Nyssi crossed her legs awkwardly, trying to hide her nervousness as as she sat on the stool in the Raptor’s office. The Raptor had wanted to speak to Nyssi specifically, and she was not exactly sure why. She had some idea, but, as far as Nyssi was concerned, she’d been a good girl and a pretty damn good gladiator so far, why would the Raptor want to speak to her on her own?
As if on cue, the Raptor entered the skull-lined office, closing the door behind her. Almost instinctively, Nyssi began to size the Raptor up. While Nyssi personally had never had any problem with the Raptor’s kind, both she and the Raptor knew that Temthans and Ksithans had always been rather uneasy around one another, what with filling similar predatory niches and living in close proximity to each other in the past. Heck, even though Portalia was a neutral world inhabited by many races, even the Ksithans and Temthans there had squabbled in the past.
“Hello, Nyssi Tharru.”
“Hello, um…” Nyssi struggled for a moment. “Hello Miss Raptor. How can I help you today?”
The Raptor didn’t answer at first. She made her way around her desk and pulled out a file, flicking through the pages.
“First off, I do want to go over your performance report. You and the rest of Xeno Dessaron One have had daily matches this week, with a 100% win rate in team battles. I am genuinely impressed, especially with you and Tenuk.”
Nyssi smiled. “Thank you! I’ve always wanted to do this sort of thing! Although I’ll be honest, Retvik is totally carrying us.”
The Raptor seemed to nod in agreement. Nyssi didn’t like how covered up she was. That weird, massive, baggy hoodie obscured most of the Raptor’s features. But that hoodie was covered in leather armour, with a skull attached to the Raptor’s shoulder.
“He is, but that is to be expected. After all, Retvik has been working for me for a very, very long time. But he is teaching you well. While I already had rather high expectations for Kayel, due to his K-Class training, I was not sure what to expect from you and Tenuk. Simply put, with some more training, Nyssi, I think you can do even more…”
The Raptor trailed off, then sighed.
“Is something wrong?” Nyssi asked. “I kinda feel like you didn’t bring me here just to tell me I was doing pretty good.”
“There is a problem, Nyssi!” The Raptor removed her hood, revealing her whole face. She would have looked young and baby-faced for a Kisthan, if the Raptor wasn’t covered in scars. One of her short, black horns was broken, and she had a weird line of scales running across her snout. What stood out the most though was how unkempt the Raptor’s fur and mane were. “The Clan Unmourned are NOT supposed to be here!”
Nyssi blinked several times. She realized she recognized the Raptor, and not in a good way. She hadn’t met the Raptor in person before now, but she had seen that face in Temthan history books.
“You are… the Unending Fear… The Ksithan that ripped the Clan Unmourned from their territories here on Portalia…” Nyssi shrank in her seat, before attempting to straighten herself out. The fact that she, a Temthan, had just shown obvious fear in front of a Ksithan, bothered her. “You haven’t aged a day though.”
“Some of us are cursed in different ways, child. Tell me, why are your kind back here?”
Nyssi crossed her arms, some of her strength returning. “What do you mean, ‘my kind’? I’m just a normal Temthan, I’m allowed here just like everyone else.”
“You know what I mean. Your family is a scar on both Temtha 5 and Portalia.”
“Yeah, but, like, it’s not MY fault!” Nyssi countered. “I don’t see you getting pissed at Retty for being born to some stupid Rethianos family blood line thingy and being exiled!”
“Do not drag your friend into this. Retvik has been under my employment for the entirety of his adult life, and his brother, sibling, whatever Rethais is, he was elected High General democratically, rather than having risen to power via a bloodbath.”
“If we’re doing that shit…” Nyssi snarled. “The Tharr Clan was originally elected before they turned to bloodshed as well. But still! It ain’t Retvik’s fault he was a set of triplets when there should have only been twins, it ain’t Kayel’s fault that he was born in a special secret experimental super soldier plan thingy, it ain’t Tenuk’s for… I don’t know but there’s probably something fucky with his heritage, and it ain’t my fault that you didn’t do your job well enough and somehow let members of my asshole family escape, rather than killing them all when you had the chance!”
The Raptor blinked, briefly losing her intimidating snarl. “Did you just… blame me for not completely eradicating the Clan Unmourned from Portalia?”
“Yep. I mean, it was you, the Unending Fear, the Immortal Fang, the Undead One, who led the Ksithans and everyone against the Clan Unmourned. I wasn’t even fucking laid, let alone hatched, when all of that happened. There was over a fucking decade between tall that stupid shit and my coming into existence!”
Both Ksithan and Temthan fell silent. The Raptor put her hood back on, sighing to herself.
“Nyssi, I owe you an apology.”
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“You are. It’s not fair for me to judge you and treat you differently just because you happen to have been born to the wrong parents. It is doubly wrong for me to be bringing this up now. I am sorry for attacking you, Nyssi.”
Nyssi stuttered for a second, not quite sure what she was hearing. “Well… I accept your apology. And I kinda don’t blame you for being pissed off. After all, my retarded bloodline did… kill a lot of innocent beings. Both Temthans and Ksithans. And a bunch of assorted other races too…” Nyssi trailed off, then shrugged. “Was there anything else you needed me for?”
The Raptor shook her head, having calmed down a bit. “No, there is nothing else I need you for. Again, I apologise.”
“Eh, it’s fine. Used to get this shit all the time, I’m used to it now.”
“Still…”
Nyssi smiled, getting up from her chair.
“Have a good day, Miss Raptor.”
“You too, Nyssi. Keep up the good work.”