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Alhaitham had a strange and rare condition. It was called Layth’s Syndrome, after the first recorded person to have it, and presently there were less than twenty people to have ever been documented as having the condition. 

There was no explanation as to why somebody might develop the syndrome, but it seemed that every person with Layth’s Syndrome would later gain a Dendro Vision during their lifetime. 

As for what Layth’s Syndrome was, it was a condition in which the afflicted person, upon feeling intense emotions, would have plants sprout from within them bursting from their bodies, or in the environment around them. Emotions that were there, but not strong might have an effect on the flora around an afflicted person as well.

The skin would have to be treated properly for the plants that cut into them, and any tightness in their airways caused by coughing would be treated with an inhaler in order to allow all the leaves and petals to be cleared out. But because people with Layth’s Syndrome's emotions tended to rarely be strong enough to elicit intense reactions, this was a process not often needed. 

Alhaitham had seemed to always have a neutral temperament, even since birth. As an infant, he would cry but rarely wail. He would give his parents that wonderful gummy smile they adored, but his laughs were far and few.

The first instance of Layth’s Syndrome manifesting itself in Alhaitham occurred shortly after his parents’ funeral when he was a toddler. The boy had not shed a single tear during their memorial. It was only when they did not return home with his grandmother and him, that it dawned on him. Their absence would be permanent. His father would not pull him into his lap and read him a story anymore. His mother would not be there to tuck him into bed before he slept. And it would be like this forever. Forever was too long of a time for him to handle.

And as he cried in his grandmother’s arms, prickly thorns ruptured the soft skin of his arms. Pain worsened the distress, and distress worsened the pain. His grandmother had rushed him to the Bimarstan, and a search through the Akasha’s database led the doctor to conclude that he had Layth’s Syndrome. 

The thorns on his arms were removed, and the open wounds on his skin were taken care of. He was given a prescription for an inhaler. And he was sent home in bandages and with the advice to control how his emotions manifested within himself. 

This all made perfect sense to Alhaitham. Crying had hurt him, and he did not like getting hurt. As he’d learned to walk and play outside, he’d learned to be careful to avoid falling and scraping his knees. So he would learn to control this too. 

As he began to grow up, he tried to avoid major reactions, and the problems he had with socializing among other children grew worse. If another child was upset, he would perfectly understand why they were. But, on the chance that he started to feel too bad for them, he would feel the needling sensation underneath his skin. He would have to remind himself that he was not this other child, and that their pain should not have to hurt him. If he helped such a distressed child, adults observed and told him that he did so in a detached and mechanical way, and they made it sound like a bad thing. 

His negative emotions weren’t the only ones that affected him. At age seven, Alhaitham had misplaced his current favorite book, and he’d been very good at staying level-headed throughout his search for it, even though he very much did not like losing things. It was when he found it that he became overjoyed. 

He’d smiled, a smile so small that it did not reach his eyes, and he excitedly held the book close to his chest. And then he felt the tightness in his chest followed by an uncontrollable coughing fit, the petals of Nilotpala lotuses flowing from his mouth. If his grandmother hadn’t been in the house with him to come to his aid, it was likely his ribs might have begun to bruise from the attack. 

And so he learned to rein in his happiness too. No longer did petals emerge from his lungs, but his grandmother would note that the plants on their windowsills would seem to thrive whenever Alhaitham was curled up on the armchair reading his favorite storybook. 

When she cooked, Alhaitham would wander into the kitchen to take in the smells. His grandmother grew herbs on the counter, and she would always pick and clean them right as she was cooking. She claimed that whenever her grandson was in the kitchen, reading as she cooked, the herbs would taste much more flavorful. 

Years later, his grandmother would pass away, and the thorns bloomed across his arms again. He had carefully picked each one out, wiping away his tears before they could fall into the open wounds. He had taken deep breaths. He needed to calm down before more would pop up. 

After the funeral, the home that was once theirs was now his. Invasive weeds burst through cracks in the tiles, and the vines on the walls outside would become overgrown until the house looked as if it were suffocated. 

A couple weeks passed, and the neighbors would notice the adolescent Alhaitham methodically cleaning up the house with nary a look of grief upon his face.

