Veeyel had been standing in the doorway for about twenty minutes now. In the living room, Frienir was arguing with his partner. Clearly there had been a misunderstanding, but perhaps this had happened before. Frienir bringing someone home who he shouldn’t have. Either way, his partner, Lousanos, was incredibly angry.
The argument mostly centred around ruining their evening. Apparently Lousanos had planned a quiet, romantic evening and Frienir bringing Veeyel to their home had ruined it. This made Veeyel feel awful. He needed help, he was dazed and confused and had no idea where he was, but he didn’t want help at the expense of others.
They were both Standard-type Rethans, but it was clear that Lousanos was the bigger partner. They actually looked rather similar, both wearing basic silver and black armour, but Lousanos’s neon green highlights were far more catching than the stripes of blue on Frienir’s armour.
“And what if he’s actually a criminal on the run! Or maybe one of those Cassid-made abominations? He certainly looks the type!”
“He’s not a Cassid-made abomination. That is rather rude.”
“He’s a Threan-type.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“He could be altering our minds. Hecking Light, he could be one of those rogue Ksa we all heard about!”
That last sentence caught Veeyel’s attention. He peered around the corner, a worried look on his face.
“Rogue Ksa?” he asked, as innocently as he could.
Lousanos growled and stomped towards Veeyel, grabbing him by the arm.
“Haven’t you heard? There was a big bunch of Ksa, all protecting the old High General. That traitorous monster. They were all mind-controlled but some say that a few escaped! Heck, Frienir, you found a news-less idiot!”
Veeyel sighed. “I’m sorry, I… I don’t know what happened or how I got here. I do know though that I’m not a mistake made by amoral Cassids.”
“Then why do you look like an edgy Hertan? Actually…” Lousanos grunted. “You look a bit like a Trehavok. Or the result of a lot of inbreeding. Either way, here you are, in my house, ruining everything.”
“You are being unfair!” Frienir protested.
“No, I’m NOT, dear!” Lousanos shouted. “We have a kid on the way. And here you are bringing another random stranger into our home for no damn reason! I get it, this vok looks pale and lost. But you can’t just bring them home. You have no idea who he is and neither do I. What if this vok wasn’t a good Rethan? What if he WAS an escaped criminal?”
Frienir sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry…”
“And I’m sorry too!” Veeyel added. “I shouldn’t have come here. Should have…”
“Don’t be sorry…” Lousanos growled. “You’re just lost. And we all make mistakes. Hopefully we’ll learn this time… Do you know where you live?”
Veeyel thought for a moment. “Uh… I think… I have a relative in Palaestra… I’m… My memory is really hazy. I don’t remember anything really.”
“Are you registered?”
“Oh yes!” Veeyel almost jumped with glee. “I just… I lost my wristbands. If you had a spare one… I could put my ID number in and reconnect and work out what’s going on!”
Lousanos wandered over to a small cabinet to Veeyel’s side. He rummaged around and pulled out an ancient wristband. Old enough to still have a solar panel built into the side. He turned it on, checked it had charge, reset it then handed it to Veeyel.
“You remember your ID, right?”
Veeyel nodded and input his unique identifier. The wristband spluttered into life. But both Frienir and Lousanos both noticed a small icon on the display.
“You… are a Ksa…” Frienir muttered.
“Oh…” Veeyel couldn’t think of a reply.
“Maybe you should go to the Astynom… work out what’s going on…” Frienir suggested as he pulled a pen and paper out of the cabinet. He quickly doodled a map and handed that to Veeyel.
“Maybe you should go, now.” Lousanos’s voice was far more stern. He opened the door and pushed Veeyel through it, leaving him on the cold, stone steps outside. “And maybe you shouldn’t take advantage of nice vok like my partner.”
“Sorry for inconveniencing you…” Veeyel muttered as the door slammed shut behind him.