“Hello.”
Retvik grunted as he greeted Litvir. He had been sitting on a small bench next to a weird space water fountain, casually eating lunch on his own. Litvir took a moment to inspect the peaceful scene before continuing his sentence.
“Are you busy?”
Retvik glanced down at his meal, then placed it on the bench to one side.
“No, not really.”
“Can we talk?”
“Of course.”
“May I sit down?”
“Of course.”
Litvir did just that, sitting down next to Retvik. He remained silent for a moment, as if he was unsure what to say.
“Do you know what the date is right now?” Litvir asked. “The date back in Retha?”
The Flamebearer grunted, not entirely sure himself. “I do not know what the exact time is, but I believe it is the 18th of Septem. May I ask why?”
Litvir’s shoulders dropped, and he exuded a long, drawn out sigh. “I do not like Septem.”
Retvik straightened himself out, turning his full attention to Litvir. “Is something wrong?”
“No, just unfavourable memories. The past is a strange place, which sticks a large number of bad things into one 30-day period.”
“Do you wish to talk about it?” Retvik asked. “You seem like you want to talk about something in particular.”
“It requires a lot of backstory though. I do not want to bog you down with my past.”
Retvik shrugged. “You have been dealing with the constant littering of my own past all this time. If you want to talk, I am happy to listen. I am always happy to listen.”
Litvir however was still oddly quiet. “It was a long time ago.”
“That does not matter. Things from long ago can still effect you, now and in the future.”
“It is also a somewhat private matter though…” Litvir explained. “My entire family is incredibly chaotic, to the point that I do not consider most of them. My mother tainted them all in one way or another. Except for my father’s sibling. She was… somehow too kind.” Litvir stopped, then sighed.
“I take it that she is no longer with us?”
“Yes, basically. It all happened so quickly. Never really got to say goodbye, as I was so far away…”
Litvir stalled yet again, wiping a small tear away. “I forgot that I can cry. It hurts me that she left. When the rest of us were caught in the trappings of my mother, she was a beacon of sweetness and goodness. One that was taken away far too soon. She even made me calm down a bit, making me less of a monster. But all that remains of her are governmental papers, a handful of old possessions and a grave with her remains in it.”
“I am sorry, Litvir…” Retvik offered a hug, but Litvir nudged him away.”
Litvir tutted. “I used to harbour a slight resentment for our former yellow friend. He was just doing his job though. I cannot blame anyone for what happened. Nothing more than bad luck.”
“Unfortunately.”
Litvir and Retvik both sighed, neither of them speaking. After some more silence though, Litvir grunted, then stood up.
“Thank you for listening to me, Retvik.”
“No worries,” Retvik weakly smiled as he picked up his bowl of food. “Is there anything else I can do…”
Litvir gazed back at the oasis behind him, then shook his head. “No, no, it is fine, I just needed to get those thoughts out of my head. You have a good rest of your break.”
Retvik waved as the Litvir walked off. “Hope you feel better as well, my friend…”