Talok felt very small right now. To be fair, she’d always felt small among other beings. She was a Vohra, and Vohra were short, round creatures that were never more than a meter tall. Worse, Talok felt naked. Vohra didn’t wear clothes. Sure, Talok wore a special sash and medallion, showing that she was a Vahla, the ruling rank just beneath the Vahyra, but everyone she had seen had been wearing armour. Brightly coloured, matching sets for the normal teams, and dark green armour for house fighters. There were other Vohra who worked at the Great Arenas, but they also seemed to wear special armour
The only other person she had seen that wasn’t a worker and was also not wearing much clothing was Tenuk, the very kind, furry, blue Spast who had been showing Talok around. Sure, he was wearing a dark green shoulder pad to show that he was a house fighter, but otherwise he was just wearing a pair of white shorts and a silver belt. Apparently that was just what most Spasts wore. Talok admittedly didn’t know much about Spasts. Or most races outside of their allies, the Temthans and the Vrekans.
However, Talok hadn’t said much as Tenuk had given her a tour of the arenas. She didn’t really know what to say, apart from basic greetings. It wasn’t just shyness though. Back in her old duties as a Kalsa Guardian, Talok knew her place, and it was pretty much at the top, meaning she could telepathically communicate with anyone. Now though? Talok had no idea. And because she didn’t know where she ranked within this strange place, she didn’t know whether she had permission to speak or not.
Eventually, Tenuk led Talok to an office. It was quite a small office, but, to Talok, it was just as huge as everything else. And inside was the Raptor, who, as far as Talok was concerned, was Talok’s new queen.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” Tenuk asked. He didn’t seem like the other Spasts Talok had met in the past. He was gentle. Soft. And very fluffy. Talok liked the fluffiness.
“No. Thank you. I will be okay. I think.” Talok did want Tenuk to come in with her, but Talok also needed to be brave. She was meeting her new queen, she had to make a good first impression.
“Alright. I’ll be out here then.” Tenuk held the door open for her. Talok hesitantly stepped inside the office, which was lined with skulls. To her dismay, two of the skulls were Vahrga ones. Old skulls that had bleached white over time. Straightening herself out, Talok tried to show some confidence as she made her way deeper into the room. Her queen was sitting behind the desk already, flicking through paperwork, waiting for Talok.
Talok clambered onto the stool on her side of the large desk. The Raptor wasn’t huge, she was a bit short for a Ksithan. She looked incredibly young as well, even though Talok knew the Raptor was a very old being. Technically, Talok was a child herself, but she was well aware that other races quickly grew up from their child forms, while most Vohra remained as adolescents their entire lives.
“Hello, Talok. How are you?” Phovos asked as Talok tried to make herself comfy.
Talok didn’t know how to answer. Phovos looked the Vohra up and down, and quickly realized what the problem was. All other Vohra, both normal Vohra and adult male Vahrga that Phovos had hired in the past, they had come from specially bred nests, that had less strict hierarchies and were introduced to other races at an early age, allowing them to more easily communicate vocally. Although Talok had hatched in the Nest of Representatives, a separate, also specially bred nest that dealt with other races, but since she had been cut off from that nest, Talok now believed she was essentially a hatchling in the ‘nest’ of the Great Arenas, and wasn’t even allowed to talk.
Phovos leaned forward and smiled. “It’s okay, Talok. You can talk. Yes, you are no longer at the top of the hierarchy, and yes, I am technically your new queen, but I am giving you permission to verbally talk as you please, to both myself and your fellow co-workers. I would very much advise not using your telepathy to talk, as most beings here don’t… really like it, but you can talk freely.”
“I… I can?”
“Yes, of course. So, how are you?”
Talok thought to herself, still not sure how to answer. “Uh… daunted, I guess. This is… New. Very new for me. Mister Arkay, he gave me a house and a list of things. How to live. Live in a house-nest on my own. Use money to buy food. Show me how to travel from house-nest to work-nest. And mister Tenuk is very nice. He showed me around. But I have much to learn.”
