“Hello, Taliv, friend, is General Kuta in?”
Taliv glanced up. They didn’t expect to see Ritlir, the new General of the 10th Legion, to be standing above them. Ritlir wasn’t particularly menacing or anything, really, Ritlir was known for being a tad too friendly. But right now, Ritlir looked annoyed, and that was never a good thing.
“They are on a private call currently. Do you want me to call you when General Kuta is free or do you mind waiting?”
Ritlir shrugged. “I will wait. It is fine… So, how is the kid? How is Naliis?”
Taliv smiled a little, then they smiled a lot. They were a bit older than Ritlir. In fact, both of them had been asked to take over the 10th Legion, but Taliv had backed down, not wanting the extra work. Mostly because Taliv was married and had settled down already, unlike most Below Twenty Rethans.
“Heh, things are great. Valis started Junior Stratos back in the 9th, but Naliis is doing amazing. We are expecting a second kid. Naliis hopes to lay in two weeks, and I have arranged the time off to be with them. We always wanted Valis to have a little sibling!”
Taliv’s optimism perked up Ritlir’s mood. Really, any news about a friend and their kids perked Ritlir up. Unlike most Rethans, Ritlir secretly worshipped the Allbirther and they believed that strong relationships were good relationships and any new, happy kids were always a good thing.
“That is wonderful!” Ritlir smiled back. “I am so happy for you both! Please, give Naliis my regards. And if you need anything, let me know.”
“We are good, thank you. General Kuta already said I can have whatever time off I want in regards to my kids… Speaking of which! Hello, General!”
Kuta had stepped out of their office and joined the rest of their soldiers in the 11th Legion Cave. The place wasn’t dingy or anything, but it was an in-joke among Rethans who worked at the Kentron, the centre of the Rethan government, because the 11th Legion worked from the basement areas, mostly in just a handful of larger offices.
“Hello Taliv, oh, hello Ritlir! How are you?” Like Ritlir, Kuta seemed somewhat annoyed, but they were hiding it.
“I am fine. Can we talk, please? In private.”
“Of course.”
Kuta led Ritlir back the way they had come, back to their little private office in the back. As they entered, Kuta sat Ritlir down, before closing the door and going to a nearby mini fridge, from which they handed Ritlir a bottle of water.
“You seem bemused!” Kuta immediately asked. “Is something wrong?”
“You do not seem too great yourself!” Ritlir deflected. “Both of us are known for our open emotions.”
Kuta sighed. “Ever since what happened on Torr 9-6, I have been having constant medical check ups. Decided to get a few other things checked out as well. Somewhat wish I had not bothered.”
“Do you mind me asking?”
“No. I have always trusted you, Ritlir. More than most. Having Retvik around to talk to and share thoughts with is pleasant, but this particular concern is not one I wish to burden him with.”
“Are you… are you ill?” Ritlir exclaimed. “You have always been abnormally healthy! Outside of the occasional, uh, telepathic migraine.”
“I… I may potentially be ill, yes. I went to see the gamaeologist, because… um… I do not know if this is too much information or not.”
Ritlir leaned forward, smiling. “You are talking to a diligent worshipper of the Allbirther. You should know that anything to do with downstairs parts, I want to know about. Although, considering your age is a multiple of five, I assume maybe you went there to have your IUD changed.”
“Well, you are absolutely right. But I had an ultrasound to check the positioning because one of the removal strings was missing, and the doctor… found… something…”
“Is it, like, cancer or something?”
“They do not know…” Kuta sniffed. “They believe that the foreign object has been there for a while, but I have yearly screenings because, well, you know why, and this is the first time this has come up. I am not that concerned, but, well, I was hoping to finally settle down after a chaotic few months and now THIS happens? I am quite tired of it all…” Kuta sighed some more. “I am sorry, Ritlir, you came to talk and I just threw all that at you.”
Ritlir just shrugged. “I will be blunt, I feel bad now, because I came here to have a go at you potentially trying to matchmake me.”
Kuta’s tone suddenly changed. “Oh? You like little Trismit?”
