“Wow… you have been really… really busy…”
Both Retvik and Arkay were at a loss for words. Walking in to the main hall was normal enough, but as Elksia had led them both into the dining room, they were astonished by just how much food there was.
“How long did this take you?” Arkay asked, eyeing the stacks of trays and plates, all covered in various dishes. On one end of the table, a multitude of saucepans and cauldrons were filled to the brim with soups and stews. In the middle, a variety of savoury dishes had been laid out, mostly consisting of pies and heavy carbohydrates. At the other end, the table was barely visible underneath the mountain of sweet dishes.
“Long enough!” Elksia beamed. “I also cleaned the kitchen as well before you all got here! Only rule is to not break anything and clean up when we’re done, otherwise the place is ours to use!”
“Kairos gave you complete free reign in his palace?” Arkay seemed astounded. “Fuck, when I was living with him, I wasn’t allowed anywhere apart from the kitchen and my personal living quarters.”
Elksia simply shrugged, snagging a bread roll off the table and shoving it in her maw. “I just think he likes me more… Come on! Sit down! We have tons of food to eat!”
Arkay and Retvik glanced at each other, then did as Elksia asked, sitting at the middle of the long dining table.
“Any idea when Tenuk will arrive?” Retvik suddenly changed the subject. “He said he would be making his own way here but did not say how.”
Elksia shoved another bread roll into her mouth. “He said he’d knock. I dunno…” Elksia suddenly turned to Arkay. “You seem weird. Weird thoughts.”
“Eh, nothing… Just kinda confused why Kairos was so strict with me, yet happily lets you do what you want. I mean, the four of us did beat the crap out of Kairos, but he’s supposedly my brother…”
“Did Kinisis lay both of you as eggs?” Elksia responded with another question. “Like, womb-born siblings?”
“Uh, no… but…” Arkay stuttered. “I don’t know how to put it. There’s no way in a million years that Kairos would give me a full body revamp like he has for you, Elksia…”
Elksia shrugged some more. “I think he thought I was a Temthan. Don’t really remember because I was totally beaten to a pulp. I look awesome now though, don’t I?”
Retvik nodded. “You really do.”
“Yeah, you look great!”
Arkay’s reply was interrupted by the ringing of some sort of alarm. Elksia immediately jumped up, not in panic, but in excitement. She raced over the table towards a small cabinet built into a nearby crystal wall.
“HE’S HERE!”
“Tenuk?”
“YES!”
Elksia rushed off down the main hallway, but paused. After a moment of thought, she bounced back, turned off the alarm then turned herself around and rushed off back to the main hallway. After a lot of what sounded like things nearly falling over and a ship speeding off, Elksia returned with a little blue Kronospast by his side.
“Uh… Hi…” Tahnahos waved weakly. “Nice to… see you?”
Elksia, Retvik and Arkay all glanced at each other.
“I think she broke his memory…” Elksia tutted, before suddenly getting excited again. “Oh well! Time to refresh the brain and make new memories!”