Teekay sighed to himself as he dragged his spoon through a half-melted bowl of ice cream, while a group of teenage Ksithans giggled in the corner, licking up cones of meat-flavoured sorbet. He had been sitting on his own in this tiny ice cream parlour for a couple of hours now, staring blankly at the pastel walls, which were decorated with pictures of sugar sprinkles and various ice cream toppings. There were many, many ice cream parlours in this small city, catering both to the giggling teenage Ksithan crowd and the late night drunken Skyan crowd which roamed the streets at night.
It was currently afternoon though, and the Ksithan teens had all just finished school and were chilling out. Teekay on the other hand was waiting for his partner to return. He had no idea when they’d be back. In fact, Teekay was about to pick up his communicator and-
“Teekay!”
Several large, full bags appeared in the table in front of Teekay, followed by the strange, insanely buff, green and grey form of Elkay.
“Hita…” Teekay picked himself up. “I was getting kinda worried. You said you’d be an hour, tops.”
“The queue at the Citizen’s Advice Centre was longer I expected,” Elkay explained as he sat down and started rummaging through bags. “Lots of vok trying to get themselves registered, myself included. Luckily I got to speak to a very understanding Thraki who explained to me that they get “weird Threanic beings” around here all the time.”
“So… what’s the verdict?”
Elkay smiled, then got up to order himself something to eat. He swiftly returned a second later with two large chocolate ice creams, both with little heart-shaped sprinkles on them.
“Did you really have to put an annoying pause in like that?” Teekay tutted.
“I did. Because I am now a citizen of Portalia. And I also potentially will have a job soon.”
Teekay’s eyes widened. “What?”
“The Thraki I spoke to, they recognized me. Not as my former self, but they recognized that I am not a normal being. While I was going through the process, we talked and the Thraki mentioned they have openings for “strange creatures” at the DBArena. Once I was finished, the Thraki gave me a number to call, I called it, I gave them my combat experience and they booked me in for an interview on Tuesday.”
Teekay continued to stare somewhat blankly. “You… you might have a job?”
“Yes. I want to no longer have to leech off you, and bring in more money so I can treat you to more nice things. Like these cushions I got for you.”
Teekay glanced at the bags, then sighed. “You do not leech off me.”
“I do. You have been sheltering me for months and I want to pay you back. And I will. In what I hope will be a fun and enjoyable fashion.”
“So you… want to… fight for money?” Teekay asked, taking a spoonful of ice cream and eyeing it awkwardly.
“It will be a great way to keep myself sharp and occupied!” Elkay explained. “And it is also a chance to, well, figure out the deeper aspects of my abilities. Because ever since we arrived here, I can feel myself changing again.”
“Really?”
“Yes. My armour is already thickening up again. Plus, hitting other beings is… enjoyable, in a way, if this job position is what I think it is.”
Teekay shrugged. “Well, it’s not my cup of tea, but if it makes us both happy, then why not? I heard arena staff get paid well anyway. So what now?”
Elkay shrugged too. “I do not know. I suppose we could… return to our hotel room, order some warm food and do… fun things, perhaps?”
A smile sneaked its way across Teekay’s face. “That’d be lovely.”