Rethais straightened himself up and quickly threw his shoulder armour and cape back on as the door to his office opened abruptly. The High General had requested an hour to himself while he read through various paperwork he had missed over the last few weeks, as well as some time to finish off the debriefing notes he was required to do, but clearly, someone hadn’t received the memo.
To Rethais’s surprise though, the two entities that entered were quite small. A pair of Skyavok, one adorned in a cape and snake-shaped jewellery, the other wearing smart armour and a pair of braces around their legs to assist in walking.
“All-Ksa Kayel, I… I was not expecting guests, what are you doing here?”
Kayel, the fancy Skyavok in snake jewellery, was looking quite pleased with himself. As the leader of the Skyavok, he had just solved a large amount of their problems, and he wanted to share with a fellow leader.
“General Rethais! You’re busy working? Why aren’t you celebrating? We just secured a life of safety and pleasure for all our kin, and you’re here in your office?”
Rethais grunted. “I have debriefing to do.”
“You’re the High General, it can’t wait?” Kayel’s partner Veeyel smiled, leaning gently on the All-Ksa.
“Uh, no. No I cannot. Protocol is, if you have contact with a deity, you must report it and debrief. Being the High General does not exclude me from these rules…” Rethais frowned, then grunted again. “You did not answer my question, what are you doing here?”
“Scheduling error!” Veeyel piped up. “Our flight back home is not until tomorrow! So we are celebrating!”
Kayel nodded in agreement. “Indeed! We thought we’d visit a fancy Rethan restaurant, if such a thing even exists. But I thought we might as well invite you too!”
“Why would you want to invite me?” Rethais looked confused. Sure, he had rebuilt some of the sour relationships between the Rethavok and the Skyavok, but Kayel’s friendliness was above and beyond normal relationships.
“Because… why not?” Kayel lacked a real answer. “I mean, it’s not like we know anyone else around here. Aside from the handful of staff I have to protect me, but we’re running a skeleton crew these days. I only have Veekay and a handful of K-Class looking after me, rather than the whole party of staff I used to have. I’ve bribed them with whatever take-out they want though for an evening out, just us. After all, we really must celebrate.”
That answer didn’t satisfy Rethais at all, but, well, he was curious. And, well, Kayel was right, they did deserve to celebrate, just a little. The gods could have taken even more, but they had secured a strong future for not just the Rethavok and Skyavok, but for pretty much everyone.
“Very well. Give me a moment.”
With a small tut, he turned his attention to the communicator on his desk and turned it on. After a couple of beeps, someone picked up on the other end.
“Hey dear!” a voice crackled. Rethan communication tech certainly wasn’t known for its crisp audio.
“Hello Lysar. I have a quick question for you. All-Ksa Kayel and his partner want to go out for dinner with us. I was thinking perhaps a trip to The Red Maw. Do you fancy that?”
“That sounds lovely! I am finishing work in ten minutes, can you pick me up?”
“Of course, dear.”
“Thank you! Speak to you soon!”
The line closed and Rethais turned his attention back to the two Skyavok.
“So, I assume the Red Maw is a fancy restaurant?” Veeyel asked.
“One of the best ones,” Rethais smiled. “Lovely place, good atmosphere. Something many Rethan joints lack.”
“So… are we on?” Kayel asked.
Rethais nodded. “We are. Give me ten minutes to finish up and make arrangements, then we can head off together.”
“Together?”
The High General smiled. “Of course. I will arrange the fancy vehicle to pick us all up and head over. This is a celebration, after all…”