Presently, it had been years since Alhaitham had manifested any major symptoms of Layth’s Syndrome. On occasion, a couple thorns might burst through his skin. A few stray petals would get hacked up. But he remained level-headed enough to avoid full attacks. 

Some weeks before he would finally retire as Acting Grand Sage, a festival in Aaru Village was taking place. Candace had invited him to come celebrate with her, and other guests among him included Cyno, Dehya, Nilou, and the Traveler and Paimon. 

The festival was meant to celebrate the life of Deshret and honor his sacrifice to his people. The main event of the festival was a captivating performance, told through dance, narration, and music. 

The dancer, a young girl named Jamila, had finished the mournful and melancholy ballad which told of Deshret’s final moments, ending the performance. But Jamila requested the musicians to play a livelier tune and encouraged people to come dance with her, to mirror the joyous times of the golden age under Deshret.

The Traveler encouraged Nilou to go dance with her. Nilou was at first worried about not wanting to take away the spotlight from her, but Jamila had grabbed her hand and brought her with her. 

More people joined them, even Setaria had gotten dragged up by Rahman. Though she had protested that she didn’t have “a single dancer’s bone in her researcher body.”

It was an amusing sight to see her get awkwardly, but happily, flung around by a much larger man like Rahman.

Dehya took a hearty swig from her mug of wine, “Hey, why don’t you all go up there too?”

“Why don’t you go then?” Cyno asked.

“Because I’d obviously steal the show. Nobody would be able to take their eyes off me!” Dehya said.

“Really now? I don’t think I’d have a problem doing so,” Alhaitham said. 

Dehya looked at him with narrowed and suspicious eyes, “Hm… well, you are strange.”

“I just don’t find myself particularly captivated by you,” Alhaitham said.

“Then you, my friend, are what we like to call these special things in statistics. An outlier!” Dehya said. 

“And I think you, Dehya, are drunk,” Candace sighed. 

“Um, no, I’m not,” Dehya said.

The Traveler had an unbelieving look on their face.

“Can you tell the time?” Candace asked.

Dehya grabbed the timepiece the Traveler wore and adamantly told it, “I am not drunk.”

The Traveler facepalmed. 

“I believe you Dehya, so why don’t you play a game of cards with me?” Cyno asked, pulling out his Casket of Tomes from somewhere underneath his cloak.

“Oh, hell yeah!” Dehya said.

Candace shook her head, “Oh, dear, you’re going to be destroyed.”

Alhaitham got up from his spot, “I’m going to get some water. I can get some for anybody else since I’ll already be there.”

“I’m good,” Cyno said, intensely focused on setting up the cards in front of him and Dehya.

“Ahh, can you get some more wine?” Dehya asked, holding her mug out to him.

“She’ll be having a refreshing cup of water,” Candace said. 

“Right,” Alhaitham said. 

He went to the table where the water pitcher was. He poured into his own cup, and was about to pour a cup for Dehya when he felt a tickling feeling at the back of his throat. He set down the water pitcher and coughed into the crook of his elbow. 

As he suspected and dreaded, when he took his mouth away, a handful of flower petals fell to the ground. How inconvenient. Was he really having that much of a good time?

Perhaps he was. The graceful movements of Nilou, Dehya’s drunken enthusiasm, Candace’s affectionate exasperation, and the light in Cyno’s eyes when met with the prospect of playing cards. Even replaying these seemingly mundane moments in his mind was causing him to wheeze harder. 

He needed to clear his mind before his attack grew worse. He took his cup of water and walked away to somewhere more secluded, taking deep breaths to try and regulate his breathing. 

Now in some lonely corner of Aaru Village, he took a couple puffs from his inhaler then forcefully hacked the last petals out of him. Well, the last for now. He took a few much-needed gulps of his water, trying to soothe his throat.

He leaned against a wall. It would be nice if the water was warm, and if he had honey to drizzle in it. Or maybe some sort of cough drop. Considering he was at a celebration with friends, he should have foreseen that he’d have at least have a bit of a reaction. Though he always had his inhaler with him, he could have brought a couple of cough drops. Well, people always had better hindsight than foresight. 

