Kairos slammed down a pile of books and papers on the counter, sending sheets of paper flying everywhere. He then proceeded to smash his wing-hands into the granite worktop, leaving large, draconic dents in it. This series of actions scared the life out of Arkadin, who had been sitting quite calmly on the sofa, a laptop on his lap, sipping a drink.
“RAAAAAGH!”
Before Arkadin could hold his drink steady and ask whether Kairos was okay, Kairos proceeded to smash his wing-hands into the counter again, making even deeper dents. The thunderous shouting shook the house and Arkadin very nearly spilled his drink all over his laptop.
“RAAAAAARGHHHHHH!”
“Uh, Kairos…”
The Whenvern slammed the counter yet again, then sighed, growling and snarling.
“Kairos…”
“WHAT?”
“Are you alright?”
The Whenvern drew long, deep breaths, then glanced over to where Arkadin was sitting. For some reason, the Thantophor seemed smaller than usual. He seemed both shocked and worried, not about himself but about Kairos.
“No, I am not alright!” Kairos snapped. “This fucking asshole scientist has gotten himself stuck in a loop again and I have to fix it AGAIN!”
Arkadin frowned. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
Kairos grunted, then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only to suddenly reappear and yet again smash at the counter, this time cracking it and sending shards of granite everywhere.
“HE DID IT AGAIN. I AM GOING TO FUCKING MURDER THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE!”
“Are you sure you don’t need any help with whatever it is you’re doing?” Arkadin asked, putting his laptop and drink to one side and coming over to see whether Kairos was okay or not. Once he was sure Kairos was physically healthy, he started picking up pieces of granite off the floor and gently placing them back where they belonged on the counter.
Kairos though shook his head, sighing. “No. I’ll sort it out. I just… I’ll be back in a moment.”
Once again, Kairos disappeared in a cloud of smoke. This time though, he took several seconds to reappear. This time though, he was covered in a mixture of blue and red liquids, one of which was clearly blood.
“There. Problem fucking solved.”
“You killed him?”
“If I didn’t, he would have killed himself. Or damaged causality beyond repair…” Kairos rubbed his face, smearing blood everywhere. “It’s done now.”
Arkadin shrugged. “Fair enough. Do you want me to cook you some lunch while you wash yourself down?”
Kairos blinked, then stared at Arkadin. “What?”
“Would you like some lunch?”
“Yes. But… why are you being nice to me? Why are you… being chirpy and happy?”
Arkadin shrugged some more, then started rummaging in the cupboards, looking for a frying pan and some sort of mixing utensil. “I’ve made some changes.”
“Like?”
The Thantophor paused. “Uh, private ones. You want one egg or two eggs?”
“You’re doing eggs?”
“Yes.”
“Three please.”
Arkadin opened the fridge and peered inside. Thankfully there were seven eggs, enough for both of them. With yet another shrug, Arkadin grabbed the eggs and some bacon and started working on lunch. Meanwhile, Kairos was beginning to calm down and was now sitting at the dining table, sighing to himself.
After a little messing around, two plates of food and some cutlery appeared and Arkadin sat down next to Kairos. The eggs and bacon were arranged in the shape of a smiley face.
“Heh…” Kairos snickered. “That’s cute. Thank you.”
“No worries!” Arkadin beamed. “Sometimes we all need a bit of cheering up.”