Phovos looked up at the two Rethans as she spread pieces of paper all over the coffee table, being careful not to knock over their drinks. She paused for a moment, took a sip of her own drink, then went back to spreading things out.
“What is all this?” Retvik asked as she watched the Thanatian suddenly panic and look around for a particular piece of paper.
“Most of this,” Phovos blinked then looked back at the two Rethans. “Most of this is paperwork outlining my takeover of the Vriskera region.”
“And what does this have to do with us?” Gath asked as he tried to take a sip of his drink. His gargantuan fingers were struggling to wrap comfortably around the small, plastic cup without squashing it.
“I’ll get to that once I’ve found this piece of paper…” Phovos cursed under her breath, muttering something about how stupid she was and that she was supposed to get a proper filing system years ago, and that she’d just made everything worse by showing off.
Retvik glanced at Gath, then picked up one of the pieces of paper to read it. It consisted of a written note, confirming that the writer was allowing a Miss Phovos Tromou to ‘over-rule’ their territory in exchange for bringing ‘freedom and safety’ to Vriskera. He picked up a second piece of paper to read that as well, only to find that it was aimed at him and Gath. Phovos noticed it as well and snatched the sheet of paper from his hands.
“Aha! Thanks, Retvik, that was what I was looking for!”
“What is it?”
“A contract!” Phovos beamed as she scanned the piece of paper. “Yeah, okay, this is great…”
Again, Retvik glanced at Gath. Gath shrugged, suggesting that they just wait and see what the Raptor wanted.
“Alright!” Phovos finally settled down and smiled. “Okay, the reason I brought you here is because of the arrangements I have to do to be able to properly control Vriskera. While I have got the public’s support, the conversations I’ve had with both the Maza and the Thanatian… ‘government’… mean that I have to designate rulers of the main Vriskeran cities. I’ve already had a chat with the Thraki in Thouravoun, and I’ve spoken to the smaller villages as well. But this also means I need someone to run Palaestra, and as we discussed in our last meeting, I think you two are perfect for the job.”
“I guess,” Gath replied blankly. “I assume this is not a democratic decision.”
Phovos tutted. “No, Thanatians don’t have democracy yet, and with the influx of Thanatians on the run from prosecution, an election right now is the laaaaast thing we need.”
“But how are we supposed to work in the needs of Thanatians when we are Rethans?” Retvik asked, confused as always.
“You know what Rethans want, right?” Phovos smiled. “Food, water, shelter, all that bollocks, right? Well Thanatians want the same bollocks you Rethans one.”
“I guess…” Retvik sighed. “Still, why us?”
Phovos continued to smile, but not as much. “You’re strong, independent Rethans who know how to lead and how to protect and how to organize your soldiers to get shit done. That is exactly what I need right now…” The Raptor took a large gulp of her drink. “It’s not like you’ll be on your own! You’ll have all my old staff, Lokmah will keep you in touch with me and I’ll check in every other day to help out and you can always call me if you need help with anything…”
“I have a question,” Gath interrupted. “Does all this include the Dessaron Battle Arena?”
“Yeah, but you can put someone else in charge of that if you want. Or a bunch of people. Might be worth doing that, actually…” Phovos trailed off. “Anyway… You guys definitely up for this?”
Retvik and Gath both looked at each other, then nodded.
“Yes, Phovos, we accept your offer.”
“Good.”
Phovos placed a piece of paper in front of the two Rethans, and handed them a pen each. “Sign your names at the bottom of this, and it’ll all be official. Starting June 1st 2017, you two will be the Mayors of Palaestra!”