Some minutes into his physical suffering, he was alerted by the sound of someone’s, Cyno’s, footsteps approaching near. 

“Found you,” Cyno said.

“Hunting me down again, my General?” Alhaitham asked, clearing his throat. 

“You were taking far too long for simply getting water, so people were getting concerned. Don’t worry about it though, Candace got the water for Dehya, and I see you have your own,” Cyno said. “Is there something that’s the matter? What’s got you all the way over here?”

“Ah, I was getting overwhelmed. I just needed to step away,” Alhaitham said.

“Oh, were we being too loud? I know you have some sensitivities to noise and volume,” Cyno said.

“No, my headphones are good enough to handle noises. I just had to get away before I started to get too happy,” Alhaitham said.

Cyno furrowed his brows, “That’s… surprisingly edgy of you to say.”

“Um… no,” Alhaitham said. “It’s a chronic illness.”

“Oh. Do you mind elaborating, if you’re comfortable?” Cyno asked. 

Alhaitham shook his head, “I don’t mind. It’s called Layth’s Syndrome. Essentially, strong emotions cause plants to grow from inside me, and they usually come out of my mouth or sprout from my arms. Though sometimes new plants can be created as well. And then weaker emotions can affect the environment.”

Cyno blinked, “That’s certainly… something. You know, after my reinstatement celebration, Nilou wrote to me about the flowery weeds in the Grand Bazaar suddenly having grown a substantial amount. Could that have been because of you?”

“I wouldn’t put that out of the realm of possibility,” Alhaitham said. “But in any case, I was having too much fun with you all, and so I ended up starting to cough up some flower petals.”

“Goodness. Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help you right now?” Cyno asked.

“I’m fine. And honestly, if you helped me out, I’d probably get worse again from you being nice,” Alhaitham said.

“Oh, I shouldn’t be nice to you? In that case, deal with this yourself, and I hope you die,” Cyno said. 

Alhaitham snorted, “Cyno…”

“What? You said you’d get worse if I was nice to you,” Cyno said. “I’m trying to make sure you’re not happy and start coughing flowers.”

Suddenly, Alhaitham burst into a choked laughter. He hacked into his elbow, petals dropping out of his mouth.

“Hey! What are you laughing for? I wasn’t trying to be funny this time,” Cyno said.

“Cyno,” Alhaitham said, trying to take deep breaths, “When you make a complete 180 of your attitude, especially one that’s obviously not serious, I can’t help but find that unexpected and funny.”

Cyno frowned, “Well now I can’t help but feel a little guilty for this. I mean, logically it’s not my fault. But still. It just seems terrible having to be punished for your emotions.”

“I’m used to it,” Alhaitham said.

“What can we do about it to help? Should we just not invite you to gatherings anymore so you don’t have fun?” Cyno wondered.

“Cyno, if I wanted to avoid the chance of ever having a reaction, I wouldn’t have come here or to your reinstatement celebration. I came because I wanted to, and because I enjoy the presence of you and everyone else,” Alhaitham said. 

“Oh, I don’t really get it, because you’re still getting hurt, but okay. I also enjoy being in your presence. No, wait, that's too nice. I meant to say, I don’t care whether you come or not. I actually greatly dislike you,” Cyno said. 

Alhaitham sucked in his lips, trying to hold back a smile, “Cyno, what did I just say about saying things you don’t mean?”

“But you said if I was nice…”

“You’re ridiculous. What are you trying to do to me?”

“To make sure you’re not happy so you don’t feel bad. But evidently, it’s not working. Maybe if I said a joke…? Because most people never think I’m funny.”

“… Go ahead.”

“A gorilla has escaped from the zoo recently. A random Sumeru citizen is being interviewed and asked if they have heard about the escape. They say no. The interviewer responds, ‘That is because I am a quiet gorilla,’” Cyno concluded.

There was a brief silence before, much to Cyno’s apparent dismay, Alhaitham burst into another fit of laughter and coughing. So much so that it racked his large but feeble frame, causing him to double over.

Cyno sighed, “How could I forget? People will laugh at how serious I am while telling the joke, rather than at it itself.”

