Retvik smiled to himself as he chucked a bag of rubbish into the large, metal skip, then dusted off his hands, raising the ambient temperature around them to kill off any bacteria. He’d had a nice time, but the wedding and the party and all that were now over, most people had gone home and everyone else had gone to bed. Retvik though had things on his mind, and he had offered to help the last couple of members of Kal do a quick clean up. They’d probably do a larger, proper clean up tomorrow before the Purification Centre reopened, but Kal had done an awful lot lately and Retvik wanted to give Gah and Nuh a hand and some company.
However, Retvik quickly realized he wasn’t alone. Galyn had wandered over, bringing two more full bin bags. This surprised Retvik, because he was pretty sure he’d seen Galyn go to bed earlier. As Galyn threw the bags into the skip, ready for it all to be incinerated later, he turned to greet Retvik.
“Hello, how are you?”
Retvik grunted. “Surprised to see you up, actually. But, to answer your question, I am… conflicted. It has been a wonderful event, but a lot has happened.”
Galyn looked Retvik up and down, then summoned some wet wipes to clean his own hands. “Do you want to talk?”
“I would, yes, actually…” Retvik thought for a moment. “It is weird, four and a half years ago, maybe a little less, I was working for you, training as a Decayling, just you and me. Now I am leading the Thantir and you spend your days doing guard duty, working for me. So much has changed, and I wonder if it has changed for the better.”
“That… is an interesting thought. We should discuss it as we head back to base proper.”
Galyn walked off. Retvik sighed, then followed. As they walked, Retvik noticed a small fire on the little beach. By it were Elkay and Teekay, who were snuggled up in a sleeping bag. Whether they were awake or not, Retvik didn’t know, but they were absolutely adorable. Retvik however did feel a small twinge of envy.
“Are you happy, Galyn?” Retvik asked.
“Yes, very much so. I have my mood swings, I still randomly go cold, like all old Beh’ens do, but my relationship with my Trio is better than it has been for a long, long time. Itaviir has stopped being completely cold and Vikalos is growing his fur long again. It is… weird, no longer being in charge, but I think I left everything in good hands.”
“You think?”
“Well, uh, yes. That is what I just said. While yes, most of the old Thantir have moved on, Saahro is back with us, and we now have a much better relationship with both the Phantai and… well, not the Overlord himself, but our connections at least. I had no idea that Lord Kengana’s offices and duties had also been so stripped down… Really, Retvik, thanks to you and Litvir, everything is so much better now.”
“I… I guess…”
Galyn looked Retvik up and down. “What is wrong, Retvik?”
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Please don’t lie to me. We have known each other for a while now. You are clearly upset about something in particular, because you seemed somewhat chirpy earlier. And you seemed very, very happy after your little chat with Litvir and Letharus.”
“Well… uh… that… was not really a chat…”
Galyn eyed Retvik some more. “I will be blunt, the wedding was clearly rather fun and very… sexually active. I do not remember much of my mortal life, but this wedding did very much remind me of my wedding to my wife.”
“What was that like?”
“It was basically a massive orgy, all such weddings were. But the Beh’ens in my universe were different from mainstream external Beh’evok. Firstly, we called ourselves Titanai, because we were huge compared to all the other sentient races in my universe, and, secondly, we had more traditional family units where both parents raised the kids. Still, I am getting distracted. You are not well right now, Retvik.”
Retvik sighed. He started heading towards the now empty canteen. It was the third favourite place to sit and chat, after the sofas in the refurbished main villa and the wooden pier on the lake, but it was also the most convenient. He didn’t grab a drink like normal though, he just sat straight down, and he watched as Galyn got himself a light beer then sat down opposite him.
“So…”
“Hmph. I am conflicted.”
“How comes?”
“Well, I had an awkward but pleasant new experience. The talk I had with Litvir and Letharus turned… um… sexual. And Letharus managed to get a few things off his mind. And chest. And other areas. Had no idea that, aside from the star-shaped plating, Astravok are almost exactly like Rethavok.”
“Do you feel bad about it? Or embarrassed?” Galyn asked. “Because I admittedly felt embarrassed earlier when Eksi blatantly asked me how my butt was in front of everyone. He forgets that nearly 90% of Decay Lords are singularly male and not intersex like he is…” Galyn trailed off. “We are not normally all this horny. Like, Itaviir was hornier than Vikalos was and that hasn’t happened since before we became an official trio.”
Retvik took a deep breath. He had an answer, one Galyn probably wouldn’t like. “I… I think I know why. Promise you will not get angry.”
“Did someone spike something?”
“… Not intentionally. Teekay wanted a specific punch drink for the wedding. Phovos… tried to make all the right ingredients. According to Teekay, the punch was supposed to just make Skyans happier.”
“So you did spike the punch?”
“No, it just turned out that they messed up the quantities and the plant Phovos grew was more intense than predicted. And because Skyans, Rethans… and Threan-type Retha, Astrans, and Be’hens all have similar biologies, it affected all of us. After all, Vikalos, Saahro, Phovos and Akah, all very different beings, drank the same punch we did and you were all unbothered…”
Galyn frowned briefly, but he shrugged. “Well… no real harm done, I guess. Phovos’s Life Goddess skills will slowly get better over time. Still, Retvik, you have been unhappy for a bit more so than normal. Communication is key around here, and you are not talking.”
“Ugh… You are right…” Retvik bashed his head against the table. He was clearly upset. “I want what Elkay has. I want what I used to have. I was happily married for fifty years, that was stripped from me. I thought I had overcome my grief and was ready to move on with a new partner, to the point that I was considering proposing to Litvir. But I am pretty sure Litvir does not want to marry me.”
“How comes?”
“He thinks marriages are ‘stupid’, and only did this whole thing for Elkay and Teekay because he wants ‘his precious little Decaylings’ to be well looked after and happy. Eksi told me to back off, Elkay suggested I give Litvir some space before talking to him and Tenuk suggested that maybe we need a break. And, outside of today, I feel like Litvir has been avoiding me. Because he is not stupid, he is a telepath and he knows what I am thinking.”
Galyn eyed Retvik, then crossed his arms and tutted. “You really, really need to speak to Litvir. In private. When you have both had a nice, long rest and are properly sober. Because you are blatantly making assumptions. Litvir hasn’t been avoiding you, he’s been busy. And, being a Psion, he is a complete lunatic as well who routinely forgets about things like social cues and properly talking to people.”
“I know, I know. I… just fear that he will be upfront and say no.”
“Clearly, you don’t know, because you have been thinking about this and stressing about it for a while now. Speak to Litvir. Be blunt and honest. Work out what you both want. Then go from there. Otherwise you will end up like Vikalos, Itaviir and I did. You saw us fall apart because we weren’t on the same page and wanted different things. Don’t be like me.”
Retvik fell silent, then sighed. “Fine.”
“Retvik, you are a good person. A great person. Better than great. But even great people need to take time to sort themselves out. Go to bed. Then start fresh, then go talk to Litvir. Alright?”
“Very well. Good night, Galyn. Thank you for the advice…”
“Good night, Retvik. Sleep well.”
“Hah. I will not, but thanks…” Retvik grunted as he got up and lumbered off.