“So you’re… leaving?” Levik stuttered a little. “You’re going somewhere else?”
Psiksi nodded as everyone sat down at the table in a quiet Temthan restaurant. With Psiksi and Levik were Timik, Abius and Kass. Admittedly, everything was too small for Abius, but they seemed content to just sit on a spare stool rather than a proper chair. The venue had been picked by Psiksi, because he knew the place was genuinely quiet, and he and Timik had been here before.
“I am, yes. That’s why I wanted to invite you all out for drinks and a meal and all that.”
“You’re… saying goodbye?”
Psiksi coughed, then smiled, then patted Levik on the shoulder. “I am a little. Just for a bit. Until I’m feeling better.”
“Are the hospitals in Palaestra and in Portalia in general not good enough?” Timik asked. “Surely they can help you out better?”
“Oh, no, it’s… nothing against the hospitals here. Not at all. Despite the fact that there is only one Skyavok-only hospital on this planet…”
“Was there something wrong with the Arksini hospital? Or the hospital areas at the Great Arenas?” Timik continued to ask, before abruptly pausing and turning to the waitress who had just turned up. “Oh, hiya, sugarplum, how are ya?”
The Temthan waitress blinked, abruptly realising who she was talking to, then smiled. “Mister Timik! It’s an honour!”
Timik grinned back. “It’s good to meet you too, babe. You busy later?”
“I don’t finish until 11pm.”
“That’s fine, I’ll wait for you. We’re gonna be here for a while.”
The waitress grinned like a lunatic, then tried to keep her cool. “I’d like that! Ah… uh… Sorry, was supposed to be serving you all. What would you all like to drink?”
Psiksi went around the table, ordering diet cola for Kass, Abius and himself, he ordered an energy drink for Levik, and Timik grabbed a dark beer. The waitress rushed off, quickly came back with the drinks and some food menus, then disappeared again.
“How comes you lot don’t get recognised?” Levik asked. “I mean, I always swap my fur colours around, it’s easy for me to kinda be hidden, but Psiksi, Kass, you don’t do much.”
“We wear hoodies and overalls most of the time, covering ourselves up. Most people only know us in our armour, while we’re fighting, so they don’t see the small things that make Skyans individual,” Psiksi explained. “That and I have a massive wardrobe and rarely wear the same things for more than one day.”
“Oh…” Levik trailed off. “So, uh, why are you going somewhere else?”
Psiksi shrugged. “I’ll be honest, I told my mum and dad what was going on. They live literally down the road from a really good doctor, and they’ve requested that I go home and stay with them for a bit. They want to look after me and help me get better, it’d be wrong to not accept my parents’ care.”
“Oh…” Levik frowned again. “Your parents seem nice.”
“He actually has parents…” Kass muttered. “Most shadow-touched don’t know their parents, and I’m a tad envious.”
“Wait, really?” Timik exclaimed. “I know a lot of you shadowy bastards didn’t have siblings, but no parents too? That… That’s fucking awful.”
“It’s fine!” Kass perked up. “I was raised by K-Class like all other orphans, and we did get foster parents and a good upbringing, even with no actual parents. That’s how it is for most of us. Levik, do you have… wait, never mind…”
Abius and Timik both glanced at Levik, both of them suddenly remembering Levik’s family problems. Levik though sighed and decided to change the subject a bit.
“How long will you be gone for?” Levik asked.
“As long as I need. House Master Tanok really saved my bacon and got me plenty of time off to get better.”
“Do you know what the actual problem is?” Abius looked concerned. “Have you been diagnosed with an illness yet?”
“Sadly, no. Doctors are narrowing it down. But,like, you get it, Abius, our armour gets in the way of a lot of inside-the-body things.”
“It does, yes.”
“Either way!” Psiksi coughed briefly, then perked up. “I ain’t leaving you three idiots on your own. Kass here is going to take my place as the Skyan house fighter, and I want you three to treat her the same way you treat me.”
“But Timik does not treat you the best.”
“True… Alright, you three… uh… I’m trying to think of a way of putting this that won’t make Abius get overprotective.”
“I am already overprotective with Levik. I will look after Kass as well.”
Timik nodded. “Don’t worry, Psiksi. Your girlfriend is in safe hands. Not that you need it, Kass. I’ve seen you fight, you’re a beast in the arena.”
Kass grinned. “I appreciate that. I’ll be fine. And you’ll be fine too, right, Psiksi?”
“Of course. I’ll 100% be back at some point. Hopefully in better health too.”
“What about your streak?” Timik asked. “Is that on pause?”
“Yeah. Kinda same way Retvik’s one is permanently on pause…” Psiksi paused. “They… they’ve been gone for so long now. Still feels weird.”
Timik sighed loudly. “I miss them. I think everyone here is thinking that we should have spent more time with Retvik and his lunatic buddies.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, then fell silent. But after a while, Psiksi picked up his glass.
“It’s alright. It’s in the past now. It’s a shame we lost so many people, but I remain optimistic. We’re all going to survive and thrive.”
“Agreed!” Timik smiled. He raised his glass. “We will continue living for those we lost. But we’re all also going to be fine. Especially you, Psiksi. We get stronger every day.”
“Well, not every day…” Psiksi tutted. “But yeah. We’ll survive. And you three will have fun with Kass. She’s basically me but less stupid.”
“You’re not stupid, Psiksi.”
“You’d be surprised!” Psiksi raised his glass. Everyone else did too. “Cheers, to us, and to our better futures!”