Thassallin’s Surprise

Arkadin hadn’t expected such a warm hello from someone who should have hated him. Thassallin cheerfully waved, before wrapping a pair of wings around him in an ugly but adorable hug.

“You seem happy.”

“You seem not happy!” Thassallin smiled through sharp teeth. “You seem somewhat miserable!” The old Time Lord dragged Arkadin into his house, slamming the door shut behind them. “But no sadness can bring me down! Though I mourn my own, your family and your universe have been so generous to me!”

Arkadin looked around at Thassallin’s house. It was literally his own house, rebuilt and altered. The sofas had been replaced with bean bags and cushions. The dining table had been switched to a round one with a lazy waiter on it, with only two chairs. Apart from the addition of a microwave, the kitchen was mostly the same apart from the piles of ready meals and unwashed dishes.

“Your bedroom is the same, if you ever want to stay over!” Thassallin randomly exclaimed. “One bedroom each. The big bedroom I made my own.” He dragged Arkadin down the hallway, showing him his old room, before proudly showing him Thassallin’s room. To Arkadin’s surprise, it mostly consisted of a massive waterbed but there was an entire wall dedicated to a wide arrange of toys of a personal sort.

“… Huh…” Arkadin tried to think of something to say. “I guess you have been… busy…”

“Oh yes!” Thassallin beamed. “So much fun! So much enjoyment!”

The former Time Lord led Arkadin back into the living area, stopping only to get a drink for them both. A can of energy drink for Arkadin and a massive chalice of beer for himself. Thassallin then flopped onto the pile of cushions, stretching himself out.

“You seem insanely happy…” Arkadin muttered. “Your universe is gone, killed off by the being standing in front of you, but here you are, as happy as a recently breast-fed Ksithan baby.”

Thassallin’s smile didn’t waver. “To the contrary, little Reaper, you have freed me from my chains! I was trapped within a universe that was dead and dying, something none of us would have admitted. You put a pitiful hellhole out of its misery and released me into the omniverse proper! I have nothing but thanks and gratitude for you!”

“Yeah, but still…”

“Still what? I could not be happier! You have no idea the freedom I have now!” Thassallin sat up and pointed back down the hallway. “I have feelings I was forbidden to feel. Unresolved oedipal issues that I have now solved! I am free to love and make anew in a way I never could, bound to that hellhole I called home!”

Arkadin blinked. “Oedipal issues?”

Thassallin giggled. “I forget. You don’t have Greeks here.”

“But Oedipus existed in a time where murders were more often than not unsolved and DNA tests didn’t exist, so there was no way for Oedipus to know that he had bedded and married his own mother…” Arkadin paused. “You wanted to sleep with your mother?”

“No, she wanted to sleep with me. It was all such a confusing, horrible mess. But we are past that now! I am free of that! And settled down with a partner I deeply love. Yisini is such an amazing being.”

Arkadin sighed. “I am glad you’re happy. You don’t mind if I have a look for a few things, do you?”

“Of course!” Thassallin stretched himself out, spanning the entirety of his pile of cushions. “After all, this was your home, kindly donated to me!”

“Actually…” Arkadin tutted as he headed back to his room and started rummaging around. “It was mostly taken over by Yisini a while back. Just before I was dragged into… your former issues, I was having issues of my own.”

“The dreaded Anger Fits?” Thassallin asked. “Those times where you are in a vile rage? I understand that. My brief time coping with both Time and Entropy caused several of those. But they always pass. Where are you living now?”

“With a mortal.”

“That Kohra guy?”

“Yes…” Arkadin reappeared, carrying a small bag with a few bits and pieces in. “How do you know?”

“He stopped by here. Nice lad…” Thassallin smiled, hesitated then smiled again. He reached down, deep into the pile of cushions, and pulled out a laptop computer with four gaming controllers plugged into it. “I think this is your one. Kohra and I played games on it instead of my one by accident. I think you should do the same with him. He is a very friendly fellow. Would make a perfect friend for you.”

Arkadin took the laptop, removing the controllers and tidily wrapping the wires up. “Thank you, Thassallin.”

“No worries! You should bring Kohra here one day. I have some neat three and four player games we could play together!”

“I’ll consider it. Thanks again, Thassallin.”

The Thantophor disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Thassallin grinned, then decided to go and get drunk, since he had nothing better to do.