Retvik grunted as he hauled large bags of coal from the storage facility at the back of the Kinigi Oasis, dragging them over to the main entrance where Kinisis was building a fancy campfire. The Allmaker had requested that Retvik help with a few tasks, and Retvik needed distractions, so he was happy to help.
But as Retvik approached the entrance, he was certain he heard a voice that sounded familiar, alongside the overly sweet voice of the Allmaker. Putting the bag of coal down, Retvik quickened his pace, curious to see who Kinisis was talking to.
“So do you need me to-” The being in question immediately spotted Retvik, also immediately dropping her conversation with Kinisis. “Retvik?”
“Elksia, is that you?” Retvik exclaimed, now rushing over, mostly in disbelief. “You look… It has been… ages since we last spoke! What are you doing here?”
Elksia beamed, wrapping her arms around Retvik. “What are YOUUU doing here? I thought you were gonna go exploring!”
Retvik hugged Elksia back a little, then wriggled free. “It is… complicated… You however look… amazing!”
The Allmaker tutted, then smiled at the two old friends. “I’ll leave you both to it.”
After a moment of waiting for Kinisis to go away, Retvik led Elksia inside, heading straight to one of the quieter benches in a flower-filled corner. A lot of “oohs” and “ahs” were muttered by Elksia as she took in the Oasis’s unique surroundings.
As they both sat down, two drinks magically appeared in front of them, one of them having a note on it from Kinisis, telling them to have fun.
“So, tell me where you’ve been!” Elksia nearly shouted. She was clearly very excited. Retvik also noticed she was slightly more… draconic. “I wanna hear your adventures! And where is Arkay?”
At the mention of that name, Retvik’s smile abruptly faded.
“He’s not…” Elksia lowered her voice.
“No, no, he is alive. We, uh, did not part on the best of terms.”
“What happened?”
“He turned into Arkidetelos, killed a Life Goddess and threatened to kill us. So we… sent him to a mental health clinic designed for dangerous death gods like him.”
Elksia’s smile dropped a little. “Oh. That… sucks. But you are alright though, yes? Did he hurt you?”
Retvik shook his head. “No, I am fine, just very angry at him. And tired as well. Seems like the majority of beings out there wanted us dead for no real reason.”
The Vrekan Time Drake shrugged, not really sure how to reply. “So, uh, did you do adventuring stuff?”
“Somewhat, yes. Saw some strange sights, tried not to get killed. Ran into a version of me from a somewhat parallel universe, who immediately tried to kill me and I had to kill them back… A lot of things happened, not a lot of it was… particularly fun.”
Elksia frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, mate. Is that why you are here?”
“Yes. In exchange for acting as security detail for her Oasis, Kinisis is allowing us to rebuild a Thantir base here. Since the majority of us were split up and the original Thantir One ship was badly damaged.”
Suddenly, Elksia bolted up, her eyes widening. “YOU ARE STAYING HERE?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Like, for a while?”
“Yes.”
Elksia’s smile returned, to the point that she couldn’t stop grinning. “I am so happy! We can all get back together! Or, like, you can join me and Tenuk on a date and we’ll have fun! Do the old fun stuff we used to do!”
Retvik opened his mouth to speak, but paused. “Hang on, what do you mean by joining you and Tenuk on a date? How is Tenuk by the way?”
“Oh…” Elksia hesitated. “I, uh, forgot to tell you. Tenuk and I are dating now.”
“Like, as a couple?”
“Yeah.”
Retvik fell silent. “And you do… all the normal relationship stuff?”
“If you are asking whether we fuck or not, the answer is yes. A lot.” Elksia was still smiling, but not as much now. “You’re not… angry, are you?”
The Flamebearer tutted. “Not at all, just surprised. I do have… a somewhat awkward question though. Is Tenuk shapeshifting into a Vrekan or using his old Rethan form or what?”
“Oh no, Tenuk is being himself. He’s the perfect height for oral.”
Retvik blinked, turning away slightly. “I did not need to know that.”
“Sorry… I thought you…”
“No, no. Too much information. At least for now.”
Elksia shrugged some more. “Still, the three of us should go on a date. Have some fun, properly catch up. You know!” Something vibrated on Elksia’s person. She immediately stopped to see what it was. “Oh piss. Kairos needs me for something. I gotta go.”
“Oh no, really?” Retvik sighed. “I was enjoying this chat.”
“Me too. But we can still arrange a date of sorts!” Elksia smiled as she got up from the table, having not even touched her drink. “If you want, I’ll speak to Tenuk, see if we can arrange something?”
“That would be lovely, Elksia,” Retvik also smiled as he accompanied her back to the Oasis’s entrance. “Let me know what you want to do, and I will be there…”