“Do you want to learn?”
Talok flicked her tongue in and out, then remembered that most races didn’t understand that gesture and nodded. “I do. Yes. But I am concerned. I am Vahla, yes, I hit hard. But I do not want to hurt.”
“Hah, that’s sweet. Well, luckily, you don’t need to worry too much about it. My house fighters are big and strong and used to being hurt, and the crowds will actively want you to hurt the competitors you will face.”
“But I do not know my own strength.”
“Not a problem. The health meter system means you can’t actually kill anyone. There IS one small rule though, and it’s that you can’t use your telepathy to read your opponents’ minds. If you do team battles, you can use your telepathy to communicate with allies. But you are not allowed to use telepathy on opponents in any way.”
“Why?” Talok blinked.
“Several reasons: firstly, it’s a violation of privacy, in the heat of battle, you may see too much, you may hurt someone in a way that our health meter system can’t detect or fix. Secondly, it’d be unfair to mind-control others to make them lose. Thirdly, telepathic users can trigger unwanted side effects, like causing panic attacks mid-match, causing Vahrga to attack their carers, or, in some cases, causing Rethans to go Defensive State. For safety reasons, it is easier to have a flat ban on offensive telepathy.”
Talok thought to herself, then nodded again. “That is not a problem, my queen! I shall do as you say and follow your rules!”
“Also, you don’t need to call me your queen. I do not rule over you. You work for me, yes, but you’re still an individual.”
“Sorry. It is what I am used to.”
Phovos shrugged. “Fair enough. Either way, you will be treated just like any other house fighter. I know who you are, so I already have an idea of your strength, but for your first week, you will train alongside Tromos, my head House Fighter, so he can assess your skill before I put you into a live match against a competitor.”
“I understand!”
“Good. Now, Talok, I understand that living an individual life is new for you, yes?”
Talok nodded some more. “Yes yes! Very new. Very curious.”
“Do you have anyone you can call if you need help?”
“Uh, no. Mister Arkay said he will try and help, but he is busy being Sini’s Shadow.”
“Hm…” Phovos fell silent for a moment, then pressed a button on her desk. The door behind Talok opened up. To Talok’s surprise, Tenuk was still there, waiting for her. “Tenuk, can you come in for a moment, please?”
Tenuk immediately did as he was told. “What’s up, boss?”
Phovos glanced at Talok, then turned back to Tenuk. “Can I ask a favour of you?”
“Yeah!”
“Talok here is very new to living on her own. Can I give her your communicator number, so she can call you if she needs help with something?”
Tenuk smiled at Talok. “Of course! I totally know what it’s like to have have to restart your life. You can call me whenever you like!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I just said as much!” Tenuk grinned.
Talok felt confused. And a bit… weird. Some emotion she didn’t really understand. “I am a Vohra though. Dead Vohra. You are a Spast. Very friendly, not what I expect.”
Tenuk just shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what you are, we all ought to help each other. But yeah, don’t worry, boss, if Talok needs help, I’ll give her a hand. I’m the former new guy, I gotta help the new girl out as much as I can!”
Phovos bowed her head slightly. “Thank you very much, Tenuk. Now, Talok, do you need anything?”
The little Vohra thought to herself. She still felt rather small and out of place, but at least she had people she could talk to. Tenuk seemed as out of place as she did, and he was willing to share his knowledge. Talok liked that. After a bit more thought, Talok shook her head. “No. I think I am good. What do I do now?”
“Tenuk, please take Talok back down to the main house fighter training hub, Tromos should already be there waiting for you both. If you have any problems, please let me know, understood?”
Tenuk and Talok both nodded. Tenuk helped Talok off the chair, then led her out of the room, gently closing the office door behind them.
As the footsteps faded away, Phovos allowed herself a smile. It had been a long time since she’d had a juvenile Vohran house fighter, she was curious how well Talok would perform. Especially since Talok seemed to have Akairon Healing, similar to what Phovos had.