A Study Break

It had been nice having the last couple of days to himself, but Retvik was beginning to get bored. He had dutifully done his work, he had managed to easily work his way through his Decay Lord studies and now Retvik was wondering what to do with himself.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Retvik began to think. Part of him was considering bothering Arkay again, or perhaps calling Elksia. He’d had a lovely chat with Elksia earlier, who was now training to be a Time Drake alongside the old Whenvern, and she’d mentioned that they should have a get-together. A Dessaron reunion. The idea had sounded great, but the problem was that none of them seemed to be able to get in touch with Tenuk.

Well, Retvik had tried. He had asked his Decay Lord boss if it was okay to contact the Life Goddess-owned ship Tenuk was working on. It was pretty simple, but the problem was that no one ever picked up. The line just continued to ring, or they’d pick up then immediately end the call.

Of course, Retvik had left a message. But he hadn’t heard back from them yet.

With a grunt, Retvik climbed out of bed and decided to do… something. Like clearing up the mess left from the cake he baked in his room earlier. Or maybe tidying up.

Or he could go and check on Arkay again. That was always an option. A good one, actually. Retvik liked the sound of that.

After a quick check to make sure he was covered up, Retvik left his room and entered the main hallway. This corridor basically ran through the entire Decay Lord ship, from cockpit to cargo bay. Alcoves were embedded in each side, so people could easily move out of the way of faster-moving traffic. Arkay’s room was not too far down, just past the next alcove.

Once the rush of traffic had passed and Retvik had made his way to Arkay’s room, he gently knocked on the door. Inside, he heard some brief, muffled rustling, but considering how the doors were somewhat sound-proofed, that was probably Arkay fiddling with the multitude of locks he’d had installed. Finally, the door opened, revealing a very flustered Thantophor.

“Hi Retvik.”

“Hello, Arkay. Are you doing well?”

Arkay grunted, disappearing back into his room before swiftly returning. “Eh. Do you want something? I am kinda… busy.”

“I was going to invite you to my room or perhaps to either the canteen or the observatory, but if you wish, I can join you in here.”

“Food would be nice. Come in while I sort myself out.”

Arkay grunted again, opening his bedroom door fully. Retvik was suddenly aware of just how tiny Arkay’s room was. Well, it was appropriately sized for the little Decayling, but considering how Retvik was twice Arkay’s height, squeezing into the bedroom was a bit… awkward. His head was basically pressed against the ceiling.

“You seem to be particularly busy…” Retvik mused. “Is everything alright?”

Arkay tutted, clearing away some books, notably a rather plain, weirdly empty book on his desk. “The Decay Lord lessons are fine. The Life Goddess lessons are pissing me off. But I don’t want to think about that right now…”

“Is there something else bothering you?”

“No, just this… It’s all just… laws and rules… Yet none of the Life Goddesses… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. What about you, Retvik?”

Retvik shrugged. “I finished my duties early and had a chat with Elksia. She wants to have a meet-up. You, me and Tenuk at Elksia’s place for a sleepover.”

Immediately, Arkay perked up. He swiftly finished what he was doing, then joined Retvik by the door.

“That sounds great!” Arkay beamed, nudging Retvik out of the room and locking it behind him with a rather magical key-card. “When?”

“We have not finalized a date yet. Shall we talk about it over some food?”

Arkay was already way ahead of Retvik. “Sure! It’ll be so much fun!”

Retvik watched as the little Decayling bounced down the hallway, amazed at how swiftly his mood had changed. With a little smile of his own, Retvik headed off as well, pleased that his friend was happy for once…