“Are you sure the others do not mind me staying here?” Gath asked for the third time as he dumped all his belongings on the floor. Retvik smiled as he closed the door behind him, before nearly tripping up on one of Gath’s bags.
“I told you already, it is fine. Absolutely and utterly fine. It was all Elksia’s idea anyway.”
Gath grunted, kicking one of the boxes, out of which fell a small shoulder plate. He’d been lucky to save a lot of their belongings, considering their house burnt down, but most of his armour was gone. For the last three weeks, he’d been borrowing from Kohgrah and he’d hated it.
“You know I have some larger armour pieces that will probably fit you… All you had to do was ask.” Retvik’s uncanny trick of knowing exactly what Gath was thinking made him sigh.
“I know, but… I did not want to talk to anyone, to be honest. But I am glad that we are back together. So… are you sure?”
“YES!” Retvik gasped, exasperated. “Elksia is back working with the Silver Fangs, Arkay is not coming back for the foreseeable future and Tenuk is… Tenuk is Tenuk. He has gone on one of his silly trips to think about things. Occasionally he pops by but honestly I see him more in the local bar than I do here.”
Gath nodded. “I see. Have you… spoken to Arkay recently?”
Retvik tutted, picking up one of Gath’s boxes and putting it on the counter. “No. I have tried. I kept on calling the hospital he was at, and they always said he was either asleep or in surgery. I called on Friday and apparently he was transferred to a new facility and they will get him to call me back when he can.”
“I heard that he nearly killed that Temthan empress. I am still of the impression that the Vice General telepathically commanded Arkay to stab her. Arkay falls into a coma or can no longer talk or whatever and General Elkay gets off without a hitch… Have you met General Elkay since? Always seemed… off…”
“Every time I have met General Elkay, he has been a pleasure to speak to. Plus, I doubt it. General Elkay has always said that he never telepathically controls his Ksa, and also that he is unable to. Plus, that seems like an awkward way of doing things. I do not think he even knew Arkay was with the Temthans.
The giant Rethan sighed, then started picking up his belongings and taking them upstairs to the bedrooms. Retvik gave him a hand, grabbing the box on the counter.
As they climbed the stairs and saw the empty bedrooms, Gath sighed again.
“I feel bad, taking Arkay’s room.”
Retvik sniffed. “I am certain, if he was here, he would happily share with Elksia or something to let you stay here.”
“He… he is not coming back, is he?”
“No. Probably not. But…” Retvik wiped a tear from his eye. “But I have already dealt with his loss. I knew, even if Arkay did somehow make it back after sacrificing himself to save us, it would not be the same Arkay I spent all those years with.”
Gath dropped his belongings, then grabbed Retvik and pulled him down stairs, back into the kitchen area. He sat Retvik down on a stool, then rushed back upstairs, returning with a bottle of mead. He poured two drinks, then sat down next to his beloved.
“We have lost so much.”
“I know…”
“We can sort everything else out later. Right now, I just want to get methied with you.”
Retvik let slip a smile, and raised his glass of mead. Gath did the same.
“To our lost children.”
“To our past, and to our future.”