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Tighnari’s Goose Day starts bright and early.
Or maybe it should be “dark and early” seeing as how he wakes up with a faceful of feathers blocking out the light of the early morning sun.
It takes several long moments for Tighnari to process this, but as soon as he does he sits up, grabbing at the offending feathery creature and dragging it off his face.
“What in the world?” he yelps, in between spitting out the feathers that had gotten into his mouth.
Had a dusk bird gotten into his hut by mistake?
Honk!
Blinking the last edges of sleep out of his vision, Tighnari follows the piercing sound to the source of his very sudden, very rude awakening, only to find a goose sitting on the floor next to his bed, feathers ruffled and looking distinctly put out.
“Oh no…” Tighnari mutters, shoulders slumping. Of all the days for his Goose Day to happen.
The goose honks at him again, hopping to its feet and flapping its wings.
Tighnari groans quietly, throwing his legs over the side of his bed and standing up. “Give me half an hour,” he tells the goose. “I’ll get ready and let the other Forest Rangers know I’m leaving, and then we can go.”
Honk!
Tighnari ignores the offended sound the goose makes, instead retrieving a fresh set of clothes and getting ready for the day.
Ten minutes later, Tighnrir exits his hut, chewing a bite of the zaytun peach he’d grabbed for breakfast — the goose had started honking and making a general nuisance of itself when he tried to prepare something more substantial — and takes the path down to where the other Forest Rangers are already gathering near the river, his feathery escort waddling along just behind him.
Collei is there already when Tighnari joins the small group of Forest Rangers, and she smiles when she sees Tighnari. Then her mouth drops open as she sees his feathery escort.
“Master Tighnari,” she says. “Is that your goose?”
TIghnari hums softly, swallowing his bite of peach before he answers. “Seems like it,” he says. Turning to the other Forest Rangers, he adds “I’m going to need a few days off. Can you all cover my patrol schedule until—”
Honk!
Tighnari sighed. “As I was saying, my patrols will—”
Honk!
Tighnari grinds his teeth for a long moment, then turns his attention to the goose. “I need to get my patrols sorted out before we can go. Be patient.” Satisfied that the goose would wait, Tighnari returns to the issue at hand. “Rana, can I leave—”
HONK!
Tighnari suppresses a yelp as large, feathery wings smack against his arm. Whirling on the goose, he reaches out and snatches the infernal creature by the neck. Drawing his arm back, Tighnari throws the goose with all his strength.
Hooooonk!
The long, drawn-out sound from the goose lasts for several seconds before being cut off by a resounding splash, as it presumably lands in the river.
Content with his solution and confident that he’ll have a few moments of peace, Tighnari turns back to the other Forest Rangers. He isn’t at all surprised to find them trying not to laugh. Collei, in particular, has her hands over her mouth, eyes dancing with mirth at her master’s plight.
“Yes, yes, very funny,” Tighnari says dryly. “I hope all of you have equally obnoxious geese on your Goose Days.”
“I hate to tell you,” Shirin says between poorly muffled giggles, “But I had my Goose Day some years ago now. I’m afraid I’m safe from your curse.”
So far as Tighnari can remember, Shirin’s Goose Day has been fairly inconspicuous, all things considered. Her goose had been quite mild-tempered, and had only dragged her halfway through Gandharva Ville before presenting her with her soulmate.
Truly a Goose Day to be envied.
Tighnari shakes his head to brush away the memory. “I hope your goose comes back to haunt you, then,” he tells Shirin. “Anyway, about those patrols. I’m going to be gone for a few days at least, so I’ll need you all to cover my work and keep an eye on Collei for me.”
“It shouldn’t be hard to divide up your patrols between us,” Rana says, raising her hand to get Tighnari’s attention. “And I was supposed to give Collei some lessons on forest flora anyway, so I can watch her while you’re gone.”
“Excellent, thank you,” Tighnari says to Rana, relaxing a bit. Rana is practical and reliable, and Tighnari feels a little better knowing she’ll be keeping an eye on Collei while he’s dealing with—
Honk!
Tighnari sighs and tilts his head back to stare at the sky. Kusanali give me patience, he thinks to himself as his goose waddles up to them, feathers soaked and looking very indignant.
“Alright,” Tighnari says, turning to Collei. “Keep working on your reading and writing while I’m gone. You can ask one of the other Forest Rangers if you have any questions. Don’t do anything dangerous, and listen to Rana the same way you would listen to me, understand?”
