Veeyel slammed the door shut. He slammed it very hard. He slammed it so hard that the door came off its hinges. Considering the door was a heavy metal door, designed for the many, much larger Teliavok that lived in this sector, the feat of slamming the door so hard that it fell off its hinges was both scary and impressive.
Thankfully, help was at hand. Letalis, the well known maniac member of the Healers phased through the nearby wall, telekinetically picked up the door and fixed the hinges with a couple of screws and a psionic screwdriver he kept in his pocket. Once he was done, he turned to Veeyel and rather forcibly gave him a hug.
“Letalis, babe, I’m fine, you don’t need to comfort me!” Veeyel hissed, being squeezed a little too hard.
“I do need to comfort you! Because you did what Ralian does on the regular, and that means you are sad and angry and someone potentially called you one of those mimic thingies again!”
Veeyel relented, and leaned into the hug. Letalis was a complete lunatic, but he meant well.
“Yeah, someone hinted that I was potentially a Synaisthyn again.”
“A what now?” Letalis get go a little. “What is… a … whatever you just said?”
Veeyel sighed. “I’ve been chatting with Arkay, the me-sized member of the Missing. He is a Synaisthyn. He doesn’t like being called an Amalgam Mimic or a Hybrid Mimic, because it implies he’s not a whole person.”
Letalis glanced at the door and his badly done repair work, then pushed the subject along as he also pushed Veeyel out of the room and into the hallway. As Letalis muttered and rambled almost at random, he dragged Veeyel down a variety of hallways, until they reached the Healers’ private comfort room.
“You don’t like being called one of those thingies either!” Letalis finally started speaking normally as he sat Veeyel in his comfy chair and fetched him a drink. “You hate it more than most Teliavok hate me.”
“It’s more that, I KNOW there are beings that hate Synaisthyns, and try to kill them. There is an entire Voidborn cult dedicated to tracking down beings that are potentially Synaisthyns, that we’ve chased off in the past, and managed to get rid of. And now I’m getting those whispers coming back, and the Plated Cults have been more aggressive as of late, even if we’ve had good news on the Corruption front.”
Letalis gave Veeyel a little hug. “It can be scary, I get that, but I want you to know that you are you and only you, you are not one of those thingies, and that Ralian and I will love you and protect you no matter what, forever and ever and ever.”
“Darling Letalis, I know that, you don’t need to constantly remind me…” Veeyel tutted.
“I do!”
“You don’t.”
“I do! Because I was forcibly turned from an air elemental into a psionic elemental and it has completely and utterly ruined me as a normal Telian and I have substantial memory issues and if I do not constantly tell you and Ralian that I love and protect you, I fear that I will forget who you are and that also I will forget who I am, wander off by accident one day then get beaten to near death in a dark alley, kidnapped then forcibly have my element changed again.”
Veeyel stared at Letalis. Letalis stared back.
“You don’t normally mention being beaten to near death.”
“Sometimes I remember. Sometimes I don’t. I do my best not to. But you and I, we are the weird people with sad pasts and that is why I need to protect you and love you, because you protect and love me. And right now? You are worried. You are scared that you will be attacked for being something you are not.”
Veeyel went back to sighing. “I thought I escaped all of this. Arkay being accepted among a Hidden Trio got them off my back. That Unender guy also becoming a Decay Lord also got them off my back. But all of a sudden? In the last few months, with no new news on Vryda and nothing special happening? Suddenly I’m hearing the whispers again and suddenly Voidborns are entering our territories, going for me. I mean, the whole Rainbow Ruin thing doesn’t even make sense.”
Letalis tilted his head to one side. “What is the Rainbow Ruin again?”
“You know that dumb idea that a bunch of colourful Synaisthyns will take out the Plated Cults.”
“Oh. But why rainbows? Do they not like freedom of sexuality or something?”
Veeyel shrugged. “I don’t know. Even if the Rainbow Ruin was real, none of those who have been found even fit! Sure, Arkay is yellow, but apparently Unender is a really dark green and also mostly black and grey as well. And I don’t fit at all! Even if I was a fucking mimic thing, I’m black with bits of green plating! How does that even work?”
Letalis hugged Veeyel again. “People believe stupid things. I mean, I am a Teliavok, I believe stupid things that are nearly as stupid as the rest of my kind. I mean, most people hate me because I am weird. But I believe that you are wonderful, Veeyel, and I love you. Even if my brain doesn’t work.”
Veeyel patted Letalis on the head. “I know you love me. And I love you too.”
“I like that! It is nice that someone around here likes me!” Letalis beamed. “Although, you speak of those Missing guys, we should invite them over for coffee or something.”
“Hm, that does sound like a good idea. We had fun with them last time, but it was somewhat cut short. Maybe we can do a nice BBQ or something.”
“And Ralian and Retvik can have fun too!” Letalis smiled. “There is a lot of tension there.”
“”Eh, I don’t think, as attractive as Retvik is, he is Teliavok-y enough to crack Ralian. And Ralian has… other duties.”
Letalis shrugged. “Oh well. We should invite them anyway.”
Veeyel finally smiled. “We should, yes.”