“So anyway, what do you-”
Levik stopped mid sentence as he felt something vibrating. He blinked a few times before realising that it was his phone ringing, and he stopped everything he was doing to answer it, ignoring the confusion of his gladiator friends.
“Relkir! It’s been ages! How are you? Can I put you on speaker? I’m with my friends right now!”
“Of course, it is not a problem. Hello, Levik, hello, Levik’s friends.”
The voice on the other end of the phone wasn’t recognisable to Kass or Timik, but Abius quickly worked out who was talking.
“High Advisor Relkir, it is an honour to speak to you!” Abius smiled a little. “Congratulations on your new Legion!”
Timik glanced at Abius. “Who is this guy?”
“Kyr Relkir is the General of the 99th Legion, the Legion of Advisors, and one of the siblings of High General Rethais. We… Timik, we MET Relkir. Last year.”
“We did?”
“Yes! They are Retvik’s little sibling!”
“The little tiny Rethan with that gigantic Gath guy who was taller than you?”
Abius rolled their eyes. “Yes.”
“And Levik knows this guy?”
“Relkir and I met on Thresisa after the Sudden Darkness!” Levik eagerly explained. “They went all angry stance and saved a bunch of people from a crashed ship, and I was evacuating people until my ship crashed but I saved them all too, and Relkir and I were in the same hospital! They… kinda wandered into my room all lost and we chatted a lot, since we… uh… kinda both just lost our big brothers… We normally just text each other though.”
“Why?”
“Relkir’s a General now! They’re super busy!” Levik bounced excitedly. “Relkir, you doing alright?”
“I am doing well, yes!” Relkir seemed happy, but the line was a little crackly. Long distance Rethan communication technology wasn’t the best. “Are you busy currently, Levik?”
“I’m not! I do gotta go in about half an hour, Abius and I are doing a Thirteenth Night match together, it’s gonna be awesome! What’s up?”
“Oh… That sounds fun. Will it be live?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah nice. I might sit down to watch it with Gath and the kid. You have been doing really well as a gladiator.”
“I appreciate that, thanks!” Levik was beaming with joy. “So yeah, you need something?”
“No, I do not need anything. I was just wondering if you got my email invitation or the invitation I sent in the post?”
Levik suddenly paused. “Uh… I haven’t… had any post… You sent me a letter?”
“I sent you an invite to my wedding. I wondered if you were able to come and who your Plus One would be.”
Levik blinked some more. “You are getting married, you’re inviting me and you want me to bring someone with me?”
“Indeed. Although if you want to come alone, that is fine. It is just tradition to keep everyone in the audience in pairs.”
“When… when is the wedding?”
“First of the Twelfth. We can help arrange three days in a hotel and some travel from the city to the location if you need it, although I understand if you will not be able to make it since this is rather last minute.”
Levik’s expression fell for a moment. “Do I have to RSVP?”
“It would be helpful but not required.”
“Alright… will my dad be there?”
“No, no. The only politician we are inviting is former All-Ksa Elkay, because he and I have some history. But I have invited Kohra and he said he is coming.”
Levik went back to blinking. “You are getting married and are inviting me and you invited my brother and I can invite someone to come with me?”
“Yes.”
Levik immediately turned to Kass, Timik and Abius. “So, uh…”
“I can’t go!” Kass instantly exclaimed. “I’m a known shadowjumper. Not allowed in the Rethan capital or near the Rethan leadership.”
“It’ll be in Thresisa though?” Timik shrugged. “Isn’t that a neutral planet?”
“Yeah, it’s a neutral world, but it mostly followed Rethan laws. So I can’t.”
Timik shrugged. “Oh well. And since it’s a Plus One for a boring old Rethan wedding, I think Abius should go with Levik.”
“Dude, the High Advisor is literally on the phone right now…” Levik hissed.
“It is fine. I understand that Temthan weddings are… um… very chaotic and flamboyant compared to Rethan weddings. We are not actually inviting many people and it will be a small event overall.”
Timik shrugged yet again. “Abius should definitely go then. They’ll at least understand the customs and they can protect Levik and stop him from getting lost or whatever. Plus, Abius, you’re a Rethan.”
“I… I guess?” Abius was confused and surprised. And secretly a little excited. “Will we be able to arrange time off in time for this event?”
“I’m pretty damn sure that, if you go to the new Raptor right after your match, he’ll let you have the time off. End of November, beginning of December, that’s all Temthan and Torr holiday stuff, so you two won’t really have many matches anyway.”
Levik went back to grinning and bouncing with excitement. “Alright then! We’ll do just that! If Timik’s right, we should be able to make it, and I’ve got the funds to arrange flights on a big ship so Abius won’t get too squished. Do we bring presents or anything?”
“No need, friend. Gath and I only request your presence. It will be so good to see you again in person!” Relkir sounded rather happy. “I will write down on the list that you are coming. Admittedly, I do have a few more people to chase up, so I will leave you to it. Good luck with your match, I look forward to watching it!”
“Thanks, Relkir!” Levik grinned. “Have a nice… uh… it’s night for you now, right?”
“Indeed. Have a nice evening, Levik.”
“Alright, bye!”
“Farewell.”
The call ended, and Levik slowly stopped bouncing, but his big fluffy tail was swishing around all over the place.
“Hm. I have not been to a wedding in a long time…” Abius muttered. “I will have to dig out my formal silver armour. But it will be nice. Rethan weddings are very calm and gentle. With some drinking. Levik, are you old enough to drink mead?”
“I’m fifty years old, I’ve been able to drink since I was forty. But yeah! It’s gonna be awesome!” Levik jumped up and grabbed Abius’s hand. “Come on now! Let’s go and get our Big Bad armour on ready for the match, and, after the event, we’ll go and sort out holiday time and stuff! We’re gonna have some much fun!”
Abius smiled awkwardly as Levik tried to drag him off. “Yes, I think we will.”