WRITER’S NOTE:

These short stories are written in unison between Tashi (@khian.bsky.social) & I. The style of writing is RP and sectioned as such. Cayto is written by Tashi, and Lohkri is written by me, Cillian.

With Cayto’s and Lohkri’s contract coming to a close after five long months they have worked together, the viper/mage duo make their way to one last temple on their list in Thanalan’s unrelenting heat, in hopes of figuring out how to cure Cayto’s magical affliction. Things don’t go as planned, tensions and emotions start to run high, and the two Miqo’te finally start to come to terms with their feelings for one another.

Tashi/Cayto: 💜

Cillian/Lohkri: 🧡

Rating: T

8,500 Word Count

💜💜

Rain, Thunder, Heat. Thanalan was truly a wondrous piece of Eorzea, Cayto had to muse over his five months here now. He had experienced the snows of Ishgard, the Gales of Thavnair, the humidity of the Shroud, but Thanalan was like a book that had been written by five different authors and each had brought in their own ideas and experiences.

Cayto came to like it here. The little Villages like the Silver Bazaar right at the coast. The old ruins of Sil’dihn. The Sagolii Desert, even though he had only seen its northern reaches and an Amal’jaa Camp. He would have loved to venture more south, taste the dry, sandy heat that was beckoning him when they were in Little Ala Mhigo. But that would have meant to go without Lohkri, because the Seeker had refused to take him there, fully knowing that what Cayto sought wasn’t to be found at this place that obviously only had bad memories for Lohkri to offer.

Lohkri. That tough little man.

After their more serious conversation that night where Cayto had showed him his palms, Cayto had the feeling that they could both understand each other better. They still had to fight off some beasts and bandits on the road or around the important landmarks Cayto wanted to visit, but the more often they were confronted with battle, the more Cayto saw that Lohkri was a person willing to improve, willing to learn. Not like Cayto would. Not with a book and some like-minded nerds around to exchange knowledge and interesting discussions. No, Lohkri was practical and very quickly influenced by the energy and reactions he received with his actions.

Cayto found an unknown joy to see how the little Viper reacted to being simply acknowledged with a smile and a nod, in comparison to an annoyed cold answer. And Cayto had many of the latter up for Lohkri during their first weeks. He wouldn’t deny it but the other man had more often than not trampled on Cayto’s nerves… until the mage somehow got used to it. Found Lohkri’s grins a little less unpleasant, his pestering questions a little less unnecessary. And the Seeker did slowly seem to improve on his sword skills. Maybe it was the battling together with a mage to have his back. A push in confidence. Either way… Cayto found himself much less annoyed in Lohkri’s presence than he had five months ago. And when they sometimes did their own things for an hour or two every other day, and met back at their camp later, the scholar realized that the sudden silence around him was… strange. Not unwelcome, and definitely a relief sometimes but… strange.

So far every shrine they had visited, every crumb of information Cayto had gleaned, and every conversation he had with mages they met on the road revealed as unhelpful and misleading to nothing regarding the origin, or any kind of knowledge, of the old magic that had let Cayto’s body become so repellent to his own use of magic. Like oil to water.

Today was the last chance, the last straw of hope to get at least any kind of information. It was a sunny, quite warm day and their path lead them west of Horizon. Here, in between this swampy, rocky landscape on the way to Vesper Bay, the entrance to a very old temple dedicated to an unknown god or king was said to be found.