“Oh, hello Elkay…”
“Hello, Arkay. Did not expect to see you here too…”
Underneath the main island of Savepoint were several small caves. The biggest cave was only really accessible by Kal or the smaller teleporters, and contained some strange Life Goddess machinery that no one was allowed to touch, because it provided both gravity and a small atmosphere around the floating island. The other main caves provided a fresh water spring and a small magma cool which gave the island some heat.
However, there was a tiny little cave right on Savepoint’s furthest edge, which was only really good for hiding in. Occasionally, when Elkay was feeling overwhelmed and needed to recentre himself and remind himself of who he was, Elkay would hide in the small cave and sit in silence, watching the periuniversal void winds drift by, dragging ancient, cold nebulae clouds with them. It was quiet and isolated, far away from stray energies.
Normally, Elkay didn’t need the quiet space. Not so much any more. But over the last few days, there had been an increase in visiting Life Goddesses, who seemed to be checking out the area. And this had, weirdly, put Elkay on edge. Clearly, it had also put Arkay on edge too, since the old Thantophor was now in Elkay’s quiet place.
“I’m sorry. Probably should have asked you before I came here… Litvir said that this spot is nice and far away from everything else, so I can clear my head.”
“It is fine. I assume that Life Goddess that looks like Sini but in Epani’s colours set you off too?”
“Yeah. Brain did not compute. Too many bad vibes. She wasn’t going to do anything, but if no one had been looking? I wouldn’t put it past her to nab you or me…” Arkay sighed. “Can I join you, or do you want me to fuck off and leave you alone?”
“No, no. Like I said, it is fine.”
Elkay grunted, then shifted over, giving Arkay some space to sit down. Because of all the commotion and chaos, Arkay had been slowly going through everyone and catching up, but he hadn’t had a chance to catch up with Elkay yet. They both would always get caught up in other things. But at the same time, both Elkay and Arkay would somehow pick up on each other’s presence and thoughts, despite not doing so on purpose.
“Thanks. Must kinda suck, no longer being the special one around here.”
“The opposite, actually. I am enjoying you taking the heat off me. Vok no longer come in, point at me and ask me what I am.”
Arkay frowned. “Yeah. What. Not who. I know we’re not monsters or objects or curiosities to be goggled at, but damn, some days, it really fucking sucks.”
“I just wonder why Kinisis chose me, and why my… strangeness only slowly started to come out when she…” Elkay hesitated briefly. “When you killed her.”
“In all honesty? What she did to you was probably one third sick experimental torture for the sake of her own hideous curiosity; one third Kinisis missing having me around, hating that I was free and wanting to make a new pet to bind to her will; one third making a fail-safe in case I got too powerful and needed to be killed.”
“I… I hate that…” Elkay muttered, after an overly long pause. “The idea that I am more powerful than you? Just so I could put you down if needed? That should not be a thing.”
Arkay continued to frown. “You have pulled me back from the brink multiple times now. You have a sense of self. You have always been more powerful than me, emotionally, mentally, whatever. In our base, mortal forms? You’re definitely physically stronger than me, I was a Threan-type known for my skills with a rifle, not my physical strength. With time, you’ll definitely be stronger than me in every way. The only reason I beat you, powers-wise, is because I have 16 billion perceived years of practice. If anything… I… I almost want to make sure you could kill me if you needed to.”
Elkay stared at Arkay, blinking erratically. “You… what?”
“I am a horrible monster. Or, rather, I can be. I constantly worry about losing it again. The fact that I have a fail safe does make me feel a little better.”
“It does not make me feel better!” Elkay exclaimed. “What if I lose my mind? What if I need to be stopped?”
“You won’t. You’re doing amazingly well. You… really are a better version of me. In, like, every way imaginable.”
Elkay frowned. “I hate that. And I hate us comparing ourselves to each other. I am not a better you, you are not a worse me. We are two damn individuals! It is like claiming Elksia and Thassalin are the same because they are both Time Drakes!”
Arkay shrugged. “It’s only because we look alike. And Panthon kinda looks like how I did when I went all mind-flayer-y when we got captured by pirates and I borrowed Litvir’s psionic powers and gave everyone an aneurysm. But yeah, I get what you mean, it’s annoying as fuck.”
“And it is made worse by us… constantly… catching thoughts.”
“Well, mate, I’m not doing anything. It’s all on you if you want to act or not.”
Elkay closed his eyes and sighed. “I am annoyingly tempted. Because, although you probably do not think this yourself, you are attractive.”
“Yeah, I’ve had a few folks telling me that. But I won’t do anything. I still have to work out how to approach Retvik and Litvir.”
Elkay paused for a moment. “You still-”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m 16 billion years old and I’m sacred of a LOT of things. Sure, I’ve found the confidence to snuggle with them, but going that extra step, doubly so because there is a lot of height and weight difference between us, is hard. Well, not hard. Scary.”
“You ought to try at some point.”
“I know. But also… Well… not over all that… torture yet.”
“Understandable…” Elkay frowned. “Still, I feel bad for even considering things, especially if you still have unresolved issues. Because Teekay has, for some reason, said it is fine.”
“Yeah, you told me. Still weird, but… Teekay has really looked after you.”
“Oh, definitely. I feel like less of a person when Teekay is not around. He is my everything.”
Arkay glanced at Elkay, and smiled. “I’m glad.”
“You got us together.”
“Purely by accident.”
“Still…” Elkay trailed off, then fell completely silent. Arkay sighed and fell silent as well.
“So… come here often?” Arkay eventually asked.
“Not really.”
“Fair. It is nice and quiet though.”
“Mhm.”
Arkay sighed some more. “Thank you, Elkay. I owe you. And I want to find a way to repay you.”
Elkay tutted. “You saved me when I turned into a slime monster and stumbled into a village and tried to eat a building. I think we are even.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
That made Arkay feel a little better. “Ah. Alright. Well, once I’ve sorted myself out with hot psionic mess and literally hot mess, if you… want to… you know…”
Elkay smiled. “Hah. I shall think about it. I shall also discuss it with Teekay. He wants in, in some way.”
“Hah! Sure! We’ll work something out!” Arkay laughed. “Either way, for now, I just want to watch the void clouds drift by.”
“Indeed…” Elkay settled down. “Let us enjoy the view for a bit…”