The Silvertooth cafe was rarely frequented by any beings other than Thanatians. It sat on the edge of the small town of Asimidont, nestled in the low, dusty hills of Vriskera, next to a literal waterhole. Towns in Thanatian territories were rare, but Asimidont had sprung up due to many Raptors and Kshan herding their flocks through the area, while their more ferocious cousins would often come by to drink after a long day of hunting and fishing. While Thanatians would stick to their little eating establihsments, a small marketplace had sprung up to the northern part of the town, luring other beings in with shiny jewellery and treasures. The town also offered a pleasant shortcut through the more mountainous Thanatian territories, which many passed through on their way to larger ports and trading centres in Hertany and Iolonarium.
The cafe itself was pleasant, especially for Thanatian standards. Only seven skulls littered the walls of the building, and the inside furnishings were not torn to shreds, but covered in fine cotton sheets, to hide the tattered leather underneath. Each seating area consisted of floor mats, several large cushions and a low coffee table, about a meter off the ground. The only electric lights in the building were in the kitchen round the back, the rest of the dark building was lit by waxy candles which had, over time, melted out of their bone candle holder bowls and onto the tables.
Being mid afternoon, many of the locals were out working, although a couple of older Kshan lingered in one of the corners. When the door opened, breathing light into the cafe, they cranked their spiked necks round to see who the newcomers were. Two small Retha, both wearing hooded cloaks, neither of them over two meters tall, made their way in and settled in the other free corner, away from the Kshan. The barkeeper, a 49 year old Raptor named Zabeth, peered up from the kitchen, picked up a notepad and headed over to the two visitors.
“Are you two kidsss with an adult? I apologissse do not ssserve unattended Rethan kidsss,” Zabeth hissed, with his typical regional lisp. Many Thanatians, those who had the ability to speak, always hissed a little as they spoke, but those from less cultural areas often hissed over every single S sound.
One of the Retha rolled its eyes, then tapped on its wristband, producing an identity token. It handed the token to Zabeth, who scanned it with his good eye. The other Retha had readied its token too, but didn’t need it.
“I am sssorry. I did not realissse you were Threan-typesss…” He re-read the name on the ID token. “… Arkay Theanon… You wouldn’t happen to be..?”
The yellow-armoured Retha removed his hood and nodded. “Unfortunately, yes…” He pointed to the other Retha, his armour was dark and gunmetal, a stark contrast to Arkay’s bright colours. “This is my brother Psiksi Theanon.”
Zabeth smiled a toothy grin. “Wonderful. What would you Threansss like to drink?”
Psiksi glanced at Arkay, who glanced back, then turned to the barkeeper. “Could I have a caramel soda, and could Psiksi have a lemonitsa, ser..?”
“Zabeth.”
“… Zabeth. Pleasure to meet you!” Arkay stood up and bowed his head. Zabeth did the same, thanked them and went to the bar to prepare the drinks. Neither of them were alcoholic beverages, but Zabeth knew that young Threan-types rarely drank.
Psiksi picked at the unlit candles as Arkay sat back down, being careful to not jog the table as he awkwardly crossed his legs. Once his brother was comfortable, Psiksi shrugged and removed his cloak.
“You get that often?”
“Yeah.”
“Bet it can be a pain.”
“Only among Cassids and Vreka. Most Thanatians don’t really care.”
The drinks arrived, and they both took a couple of sips. Psiksi’s lemonitsa was just the right amount of sweet and sour, carbonated orange and lemon juice mixed together. Arkay prodded the ice cubes floating in his caramel soda, before sipping some up via the thin black straw. It was a basic cola, but Thanatians always added a sprinkle of powdered Stingyan scales to the ice cubes to stop them melting and diluting the drinks, and it added an interesting aftertaste.
“So… Come here often?” Psiksi asked. Unlike Arkay, he hadn’t been on Portalia long, only a few weeks.
“First time, actually, but I wanted to get away from the bigger towns. Vriskera is a wonderful place, but most vok never visit it.”
“Why?”
“Too many Thanatians.”
Psiksi smiled uneasily, unable to see the reactions of the Kshan behind him. Arkay smiled too, he knew that the Kshan agreed with him and preferred it that way. Thanatians, Kshan in particular, liked to keep to themselves and when not sharing land with other species, were very territorial.
“Still, this is lovely.”
“It is.”
A spattering of silence came between the two Retha for a moment.
“Psiksi, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Um…” Psiksi hesitated. “Well, we have all been wanting to talk to you for a while, but you have been kinda busy.”
Arkay nodded. “Unfortunately. But we have all been on break the last week and a half.”
“Still, you aren’t exactly the easiest vok to speak to. Especially when it comes to… criticism…” Psiksi took another sip of his drink, waiting for Arkay to stop eyeing him. “Do not look at me like that.”
Arkay sighed. “Fine. What do you want?”
“Right now? All I have is a question. Are you putting your life back together?”
There was no reply at first. Psiksi could feel Arkay’s thoughts, their brotherly telepathy mingling in ways that Arkay heavily disliked. Finally, Arkay found an answer that made him feel slightly better.
“Slowly.”
“Slowly what?”
“I am slowly putting my life back together.”
“Are you sure?”
“… No.”
The silence returned. Arkay flicked the straw in his drink. Psiksi finished his lemonitsa and signaled for the barkeeper to bring him another one, before wondering if he’d said something wrong.
“Thing is, Psiksi… It is hard. I am still struggling with some things. My dreams are full of horror, my thoughts full of dread. I am… scared of the future and what it may bring.”
“Why?”
“I do not know.” Zabeth brought the new drink and took the old glass away. Arkay watched Psiksi take a gulp, took a gentle sip himself, then went back to playing with the straw. With a second sigh, Arkay continued. “I feel I have wasted my life.”
“Brother, you are one of the Dessaron!” Psiksi protested. “You have done loads to better this world, this everything!!”
“Only because I had no other choice. Retvik and Tenuk did most of the work anyway, I just helped. And in all that time, I wasted every opportunity I had to even have a glimpse of normal life. Now here I am, with lots of new responsibilities and a lack of desire to fulfill them! I just want to sit on my fat tail and do nothing.”
Psiksi nodded. “I understand that feeling.”
“You do?” Arkay looked up from his drink.
“Yes. And I am pretty sure everyvok feels like that from time to time. You probably just feel it more because this last year has been horrible for you.” Psiksi put a hand on top if Arkay’s. “It is that feeling of desolation and emptiness that we all get when we have been put down. It is exactly how I felt after Essen left me, and how we all felt when we realised we were going to lose our jobs back in December. But w-”
“We have to push past it. I know, I know. It is very hard though.”
“It is.”
“I want to change, I do.”
“I know you do. Telepathy aside. When the new year comes, I will help you change.”
Arkay smiled slightly, just a bit. “You will?”
“Of course!” Psiksi beamed. “Anything for family.”
“And about that offer?” Arkay asked, finishing off his drink. “Are you considering it?”
“The four of us already decided to take it. I think Veekay will too.”
The smiles increased in size. Arkay was smiling properly now. “You are right. The new year will be better.”
Psiksi nodded in agreement, then called the barkeeper to bring over a food menu and two more drinks. “You hungry?”
“Damn yes.”
“Me too. What do you fancy?”
The menu and drinks arrived promptly. Psiksi and Arkay both raised their glasses, before bashing the bottoms on the table. The two young Retha both grinned.
“Cheers to the future!”