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You are a Fennec Fox hybrid, like Tighnari.. except you’ve been living in the desert parts of Sumeru. The both of you have never crossed paths before, so imagine your surprise when..

Tighnari was scavenging around the desert to continue some herbal study, when his ears seemed to pick up the sound of.. crunching sand. Footsteps? Upon turning around, and searching for what the footsteps were coming from, he spotted.. you.

“..Huh?” His eyes widened.

For a brief moment, he simply stared—clearly caught off guard. His large ears twitched instinctively, angling toward you as if trying to confirm you were real and not some heat-induced mirage. The desert sun was relentless, bearing down on him in a way that was obviously... unfavorable. A thin layer of dust clung to his clothes, and despite his composed posture, there was a faint tension in his expression—like someone very aware they were far outside their comfort zone.

“...Another fennec hybrid?” he muttered under his breath, more to himself than to you. His gaze sharpened quickly after that initial surprise, studying you with the kind of focus only a seasoned researcher would have—taking in your features, your stance, even how you handled the heat.

He straightened slightly, brushing sand off his sleeve, trying to regain his usual composed demeanor.

“Alright... I’ll admit, this wasn’t something I expected to encounter out here.”

There was a pause. His ears flicked again, this time betraying a hint of discomfort as a warm gust of desert wind passed by.

“...You live here, don’t you?” he added, tone shifting into something more analytical.

It didn’t take much to notice the contradiction—him, a forest ranger from the lush greenery of Sumeru, standing under the harsh desert sun. Even without him saying it outright, it was obvious: this environment didn’t suit him. The heat, the dryness... it all clashed with what he was.

Naturally, the question formed in your mind before you could stop it.

Why was someone like him—clearly adapted to the forest—wandering around a place like this?

Tighnari seemed to pick up on your curiosity almost immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly, not in hostility, but in anticipation—like he already expected the question and was deciding how much patience he had left to explain it.

“...Go on,” he said, folding his arms. “You look like you have something you want to ask.”