“No, no. Actually, I did in fact appreciate the joke,” Alhaitham said.

“You… did? No! Of all the times somebody actually appreciates my jokes, and it’s when I don’t want you to!” Cyno said. “Is there really nothing I can do?”

“Really,” Alhaitham said, catching his breath. “You’re working too hard. You always do. Just save your energy for something more useful. You don’t have to act any differently from how you already act around me.”

“Act normal. Okay,” Cyno nodded.

Alhaitham sighed, “I need to sit down for a little bit.” He got down to sit on the cool stone that built the paths of Aaru Village. He leaned his head against the wall. “You can stay if you want, or you can go back and tell the others they don’t have to be concerned.”

Cyno wordlessly answered Alhaitham by crouching down next to him. “Can I ask you a question or two about your, um, illness?” Cyno asked.

“You know you can say the name out loud.  It’s just a name. It can’t hurt me. But yes, you can ask about Layth’s Syndrome if you’re curious. I’m sure it would be rather difficult to try and look for it in books considering its rarity,” Alhaitham said. 

“Okay. I just didn’t want to say anything offensive, by the way,” Cyno said. “It probably definitely hurts to have plants come out of your arms, but does the coughing hurt?”

“Well, have you ever been so sick that you couldn’t stop coughing? It hurts like that. It usually makes my chest and throat feel sore afterwards for a bit,” Alhaitham said.

“I haven’t been sick in a long time because of my natural constitution,” Cyno said.

“But you do get hurt a lot because of your job,” Alhaitham said. 

“I… yes? I do get hurt a lot. That’s just the nature of being General Mahamatra. But I continue to do it because upholding these values is very important to… oh. I get it now. Why you still come to these gatherings even though… yeah. Even though I wouldn’t say it’s quite the same,” Cyno said. 

“And while I’m confident it won’t happen, you could die on duty one day. As for me, perhaps I too might one day die because of Layth’s Syndrome,” Alhaitham said.

Cyno furrowed his brows, concern crossing his face, “You could?”

“Nobody ever has, but I’m a realist, so I’m not putting it outside of the realm of possibility,” Alhaitham said. “Maybe one day I’ll be so upset that the blood loss from the thorns rupturing my skin will be too severe to recover from. Or I’ll be so happy that the petals fill my airways and I’ll choke on my own joy.”

“…”

“You don’t have to look sad like that. I used to be afraid of hurting myself, when I was a child. But this is just something I’ve learned to deal with. I don’t think I’ll die from it anyway.” 

“I don’t look sad.”

“Okay.”

“… If you’re feeling fine, then we should probably get back to the others. They may or may not be concerned about you, but I will not confirm either option so that your emotions will remain neutral.”

“Pft…”

“I should just shut up, shouldn’t I?”

“You don’t have to shut up. Just stop saying weird things. You’re going to make me laugh.”

“You have a good laugh, at least.”

“Thank you.”

Upon arriving back to their group, they found that the Traveler had challenged a drunken Dehya to play cards with them. Paimon was excitedly commenting on the match. Nilou had rejoined the rest of them and was chatting with Candace.

Candace looked up at the two men as they approached closer, “You two certainly took your time. Is everything well?”

“It was nothing much. I was just busy damaging my lungs and spreading invasive flora to the desert ecosystem,” Alhaitham said.

Candace raised an eyebrow with a questioning look, “I’m not interested in your sarcasm. Just don’t go ruining the environment, okay? Agriculture in the desert is already hard enough.”

“Don’t worry, I cleaned it up,” Alhaitham said.

The Traveler let out a dramatic sigh, “Are you serious? How did I just lose? I thought this new deck I made was going to be good!”

Cyno peered over at the finished match, “Clearly, your deck isn’t meta enough. With the setup you have, Bennett alone can’t be a reliable healer on your team.”

“Hah, you thought just because I’m not sober I’d be an easy win? I’m one of the best fighters in Sumeru!” Dehya taunted the Traveler. 

“I didn’t realize that applied to Genius Invocation too,” the Traveler said.

“That’s totally your fault. You should just assume I’m good at something until proven otherwise!” Dehya said smugly. 

