It would have been a genuinely pleasant day if there hadn’t been constant cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning. There were no clouds, but the sky was pitch black and very empty, with no moons or anything visible. Despite this, it was still light enough to see, not just because of the lightning.
“Woah… Where are we?” Kairos wondered as the four strange beings stepped out of an old, wooden shack that had been perched at the top of a small hill. All around them were mountains, but a small stream trickled by to the west.
“Clearly in Skyavok territori-oof!” Yisini had attempted to explain and had fallen flat on her face, somehow losing her balance. “Fucking legs. Not fucking used to them…”
Epani and Arkadin both looked down at Yisini, then helped the Temthan to her feet. Kairos watched on, looking somewhat confused. Everything was confusing him. The location, the beings he was with, where they were, why they were there and… what the strange being Epani was. Epani had quickly noticed that Kairos was staring at her.
“Kairos…”
“What?”
“She’s a Falena, Kairos, stop looking at her!” Yisini snapped, suddenly rather protective of Epani. “What did you think she would be as a mortal?”
“I don’t know!” Kairos snapped back. “I’ve never seen a Falena before!”
“Come on, you two, stop arguing!” Arkadin interrupted, putting himself between the much larger former deities. “We have far bigger problems right now. We’re currently in an unknown location in void-space, potentially within Skyavok territories, there is a storm brewing and we’re out in the open with no food, no water and a shack that will most likely collapse when the wind picks up. We need to get out of here and into society proper. And the best way to do that is to follow that stream. Because most water sources lead to villages or towns or whatever.”
“Why don’t I just fly?” Kairos sneered.
“Sure, if you want to!” Arkadin smiled. “But you’re flying on an empty stomach and it’s easy to forget how tiresome flight is.”
Epani nodded in agreement. Yisini shrugged, then started following Arkadin and Epani as they headed down the stream. Kairos hesitated, then fell onto all fours, as it was easier to walk like that, then chased after his siblings. As they walked, they could hear things moving around in the bushes, but Arkadin kept on reassuring them that it was nothing.
After what felt like an eternity but was only about an hour (according to the Thantophor at least), they came across a small sun and wind power generator, which led the four beings to a small Skyavok camp site. At this site were a handful of benches, a place to make a fire pit and, more importantly, a Skyan holiday truck, with an unknown number of occupants inside.
“Thank heavens!” Yisini exclaimed as she practically threw herself on one of the benches, putting her feet up. “All that walking was exhausting!”
“We’re not out of the woods yet…” Arkadin sighed, lowering the tone of his voice. “You guys keep calm and keep quiet for a moment…”
“Why?” Epani asked as she sat down. “There is nothing here to harm us.”
“Yeah but you might scare off the vok in there!” Arkadin whispered as he pointed at the holiday truck. “Just shush for a few minutes.”
Epani tutted, then sat down on the bench next to Yisini. Kairos settled down nearby, watching with curiosity as Arkadin approached the entrance to the truck. After listening carefully, he knocked on the entrance and waited for an answer.
“Who the fuck is that?” a voice screeched from inside.
“Can you help me? I’m lost!” Arkadin immediately responded, realising he had freaked out the occupants. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”
The door suddenly burst open, very nearly knocking Arkadin off his feet. Standing in the doorway was a half-dressed white and grey Skyavok. One who hadn’t noticed the three non-Skyavok beings resting behind Arkadin.
“Oh.”
Arkadin bowed slightly. “I’m really sorry to disturb you but I’m kinda lost and need to get back to civilization. Would you be able to give me a hand?”
The Skyavok grunted. “Did you underestimate the paths again like all you damn tourists do?”
“You could say that.”
Another Skyavok, a younger one in more silvery armour, appeared behind the first one. “What’s going… o-o-on… Why is there a Thraki and a T-Temthan and one of them… F-Falenas…”
Arkadin quickly glanced behind him. “Oh! They’re friendly! They helped me get out of the woods! Nothing to be scared of!”
The older Skyavok, who was clearly getting annoyed by all of this mess, tutted relentlessly. “Kiddo, you’re scaring my darling. I need you to take those monsters and get out of here.”
“And I will!” Arkadin smiled, trying to defuse the situation. “Do you have a spare communicator I can borrow? I can call my friends and get them to pick me up and we’ll be out of your armour in a jiffy!”
With another tut, the grey Skyavok disappeared back inside. Rummaging could be heard briefly, until the Skyan reappeared, holding a new but battered communicator, which they forced into Arkadin’s hands. “Here.”
“Thank you!” Arkadin replied as he fiddled around with the device.
“Don’t mention it. And don’t be a retard and get lost again.” The older Skyan tutted a few more times, then pulled the younger Skyavok back inside, slamming the door behind them. After a long silence, the engine of the holiday truck revved up, and the truck drove off.
“What the fuck? Did they just leave?” Kairos shouted, once the truck was far enough away. “What the fuck do we do now?”
“We’re fine!” Arkadin grinned as he wrapped the communicator around his wrist. “Well, I’m fine. I can just call my friends and get a ride out of here. Dunno what you lot are going to do.”
“You’re gonna leave us here?” Yisini whimpered.
Arkadin patted Yisini on the shoulder. “Of course not! I’m not that evil. You guys start making a fire, I’ve got a call to make…”