“Wow, you… you look really well!”
Retvik and Gath hid their gasps as the front door to the cosy apartment opened up, revealing Elkay wearing a silly red hat. The last time either of them had seen Elkay, he had been rather ill, had lost a lot of weight and overall looked pale. Now, he looked like…
“He looks like a Skyan…” Gath found himself saying out lout accidentally. “A very large Skyan…”
“You look great!” Retvik tried to save the situation and failed miserably. “Small but great!”
Elkay rolled his eyes and led Gath and Retvik inside, where Teekay had set up a table with four seats at it. They had expected more company but it turned out everyone else had other plans. This didn’t bother Elkay, he wasn’t quite ready for more public outings and a small holiday at home appealed to him.
“Thank you, I’m sure he appreciates the compliment!” Teekay beamed as he messed about in the kitchen. “Lots of things have happened since the last time you were here.”
“Lots of good things, mostly…” Elkay did his best to smile, but was clearly looking disheartened. Retvik and Gath had realised what they had done and tried to change the subject, but Elkay clearly wanted to talk about it. “You would not understand…”
“I am sorry, Elkay, it is just a surprise to see yourself so different!” Retvik also smiled. “You do genuinely look very healthy. I knew something had happened, but we did not realise the extent of your abilities! To be able to become a different race almost is…”
“Scary?”
“Impressive!” Gath interjected. “If I had the ability to change how I looked, I would most certainly use it all the time! And, on the plus side, that means the set of shoulder plates, collar piece and stomach wraps we got you should fit!”
Teekay suddenly gasped, making everyone else look at him. “Piss! I forgot about presents! Was I supposed to get some?”
“No?” Retvik and Gath blinked.
“I told you, dear…” Elkay replied calmly. “Gifts are just a Rethan thing.”
“But… I didn’t get them anything.”
“I already sorted it out…” Elkay wandered over to the kitchen, helping Teekay with the food. “Besides, gifts are for tomorrow. Today is for good food.”
Teekay’s smile returned. He spun around, pranced over to the fridge and ripped the door open, hastily pulled out a plate of food, closed the fridge and then bounced over to the dining table, where he placed the dish. Teekay repeated this process, fetching things from across the small kitchen while balancing the dishes he was cooking.
“Would either of you like anything to drink?” Elkay asked as he watched Teekay prance about.
“Just water, please. Cannot drink due to my medications…” Retvik sighed.
“Do you have any alcohol?” Gath asked. “I have fancied something sweet and alcoholic for a while.”
Teekay paused his prancing briefly, grabbed a load of bottles from a nearby cupboard and placed them in front of Gath, then went back to work. Elkay sighed and poured Retvik a drink, before pouring three orange liquor and soda drinks for everyone else.
Finally, after what felt like a good ten minutes of watching him rush around, Teekay was ready. Spread out all over the table and the kitchen worktops was far more food than the three Rethans and one Skyan could ever hope to eat.
“Today, we are going to eat like kings! No… empires… nooo, we are going to eat like gods!”