Seimeni tutted as she wandered around the ship, looking for Retvik. Ever since they had sent the new Decayling on that test run, it seemed that Retvik had been avoiding her. Whether he was doing it on purpose or he was just lost on the massive ship, Seimeni wasn’t sure, but she needed to find Retvik quickly before he got himself into trouble.
The only places Seimeni hadn’t checked on this loop of the ship were the bathrooms and the kitchen. The bathrooms were occupied currently, and not by Retvik. They were in the middle of a large bathing ceremony with some older Decaylings, so Retvik almost certainly wouldn’t have been there. Only the kitchen remained.
Just as Seimeni suspected, there Retvik was, sitting on a stool by the counter, mixing things together.
“Hey, where have you been all this time?” Seimeni immediately asked, a little bit harsher than she had intended.
“What do you mean?” Retvik asked. “I have been only here and in my room…” Retvik paused, glancing around. He put the bowl he was mixing down, then reached for a small device, the helper wristbands that all Decaylings wore on board. He fumbled around with it, then frowned. “I guess I lost track of time. I do not know why that happens. It all just passes and I do not realise.”
The ghostly Decay Lord grunted. “You need to work on your timekeeping and getting used to local times.”
“I do…” Retvik sighed, before going back to the mixing bowl. He did seem to be ignoring Seimeni in a way. Normally Retvik would be much more talkative to her.
Changing her tone, Seimeni floated up to Retvik, leaning over him and peering at whatever he was doing.
“So what’s up? What ya up to?”
Retvik shrugged. “I am trying to make cookies. It is not going too well…”
“Have you burnt them?”
“No…” Retvik glanced over to a nearby tray. “They just look really… unappetizing. Horrible lumps of dough with black stuff in them.”
Seimeni grabbed one of the finished cookies and gave it a try. “They taste fine.”
“But they look bad.”
“Doesn’t matter if they taste nice!” Seimeni beamed. “I mean, look at you, you’re all big and pointy and fiery, but inside you are wonderful and sweet!”
Retvik let out a long sigh, putting down the mixing bowl and turning to Seimeni. “About that…”
“What?”
“I do not think we should… be seeing each other. Not yet, anyway.”
“What?” Seimeni blinked in surprise and confusion. “What are you on about?”
“I finally worked out where I know you from…” Retvik sighed. “The entire time I have been here, I have been wondering why I feel like I know you already. Because Arkadin told me about you. I remember, one of the last times I saw him in a… social manner, he said he had been messaging with a deity called Seimeni and that he liked you a lot. Now that I have been given this task of capturing Arkadin, I cannot be, to put it harshly, fucking the one being he thought was his friend.”
Seimeni tried not to gasp and show how shocked she was. “I’m… uh… I don’t know how to take that.”
“It is very simple. We put this on hold and do not mention it until my task is over and we are… certain that Arkadin will not get upset by our relationship. After all, how would you feel if you were being tracked by your old friend, who happens to be sleeping with another of your friends?”
Retvik’s words began to sink in. Seimeni tutted, but her tuts turned into a smile. She gently patted Retvik on the shoulder. “You are much, much more mature than everyone expected, Retvik. You will be a fine Decay Lord one day.”
“I appreciate that…” Retvik sighed. “Would you mind… leaving me alone now, please?”
“Of course!” Seimeni smiled. “See you later!”