“So, time is fixed, everyone is normal again and the universe didn’t end!” Kohra smiled as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “You two want any?”
Levik held out his cup as the three Kronospasts lounged around the daintily lit garden, enjoying themselves and relaxing.
“Cheers, mate!” Levik smiled. “I am actually pretty glad the universe didn’t end, but was there… any reason about it?” the two younger Kronospasts turned to their elder brother. “Any thoughts?”
Tenuk grunted. His cup was still full of tea, mostly untouched. He had already had several large mugs of mead and was quite tipsy.
“What?”
“Were you not paying attention?”
“Uh, no…” Tenuk admitted. “A bunch of Retvik and Gath’s friends dragged me out for a few drinks and I didn’t want to… say no to them.”
Kohra shrugged. “Did you have fun? I’m still not really used to pretending to being a Rethan myself. That’s why I have these little get-togethers with you both. I like shape-shifting as much as any Spast but it’s nice to be myself for a bit.”
Levik nodded in agreement. He spent most of his time disguised as a Vohran Vahrga in what most would consider a very strange off-shoot Vohran society, but he too liked being himself. “I get that. I mean, there’s only so much I can do in a Nest. And you never want to lose yourself.”
“Yeah…” Tenuk also seemed to agree, but his siblings noticed something was off about Tenuk. “I guess…”
Levik glanced at Kohra, then got up and sat down right next to Tenuk. “Is something wrong? You don’t seem right. Well, you’re clearly a bit drunk, but you’re also not… right.”
Tenuk leaned back in his chair, finally sipping his drink. Really, he needed the caffeine. He didn’t normally drink coffee because most Rethavok were allergic to it and he needed to keep appearances. “I dunno… I’ve just been… thinking…”
“Thinking about what?”
“I just feel like I don’t want to try and fit in any more. I just want to be me.”
Kohra gasped. “You want to go back to being Tahnahos?”
“What? Noooo!” Tenuk exclaimed, nearly spilling his drink. “No no no! I am not going back to that name. That name is basically everything wrong with our kind. But I also… I just want to be a Kronospast for a bit. And not have to hide away and be judged or anything.”
Again, Levik glanced at Kohra. “That… is a fair request. But is it doable?”
Kohra smiled. “I think so! For Tenuk at least!”
Tenuk shook his head, unconvinced. “We’re Kronospasts. Not too long ago, we were the enemy. We’re a sneaky, suspicious race, even when we’re not being sneaky or suspicious.”
“Actually, I disagree!” Kohra tried to explain his position. “Okay, maybe that’s true with most Kronospasts, and a lot of us are still self-absorbed pricks, but the three of us? We’re famous! Or at least you’re famous, Tenuk. You’re one of the Dessaron. People respect you!”
“Also one of the Dessaron turned out to be the God of Death, our own sworn enemy…” Levik added. “And no one seemed to give a fuck about that.”
“Hm…” Tenuk thought to himself for a moment. “Well, you both do have a point… Why don’t we spend some time as ourselves in public, see how things pan out?”
“Only when we’re together though…” Levik warned. “You know what those bastards out there can be like…”
“Oh I’m sure we’ll be fine!” Kohra beamed. “After all, Portalia IS the most open planet around!”
“And a massive space whale just crashed into it, so people don’t give a fuck about us Spasts right now…” Tenuk smiled.