Mavri Thyra lounged around on the well-padded chair, waiting patiently. Occasionally, she would spin around and wink at the young, red Kshan secretary, flirting with him and making the Kshan feel incredibly awkward. For a Thanatian, Mavri was incredibly attractive, but her beauty only hid her age and her inner wisdom. Her tentacle-like hair was also rather off-putting to many. Finally, much to the relief of the Kshan, the being Mavri was waiting for arrived.
“Mavri, you know I’m busy and said I didn’t have time today, right?” Phovos growled as she unlocked the door to her office and walked in, hinting that Mavri should follow.
The office was small, built with Phovos in mind. She sat behind the wooden desk and glanced at a chair opposite her.
“What do you want, sister?”
Mavri smiled, a long, toothy grin, as she sat down. “Oh, nothing much. Just some… idle chatter. Having fun running your little arena?”
Phovos sighed. “I am not just running an arena, I am running a city. You know how long I’ve been running this city? A stupidly long time.”
Compared to Mavri, Phovos looked positively ugly. She wasn’t, especially by Thanatian standards, it was just that Phovos was curvier than Mavri, and shorter too. It had always been hard for Phovos to make her own way in life, what with her sibling being almost literally the perfect Thanatian.
“I know. I like winding you up. I also like your diversity around here. Bit of everyone…”
Immediately, Phovos realised what was going on. “Which Thanatian sub-type have you pissed off this time?”
Mavri tutted. “You assume too much.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes you did. Out with it.”
The leader of the Thanatians hesitated. “Well… Over the last few hundred years, I’ve been trying to breed more and more powerful sub-types.”
“Like your original Sixteen?” Phovos asked. “Your elementally powered spawn who help you rule over the Thanatian race?”
“No. More like us. Like you.”
“Have you… ever succeeded?”
“No. Gotten close though.”
Phovos seemed confused. “Apart from the obvious lack of morality you have, you haven’t really explained to me what your problem is.”
Mavri sighed again. “My problem is, these Raptor-like beings want to become a separate race. And that’s tipped off the Thraki, who are also considering becoming a separate race. And on top of that, the Kshan want to go their separate ways too.”
Phovos leaned back in her chair, her worry dispersing. “Aren’t we all essentially our own separate races anyway? All you and Thymos really do is make sure Thanatians don’t eat other races. The Dekaexi deal with any defence issues so other species don’t invade us… what is there to worry about?”
“You don’t understand, Phovos. I control them all. I am losing my control though, and Thanatians may start going around and eating people. Then the other races will get uppity and start trying to kill us.”
“Then maybe you should start doing things for the Thanatian population in general, not just for yourself?” Phovos suggested. “You made yourself unpopular, throw the masses a bone. Give them something they want. Why the fuck are you even asking me anyway?”
Mavri paused. “I… don’t know. What you said is what Thymos said… How do you keep everyone unified around here?”
Phovos shrugged, then glanced at her computer. “I have something everyone wants. Gladiator battles. Violence approved by the people. You need to find out what everyone wants and I can’t do that for you.”
Suddenly, Mavri’s eyes lit up. She leaped out of her seat then rushed off, slamming the door behind her.
With a tut and a sigh, Phovos wondered what Mavri had thought about, then went back to work, thinking nothing more of it.