Chapter Text
It was official – he was going insane.
At least, that’s what he’s going to assume for now. Though, he is most certainly hoping it isn’t true.
With a deep sigh, Kaveh took a sip of his wine before setting his glass down on the table. Slouching in his seat, he could only quietly bemoan his situation. A part of him wondered how he managed to get himself in such a predicament in the first place. Meanwhile, another part of him wondered why he simply couldn't just…let it go. But who was he to give up on something that has, obviously, caught his interest? He may be an architect now, but he was once an honor student. And that meant it was hard to not pursue answers to a mystery.
It all started a few weeks back during a shopping trip. With what little he had saved over, he was planning to buy some fresh groceries since he was running out of ingredients to make himself food. And, while navigating the busy market’s streets, that’s when he saw it.
Among the sea of people, his attentive gaze had spotted a unique shine of long, silver hair decorated with vibrant flowers. Mixed within were strands of, what appeared to be, seafoam green highlights. Even now, Kaveh wasn’t entirely sure what exactly caught his attention so much, but it had grabbed him in a chokehold. However, when he had managed to make his way over, the person was gone. He had taken some time to check the nearby areas, but he still didn’t catch a hint of the person he was looking for. Since he only saw a back view, he couldn’t tell for sure if the one he was looking for was a man or a woman. It was a tiny bit frustrating, but he simply shrugged it off as an unfortunately missed opportunity and called it a day. That, there, should have been the end of it.
Yet, a couple of days later, he spotted that familiar shine of silver while confirming an order regarding some materials for the next project he was working on. It was a partly cloudy day in Port Ormos, merchants far and wide going about their business as usual. At the time, he was, unfortunately, stuck staying in place. He wasn’t capable of just abandoning what he was doing while waiting to chase after someone. So, with a struggle, he held himself back as he watched that person eventually walk out of his field of view. The only thing he could be grateful for was the fact he got to see a little more of the other’s appearance. This time, it was the clothing that caught his attention. The robes were indicative of the styles worn by any citizen of Sumeru, and yet there was something almost…homemade about them? Perhaps, it was a custom order. It wouldn’t be the first time someone has contacted a tailor to commission clothing. A part of Kaveh felt that it wasn’t that simple, but he was still too far away to get a better idea of the material and fabrics.
That time when he went home, the silver-haired stranger lingered in his thoughts a little bit longer than last time. And, again, he tried to shrug it off.
And, again, he kept spotting that person over, and over, and over, and over again.
Sometimes, Kaveh would be attempting to track the other down in the streets of Sumeru City or Port Ormos. Other times, he’d be outside the city to visit places such as Gandharva Ville, and he’d spot that silver hair between the trees. It eventually got to the point that Kaveh was practically on high alert, wondering if he’d seen the shine of silver in the most unexpected of places and time again. It certainly made some of his friends worry when they took notice. Collei was concerned, Tighnari was tempted to give him a health checkup, and even Cyno was wondering if he was in danger or got himself into some trouble. Though, all of that felt rather minor. After all, in his opinion, what made the situation worse was the fact that he hasn’t managed to successfully reach out to the mystery person.
It was like trying to grasp light. He could see it, but he couldn’t catch it. Every single time, again and again, he failed.
It was driving him crazy and he wondered if he should be getting himself some glasses. Maybe he was just having very poor eyesight and just imagining things now. Ah, but he hopes that isn’t true either. How much would a good pair of glasses be on the market? Poor eyesight would certainly be preferable compared to potential insanity, but it still wasn’t a good thing.
With somewhat manic energy in his veins that made his limbs twitch with the desire for movement, Kaveh groaned as he grasped at his hair. “Who the hell is that person and how do they keep vanishing like a ghost?! Do they even realize how disruptive they’re being to my daily life?! At this rate, I’ll run myself into the ground faster than the costs of my projects’ construction materials!”
“-e me be.”
Kaveh blinked as he snapped out of his thoughts, picking up the tail end of someone’s conversation. With curiosity, he decided to glance over. In one of the more distant tables by a corner of Lambad’s Tavern, someone was seated by themselves. Yet, a man was standing in front of them, refusing to move despite clearly being unwelcome. From this angle, Kaveh couldn’t quite see the face of the one sitting down and he could only see the back of the man.
“C’mon, don’t be like that. Here, how about I get you a drink?”
“As I’ve said before, no thank you. I’m not interested.”
“You should lighten up. It’d be a shame for a face as pretty as yours to be stuck with a frown.”
“I said-”
“Oh, hell no. Not on my watch.” Kaveh instantly got up from his seat as soon as he saw that harasser attempting to touch the other. Grabbing his drink as he made his way over, he frowned deeply with disapproval. Before either of the two knew it, Kaveh’s free hand swiftly grasped the wrist of the man who, clearly, was not respecting boundaries.
Kaveh managed to hear the faintest intake of breath behind him and he could only assume it was due to his unexpected intervention. However, he could address the person he was saving in a moment. First, he needed to make sure they were safe from this man. Fortunately, it was moments like these where his rather intense eyes worked in his favor. “ Excuse me , but you’re not welcome here.”
