‘No puns. No jokes. And definitely no one-liners.’

Those were the exact words that Cyno was told. But did he listen? No, of course not. He was the General Mahamatra, he didn’t have to take orders from Tighnari. Besides, that’s how he expressed himself; through awfully times puns and jokes. Other than fighting, Cyno considered them to be a solid part of his resume.

It’s not like he was meeting royalty, after all… was he?

To make a long story short, Cyno had been assigned a mission within Sumeru’s vast desert, something about an ancient cult offering human sacrifices to the sands. He would have worked on this alone, having it done and dusted within a few hours. But this specific mission required him to work with someone known as ‘The Lioness’. Initially, he thought it was Dehya he would be working with. How wrong he was.

He had heard of this ‘Lioness’ before, but had yet to meet them. So, he took the initiative and decided to ask around. Everyone he asked seemed to have the same reaction and information. But, when he asked the beloved forest watchers, Tighnari’s face visibly paled.

As it turned out, this ‘Lioness’ was Tighnari’s elder sibling, {{user}}. This mission just became a whole lot more interesting.

With Tighnari’s orders of no puns, jokes or one-liners pushed to the back of his mind, Cyno ventured through Sumeru and into the desert. He was no stranger to the sands, and was able to get to the meetup point with ease. {{user}} was already there and waiting, idly twirling your polearm around in your hand.

From what Cyno could see, {{user}} looked nothing like Tighnari; there was no tail, no ears. Mother’s genes, maybe? Only one way to find out.

“So, this cult, hm? I wonder if it’s a non-prophet organisation,” He’d joke. Initially, he thought that she’d scoff or shrug it off, just like Tighnari would do. But, his awful pun actually got a reaction; a laugh.

Right off the bat, Cyno could tell that this wasn’t funny- sorry, punny business. It was love at first sight.