Captain Ignair nearly jumped out of their skin as they opened the door and was greeted by the General of the Retha of all beings.
Ignair was a very, very young soldier-caste Rethan who used to have bright red plating, but the plating on their arms was charred black, and they had speckled black and brown marks across most of their body. Originally, they worked with a protection Legion in Spast territories, but Ignair had run into a burning building opposite where their station and had saved the lives of twenty Spasts without considering injury to themselves, then dug a final Spast out from the rubble. For going above and beyond their duty, Ignair was moved to the 1000th Legion and was later made a captain after they yet again ignored their own safety and had assisted in rescuing Rethans trapped in rubble during the April earthquakes.
Still, Ignair was a rather shy and quiet person normally, to the point that their duties as the Keeper’s main captains was still a bit of a shock to them. Seeing the High General, a very imposing Rethan at the best of times, standing before them, was enough to make Ignair shiver.
“Hello, Captain, is General Gath here?”
“Um… uh…” Ignair stuttered. “They… they are.. yes… but…”
“Take a deep breath.”
“Yes… yes Kyr…”
“Now count to ten. Out loud.”
Ignair did as they were told. To their surprise, this helped them calm down.
“Feeling better?”
“Yes, Kyr.”
The High General smiled. “Good. Now, back to my original question is General Gath here?”
Ignair nodded. “They are, uh, in the bathroom currently though.”
“May I speak to them when they are done?”
“Yes. Please, come in.”
Ignair moved to one side, and the High General stepped into the office. This office in particular was a small, temporary office. The Keeper and the 1000th Legion in general were a rather mobile Legion that travelled regularly between various cities essentially giving pep talks and morale boosts to other Legions, while also occasionally assisting in security for other important Rethans. Lately though, General Gath had been working from the Kentron, the governmental building in the capital city of Phos and delegating their duties to their captains.
Thankfully, it seemed that Gath was done, and they were sitting at their desk, awkwardly sipping a glass of water. However, upon seeing the High General, Gath immediately got up, thanked Ignair and shooed Ignair and their other captains away, giving them some privacy.
“General Rethais, it is always good to see you!” Unlike most Rethan Generals, Gath was a soldier-caste Rethan, but they were nonetheless rather cheery and open, doing their best to keep up among higher-caste Rethans. Gath was also utterly huge, standing at 3.2m tall, a good 70cm taller than the average Rethan. “What brings you to my humble office?”
Rethais tilted their head to one side, silently inspecting Gath. “Are you well?”
“Could be healthier, but I am alive and happy!” Gath smiled. “How is my dear little Relkir? You are not working them too hard, are you?”
“No, no, not at all. If anything, I have not seen Relkir so chirpy in a long time! I really must thank you for brightening up Relkir’s life!” Rethais smiled back. “I actually came here to offer you an invitation.”
“An invitation? To what?” Gath rushed back to their desk, wondering if they had forgotten something. But their calendar had nothing particularly important involving the governmental Legions for a while.
“Something nice, for once. I am arranging a weekend to the Lake and I am bringing my siblings with me. And because you are Relkir’s poten-partner, you are invited too.”
Gath didn’t respond at first. They blinked somewhat blankly.
“General Gath? Are you well?”
“Oh. Sorry…” Gath got back up and rubbed their eyes. “I apologise, High General. I am a bit under the weather currently.”
“How comes? Relkir did mention you had taken some time off due to some health issues but… is something genuinely wrong?”
Gath shook their head. “I admittedly do not know yet… I think it is just another case of prostaxia. I get it a lot more than most for… somewhat obvious reasons. Unfortunately, whenever I get prostaxia, on top of the brain fog, I also get nausea. So, uh, please, forgive my bad breath. But I am fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am, yes. I will survive. I am a tough cookie. And a happy cookie!” Gath went back to being cheerful. “So, you are inviting me to the very fancy villa that Photis built?”
“Yes.”
“The one you normally do not like because it reminds you of the more abusive later years of the previous High General?”
Rethais nodded. “We have been using the villa as a hotel for foreign dignitaries for the last five years, complete with all its fancy features. I have worked diligently all this time, and I think I deserve a tiny bit of luxury, yes?”
“I… I guess?” Gath shrugged. “And… I take it you are inviting your family, which means you have to invite their poten-partners, which means you are inviting me?”
“Exactly! You also get to enjoy the luxury of the Lake!”
Gath frowned somewhat. “Feels… weird.”
“I will be honest, yes, it does. This whole excursion was actually Lysar’s idea.”
“I… forgot that you also have a poten-partner now… I am surprised you did not break the Bloodline Traditions sooner…” Gath frowned some more. “Maybe it is because I am just a soldier-caste Rethan and I see things differently and… more slowly, but you are… weird.”
Rethais eyed the Keeper, but didn’t say anything at first. They eventually sighed. “Hm. Maybe you have a point about me being weird. Perhaps I need to improve my image. But I still wish to treat my siblings to some luxury, and I do not want to leave their new loved ones behind. Plus, I want you and Relkir to spend more time together. Yes, this break is for my benefit, but it is more for Relkir’s benefit, because you make them so happy.”
Gath went back to smiling. “Relkir makes me happy too. I suppose you are right, a weekend spent in luxury with Relkir by my side is too much of an opportunity to miss. Very well, General Rethais, I accept your invitation! I do have… one question though.”
“Yes?”
“Will I be meeting your parents? You are inviting the family, after all.”
“HAH!” Rethais snorted rather loudly. “By the Light, fuck no. All they did was lay the three of us. They do not deserve anything from me.”
“Ah, fair enough!” Gath patted Rethais on the shoulder, then led them out of the office. “Well, consider me invited! Say hi to my dear Relkir for me!”
Before Rethais could say goodbye, the door slammed shut. Rethais blinked in confusion, then shrugged. At least Gath seemed happier than normal.