Temporary (Tighnari X Reader)

4

"I'm heading out. Be careful when you go outside, apparently there's a case of rabies spreading around by wild foxes, or something like that- anyways, I'm off!"

(Y/N) hardly heard her mom. She was still in the process of eliminating traces of sleep in her mind with a piece of toast sagging from her mouth. Her bed head sent stray hairs flying with every turn and sway of her head.

Last night was a thread of memories that couldn't be untangled. Something kept her up, but she couldn't remember exactly what it was. All she felt was a bout of determination after she had come back from school, and she holed herself up in her room and sacrificed her favourite time of the day- dinner.

But she'd brush that aside for now. She had to focus on finishing her toast and wrangling the birds nest on her head. Sleep still encrusted her eyes, and she washed all traces of drowsiness away after finishing her breakfast.

One glance at her watch told her she was running late for school. With stumbling steps and a cotton filled mind, she aimlessly flung out the door and started running to the bus stop, hoping she could catch the late morning ride.

As she stood there waiting, she hid her (h/c) hair beneath her hat and rubbed her eyes, trying to calculate how many hours of sleep she got and simultaneously wondering why her mother didn't rush her like she normally would when she was running late.

Then she started to wonder why the bus was late, and why she was the only one waiting, the street nearly deserted save for a few passing cars.

Her eyes widened and her stomach somersaulted. Today was Friday- she had an assignment to hand in for her biology class, and it was due in less than an hour. As fast as the panic came, it went just as quickly as she recalled the assignment that she was working on last night, and she handed it in already.

"If that was Friday..." The pieces added themselves together. It was Saturday. She had no school. Very few people had work, public transport had a different schedule, the library was closed, shops would run for only a few more hours, and-

The library was closed...

"THE LIBRARY'S CLOSED! TIGHNARI!"

Her panic returned, sending her into a spree of going back and forth, unsure of what to do. Tighnari would be all alone and locked out of the library. Well, that didn't sound too bad in her head, he would only have to wait for her to get there and they'll work out a solution.

Without public transport, it would take her nearly an hour to get to school. She hoped Tighnari would still be there, hopefully he didn't wander off somewhere else. As she was halfway there, a message buzzed on her phone. She stopped to take a look at it.

'EMERGENCY ALERT: State of emergency is in effect. A dangerous persons has been identified within this vicinity. Young male, exotic animal- like appearance. DO NOT APPROACH. If seen, please contact local authorities immediately. Stay alert and, if possible, stay inside behind locked doors. Further details will be announced shortly.'

After seeing that message, she came to two conclusions. Either a weird, perverted cosplayer was running rampant, or it was about Tighnari. Which ever the case, she was skeptical of Tighnari being the dangerous persons. If he wanted to hurt anyone, he would have done it long ago. Still, she remembered that he wasn't all human...

She shook her head and started to jog. If she was going to come to a conclusion, she had to see Tighnari for herself, her mind aching with needed sleep only worsened by worry.

As soon as the schools library was in sight, she put her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. The hot sun was buzzing high in the sky, its heat amplified by the scorching pavement and concrete.