“Well, I have had fun. And this room has been very nice and comfortable!” Litvir mused as he took up most of the gigantic bed that filled the room that had been set aside for Retvik, Arkay and himself. Retvik and Arkay weren’t bothered though. Retvik was enjoying sitting in a strange, spherical rocking chair thing, and Arkay was lying on the edge of the bed, playing with the end of Litvir’s overly long tail. “Have you two had fun?”
Arkay shrugged, twirling Litvir’s tail around his hand. “Yeah, it was… weird seeing Elksia again. He seems happy though, the Justar treat him well and he has friends and stuff. Based on what Tenuk’s said and what Zephyr and Thyel mentioned before Thyel dragged you off, other Retvik is potentially out there too.”
“Hmph… ‘Other Retvik’. It bothers me that there are three of me…” Retvik grunted.
“It’s awkward, sure, but you’re the one who got lucky and is actually partnered with me. Admittedly, I think youngest Tenuk is probably the best of the three of them though. He never grew old and jaded and turned into an asshole. But speaking of Retviks and Tenuks, I STILL haven’t seen Tenuk’s Trio buddies. I think I saw Ignasi once but I still have no idea who Yatre is.”
“Eh, I am sure we will see them tomorrow!” Litvir smiled.
“Probably. How were things with Thyel?” Arkay asked.
Litvir’s smile wavered, ever so slightly. “Hah… awkward… I learned a lot about male Beh’evok biology. And Thyel was glad to see and experience a vagina.”
Retvik glanced at Litvir briefly, then grunted again. “I guess you got to be a complete bitch instead of half a bitch.”
“What do you mean by that? That seems mean!” Arkay blinked in surprise.
“I am not offended!” Litvir smiled. “I got to be completely female, and I had fun! Was genuinely enjoyable. Was worth all the confusion about both our anatomies.”
“Alright…” Retvik’s tone immediately changed. “Just how… different was it?”
Litvir’s smile turned into a smirk. Retvik knew Litvir was picking up awkward thoughts. “Oh, you are curious.”
“You two better keep this secret!” Retvik warned, wagging a finger at Litvir. “But… when things were particularly bad… and when Litvir and I were not talking after you were sent away, Arkay… I considered… things. Towards Galyn.”
“Well, Galyn IS pretty attractive!” Litvir’s smirk turned back into a smile. “And that is understandable. I think Galyn would have had issues similar to what Thyel has, had he not saved Itaviir’s life. And had Vikalos not convinced Galyn and Itaviir to express their love. Speaking of whom!”
A knock on the door caught Retvik by surprise, but Litvir instantly knew it was Vikalos. However, he remained in bed and let Retvik get up and answer it.
“Hello, little ones, are you all busy?” Vikalos asked. Unlike the rest of the room, he clearly wasn’t happy. Actually, he seemed rather annoyed.
“No, not at all, Vikalos. Is something wrong?” Retvik immediately asked back.
“Yes. These bastards will not leave me alone. The younger Lords who do not know me are fine, but I keep on getting dragged into conversations. Worse, people know where our room is, and people are KNOCKING for me! Can I just… stay here, for a little while? Galyn and Itaviir are covering for me, saying I am in the bathrooms or eating or whatever, but if I go back to the main hall, I will be cornered again.”
Retvik nodded, then pulled Vikalos into the room and closed the door behind him. Arkay and Litvir both immediately made space for Vikalos on the bed.
“I appreciate this…” Vikalos sighed, then glanced at Retvik again. “By the way, as you are here… Retvik, what in the Void did you say to Truthtalker?”
“You seem annoyed about that too.”
“No, I am holding my tongue and my opinion until you tell me what you said. Because I saw Truthtalker confront Kahlos and got concerned for all of you.”
Retvik grunted. “Truthtalker blatantly wished Kahlos dead in front of me, then called me weak. I told him Kahlos was a good person and I am not weak in the slightest. After all, I killed that Golden Doom bastard.”
“Oh. Fair enough.” Vikalos immediately calmed down. “I was concerned. Truthtalker was… admittedly one of the reasons why I never wanted to stay.”
“You know what happened to Kahlos?” Retvik frowned.
“No, that was… both before and after my time. Most folks from when I was a Justarian Lord, we had no idea Kahlos even existed until he broke free and ran. But, by then, there was nothing I could have done to help, outside of not doing any real searches for Kahlos when Truthtalker ordered us all to.”
“You knew where he was?” Litvir asked.
“No. I had no clue. But no one was allowed to talk, and Kahlos was painted as a monster and a criminal. I was never informed of his crimes, so I never complied.”
“I have a follow up question…” Litvir hesitated slightly. “Is there a reason why Galyn and Itaviir do not have surnames or second names?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Thyel does. He says he gained a second name for all the heroic things he has done. But surely Itaviir at least has done something worthy of having a surname?”
Vikalos tutted. “Unfortunately, Beh’evok have a strange tradition where you have to earn a surname, but if you are ever considered a traitor, you can never earn a surname until your name is cleared.”
“But we cleared their names?”
“Sure, you did with the Great Blades, but not with everyone. The average Beh’evok still sees Itaviir as a traitor and Galyn as a deceiver. And it’s the average Beh’evok that come together to decide if another Beh’en deserves a name, even if the surname has to be given to a Beh’en by a Mother.”
“I have a question too!” Arkay piped up. “Epani, Sini and Phovos are descendents of Kinisis, who those idiot Great Blades seem to… have something with? Couldn’t THEY give Itaviir and Galyn a surname?”
“I…” Vikalos lacked an answer. “I… I don’t know? I… I suppose so? But that leaves us with a new question. What surname would Phovos give them?”
“Your surname, of course!” Arkay beamed.
Vikalos stared at Arkay, but quickly calmed down. “Hm. I… I don’t really have a surname… but you are right there… I suppose it’s something to think about on the trip back. And I do hope we can leave soon. I hate it here.”
“We will leave soon!” Litvir replied reassuringly. “Although you did mention an armour. We did want to visit that.”
“Oh, of course. I think we ALL need some new armour…” Vikalos’s mood perked up. “Especially you, Retvik. We’ll get you some fireproof clothing. You need it badly.”
“Hah…” Retvik grunted. “Very funny…”