The Cold Critter Cafe was a small Vrekan bar run by an otherwise retired, elderly Vrekan called Calliark. Calliark had been an adventurer and spy in his youth, having taken hundreds of different forms and personas. When he retired, he needed something to keep himself busy.
Most of his customers were like him. People lost in different personalities. People who weren’t who they used to be. People who needed a good, strong drink.
Tenuk had been one of those people. Ever since he fled the ranks of the Kronospasts, he hadn’t been himself. Pretending to be a Rethavok, knowing he would never fit in. The Cold Critter Cafe with its plain, simple walls and distinct drinks of alcohol and coffee, had helped Tenuk settle down. Now that his brother Kohra had gone down a similar path, all but exiled from Kronospast territories, Tenuk felt the need to look after him.
“This is…” Kohra wasn’t sure what to say as two cold coffee drinks arrived in front of him. He watched Calliak shuffle back into the kitchen and poured himself a mug of coffee, then added several shots of brandy. “Different. Not something I expected. Why do you like this place?”
Tenuk shrugged. “After the big one, it was full of soldiers and spies. People I’d fought alongside. Was somewhere I could go where Retvik, Elksia and Arkay wouldn’t.”
“Ah.” Kohra trailed off. “So why did you bring me here?”
“I… I don’t know. Privacy maybe.”
Kohra glanced around the bar. There was no one around, just them. Calliak was getting drunk in the kitchen, he didn’t care.
“Huh.”
“I just wanted to talk and catch up…” Tenuk sighed as he sipped his drink. “You’ve been doing your things lately…”
“And you the same!” Kohra smiled. “I’ve been following your adventures. Talking to Vohra? Impressive. The Rethavok and Vrekans never bothered with them before and us Kronospasts always went straight to blowing them up before they can spread.”
“Yeah, well, the nest queens are normally the troublesome ones. Those two nests were very different…” Tenuk clicked his tongue then changed the subject. “What about you though? What have you been up to?”
Kohra smiled, hesitated then smiled again. “It’s been weird. Been spending time with… Uh… Well… I dunno if I can tell you really.”
“Why not?” Tenuk asked. “You’ve been pretty open in the past.”
“Well, it involves the Demonic Lord of Death, you know, the arch nemesis of all of existence and the one god we were raised to hate at all costs.”
“You mean Arkadin.”
“Yeah. You know him?”
Tenuk rolled his eyes. “He was Arkay. Or Arkay was Arkadin.”
“Oh yeah. Funny how he spent all that time pretending to be a mortal, yet he still has no real idea how to act like a mortal or what it’s all actually like. So I’ve been… kinda helping him?”
Tenuk blinked. “How so?”
“You know, just spending time with him. Talking and chatting. Was part of the deal we made.”
“What deal?” Tenuk was really confused now. “You made a deal with Arkadin, the Lord of Death? One to extend your life?”
“What? No!” Kohra exclaimed. “He was going to kill me but he realised who I was and thought I’d be able to serve him in a better way. So now I go and visit Arkadin once a week, sometimes more, and we do normal, ‘mortal’ things. It makes Arkadin happy. I bet that, aside from you three, Arkadin never actually had any friends, so I’m being his friend and I think this is better for everyone.”
Tenuk blinked again. “What do you actually do?”
“Well, last time we made cookies. Arkadin disappeared briefly but came back. Said there was a thing he needed to deal with, but then he came back and we had cookies and ice cream. Normally I spend a couple of hours doing a normal, mortal thing with him until something pops up and he has to leave, I’ll tidy up the place a little bit and if he’s not back in an hour, I come home.”
“Huh.”
Kohra sipped his drink. “In hindsight, that sounds insane, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. But it also sounds amazing…” Tenuk admitted. “Can I come with you next time?”
“To visit Arkadin?”
“Yeah.”
Kohra shrugged. “Sure, why not? He could always do with more friends…”