Arkay sighed as he shifted himself, trying to get the pink sand out of the crevices of his armour. There were things he had to get done, but Kinisis had insisted he stay on the beach and cool off for a bit. Still, the sound of crashing waves was rather calming, even if it was periodically interrupted by Vethic hunts, a Deitic screaming, or a couple of Veth fooling around.
The peace and quiet was also about to be interrupted by another Veth, who was stomping over and about to sit down next to him.
“I’m impressed. Took five of us to get you off Stasis!” Iatre seemed ecstatic. His Vethic duties often meant that he missed out on the action.
Arkay grunted. The sand was bothering his back, so he sat up, hands resting on his knees.
“I saw them drag you outside, and I couldn’t help but laugh as Stasis ran away. Whatever he did, he must have deserved it. I’ve known you for a bit and you only go all feral like that when you’re messed up in the head or really, really pissed off.”
“Bet you would have too, had you been in my place…” Arkay muttered. He cast his gaze out to the horizon, an endless ocean that connected Kinigi to the rest of the universe. “I think most would have at least been a bit angry…”
Iatre shrugged, then laid down next to Arkay. “I dunno. What did Stasis do that was so bad that you had to attack him? Did he say he slept with your mother?”
“He called my mother a whore and revealed that he’d broken into his home, raped him then tried to blame it on Kairos.”
“Huh…” Iatre couldn’t think of a witty reply to that. “I guess that makes sense… Wait, you said him. Not her.”
“Oh that,” Arkay tutted. “I forget gender pronouns aren’t as fluid for you as they are for me. Kayel is my mum but I’ve always called him a he.”
“Do you call you father she?”
“No.”
“But what about you?”
Arkay shrugged. “I guess I’d call myself a he as well, but I’m really not fussed. People can call me any pronoun they like.”
Iatre’s confusion turned into a smirk. “Don’t say that. I might decide that your pronoun is donkey breath or something.”
“What’s a donkey?”
That smirk of Iatre’s immediately disappeared, and the two Veth fell silent.
After a while though, Arkay perked up.
“I think I’m losing touch with my mortal self.”
Rather than reply, Iatre burst out laughing. He rolled around a bit before finally regaining control of himself.
“That’s hilarious! The guy who attacked the Lord of Nothing because he insulted his mummy thinks he’s losing touch with his mortal self!”
“Well when you put it that way, clearly I’m not. But it’s a slow, gradual thing. Heck, if I had been alive and not a Veth, it would have taken ten of us to get me to stop beating the shit out of him…” Arkay paused, then sighed. “It’s not just that though. It’s a bunch of little things…”
“Like what?” Iatre asked as he wiped a tear from his eye. “You finally want to get involved in some of those nice Vethic orgies?”
“Er, no. It’s more… just the way I think now.”
“But most other Veth like Vethic orgies.”
“That’s… That… What is up with you and constantly going on about sex and orgies and stuff?”
“Fraulein, I was old when I died. I don’t remember having a wife or anything but I’m pretty sure I didn’t get enough of it while I was alive.”
Arkay tutted. “So you’re making up for it now. Maybe my traumatic mortal life is why the opposite is happening to me.”
“Nah,” Iatre grinned. “You’re just clinging on to your mortal life because it was taken too soon. I bet, in a few hundred years, you’ll consider yourself purely Veth. Just takes time. You’ll get into it eventually… Speaking of which…” Iatre raised one of his eyebrows suggestively.
“What, here?” Arkay blinked. “Now? Really?”
“Doesn’t have to be now.”
Arkay sighed, then clambered to his feet, shaking the sand out of his armour as he did so. “Maybe later. I have things to do. Deitics to remove. Cults to crush. Evil people to smite.”
Iatre rolled his eyes. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me!”