Collei nods, a serious look on her face. “I understand,” she says. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“Good,” Tighnari says, pleased.
Honk.
“I’ll just be another moment,” Tighnari half growls at his goose, glaring down at it. “Do not make me throw you into the river again.”
Honk!
“You should go,” Collei tells him, an amused look on her face. “Your goose looks about ready to start dragging you.”
Tighnari grimaces. “I’ll be going then. Take care.”
The other Forest Rangers all wave goodbye as Tighnari takes off, following his goose in the direction of Sumeru City.
+++
All things considered, Tighnari makes it to Sumeru City without incident.
This is fairly impressive, considering the fact that his goose had taken it upon itself to take him on the most direct route to the city, which meant completely ignoring the well-worn roads and wandering through the thick underbrush.
By the time they break through the trees and onto the road leading up to the entrance to the city, Tighnari is tired, thirsty, and more than a little bit irritated.
The goose, on the other hand, seems to be in high spirits, waddling its way toward the entrance to the city and as though they’re on a time limit.
Sighing in resignation, Tighnari picks up his pace to catch up with it. Much as he wants to make the goose stop so he can rest for a few minutes, he knows it’s a futile endeavor. He’d already argued with the goose about stopping several times, to no avail. At this point, he’s better off putting his head down and letting the goose lead him to his soulmate. He can take a break once he’s met them.
The Corps of Thirty members guarding the gates give him sympathetic looks as he passes them, and one raises his hand in a brief greeting. Tighnari has just enough time to return the gesture before the goose honks loudly at him, flapping its wings impatiently.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Tighnari grumbles as he follows the obnoxious creature up the road into the city.
True to its nature, the goose makes an unholy racket as it waddles through the streets, honking and flapping its wings at anyone who doesn’t get out of the way fast enough. Tighnari resists the urge to hunch his shoulders as he follows it.
Fortunately, the people of Sumeru City are more than familiar with the inevitable chaos of Goose Day, so they mostly just step aside and let Tighnari and his goose pass with minimal trouble.
Tighnarir’s keen hearing does pick up a few whispers here and there though.
“Is that Forest Watcher Tighnari?” one woman whispers to the shop keeper she’d been bartering with.
“Looks like it,” the shopkeeper responds. “I’m surprised to see him following his goose so quietly.”
Across the street, a young child points. “Mama,” she says, “Why is that man following a goose?”
“It’s his Goose Day,” the woman holding the child’s hand says softly. “That goose is going to lead him to his soulmate.”
Tighnari is out of earshot by the time the child responds, but he feels his mouth curl into a fond smile. Collei had been similarly curious when she had first stood witness to another person’s Goose Day.
Honk!
Tighnari is dragged out of this thoughts by his goose, and looks up to see that it has led him to the door of a small house in the residential district. It’s small, and doesn’t stand out much between the other houses, but it looks cozy enough, and Tighnari had caught sight of a small garden in the back as he was following his goose along the road toward it.
“I take it my soulmate is in there?” Tighnari asks the goose.
He receives a very excited honk in response, accompanied by more wing flapping.
“Alright,” Tighnari mutters. “Seems like it’s a yes.”
Breathing deeply, he lifts one hand and knocks on the door. A few seconds pass, but nothing happens. Tighnari frowns, and knocks again.
This time, there’s a rustle and the sound of bare feet on a wooden floor, before the door swings open.
“For the love of Kusanali, what do you—”
Honk!
—want?”
Tighnari stares.
Red eyes stare back.
“Tighnari?” Kaveh asks, looking surprised. “What are you doing here?”
Tighanri just gestures helplessly at his goose.
Kaveh blinks, then turns his gaze to the goose. “You again,” he says after a long moment. Tighnari blinks twice, surprised that Kaveh apparently recognizes his goose. He’d never heard of someone recognizing another person’s goose before.
After a long moment of staring, Kaveh looks to Tighnari, then to the goose, then back to Tighnari. “There must be some mistake,” he finally says.
Tighnari doesn’t flinch, but his ears begin to flatten back against his head. “What do you mean?” he asks, wary.
Honk.
Both of them look back at the goose, who has waddled a few feet away and is staring back at them expectantly.
“Ah,” Kaveh groans and runs a hand through his hair. “Let me get my shoes on. I’ll explain while we follow your goose.”
HONK.
This time, the sound the goose makes is more than a little threatening. It turns and begins to waddle back toward them, head low as it stares intently at Kaveh.
“Oh no you don’t,” Tighnari says, stepping in between the goose and his soulmate. “Attack Kaveh and I throw you over the closest railing.”
