“I am still unsure.”
“Unsure about this fire contest thingy?”
“Yes.”
Phovos stretched out on the bed, her little, clawed feet dangling off it. She had just been chilling in her private quarters until Retvik had arrived, and he had brought cake.
“Why?”
“It seems a bit beyond me.”
“How so?”
Retvik was just sitting on the edge of the bed, with two plates in his hands. One for him, one for Phovos, a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate cream in the middle and chocolate butter icing on the top. It was really a bit too chocolate-y, but Retvik knew Phovos liked it.
“I am not a fire god. Never have been.”
“So?”
Phovos sat up straight and took a place off Retvik. But she quickly put it down, then headed to the kitchen to get some spoons. She came back to a slightly concerned Retvik.
“This is a contest of fire gods. I just happen to have fire powers, and even then, I do not do much with them. Nothing creative, nothing intricate, just plain old flames.”
“Surely then this is a chance to learn and improve?” Phovos asked, before spooning some cake into her mouth.
“It is, but I would rather not embarrass myself in front of a large audience. I do not have an issue with learning or even failing, but it is not the same training privately compared to battling on a stage.”
Phovos ate some more cake, thinking to herself. After a moment, she turned back to Retvik.
“Do you have to enter the contest? What if we just went to watch it?”
Retvik perked up. “You mean, being in the audience?”
“Yeah. We can just watch the fire gods battle or do whatever it is they’re supposed to be doing?”
“Galyn would be rather unamused by that.”
“So? Fuck him. We can just go and watch and have fun. Take a small holiday, watch some competitions or whatever, chill out at a hotel, actually enjoy ourselves. And maybe you’ll learn some stuff just by watching!”
Retvik frowned, and he still hadn’t touched his slice of cake.
“The thing is, I feel like I should enter the contest.”
“To please Galyn?”
“No, to improve myself.”
“But you’re scared of failing.”
“No, I am not scared of failing, I am scared of failing in front of a live audience and in front of a lot of other fire-based deities.”
Phovos shrugged. “You’re kinda assuming that everyone will be better than you. You never know, you might end up doing quite well.”
“I very much doubt it.”
“Well you don’t know unless you try.”
Retvik grunted, then fell silent. Phovos shrugged, then tucked into her cake, before eventually breaking the silence.
“Even if you decide not to enter, I still think we should go. We deserve a holiday and I think this fire contest will be fun to watch.”
Retvik nodded in agreement. “You are right, we should go. Even if it is just to watch.”
“See!” Phovos beamed. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
“You are right, dear. As always.”
“Well, not always as always, but yeah. This will be fun!”
“What about Galyn though?” Retvik suddenly worried.
“Fuck him. He doesn’t have to know…”