if you're aware of the information we have, you must also be aware we know exactly who you are, Y/N."

F/N flinched, realising the oversight on their part. They subtly moved their hands behind their back, giving Cyno the signal, "Hm, I suppose that confirms the Matra's suspicions then... I'm going to have to kindly ask you to give me every written piece of information you have, or else they'll be consequences."

"I'm afraid we won't be doing that. Ammon, grab them."

The Eremite who had previously threatened F/N had now grabbed them by their arms. A few moments later, F/N saw movement atop the cliff in their peripheral vision. They maintained eye contact with the merchants, "What are you going to do to me, then? You are aware I have a Vision."

"That may be true, but you appear to be unarmed and you're also outnumbered."

"We'll see about that..." They muttered. Just then, Cyno jumped down from the top of the cliff, landing on top of one of the Eremites. Without bothering to use his own Vision, he attacked the rest of the Eremites. This surprise attack resulted in Ammon releasing F/N from his grasp. 

Whilst Cyno was attacking the Eremites, the three merchants attempted to escape. Cyno tossed F/N their weapon and yelled at them, "Don't let them get away, or else you're getting reprimanded again!"

Thanks, I really needed a reminder to do my job.

F/N caught their weapon, chasing after the merchants. They used their Vision to get in front of them, "Stop right there."

The merchants started panicking, realising they had nowhere to run. F/N approached them, grabbing two of their wrists in one hand, and the third with their other, "Did you honestly think you could get away?" They scoffed, dragging them back to Cyno.

"Hm, nice job," Cyno acknowledged F/N, holding down an Eremite with his foot, "You lot are going to come with us without resisting or else we'll have to resort to worse measures. Is that understood?"

The leader of the Eremites began nodding, visibly panicked. 

"Good," Cyno turned to F/N, "Next time, don't get captured for a foolish oversight."

"Foolish oversight? I'll have you know that was all part of my plan. Whenever I do a job, everything goes according to plan."

Cyno didn't believe them, but nodded, "Let's get this group to the Corps of Thirty in Caravan Ribat. That should take us until the evening."

"Got it."

With that, Cyno, F/N, the merchants and their Eremites made their way to Caravan Ribat. Once again, justice had been served.