“Our reliable Dehya, what would we have done without you during the overthrowing of the sages?” Alhaitham asked.

“Hmm, fail probably,” Dehya said. She sighed, “Ah, we have almost everybody from that time here except for um, the fox-guy, what’s his name?”

“Tighnari,” Cyno said.

“Yeah! Him! Shame he’s not here. But man, working with everyone, those must have been some of the most exhilarating moments of my life. Is there anybody else we need to overthrow? I think we need to do that again,” Dehya said.

“Currently I would say there’s nobody who needs such an extreme measure of expulsion. So, I doubt there’s much chance for us all to work together in such a manner again,” Alhaitham said.

Dehya clumsily stood up before crossing over to sling an arm across Alhaitham’s shoulder, bringing him down closer to her height, “Are you saying you don’t want to work with me? After all we’ve been through?”

“I didn’t say that. I was the one who invited you to come work for the Akademiya, which you declined because such a job does not suit your lifestyle. Understandable. Nevertheless, I did enjoy working with you when you briefly took over Cyno’s duties as General Mahamatra,” Alhaitham said. 

“Wait. So you do like working with me?” Dehya asked.

“Yes, I just said that,” Alhaitham confirmed. 

“Aww! Then you’re so sweet!” Dehya said. Her ultimate action was to then swing her other arm around him in a full embrace. 

“Oh. So this is what we’re doing. We’re hugging now. Wonderful,” Alhaitham said, tentatively reciprocating the hug. 

Candace sighed, getting up from her spot on the ground, “Do you need me to drag her off you?”

As Dehya whined and clung tighter onto him, Alhaitham said, “You don’t have to. This is not… an unnecessary or unwelcome hug.”

Paimon floated by, and as always, she had something to say, “Paimon thinks that a stuffy guy like you ought to have exposure therapy to normal human expression anyway!”

Candace chuckled, “Goodness, he’s not a robot! But, as a concerned friend, may I aid in your exposure therapy?”

“Is it alright if I join too? Group hugs are great!” Nilou chimed in.

Alhaitham let out an amused breath, “Go ahead, go ahead.” 

The Traveler had long packed away their deck of cards and looked over to Cyno, “Not gonna join them?”

“You’re not either,” Cyno pointed out.

“Hey, somebody’s gotta take pictures!” The Traveler said as an excuse, conveniently pulling out their Kamera. 

Alhaitham had managed to free an arm out from underneath everybody else’s bodies, and he extended it out to Cyno, “Would you like to help with my exposure therapy?”

Cyno looked at Alhaitham’s hand, worriedly, “But won’t you get…”

“Cyno, I’ll be okay.”

And as Cyno grabbed onto his hand, Alhaitham felt the familiar pressure in his chest again. And he wrapped his fingers around Cyno’s much smaller hand. And he pulled him closer, or as close as he could between several other people. 

The shutter of the Kamera went off, and the Traveler exclaimed, “Well that’s one to put in the Sereniteapot!”

It had been perfect timing when the Traveler took the picture, for just a moment later Alhaitham was trying to wriggle out at least one arm to cover up his mouth. But underneath everyone else, he was too slow, and though he tried to suppress his coughs, they were too powerful. It started with petals, as usual, until he felt something larger rising up his throat. The sky blue petals of a Kalpalata Lotus emerged from his lips, until the whole flower fell out, briefly landing on Candace’s shoulder before falling onto the ground. 

“Did you just… throw up on me?” Candace asked, craning her head to check out her now wet shoulder.

“Haha, little baby spat up,” Dehya laughed.

“Is that a flower?” Nilou asked.

“Alhaitham, are you okay?” Cyno asked.

“Yes, I’m fine, and I apologize for that Candace. Let me help clean that up, okay?” Alhaitham said.

“Nobody’s going to question why he threw up a flower. Okay,” Nilou shrugged.

“It happens,” Alhaitham said.

“Uh, hm. You know what? I’m not a researcher. I won’t bother with questions,” Nilou said. 

And as Alhaitham worked at cleaning off Candace’s shoulder, he realized that this was the first time he’d ever coughed up an entire flower before. 

He wondered what was different this time.