“I should go and see Rethais…”
Phovos glanced to her side, where her new best friend Retvik was standing. They had been relaxing on a balcony, looking out into the vast darkness. Even though they had been chatting on and off, Retvik’s statement had caught Phovos off guard.
“Your brother?”
“Sibling, brother, same thing, I guess” Retvik grunted. “I feel somewhat bad for him lately.”
“Why?”
Retvik grunted again. “Elkay and I were blessed by the gods. We are both immortal now. Rethais was not so lucky. Plus, if my calculations are correct, it is getting to *that* time of year…”
“What, September?” Phovos was very confused. “What is wrong about September?”
The hulking Rethan leaned forward, quietly grunting some more. “It is just not a good month for me.”
“Why?”
“A lot of small things. Family things. A very large mess when combined. I do not really want to talk about it.”
“Not even to me?”
Retvik turned to face Phovos. “I would discuss it with you, but I do not have the energy to do so right now.”
“Oh. Fair enough. I won’t pester you about it then.”
Retvik nodded, his gaze turning back to the darkness. “I should see Rethais though. I assume however it would be problematic, what with my being a Decay Lord and all that. Kinisis would likely not approve of either myself or Elkay interfering with mortals.”
Phovos shrugged. “She lets you come and visit us.”
“Yes, but you and I are both deities. We are connected…” Retvik sighed. “We are also contained and restrained by our duties, and quarantined outside of our home universe.”
Retvik paused, then turned around. Phovos swiftly did the same.
“Hello, Elkay… Uh, sorry, Relkir.”
“Oh, hiya Relkir. What are you doing here?” Phovos asked, somewhat cheerfully.
Relkir outstretched his wings, then stepped onto the balcony. “Hello, Phovos. Hello, brother. Are you two busy right now?”
“Nah, just chilling…” Phovos shrugged. “Just finished your shift?”
“Yes, Akah just took over. I was about to go and take a shower, but I felt Retvik’s presence here and I wanted to ask him something.”
“What is troubling you, Relkir?” Retvik immediately asked. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Perhaps. I heard you mentioning Rethais. While I still hold some anger against him, I would like to, well, drop by and visit him, to check in on our eldest…” Relkir hesitated. “I do not want to do so alone though.”
“Understandable. Can you visit the inner universe?” Retvik queried.
“Only with permission from Kinisis, the Panelix and the Allbirther.”
Retvik growled. “You need permission from those two serpents as well?”
Relkir nodded, pulling his wings close. “Unfortunately. My requests to leave this base have mostly been rejected so far. Well, the Allbirther is the one who always declines. My hope is that, with you by my side, perhaps she will listen for once.”
“She probably won’t,” Phovos sighed. “But she does tolerate Retvik’s presence more than yours, so maybe it will work.”
“Possibly…” Retvik frowned. “It all also has to be timed around our main duties. The fact that I am here visiting is already a nuisance to Kinisis.”
Phovos smiled, putting her arms around the two Rethans, despite being smaller than both of them. “I can try put something together if you want. After all, I have a slightly better relationship with the deities. Well, less of a hostile relationship, I guess.”
Relkir sighed. “Very well, I am happy for you to help out. But I would like to discuss this a bit later. I need to get some rest before my next shift.”
Retvik patted his half-sibling on the shoulder. “I will leave you to it then. I ought to start making my way back shortly anyway.”
Relkir bowed slightly, then headed off, back the way he came. With the Rethan Guardian now absent, Phovos turned her attention back to Retvik.
“If we get permission, would you like it if we took some time off together?”
“Like, a vacation?”
“Yeah.”
Retvik shrugged, then smiled. “Hm. That would be nice. I have not had a vacation in years…”