While both Retvik and Litvir were the leaders of the Thantir, that didn’t stop either of them doing more mundane jobs, and they were happy to get their hands dirty if they needed to.
Currently, Retvik was on guard duty, because he wanted to give Galyn and Itaviir a bit of a break and also force Arkay to sleep a little bit, and Litvir was in the main waiting area, keeping an eye on things there. However, they were still talking to each other on and off, telepathically.
“They are so cute…”
Retvik blinked, not expecting Litvir to say anything.
“Who are?”
“My little sibling and Ret.”
Retvik grunted, then picked up his pace, heading to the small beach area behind the main buildings. Savepoint was designed in such a way that everyone’s living quarters gave them a window that had a good view of the lake and the surrounding trees. Retvik didn’t know what trees they were, but currently, all the leaves were a soft pink.
As Retvik walked around, he spotted Kuta and Ret lying on a blanket on the beach. Both of them were fast asleep, with Kuta snuggled up by Ret’s side. Next to them were a couple of crumb-covered plates and two bottles of mead, both half empty. Really, the Decaylings were supposed to be in bed, they had curfew, but Vikalos had suggested that they should be free to wander around and enjoy themselves, while they all had the chance.
“Hmph. They are very cute…” Retvik moved on, not wanting to disturb the sleepy couple. He headed back the way he came, towards the main areas. “Almost too cute.”
“You seem a little jealous, dear.”
“I do not think “jealous” is quite the right word. After all, you and I could sleep like that whenever we wanted. I just feel a little bad that I am so much older than my counterpart is. I no longer feel young and powerful.”
“You are plenty powerful.”
“Yes, but I am nearly 90. Might even already be 90-”
“You are 88 years old, at least according to the timer I had and the second timer Ret has. You are still in your prime and will be for a long, long time.”
Retvik grunted to himself. “You know what I mean. And it does not help that Kuta, who is the same age as you, also externally seems very young.”
“You are not even a hundred yet and you think you are old? You are just over middle-aged.”
“It is not feeling old. It is more that we are not as cute and innocent as they are. They are still in a honeymoon period, we see them snuggling up, holding hands, surprising each other with gifts. You and I have never done that.”
Litvir snorted in amusement, loud enough that Retvik heard as he patrolled past the main offices.
“Haha, Retvik, dear, are you complaining that we are not cute enough as partners?”
“A… a little, I guess. They just seem so perfect together. And I do not understand how they do it.”
“And you do not think that you, me and Arkay are cute?”
“Arkay is cute when he is in the right mood. You and I though are not cute in the slightest.”
“We are cute to most Beh’ens.”
Retvik grunted to himself. “Not the same thing. It is hard to be cute when I am a 3m tall flaming wall of armour and muscle.”
“It is hard being cute when you are a 2.5m tall wall of armour and muscle who can shoot lasers. But Ret manages it.”
“That is the problem though. How is Ret cute?”
Litvir didn’t answer at first. “I think Ret is cute because he is very gentle and much more feminine than we are. But at the same time, he is not bothered about being considered feminine…” Litvir trailed off some more. “Do you want me to be more feminine, dear?”
“Uh…” Retvik hesitated. He continued his patrol, not sure how to answer Litvir’s question, thinking to himself as he quickly checked the parking area. “Um… Would you want to be more feminine?”
“I am quite happy with my present self. I was not always happy, but I like myself more now.”
“Fair enough. Admittedly, Arkay is the cute, feminine one. He is adorable whenever he is not stressed or grumpy.”
“Arkay had not really had time to relax though, really…” Litvir trailed off again. He was clearly thinking quite hard because Retvik was picking up little flickers of telepathy. When Litvir went silent completely, Retvik decided to think about something very hard to try and snap Litvir back.
“You there, dear?”
Retvik heard a combination of a sigh and a hint of laughter from the main office.
“You could have used any other thought to distract me and you picked that?”
“Well, that was the first time you and I made out.”
“True…” Litvir paused yet again, but this time, he actually started talking again. Telepathically, at least. “I think we need a vacation.”
“A vacation?”
“Yes. Not right now of course, we have Decaylings to deal with. But, outside of that stupid party the Justar hosted, we have not done anything for ourselves. Not for a decent amount of time anyway. On top of that, we really need to get Arkay in on our fun far more often.”
“You make a good point. Arkay could do with some time with only us around. And away from here. We have been tied to Savepoint for a while, we could do with a change of scenery. On our own. Unfortunately though, I do not know of any such places. And we cannot take Arkay to a Deathven sector either.”
“We will work something out. We ought to. And we should let Arkay in on this. His opinion is required. Mostly on where to go. There has to be a nice place within our pentacluster that would allow us to relax in peace.”
Both Retvik and Litvir fell silent. Litvir had work to do, and Retvik wanted to do a few more patrol loops before switching with someone else. His current loop took him back to the beach, where Kuta and Ret were still sleeping.
“They really are adorable…” Retvik muttered and thought at the same time.
“They are, yes.”
“Your little sibling is very lucky to have Ret by their side.”
“Oh, yes, of course. And I am thankful I have you by my side, Retvik.”
Retvik smiled to himself. “I am thankful for you too, dear…”