Vikalos was mindlessly staring out of the large, tinted window when something tinked on the table next to him. A small clink of a noise, the sound of porcelain coming into harsh contact with granite and glass. Looking down, a small plate had been dropped onto Vikalos’s desk, spilling various crumbs onto the desk.
“Uh… sorry… didn’t mean to spill it… I… I couldn’t reach.”
Below the plate, hidden behind Vikalos’s large desk and just out of sight, was Arkay. He was a tiny little creature, far smaller than any Decayling or Decay-Lord Vikalos had picked up before. Small, yellow and lightly armoured. His plating though was similar to that of Vikalos’s natural armour, the heavy bone plates that were mostly covered up by his traditional Decay-Lord armour.
Vikalos grunted, spinning his chair round to better see Arkay. “What is this?”
“Uh… cheese toasty… I still can’t work out how time works so this is… all I can kinda really make right now…” Arkay muttered, keeping his eyes firmly down and staring at the ground. “I don’t… even know if it’s cooked…”
With a flick of his finger, the sandwich rose into the air, leaving the plate behind. Vikalos inspected the sandwich, pulling it apart and checking the temperature of its contents. The cheese inside was definitely in a liquid state, oozing from a hole in the edge of the bread component. Finally, Vikalos took a bite. He quickly chewed it and swallowed. It was a cheese sandwich, yes, but Vikalos didn’t like cheese.
“Hm.”
Arkay glanced up briefly, then went back to looking at the floor. The floor was boring, nothing more than a strange, somewhat velvety red and gold shag carpet. Each strand was actually quite long, meaning Arkay could easily lose his feet in the soft material.
“You don’t like it…”
“It is fine. I just do not like this cheese substance.” The sandwich returned to the plate and Vikalos leaned over the desk, looking at Arkay directly. “Why are you here, little one?”
Arkay hesitated, holding his hands behind his back. “Uh… I was… I was thinking that maybe I should leave…”
“Leave?”
“Yeah. Leave this place and leave you all alone?”
Suddenly, a stool appeared to the side of Vikalos’s desk. Vikalos nodded towards it, hinting that Arkay should come and sit down. Arkay did as he was told, uneasily climbing onto the stool and taking a quick peak at what was on Vikalos’s desk – apparently nothing, because Vikalos had somehow made everything else vanish.
“You wish to leave this vessel and drift in the Space Between Universes… on your lonesome?”
Arkay nodded awkwardly. “Yeah… well, ‘wish’ is a… rather strong word… But it’d be better for everyone…”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well… most of them don’t like me… and in the time I’ve been here, however long that is because I have no clue…” Arkay shivered. “Well, you guys seem to be under attack a lot more now that I’m here compared to… before I was here…”
Vikalos tutted. “So you believe that, should you leave, we will not be attacked?”
“Yeah.”
“You do realise that these events are a semi-regular occurrence, whether you existed on board this vessel or not, yes?”
Arkay shrugged. “Yeah but they seem worse now. You lied to that weird white thing. You do not seem like a liar. You seem like the sort who protects their crew.”
“And are you not part of my crew?”
“Uh, no. I’m not.”
Vikalos tilted his head to one side. “Why do you believe that?”
The Decayling didn’t answer at first. He twiddled his thumbs, partially wondering whether Vikalos had even been listening. With a sigh, he struggled off his chair and headed towards the door.
“It’s pretty obvious why. I’ll… be on my way.”
Before Arkay could go anywhere though, the door slammed shut. The loud thud made the Decayling jump, forcing him to let out a small squeak. Arkay glanced back at Vikalos, who was now standing up and beckoning him back to his desk.
“I… assume… you… uh, disagree…” Arkay almost whimpered as he sat back down.
“I do disagree, little Decayling. Would you like to know why? Because you being here is far safer for all of us than you being out there. Yes, many a being is interested in what you could do for them. Yes, that may mean that we may get delayed and blocked a little more than usual. But should you fall into the wrong hands, we would all be in a lot more danger. And frankly, I think you are a small, cute, little being. To see you be snatched away, experimented on, tortured and eventually eternally torn apart by either the Voidborns or the Corruption would be cruel and unfair.”
Arkay remained silent, feeling rather terrified. He felt unwelcome and alone on Vikalos’s ship, but the idea of being tortured rattled the young Decayling.
“But… the others…”
“We already discussed all of this, Arkay. You are to stay with us. We will take you to Deathven and the uppermost Decay-Lords will decide your eventual fate. They will most likely seal you away in your own little custom-built container where you will live a quiet existence, safe from external threats. Until then, you are a part of this ship and if I discover that you are trying to run away, then…” Vikalos trailed off. He had realised that he had made Arkay upset.
With a sigh and a tut, Vikalos lifted Arkay up and sat him on the desk, so that their eyes were level.
“I am sorry, little Arkay. It must all seem very confusing and scary for you right now. I understand. After all, I went through this myself, a long, long time ago.”
Arkay finally looked up at Vikalos, making eye contact.
“I just feel… so unwanted…”
“That will change, little one. You are wanted. You just… do not understand how Decay-Lords work yet. Soon though, you will become a beautiful Decay-Lord and everything will come together.”
“B-beautiful?”
Vikalos nodded, patting Arkay gently on the shoulders. “You are a child. You will blossom. You will become as beautiful as I am. You just need to be patient.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Arkay glanced downward, but eventually looked back up at Vikalos. This time, he was smiling.
“I am sorry that you have had a rough start, Arkay. But trust me, it will all get better…”
“Well…” Arkay grinned. “Things feel better already… Thank you, Vikalos…”