“I… I do, yes. They flew through their first interview, I brought them in for a second interview and they are starting next week. Stupidly intelligent, and I am surprised Trismit was so overlooked by other Legions. Someone who enjoys data-mining is perfect for my olanet intelligence team. But still…” Ritlir hesitated. “You know I always had a little bit of a thing for Taliv. Even after they got married and had a kid. And you just brought a fresh, young, new Taliv, right to my doorstep.”
“Um, actually, I… I thought that was just you being a fresh, horny young adult. After all, you started working in the Legion of Hidden Affairs when you turned 20, and, thirteen years later, you are now a General. You still technically are a fresh, horny, young adult.”
Ritlir tutted. “I hate how you are correct on that last sentence. The swingers scene for Rethans… definitely sucks. Everyone else is monogamous apart from me.”
“Hah, you sound like Litvir…”
Ritlir immediately stared at Kuta. “Who is Litvir? Because you have mentioned that name to me before, and I KNOW you are not talking about Livtar, because they pledged themselves to a life of abstinence.”
Kuta fell silent, realizing they had fucked up. They glanced at the door, double-checking it was shut, before turning back to Ritlir.
“I can explain, but I want it on paper that you will not utter this to anyone.”
Ritlir tutted, then grabbed a nearby sheet of paper and a pen off Kuta’s desk. They checked that the paper was blank, then scrawled out a quick message, before signing it with their overly flamboyant signature.
“I, Ritlir Psykolakos, hereby promise that this conversation will not leave this room.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Hah… before you tell me, may I… make a guess? I think this Litvir person is your father.”
Kuta recoiled in disgust. “By the Light, fuck no! No, Litvir is my twin sibling. But he was not laid within this universe.”
“You are an alien?” Ritlir asked.
Kuta frowned, then bashed their head against their desk, before sitting up again. “Sometimes I hate being alive… I was 100% born within this universe. I was an egg that was laid and abandoned. But somehow, this was my third birth. My first birth, my first life, was in the universe prior to this one. But I died. But I was also somehow reborn, into some sort of semi-divine entity. But then I… I was somehow reborn here.”
“And your twin sibling Litvir was not?”
“Yes…” Kuta nodded. “It is a complicated mess.”
“Are you identical twins? Is Litvir just as leering as you are? Do they have fangs?”
More nods. “Yes, Litvir is just as creepy as I am, and, somehow, he has longer fangs. He also genders himself, the same way my Retvik does. But we are not identical. You know how Relkir is small compared to Retvik and the High General? The same applied to us, and, originally, we both had black plating with purple stripes and red eyes, but since our rebirths into semi-divine entities, Litvir and I both still have dark skin but I have white plating and Litvir has purple plating.”
Ritlir wasn’t really sure what to say, and they knew that Kuta wouldn’t entertain them for much longer. “Well… I know I never had a chance with you… but would I have had a chance with Litvir?”
Kuta thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I, uh, do not know. Definitely maybe. The problem is… Litvir also has a partner. And Litvir’s partner is, amazingly, called Retvik as well.”
“That is massively coincidental.”
“It is…” Kuta sighed. “Please keep this private.”
“I will. And, frankly? It is not THAT insane. After all, we KNOW that there are other universes and things out there. The Corrupted White event at the Great Arenas proved it. As have several other events in the past, like the Stabbing of Sini a thousand years ago.”
Ritlir seemed weirdly unbothered about what Kuta had just told them. Kuta decided to change the subject, closer towards more… normal things.
“Either way, fingers crossed things go well for Trismit.”
“Where did you even find them?”
“Crying outside my apartment. We did a check in on them a while back, since they have unnatural powers the same way I do.”
“Ah… Were you genuinely trying to matchmake me?” Ritlir eventually asked.
Kuta shook their head. “Not intentionally, but, well, after I helped them get home and arranged a referral for them, I realized that you might like them in that way. After all, you matchmake everyone else, but no one else will matchmake you unless I step in.”
“Well, I cannot be angry for that now, can I?” Ritlir laughed. “You are very right. I appreciate the consideration. I shall now leave you alone, after all, I did not mean to interrogate you.”
“Hah…” Kuta was less amused, watching awkwardly as Ritlir got up to leave. “Have a good day, my friend.”
“You too, Kuta!”