“Nyssi said you wanted to speak to me? She didn’t know why though.”
“She is correct, I did want to speak to you.”
“Huh.”
Kayel had been warned in advance that the terrifying, slender telepathic vampiric Rethan who somewhat ruled over Savepoint as its psionic overlord wanted to speak to him, and Kayel’s reaction to that warning was to dress as sluttily as possible and lean against that one hidden back wall where he normally took people to make out. Why had Kayel acted like that? Kayel wasn’t sure, but he always acted a bit weird when he was feeling threatened. He’d always gone for fawn over the traditional fight, flight or freeze responses.
“So… uh…” Kayel was nervous. And because of that, he was playing with one of his ice daggers while he hid in the shadows. He had options in case he was in danger, but he did also want to know what Litvir wanted. Also, it was unlikely Litvir wanted to harm Kayel in any way. “What do you want?”
“I have a gift for you.”
“A gift?”
“Indeed.”
Litvir was incredibly gentle as he handed Kayel a small box with a yellow ribbon wrapped around it. Kayel hesitated, inspected the box and opened it. Inside, there was a rough, dark grey rock with a flattened edge, and turning the rock over revealed a geode. A beautiful orange and yellow geode.
“Apparently geodes are formed in pockets within rocks, where water deposits minerals as it travels through the pocket. Over time, the minerals form crystals within the rock, thus turning into geodes. And, with a little polish, you get that rock there.”
Kayel inspected the geode some more. “So that’s how they’re made? What gives them the colour?”
“Well, I think that geode is a synthetic one, and they can die the quartz they used to make the geode. But it depends on what is in the water and the minerals.”
“Huh. Interesting!” Kayel settled down. Litvir clearly wasn’t a threat. He was a very weird person, but he had just given Kayel a very Skyan-like gift. “Thank you, I appreciate the shiny rock and the knowledge! However, I have to ask, uh… why?”
Litvir leaned against the wall and shrugged. “I never said thank you.”
“Why would you need to say thank you to me? I can see you saying thank you to Ret, because Ret keeps Kuta happy and sane, but what have I done? I mean, you went out of your way to look up Skyavok gift traditions for me.”
“Well, simply put, if it was not for you, I do not think we would have gotten Arkay back.”
Kayel blinked. “What?”
“You risked your life to reach out to a broken soul who had just been torn apart and had his mind raped and wiped. You saw past the death god and reached out to the broken spirit underneath. And, somehow, you actually got through to Arkay. Had you not managed to bring him back, had you not reminded him of what was out here, I doubt he would have had the strength to fight against that Corruption, when it attacked your universe, and, more importantly, he would have given up sooner and succumb to the Corruption, rather than… well… how he briefly ended up.”
“I… I don’t think I helped that much.”
Litvir grunted. “You would be surprised. Even today, Arkay comes to you sometimes. He has outright told me that, had that Corruption not attacked your universe so suddenly, he would be by your side, as close as a friend as he could be.”
“I guess. And you wanted to thank me for that?”
Litvir smiled, and patted Kayel on the shoulder. “Of course. The greatest of good deeds often to unrewarded. In all honesty, there is no physical object I could offer you as a reward for what you did. But I do hope that, with the pretty stone, you can be made aware that you did a powerful, good deed, and in gifting you the pretty stone, I am acknowledging your goodness.”
“Huh… Well, I appreciate that? I guess?” Kayel inspected the rock some more, then turned his attention to inspecting Litvir. There was something odd about Litvir, potentially a telepathic thing. Kayel was well aware though that he couldn’t borrow Nyssi’s telepathy and take a look, because Litvir was just that good a psion. “You’re kinda weird. And you act differently around Skyans than the others. You act much friendlier than even Ret does, and I’m one of Ret’s best friends. You’re not afraid to touch a Skyan. Why is that?”
“Why would I be afraid to touch a Skyan?” Litvir asked back.
“Rethans often kinda… worry about hurting smaller races. I mean, you’ve seen how gentle Ret is with Tenuk, and Tenuk is basically a ball of fur and rubber, with elasticated bones.”
“I am well aware that Skyavok are rather tough. After all, a Skyavok can take about the same weight as a small Rethan.”
Kayel eyed Litvir. “You’re either referring to Elkay and Teekay or you’ve fucked a Skyan that isn’t Arkay.”
Litvir was unbothered by that statement. “About four years ago, Elkay, Teekay, Eksi and I were in a polyamorous relationship. It was mostly to keep Elkay and Teekay together, but, well, things did happen.”
“… Huh…” Kayel didn’t respond properly at first. “You… you answered that in an extremely casual manner.”
“I am currently in a polyamorous relationship with the hottest Rethan alive in a literal sense, and a sixteen billion year old death god who is in the shape of a Skyavok most of the time. I have no issues being honest about my sexual past, doubly so since, well, out here, I have learned not to give a fuck.”
“Eh, fair enough. I’ve always wondered what it’s like, but not wondered enough to ask for naked snuggles with Arkay in the shape of a Rethan. Did you actually need me for anything, or was this all just to give me a rock?”
“I literally just wanted to give you that rock and say thank you. Although I am now tempted to wander the beach and look for a pretty rock to give to Arkay.”
“May I join you?” Kayel asked?
Litvir thought for a moment, then smiled. “Sure, I do not see why not? Come along now. Maybe we will find some more natural geodes…”