“I think I’m gonna miss not being here for a week ev thingy…” Tenuk muttered as he got the Thantir Three ready for take off.
“I’m not!” Nyssi tutted, crossing her arms. “And Kayel and Retty ain’t either!”
“Nyssi, girl, you’re mind-reading again…”
Nyssi blinked, then rubbed her eyes and immediately apologised. “I’m sorry. Normally I keep a better lid on it.”
Kayel shrugged. “It’s fine, dude. It happens. You’re nowhere near as bad as Eksi and a lot newer to telepathy too. But you seem upset. What’s wrong?”
Nyssi glanced at Tenuk, making sure that the ship was ready to go. She hesitated and waited until they were airborne. “I… I don’t like that place.”
“Why?”
“The Pink Paradise is a stupid name, for starters. But… the problem is, people go there and expect a Life Goddess. And they look at me and think I’m a Life Goddess. I tell them I’m not a Life Goddess, I’m just a normal Decay Lord, and… they get disappointed.”
“Why would they get disappointed?” Retvik asked. “You are a very nice person, one of my favourite people, Nyssi.”
Nyssi smiled a little. “I appreciate the nice comment, Retty, but it’s not quite what I mean. People are expecting a Life Goddess, they see me and I’m not a Life Goddess and that disappointment hurts. Like, sure, I’m used to not conforming to expectations but people don’t need to telepathically think so damn loud about it.”
Kayel shrugged. “Eh, I can see why that would be annoying, but Ret’s completely right, Nyssi. You’re cool! Heck, you’re cooler than a Life Goddess. We’re half-Synaisthingies, we’re unique.”
That helped. Nyssi smiled properly. “I appreciate you guys. You’re right. I’m cool.”
“We’re more than cool!” Kayel shrugged some more. “We can do some pretty crazy stuff…” Kayel suddenly paused and fell silent. But it was too late, Nyssi had already picked up where he had left off.
“Uh… what do you mean by that?” Nyssi asked.
“Mean about what?” Tenuk also asked. “You reading Kayel’s thoughts now?”
“Yeah, sorry… but… Kayel, you… you borrowed time powers?”
“When did you do that?” Retvik joined in. “Was it when you and all the people called Elkay went on that adventure with the old All-Ksa and the teenager Rethan that Relkir adopted?”
“Hang on!” Nyssi turned to Retvik. “Your little brother-”
“Sibling.”
“Your little sibling adopted a kid, as well as also having a kid with that giant Gath guy?”
“Yes, this was before they had a kid.”
“Relkir went proper hardcore Defensive Stance over them as well!” Kayel added. “I mean, that’s how they killed Kairos. They turned their gigantic brain off and went on a stabbing spree. But yeah… while we were there… while Rethan Elkay was busy trying to block Kairos and his time powers, I… I kinda helped by boosting Elkay. No idea how I did it though, I don’t even remember what I did. But… I think I briefly accessed time powers.”
Nyssi went back to frowning. “That means we are actually Synaisthyns then.”
“No, it doesn’t!” Tenuk countered. “Arkay specifically said that we know who we are and we didn’t go through all the torture and soul-ripping and stuff like that like Arkay did. And Elkay and Helkas, apparently. We’re not 100% Synaisthyns!”
Retvik nodded in agreement. “I do not think we are Synaisthyns. All Kayel probably did was give Elkay a confidence boost. We tend to do that for others, we make people feel better in small ways. And not always intentionally. Kayel probably did not actually use time powers, he made Elkay feel strong enough to do what he needed to do. By using telepathy or something.”
Kayel and Nyssi glanced at each other, then shrugged. Tenuk didn’t glance at them, because he was busy flying the ship.
“Honestly? That… that makes more sense than me having some weird time powers!” Kayel felt better now. “I mean, I think that actually might be one of our more minor powers. Now Ret’s mentioned it, we all do it all the time. Tenuk makes the weird guys feel less awkward, I make all the Skyans feel better, Nyssi routinely makes people feel better after their corruption purge things and Retvik is just a beacon of goodness… And, admittedly, that’s why I want to head back to Savepoint for a bit, because I want to spend time with guys more like me, and get away from all the weird folks who go to Life Oases. Apparently Vekeus is heading back too, can’t wait to see him.”
Retvik nodded some more. “I am looking forward to spending a whole week thing with Kuta. Sure, it is nice when Kuta visits here, but the last time, they got a little… funny. Plus, Kuta said they are making a surprise for me and I am… a little too curious.”
Nyssi eyed Retvik. “Kuta is making something for you?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t know what it is?”
“Kuta is very good at keeping secrets.”
“Can I guess?” Nyssi asked.
“Guess what?”
“Guess what Kuta is making for you?”
Retvik eyed Nyssi back. “Please do not say what I fear you are about to say. We agreed to wait.”
“Alright but now I want to know what Retvik thinks Nyssi is thinking!” Kayel butted in, before suddenly covering his mouth. “Fuck, you think Kuta might be egg-ridden?”
“It’s possible.”
“WHAT?” Nyssi screeched. “Nooooo! I was going to be mean and say that Kuta is building one of those BDSM frames to tie Retvik to!”
“Oh…” Kayel snickered. “Alright, that’s way more reasonable.”
Retvik grunted and crossed his arms. “You are being mean.”
“You’re the one who keeps on forgetting to take that sexy collar off!” Nyssi teased. “But like, we know you and Kuta have a healthy sex life. I’m kinda envious.”
“Eh, it might change if you find a lizard person you like!” Kayel smiled. “Temthan-likes are kinda common out here.”
“I guess…” Nyssi shrugged. “Plus, I’m young, I got time on my hands. Anyway, how long we got until we get back, Tenuk?”
Tenuk glanced at the navigation panel and switched to autopilot. “A few hours, I think.”
“Ah… Anyway, I want popcorn chicken. You all want some?” Nyssi asked as she got up.
“Yeah, sure.”