“Sooooooo, are you a. a Temthan and b. taken?”
Nyssi’s question caught Ziital off guard. He’d been busy wandering around Savepoint, taking geographic and locational notes, while waiting for the Decaylings to finish their lesson so he could interview them some more. But it seemed that the three psionic Decaylings had finished early.
“Is that not a little inappropriate, Nyssi?” Kuta asked as they sat themselves down.
“Is funny!” Talok bared her little tusks, smiling as she clambered up onto the bench next to Kuta. “Confuses mister Ziital!”
“Well, little one, you’d be right. That did catch me off guard…” Ziital grunted. “And in answer to your question, Nyssi… Actually, before I answer, I want to mention that I’m surprised you didn’t use your psionic powers to answer your own question.”
Kuta tutted. “Litvir likes to call it “ethical telepathy”. We are not allowed to use our telepathy to pry answers from people’s minds unless it is required in some way. Which is ironic, because Litvir had no concerns about ethics when we were mortal.”
“Eh, people are allowed to grow and change!” Nyssi shrugged. “Litvir learned how to not be an asshole, I guess?”
“Eventually…”
“Well, not everyone knew how to be a good person when they were mortal!” Ziital smiled. “I was a horrendous warlord when I was mortal, and didn’t become… a decent person until I lost one of my sons, and realized I needed to act, to save the rest of my family and my people from an invading Corruption. I do have a somewhat related question though. Eksi claims to be the Master Psion here, but Litvir sets the psionic rules. Why is that?”
“Range and efficiency,” Kuta explained. “Litvir’s telepathy is very, very good. But Eksi has an insanely large range. It is easier for Eksi to send out auras that Litvir can check in on occasionally, than have Litvir doing the Master Psion stuff all the time.”
Nyssi giggled. “Yeah, but I totally think Eksi’s gonna challenge you, Kuta.”
“Why?”
“You’re a better telepath. To the point that our tutor is borrowing your telepathy instead of using his own.”
“In our original interview with Elkay, he said he had psionic powers before he was made into a, uh… a Synaisthyn, though?” Ziital asked. “Why would he borrow powers he already has?”
“There are different styles of telepathy. Elkay’s telepathy is similar to Eksi’s telepathy. Litvir, Nyssi and myself, we are Anti-realist telepaths, which gives us better access and control. And I would admittedly like it if Eksi challenged me. I would like to test the skills I have regained.”
“Mister Kuta would probably win, right, missy Nyssi?”
Nyssi nodded in agreement. “Anyway, back to my question. I guess you’re not a Temthan, Ziital, but I was kinda worried there weren’t reptile-like mammalian beings out here.”
“Actually, I am completely reptilian!” Ziital smiled. “This suit I wear keeps me warm so I don’t have to sit in front of the furnace on our ship occasionally.”
“Huh…” Nyssi thought for a moment. “That’s interesting, because you spoke of children in a rather… close-knit familial way. Most reptilian beings, at least in our universe, weren’t great with kids. The only true reptilian race in our universe was the Thraki, and they were bad at child-rearing.”
“You say that like Vohra are not bad at it!” Talok clicked. “We all just baby slaves. Only Vahla become adults. And only if they have good genes. And only if they are female.”
“You’re female, Talok.”
“Yes, but I was mistake. Accidentally spayed. Is why I get angry sometimes. No female hormones to calm me down.”
Kuta patted Talok on the shoulder. “It is fine. We all have our anger problems.”
“We do, yes…” Ziital agreed. “But Nyssi, you would be right, the ancestors of the Tenthalites did have issues raising kids. It wasn’t until we became more intelligent, and females grew larger and more protective, that we improved our child-rearing and expanded as a species. That being said, my kind are long gone.”
“So females were larger than males?” Nyssi asked. “Actually, I called you reptilian, your scales are incredibly fine. You’re almost snake-like under that armour.”
“I am, yes. And yes, females were much larger. Closer to your leaders in height. Admittedly, the first time we met Litvir, I accidentally called him “she”.”
“Well, that IS technically correct…” Kuta muttered. “We are intersex, and our choice of pronouns is personal preference.”
“So why do you wear that suit?” Nyssi asked. “I mean, it’s clearly some sort of battle armour but it also keeps you warm?”
