The Thantir One was pretty quiet. Mostly because there wasn’t much in it. When Arkay was last on board the Thantir One, he recalled it having three main corridors, the same way the Shimmering Blade did. Arkay was also aware that the ship was built with DIY Faction Section technologies, meaning parts of the ship could be taken out and moved about, somewhat like massive, metallic bits of lego. But most of those sections were missing, presumably taken out and put into other, more needy ships. The place was mostly empty now, just with the default components, enough to make it flight-worthy.
On the plus side, Thantir One was functional and had plenty of fuel. And on board were Arkay’s four little friends, all of whom were sleeping in one of the now rather empty observatories. Things were peaceful now. Quiet. Tranquil. The only sounds around outside of the hum of the ship’s engines were the occasional beeps in the cockpit, and a handful of notifications on Arkay’s communicator. Arkay was enjoying silently chatting with Litvir and Retvik. Helped make the journey less awkward while Arkay sat around, making sure the ship was working.
Souldrainer: So you actually did steal the Thantir One?
Deathbringer: Well, I didn’t steal anything. They did.
Flamebearer: Apparently little Retvik pretended to be me?
Deathbringer: Apparently. And apparently Tenuk made himself look like Itaviir.
Souldrainer: Why “apparently”?
Deathbringer: The poor guys are exhausted. Didn’t want to give me all the details just yet. So I told them all to sleep for a bit, since it’s going to be at least 20 hours until we get somewhere we can better teleport via.
Souldrainer: I am very impressed either way.
Deathbringer: You guys have Phovoula, right?
Flamebearer: We do. She is very sleepy but she has woken up. Phovos and Tahvra taking care of her.
Deathbringer: Good. I kinda expected us to have problems with my little team. Genuinely didn’t think they’d fuck around with Phovoula too.
Souldrainer: Should we ever get more Decaylings, I genuinely think we should send them to do their Decay Lord Trial via a different sect. Someone slightly less biased.
Deathbringer: Good idea.
Deathbringer: Back in a moment, the kids need me.
Arkay glanced up from the consoles, then turned around. Kayel was standing in the doorway, clutching a thin blanket.
“What’s wrong?” Arkay quickly asked.
“Can’t sleep. Also I have a lot of questions.”
Arkay patted the seat next to him. Admittedly, the seats were gigantic, and the only person who vaguely fit was Retvik. “Well, feel free to ask them. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”
“I guess…”
Kayel climbed into the spare seat, then wrapped himself up in the blanket. Once he was vaguely comfortable, he glanced outside, but there was nothing to see.
“So… uh… how did you manage to save us? We’re a long fucking way from home, and you just… teleported in…”
Arkay’s smile faded a little. “Well… at one point… I kinda made a small promise to you four. I promised I’d protect you if I had the chance to do so. You mostly saved yourselves though.”
“Yeah but… you fucking just… teleported in front of me.”
“Because you were in danger. The problem is, I wanted to jump in sooner to save you all, but another promise of mine was getting in the way. At some point, and I genuinely don’t remember this, but I made a promise or accepted an agreement or something, saying that I’d never go within a certain distance from Deathven Sector Alpha, where Deathven himself resides.”
“But once that guy was outside that sector, you could teleport to us?”
“Yep. Basically.”
“But how?”
“I… I honestly don’t know. Thing is, I understand why that guy is scared. With a bit of a push, a being like me could easily kill a lot of people and destroy a lot of things. But clearly, Synaisthyns just seem to be so rare and the space between universes is so vast, that it’s simply good luck that the Thantir have me and Elkay, plus you four being hybrids.”
“If we got into deep trouble again, would you be able to save us?”
“Probably. Can’t say definitely. Certainly can’t make another promise. But yeah, I could.”
Kayel thought for a moment, then tutted. “If you can just teleport here, why can’t you teleport uis all home?”
“The initial teleportation to save someone is done instinctively, and I often have no idea where I am when I teleport in to save someone. Which means I don’t know how to teleport back.”
More tuts. “That’s convenient.”
“Ugh, tell me about it…” Arkay paused, then changed the subject. “Either way, you four are Decay Lords now!”
Kayel sighed, not feeling certain. “Yeah, sure, but are we going to have people pestering us the way they pester you and Elkay?”
“People who just happen to be… not normal, they will always be at risk. But you’re a member of the Thantir, and one of our unofficial strap lines is that the Thantir protect their own.”
“I guess…”
Arkay glanced at the auto-pilot, then at Kayel. “Is something bothering you?”
“Yeah… It’s stupid and awkward though.”
“I’m sure it isn’t.”
Kayel shook his head. “It totally is.”
“No one’s listening except for me. And I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
“Um… well… the problem is…” Kayel tugged at his neck collar. “I’m… kinda horny right now.”
“Ah…” Arkay remained optimistic. “Let me guess, you’re thirsting for me a little bit.”
“A little bit? No, a LOT. Part of me wants to get between your legs and eat you out, and then have you press me against the consoles here and rail me.”
“That is… pretty specific.”
Kayel grunted. “Also not obtainable. You have your two Rethan hunks now.”
“Sure, I do, but, like, Retvik’s fine with me sleeping around, and Litvir keeps on pushing me to sleep around. Litvir is perfectly fine with me fulfilling some other vok’s desires. Retvik is fine as long as I do something nice for him. Mostly massages. But I’m well aware that a lot of folks have feelings for me. At some point, I’m going to act on them.”
“Are some of those feelings for me?” Kayel hesitantly asked.
“Oh, totally!” Arkay beamed. “Just… maybe not right this second. I do kinda have to keep focus and make sure we’re going the right way. But when we’re back at Savepoint? You know where my room is.”
Kayel immediately cheered up. “Fucking really?”
“Yep. Also, once we’re all settled, all you former Decaylings will get your Deathven-sponsored income, so we can go out for shopping and cookies again, like we did back home.”
“Wow… That’s awesome…” Kayel smiled. “Thanks, Arkay. You’re the best.”
Arkay reached over and patted Kayel on the shoulder. “No, WE’re the best…”