Vikalos had been wandering along the edge of Savepoint for a while, lost in thought, keeping to himself. He had joined in on the Great Ice Cream-Buying Incident, where Litvir and Elkay had bought everyone ice cream from a visiting vendor, but apart from that and his normal work, Vikalos had been a little distracted. And seemingly a little sad.
Right now, he had slowed down and was sitting on his little foldable deck chair on the southern edge, overlooking both the lake and the void. He seemed to be just staring out into the darkness, but he definitely looked up as he heard footsteps approaching him.
“Hello, Elkay…” Vikalos grunted. “What are you doing here?”
“The same thing you regularly do with me!” Elkay smiled. “I want to check in on you. You have not been doing too well over the last ev or so, you do not seem right. Do you want to talk?”
Vikalos glanced at Elkay. He was carrying two bottles of drink and his own deck chair, and hadn’t waited for Vikalos to answer his question. He just plonked the chair down next to Vikalos and handed him one of the bottles.
“You seem lost.”
Vikalos tutted. “You seem like you are on a mission.”
“I am, somewhat. Being a Synaisthyn, I pick up on people’s emotions. A lot. I picked up on Litvir being sad that Retvik was busy and did not want to spend time with him yesterday, and I am picking up on Elksia being worried about Reksi developing too fast. I cannot really help on the latter, but I helped cheer Litvir up and I want to do the same for you. Since you used to routinely do the same for me.”
“Fair, I guess…” Vikalos tutted some more, accepting the drink and taking a swig. It was just a diet cola, but it was refreshing.
“So!” Elkay smiled. “Tell me, Vikalos, what is wrong, and how can I help you?”
Vikalos didn’t answer at first. He inspected Elkay some more, mostly noticing how Elkay always wore that little necklace and carried a dagger, tucked into the side of his loin cloth. They were probably the two most important items Elkay owned, even more important than that strange golden armband with the number 471 engraved into it, or Elkay’s gun-staff, his preferred weapon of choice. The necklace was a marriage necklace, a piece of jewellery that married Skyavok wore, similar to a wedding ring. The blade was a partnership dagger, and married Rethans both carried them, for the same reason.
Elkay was a married person. He was married to Teekay, and they were both deeply in love, despite everything they had been through. Vikalos knew that, no matter what Elkay discussed with Vikalos now, Elkay would finish the conversation then go back to Teekay, talk with him then hold him tight and tell him he loves him.
Deep down, that was something Vikalos felt like he lacked in his long, long existence.
“I want what you have…” Vikalos finally muttered.
“I have a lot of things!” Elkay exclaimed. “I will assume though, you do not want my Synaisthyn powers, nor do you want to sometimes unwillingly mutate and shapeshift to fit in, you do not need my permanent need and desire to protect things, nor do you want telepathy. In all honesty, telepathy can be awful at times, even if it is the thing that brought me out here to talk to you…” Elkay paused. “Hm, I am going to guess what you want is some sort of stronger relationship between yourself and your partners. Because, and I am definitely humble-bragging here, my relationship with Teekay is definitely the best thing about me. In my opinion.”
Vikalos grunted. “Are you using your telepathy?”
“I am not, no. I do my best to not use my telepathy. I do often find myself constantly accidentally using my empathic powers. And I can tell you are not happy.”
“I should be happy, but I feel like something is missing. I love Galyn and Itaviir so much, and I know they love me back. But… I don’t know. Something feels off. We are bound by the spirit of warriors and history have never really shown more romantic love to each other.”
Elkay thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I suppose you could marry them. Tie the knot officially, rather than being a Named Trio. Have a romantic ceremony and everything… Admittedly, that is a little extreme, but I am coming down from a sugar high right now and the idea of having Litvir plan a third wedding is hilarious to me.”
“Have you been drinking?” Vikalos asked.
“No. Not yet at least. But I am planning on inviting Teekay to my room later, and we will eat, drink then snuggle.”
“Hm. That… I should do that with my partners. That does sound nice. Perhaps I could also get them to brush my fur again. I do not know why Itaviir enjoys that so much, but who am I to say no to someone brushing my fur?”
Elkay smiled. “You should do that. I think you are seeing what us formerly mortal vok have and you want something similar. After all, you were always a deity, you were always a strict member of the Justar and the Thantir were also cold until Retvik and Litvir took over. You have only been warm for a handful of year-strings and have decided you prefer being warm.”
“That is a fair comment. I’ve always been a strict being. I have loosened up over the last few year-strings. I don’t think Galyn and Itaviir have though, and they need to. Galyn is technically young, but Itaviir is getting old and I am definitely getting old. Maybe… I will have a chat with them.”
“You should do that!” Elkay smiled some more. “Have a nice, warm chat with them. By a fire, with some drinks.”
Vikalos also smiled. He patted Elkay on the head. “You are absolutely right. But for now, I think I want some peace and quiet, while I mull things over.”
Elkay got up and picked his deck chair up as well. “Fair enough. I shall leave you to your thoughts. Have a good one!”
“You too, dear. You too.”