“R-Retvik?”
Tenuk stumbled over his words and thoughts as the flame-cloaked mountain of a Rethavok slowly approached. He knew who he was looking at, but was so surprised that Tenuk couldn’t think of anything to say. Thankfully, Elksia took the initiative and stampeded towards the fire god, with not even a hint of hesitation.
“RETVIK YOU’R BACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” Elksia screeched, wrapping her arms around Retvik. Retvik gently hugged the youngling Time Drake back, smiling a little too much.
“Hi, Elksia, hello, Tenuk! I am so glad they let me see you!” Retvik smiled a little more as Elksia let go of him and allowed Tenuk to come closer. “You two are looking very healthy!”
“Oh pssh,” Elksia waved her hand dismissively. “We’re all magic gods now! No need to be worried about that sort of thing! How are you and is Arkay coming?”
Immediately, Retvik’s smile vanished. He closed his eyes and sighed loudly. “Do you two have somewhere private where we can talk?”
Elksia looked visibly confused. Tenuk sighed as well, then led both Elksia and Retvik up to a nearby balcony, away from his fellow Divine Guardians. As they reached the top of the stairs, Tenuk waved a finger, closing the door behind them.
“What happened?” Elksia finally managed to stutter. “He’s… not dead, is he?”
Retvik shook his head. “Arkay is… definitely still alive. He, uh…” Retvik trailed off briefly, before starting again. “To overly simplify things, Arkay was provoked by a Life Goddess. He ended up killing the Life Goddess, before turning into Arkidetelos. While we… managed to talk him into turning back, the fact that he threatened my life and my companions’ lives forced us to make a decision.”
“Where is he now?” Tenuk asked. “Surely he must be… like, somewhere?”
“He was sent to a special facility for Life Goddess hybrids in Deathven.”
“What’s Deathven?” Elksia blinked. “Like, a haven for death gods?”
Retvik nodded. “That is pretty much exactly what it is. Arkay has been put into the care of a senior threapist. Galyn gets reports about him once every 150 or so hours.”
Tenuk glanced at Elksia, then back at Retvik. “Will he ever… be coming back?”
“I… I do not know…” Retvik admitted. “If his treatments work, then maybe. But he and I… we did not… part on good terms. I feel a lot of guilt for allowing him to be sent away.”
“But you just said that Arkay tried to kill you!” Tenuk exclaimed. “He tried to…”
“Yes. He did…” Both Tenuk and Elksia could tell that Retvik was rather upset. “Arkay wrote an apology letter. I… am not sure how to feel about it…”
Tenuk floated upwards so he was the same height as Retvik and Elksia, then gently put a hand on Retvik’s shoulder.
“You’re allowed to be upset.”
“I know…” Retvik sniffed. “I just, well… I regret us splitting apart the way we did… Could have been better. Less painful…”
“Probably doesn’t help you knowing that I’m dating Tenuk…” Elksia admitted.
“Yes. I…” Retvik paused. “You two are… dating?”
Both Elksia and Tenuk nodded.
“Since when?”
“It’s been a couple of months,” Tenuk explained. “Timing is a bit tricky since I have my guard patrol shifts, but we are happy.”
Retvik smiled, just a little. “You two do get on very well. I am glad you are happy.”
“You aren’t judging us?” Elksia gasped. “I thought you’d be mad!”
“Why would I be mad?”
Elksia shrugged. “Good point. But there’s room for one more, if you are interested!”
The odd request perplexed Retvik. “Uh… thank you for the offer, but I am good. However, you two could join me in the bar in Kinisis’s Life Oasis for a bit? So we can all catch up?”
“That sounds lovely!” Elksia went back to being chirpy. “Can we go right now?”
Retvik smiled properly this time. “We can go in a moment. I wish to speak to my half-sibling before we go though.”
Tenuk and Elksia both nodded in agreement, as the three young deities headed back downstairs.