“This is pretty.”
Limilian Lake was a large large freshwater lake, but its centre was very narrow, to the point that it looked like a rough figure-eight from above. Still, even at the narrow point, the distance between the two shores was about half a kilometre, and the Limilian Lake provided a huge amount to Rethan society, to the point that it was well protected and normal Rethans were only allowed around the far northern part of the lake, the southern areas were off-limits. The Villa on the Lake had been built somewhat offset from this narrow spot, with southern areas, and the water was calmer than it was upstream. Today, there wasn’t a breeze at all, and the water was so calm and clear that it looked like one could walk on it, the only things causing ripples being the odd fish snatching bugs from the water’s surface.
Right now, Rethais, the High General of the Retha, the General of the 47th Legion and the elected leader of the Rethavok, was sitting on a small pier overlooking the lake. With them were their two siblings, Relkir and Retvik, with Relkir sitting between them. The three of them were triplets, all laid and hatched at the same time. While they did grow up together, Retvik had been sent away when they were 18, and Relkir, being the runt of the family, had pledged themselves to Rethais as they rose through the ranks of the Stratos, the Rethan military and Rethan society in general.
However, after thirty four years apart, the three of them were back together. There was some lingering anger as to what had happened after all those years, but as they sat there and had gentle discussions, that anger soon evaporated. After all, none of them were really to blame for what happened.
“It is pretty, yes…” Retvik sighed. “Somewhat reminds me of the Torn Islet, except calmer.”
“What is the Torn Islet?” Relkir asked. While Retvik and Rethais were very, very similar in appearance, almost looking like twins aside from Rethais’s ever so slightly darker red plating and the fact that Retvik was more toned and muscular, Relkir was a good 30cm shorter than both of them, and very skinny. Weirdly, their eyes were dark blue instead of ruby red as well. However, Relkir was a very intelligent and curious individual, and the elder siblings always happily admitted that Relkir was smarter than both of them.
“It is an island, technically, with a large river, the Asprokremmos river, that splits and goes around it. Nyssi lives there, and we have visited a few times.”
“What is Nyssi like? Actually, what are all of your friends like? Is Tenuk as soft and fluffy as they look?” Relkir was brimming with questions. Rethais had questions too, after all, Retvik had lived quite a multicultural life as an exiled Rethan working as a gladiator, but Rethais was happy to let Relkir satisfy their curiosity first.
Retvik smiled. “Yes, Tenuk’s fur is really soft and fluffy. And Nyssi is very nice. Excitable and a bit goofy, but she very much does that to hide how smart she is.”
“Does Tenuk let you touch their fur?”
“Yes. Sometimes Tenuk turns into a fluffy kitty and he lets me pet him. It is relaxing for both of us.”
“Is Spast fur like Banikan or Ksithan fur? Have you touched their fur?”
“Um, no. Banikan fur is rather coarse. I have not really touched Ksithan fur, it seems different between them. And I think the Raptor would break all my fingers if I attempted to touch her mane.”
“What is the Raptor like?” Rethais asked. “As far as I am aware, they… she is a very powerful being, and she rules with an iron fist.”
“She terrifies me…” Retvik admitted. “She has the same… aura you have, Rethais. But we are Rethans, we are not naturally violent unless things are desperate. The Raptor though, she fears pretty much nothing. You think Kuta is insane for briefly dating Arkay, who takes our shape, the Raptor dated and later dumped the Whenvern.”
Relkir blinked. “See… Kuta sent that report to us… I thought they were making it up.”
“No, not at all. There are very few beings I fear, but the Raptor is one of them.”
Rethais eyed Retvik with curiosity. “Who do you fear, Retvik?”
Retvik eyed Rethais back. “A good question. One I want you to answer first.”
“Fair. It is not normally something I would admit out loud to others, but I do fear plenty of beings. Mostly the gods, which is understandable, since their power is above our understanding. In a physical sense, I do fear the Mind of the Banikans, but only because they are, well, a Banikan, and I would not want to be left in a room with them. That is not to say that I fear all Banikans, after all I met Mur’Umvul before they passed, and they were a very wise and dedicated being.
“But really, the only beings I do fear are the upper echelons of the Torr leadership. They are itching to fight something, and since we have renounced the Lady of Light, that something might be us. While yes, we do have allies, more than the Torr have, it genuinely concerns me that they will happily kill ten of their own to kill one of us, and they have the numbers to do so.”
“That… is a pretty terrifying answer…” Retvik muttered. “My list is a bit… weirder I guess. Mostly featuring the Whenvern, the Panelix and both my bosses-”
“Gath scares you?” Relkir laughed.
“In a physical sense, definitely. I would also say that…” Retvik paused. Something had distracted him. A glimmer in the distance. On the opposite side of the lake, that could only just be seen.
Instinct kicked in before anything else. Retvik threw himself in front of Relkir and Rethais, pushing Rethais backwards and body-blocking Relkir. A bullet passed through Retvik, cracking his chest plating, before slicing through him and embedding itself in the old wood of the pier. But the bullet hadn’t just torn through Retvik’s body, it had pierced Relkir’s stomach as well.
A second gunshot echoed across the lake, but wasn’t as accurate. It caught Rethais in their left arm, shattering some of their natural plating. Thankfully, two other shots seemed to miss completely.
Knowing that Retvik, despite the severity of his injury, would be fine, Rethais immediately ignored their own injury and pushed Retvik off of Relkir. They desperately applied as much pressure as they could to Relkir’s wounds in a bid to stop the bleeding. Every being at the villa had heard the gunshots and multiple 47th Legion soldiers, as well as several 500th Legion medics, leaped into action and took over.
While unconsciousness swiftly claimed Retvik, who had slumped over and thankfully passed out from the pain, Relkir’s eyes remained focused on both their siblings, their shock rendering them unable to speak.
“Do not be scared, little sibling!” Rethais did their best to reassure Relkir. “We are here for you. You will make it.”
A medic dragged Rethais away from Relkir, so they could tend to Rethais’s gunshot wound and keep the area clear around the other victims. As they did so, Rethais glanced over to where Retvik had been looking. They swore they briefly saw a flicker, a shadow of some sort. They didn’t have time to consider it though as they turned back to their injured siblings. Rethais could feel that hideous anger, that burning desire to protect, bubbling up inside them, but they closed their eyes, took a deep breath and counted to ten in a bid to calm themselves down.
“Kyr Rethais, come on, we need to get you out of here!”
Everything became rather blurry after that. Knowing they were in no real position to do anything, Rethais took another deep breath and decided to let the experts do their jobs, before they accidentally triggered their Defensive Stance.