The goose lets out a honk that sounds almost disbelieving.
Behind Tighnari, the door clicks shut, and a few minutes pass as Tighnari stares down his goose.
“Don’t try me,” he warns it.
The goose, surprisingly, drops its gaze and turns away.
…honk.
The sound of the door opening again draws Tighnari’s gaze, and he sees Kaveh step out and go to lock the door behind him, only to groan in frustration.
“Alhaitham took both keys again,” he grumbles.
“You live with Alhaitham?” Tighnari asks, a little surprised. Last he knew, Kaveh and Alhaitham hadn’t talked in several years.
“Don’t say that so loud!” Kaveh hisses as they take off after the goose. “No one’s supposed to know.”
Tighnari stares at Kaveh for a long moment, somewhat bemused by the note of desperation in Kaveh’s voice, but ultimately shrugs it off. There will be plenty of time to ask questions and dig for answers later. “Fair enough,” he says.
The residential parts of the city are much quieter at this time of day, so the two of them follow the goose in relative peace.
“I didn’t know you had made up with Alhaitham,” TIghnari says, breaking the relatively comfortable silence between them.
“I haven’t,” Kaveh answers. “It’s just… How do I explain this?” He pauses for a long moment, clearly thinking, then, “Your goose led Alhaitham to me in the Grand Bazaar a while back while I was helping Sheikh Zubayr renovate the theatre.”
Tighnari stops in his tracks. “You and Alhaitham are soulmates?” he asks, staring at Kaveh.
Kaveh nods, even as he grimaces a little bit. “Yeah. I mean, I’m not exactly happy about it, but… yeah. We’re soulmates.”
“If that’s the case,” Tighnari says, glancing at the goose still waddling ahead of them, “Then why did my goose lead me to you? And where is it leading us?”
Kaveh shrugs helplessly. “Your guess is as good as mine,” he says. “I guess the best we can do is follow it and find out what it’s up to.”
HONK.
Tighnari looks away from Kaveh to find that the goose has realized it isn’t following them anymore, and is waddling back toward them, flapping its wings as it honks at them threateningly.
“...we should go,” Kaveh says. “I really don’t want to get on the wrong side of a goose.”
+++
Alhaitham is just stepping out of his office when Tighnari’s goose leads him and Kaveh to the door.
Tighnari watches curiously as Alhaitham stares down at the goose for a long moment.
“Oh,” he finally says. “It’s you.”
“That’s what I said,” Kaveh groans as he walks up to Alhaitham. Tighnari pauses a few steps away, uncertain.
“And what, pray tell, is it doing here?” Alhaitham asks dryly.
In answer, Kaveh points at Tighnari. “It led him here,” he explains. “Actually, it led him to me first, but then it dragged us both here. I thought it was some kind of mistake, but… well.” He trails off at the end of the statement, apparently unsure how to continue.
Tighnari does his best not to fidget as Alhaitham looks him over.
“I doubt it’s a mistake,” Alhaitham finally says. “There aren’t many records of people having more than one soulmate, but they do exist.”
Tighnari relaxes a little bit at that. He’d been feeling on edge ever since Kaveh said the goose must have made a mistake, wondering if it was true, or if it wasn’t and he was just going to be rejected by his soulmate(s).
“Trust you to have found such obscure records,” Kaveh muttered. Then he seemed to shake himself, and turned to look down at the goose. “Well,” he started, then stopped.
Following his gaze, Tighnari was slightly thrown off guard as he discovered that his goose was gone, as though it had never been there.
“Okay…” Kaveh said slowly. “So,” he started, “Have you two met before?”
Tighnari shakes his head. “Not directly,” he says. “I’ve heard rumors, but we’ve never met face to face.”
“All terrible, I’m sure,” Alhaitham says in an almost disinterested tone of voice, but there’s an appraising glint in his eyes as he looks Tighnari over curiously.
“Only mostly,” Tighnari retorts, the words slipping out of his mouth before he can really think them over. “I prefer to make my own judgments though,” he adds. “Not everyone can be trusted to have unbiased opinions.”
“Good to hear,” Alhaitham says. Then, surprisingly, he sticks out his hand. “I’m Alhaitham, the Scribe of the Akademiya. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Tighnari, Forest Watcher of the Avidya Forest,” Tighnari replies as he shakes Alhaitham’s hand.
As thrown off he is by this strange turn of fate, he’s curious to see where it goes, being soulmates with two such interesting individuals.