“Going back for seconds, dear?”
“Third, actually.”
Relkir had just wanted to get some more food, but, rather annoyingly, Litvir was in the way, Leaning against the wooden door frame, he was blocking the entrance to the main kitchen, presumably waiting for Relkir to come by.
“Do you need something?” Relkir asked, holding an empty bowl. “You are… somewhat in my way. Actually, you are completely in the way.”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I do need something, darling.” Litvir spoke with a rather gentle tone. Not as manic as normal. “I have been picking up on your aural mindset since the favourfites left, and you seem rather unhappy. And you have not been talking to Teekay or Eksi either.”
Relkir grunted, shaking his head. “I do not like it when you try to peer into my thoughts.”
“I have done no such thing. There is no need for me to read your mind when you are so obviously creating an aura of negativity.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Around here, yes,” Litvir smiled faintly. “After all, you, Retvik and I are three Rethavok, us Rethans have always had our Secret, our telepathic neural network. With just you and Retvik however, well, you stick out like a sore claw. So, tell me, what is bothering you?”
“Can you move out of my way first, before dinner gets cold?”
Litvir raised an eyebrow, then sighed, allowing Relkir to pass, before following him back into the kitchen.
“You are stress-eating a lot,” Litvir commented, watching Relkir put himself a heaped bowl of stew, a very standard Rethan meal. “Now you have me concerned.”
“I have a lot on my mind, please do not judge me…” Relkir hesitated. “A lot going on all at once. I watch one sibling fly off into the dark infinities. The other watches over our kin, fighting an uphill battle to keep everyvok alive and happy. And here I am, basically a servant at a Temthan beach resort for Life Goddesses, forbidden to do anything, especially when it comes to helping Rethais and our fellow Rethans.”
“A fair comment. It is worth noting however that Rethais knows about your position and would contact you if he needed to. Rethais is a big kid, he knows what he is doing.”
“True…” Relkir was frowning now. He didn’t want a lecture. Not from Litvir.
“What else is bothering you?”
“What do you mean?”
Litvir swished his tail from side to side. “There is plenty more that you are not telling me.”
Relkir gave Litvir a long stare. “I do not like what you are implying.”
“When was the last time you slept with someone?”
“Litvir!” Relkir hissed, lowering his voice. “I do not want to talk about this out in the open!”
“We are not out in the open. We are standing in a kitchen, on our own, talking things out while our Skyan counterparts are a floor above us, in your apartment, quite obviously fucking.”
“I am not… a fan of how our four-way relationship is working. You are all happy but I am not.”
“Why not?” Litvir raised an eyebrow. “Why are you not happy and, more importantly, why have you not said anything? We agreed, we are all in this together.”
Relkir took a long, deep breath. “I am embarrassed to say that… I wish to be a little spoon.”
Litvir blinked. “Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Well…” Litvir put a hand on Relkir’s shoulder. “All you had to do was ask.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”