“Eh? Who are you to get in the way of our conversation? What are you, his boyfriend?”
“Actually, yes . I am.” Kaveh allowed a confident smirk to grace his face despite the lie, his eyes seemingly glinting with a barely concealed threat. Under the warm lights of the tavern, Kaveh’s eyes seemed to sharpen like a predator eyeing its prey. The man’s thin wrist twitched nervously as the architect tightened his grip dangerously. “So, I will kindly suggest that you get out of my damn sight before things get a bit messy for you.”
“I-You-” The man seemed to start thinking twice, wondering if it was worth the argument before quickly pulling away. A broken wrist or worse was not worth it, and the overflowing air of confidence and authority pitted again him made him internally shrink. “F-Fine. I have better things to do anyway.”
Kaveh merely gave a faint raise of his brow with skepticism but observed with satisfaction as the stranger had retreated, soon leaving through the tavern’s entrance. Once he was sure things were fine again, Kaveh let himself relax. “Geez, the audacity of some people…” He took another sip of his wine before turning to check on the one he helped.
-Only to nearly choke on his wine.
Seated at the table was the one he had been looking for all this time. And- wow . The other was certainly, by all means, a natural beauty. That silver hair seemed to shine even more brilliantly up close, the cool grey gaining a gentle and warm tint under the tavern lights. It was long, very long, and pulled back into a single braid that ran down his back. Seemingly woven into it were impressively healthy-looking flowers. Yet, Kaveh found himself captivated by the collection of hues that made up the other’s eyes like some sort of art piece. And, damn, those were some long lashes.
“Are you done gawking at me?”
Kaveh was startled at the sudden question, easily picking up on the irritated tone. Ah, right… It probably wasn’t a very good idea to start admiring someone who was just being harassed by another stranger. The architect faintly blushed with a mixture of embarrassment and shame. “Sorry about that. I just…never seen anyone like you around before. So, are you alright? I can’t imagine that was a pleasant experience.”
“I’m fine. Besides, even if you did not help, I could have easily dealt with that man myself.”
Despite knowing nothing about the other, Kaveh had a strong gut feeling that such words were all bite and no bark. Slightly clearing his throat, he offered a small smile. “Anyways, I never introduced myself. I’m Kaveh, an architect in Sumeru.”
“A-” The silver-haired man faintly frowned thoughtfully with a momentary pause before continuing. “Alhaitham.”
“Alhaitham…” Internally, Kaveh did a mental cheer because he finally got the other’s name. In fact, he not only got a name, but a face to go with it. And it was a pretty looking one too!
“-ice to meet you, but I should be going. I merely came to look around for a little bit.”
Kaveh paused for a moment, his welcoming expression frozen as he began to process the words. Once he did, his eyes widened. “Ah, wait. I was hoping to-” He looked in front of him and Alhaitham was already out of his seat and making his way out the door.
Acting quickly, Kaveh followed after Alhaitham. However, as soon as he made it out the door, he couldn’t spot the other anywhere on the relatively empty streets. The blonde could only stand there, absolutely dumbfounded.
“ Gaah ! How does he do that every time ?!”
Nearby, some people briefly shot a glance at the architect’s cry. Kaveh tried to ignore the weird looks his outburst must have earned him.
“A very, very long time ago, there was a little Nara who was all alone. He had no home and ran far, far away into the forest to hide for reasons unknown. One day, tired and hungry, he found a tiny home made of stone that sprouted leaves. Despite how small it was, he could fit inside the small and odd home. And it was there, that he finally found a place to rest in relative peace.
But, to his surprise, he would wake up the next day being looked upon by tiny creatures he had never seen before. They called themselves Aranara, and they wondered what a little Nara like him was doing so far from home – so far from his fellow Nara.
When asked, the little Nara did not answer. So, they did not ask further for they saw the unhappiness it brought.
For some days, they helped the little Nara. They gave him a place to sleep and bountiful food from the forest to eat. But soon, they had helped guide the little Nara to the nearest Nara village, for a little Nara was always meant to be among his kind.
The next day, some Aranara found the little Nara sleeping once again in that tiny home where they had nursed him back to health as best as they could.
They had tried once again to guide the lost, little Nara back so he may find a home. Only his kind would know how to help a little Nara properly.
Yet, with every attempt, they would find the little Nara fast asleep in that same tiny home. The Aranara were lost and confused as to what to do. So, they had gone to their Village Chief for his wisdom.
“If the little Nara will not return to the other Nara and has no home, then let’s make the little Nara a home.”
Not wanting a young, pure, and honest soul to meet misfortune, the Aranara welcomed him into their tiny village. A Nara was staying with them for the first time in many years.
“Silver Nara, we don’t know how to make you a home, but we will try.”
The little Nara – the Silver Nara – couldn’t help but smile at their sincerity. And so, he said, “I don’t know what a “home” is like either. But being here has to be it, right?”