“It keeps me warm, has lots of pockets and contains a few bits and pieces, like a retractable blade and an anti-psionic reflector device in case Orion isn’t around. I admittedly left my universe in a bit of a hurry when I became a Decayling.”
“What powers do you have then?” Nyssi had more questions. “Like, Orion seems to have, like, telepathy and stuff. I think the giant noodle has light and fire powers? What about you?”
Ziital smiled. “I’m what’s called a ‘Fae’, I have light powers too, but I can twist my control over light into various weapons and shields. Although that raises my own question. Nyssi, you’re not just a Psion like Talok and Kuta here. You seem to have a very wide range of powers. And so do Kayel, Tanos and Ret. Why is that?”
“Why you ask?” Talok clicked, with a hint with annoyance. “You did not ask missy Raptor. Or Thassalin. Is not important. Nyssi is Psion with extra powers, that is all!”
“I’m just curious!” Ziital tried to calm things down. “Most new Decayons generally only have one or two powers, based on whatever they had inside their universe. But Nyssi and her team seem insanely powerful and insanely adept at using said powers.”
“You say that, but Talok and Kuta here are both very good at using their powers!” Nyssi argued.
“I… had a complete breakdown almost when we came back out here…” Kuta countered. “On the other hand, the worst thing Kayel has done is set his hoodie on fire a few times.”
“That’s why I’m curious!” Ziital frowned. “People having complete opposite powers is another rarity. At least, it is for such young Decayons like yourselves. Vikalos has a lot of powers, but he is nearly as ancient as Orion and Eta are, he’s learned new powers over time and can adapt his existing powers. And Retvik, who has been a Decayon for nearly five year-strings now, has learned his own tricks. But Nyssi, you picked up psionic powers about a four-ev ago, and you are almost as skilled as Kuta and Talok here, who have had telepathy their entire lives. And that is on top of your other powers. You hide yours more than the others, but while Kayel is rather open, I’m certain I still haven’t seen all of Ret and Tanos’s powers too.”
Nyssi crossed her arms and tutted. “I’m gonna be blunt, I don’t know how I know this stuff. It all just… is how it is.”
“Is this because mister Sini’s Shadow made you four gods?” Talok asked.
“Who is Sini’s Shadow?”
Talok turned around and pointed at the main reception area, where the Thantir leaders were chatting. “Mister Arkay! He is special. You are unsure of him. And not like you are with mister Elkay.”
“Arkay is pretty scary though…” Kuta admitted. “But only because he was a death god. He is fine now.”
“Kuta, you DATED Arkay!” Nyssi tutted.
“Yes, and sometimes it was terrifying. But only because Arkay wants to protect those he cares about. And others keep on threatening those he cares about.”
“Okay, yeah, that’s fair…” Nyssi calmed down. “But yeah, like, we’re just trying to be Decaylings. We’re not special. Not super special anyway.”
“You are special,” Ziital disagreed. “But you’re also right that we shouldn’t push you. I’m just curious. You four in particular, your path to Lordhood will be interesting to follow.”
“I feel underwhelmed!” Kuta tutted. “You sell Talok and myself short.”
“Oh, you’ll do well too. Thantir Decaylings from the last few year-strings have been insanely curious beings. Nyssi and her team though have a chemistry and a wide array of powers that have a lot of potential.”
“I guess…”
Kuta was unconvinced, but decided to let the subject drop, doubly so as Thassalin approached. Today, Thassalin was a particularly Temthan-like dragon, and he smiled at Nyssi before turning to Ziital.
“Hello, friends. Ziital, you and your dragon and cat friends are about to receive an urgent communication from another Trio. Elksia asked me to come and tell you.”
“Oh…” Ziital immediately got up. “Would it be out of line for me to ask who is about to call?”
“The Doom Drums.”
“Oh…” Ziital’s mood dropped. “I’d better go deal with that then. Thank you for the heads up, and thank you for your time.”
The Wanderer rushed off, leaving the Decaylings alone.
“Hmph. Politics…” Thassalin grunted as he stole Ziital’s seat. “Anyway, friends, how are you?”
“Better now he’s gone…” Nyssi frowned. “They seem friendly but they’re totally like Kayel’s fuckbuddy friend Psiksi, constantly asking questions.”
“Well, don’t worry. Between Elksia and myself, we made sure no one blabbed too much.”
Nyssi’s smile returned, and everyone settled down. “Thanks, mate.”
“No worries. Us Decaylings protect each other.”