The four Ksa sat quietly around the table, switching between staring at the plates in front of them and glancing at the kitchen where Kayel was cooking.
“S-something must be wrong…” Thitel whispered.
“What makes you think that?” Ksiel asked as he took a swig from his drink. “The fact that nothing adds up? That one of us has been keeping secrets again? That we’re now living in a tree house and are learning magic and somehow seem to be fine with it?”
“No,” Thitel smiled weakly. “Kayel’s cooking something big. He only ever cooks big things if there’s something… fishy going on.”
“He’s not cooking fish though!” Zitel exclaimed. “He’s cooking a honey-fried ham!”
Everyone stared at Zitel.
“I’m pretty sure they did something to you at the KSA hospital, brother…” Ksiel sighed. “You were never this bad before they took you in. Veeyel stayed at the KSA hospital too but he’s… not like you.”
“Oh no,” Veeyel smirked. “I’m fucked up in my own, unique way!” He glanced down at his legs, then looked at the pile of tablets he had to take with dinner. He regretted making that joke, having made himself feel sad.
Luckily, Kayel had arrived with a lovely, freshly cooked meal, all laid out nicely with cute little vegetable garnishes and a sweet orange mustard sauce on the side. Five bowls rested on the counter behind him, ready to be filled with pudding. He had really outdone himself and was feeling quite proud of his meal-based handiwork.
“You’re right,” Zitel whispered to Thitel. “There must be something seriously wrong…”
Kayel clapped his hands with delight, put food on everyone’s plates, poured everyone a glass of non-alcoholic, sugar free fizzy apple drink, then finally sat down.
“So, out with it, Kayel!” Ksiel grunted. “You’ve been faffing around this entire time and it’s pissing me off.”
Veeyel nodded in agreement. “Yeah, no offense, dear, last time you cooked something like this… Well, you told us you’d… had a kid. When we were thirteen.
“I totally understand!” Kayel smiled. “You’re all worried, but I actually have a ton of secret good news for a change!”
“I don’t believe that-”
“Well shut up and eat while I explain everything!” There was a harsh note in Kayel’s voice as he interrupted Ksiel. “Go on. Eat.”
Everyone did as they were told. There was definitely something going on but all they could do was sit and listen. Kayel finished his drink off in one go, then started talking.
“Alright. This all starts last year when I took the fall for the Kalsa Warrior rebellion. And accidentally somehow killed myself. I admit I had no idea I was allergic to aspirin of all things. A cuntbag known as Ayvee-En, a Threan-type who had been frozen in stasis for a few thousand years and happened to be the brother of Psivee-En, stole me from my grave, somehow resurrected me and planned to use me to, well, I don’t know. And I don’t want to go into specifics. It was horrible.
“Fortunately, I was saved by Psivee-En. Life-threatening situations turned out to be a really good way to bond and make amends, and we basically talked all our problems out. And we continued talking after Ayvee-En was defeated. You see, he’s half-Trehavok. And Trehavok are way more powerful than one would think.
“But Psivee-En is the last Trehavok ever. And he’s dying. Most beings tend to do that after they’ve been put in stasis then thawed for too long. While he was recovering from some nasty injuries, I went… looking for something to help him. Mostly just to heal him. At the same time, I was going through some internal things myself, and necromancy and magia are how I deal with them.
“Problem is, it’s impossible to save a species when there’s only one left. And since Psivee-En is infertile now and our kid is… gone, there’s no way around it. So I decided to look into turning him into a proper Rethan so he wouldn’t be alone.
“That’s not quite as impossible. Deitics can do it. But we’re not Deitics. And there’s no way to truly become one. Not within a reasonable amount of time anyway.
“I did find something though. The writings of an ancient experiment. Something the Temthans did. They made a perfect type of Thanatian by combining the best parts of the many, many sub-species of Temthan. I realised I could preserve both Psivee-En and the Trehavok in a different way. But I also realised I could… use this on us. To make us perfect as well. The process, the rituals and everything, were all incredibly complicated. I’ve been struggling with them for ages. But yesterday, with your help, I made a breakthrough.”
Everyone glanced at Veeyel. Veeyel blinked, not sure how to respond.
“Thanks, Veeyel. But I’ll need all your help. I’ll also need… I’ll need us all to be test subjects. This would have been easier to pull of had we all stuck together as a Class, but we can still work this out. With Psivee-En’s help as well.”
“Before you continue…” Thitel butted in. “I want to know the pros and cons of all this. What are the risks?”
“Worst case scenario, nothing happens. The spells fail, we don’t change and we have to start over and get completely new materials. Best case scenario, we become… essentially Rethavok but better and smaller and with wings. Like the original Threavok were supposed to have been like.”
“But if this is so… safe, then why have the Thraki not used it before? Why don’t they let you use it? You’re working in secret, especially from them. You’re hiding from them more than us, and that’s weird!” Veeyel pointed out.
“That’s because – and I only figured this out yesterday – the Thraki were never included in the original experiment. They have some sort of personal grudge with the whole thing…” Kayel continued to explain. “Thing is, we could have something huge here. The results, from everything I’ve read, indicate that the subjects end up completely healed and better than ever. Even in the cases where the whole new species thing didn’t work.
“My point is, it can’t hurt to try. The only thing we lose is time, and we are making up that time as we speak, with you all learning magia. The way you guys are going, we’ll be at healing magics before the end of the year anyway!”
Ksiel took a deep breath. “Are you SURE about this?”
Kayel hesitated. “Well, you can never be 100% sure. But right now, assuming we can get the materials we need, I’m 95% sure.”
“And are the rest of you sure you all want to follow Kayel down his path?” Ksiel asked, looking at the rest of the L-Class.
“We’ve come this far,” Veeyel mused. “There’s no point turning back now. Plus, healing magic sounds fun.”
Zitel though seemed unsure. He raised his hand up in the air.
“What is it, brother?” Kayel queried. “Is there something bothering you?”
Zitel looked down at his plate. “Not really. It’s just… Can we, er, eat now? Because I think our food is going to go cold…”