The Whenvern soared across the edge of the tiny universe, a place now known as the Panelixsphere. What had once been a rather standard universe had been reduced to mere fragments, and now Kairos was spending most of his time trying to stop it from fragmenting further. While the Panelixsphere was mostly stable, its miniscule size meant that it would be easy prey not just from universe-consuming Corruption, but from other universes as well. It wouldn’t take much for a particularly large universe to bump into the Panelixsphere and accidentally absorb, or worse, destroy it.
Luckily, the small size also meant that Kairos’s regular checks rarely took very long. He could easily skim over the whole universe in a single 24 hour day, the Panelixsphere’s standard. That was what Kairos had just finished doing. Now he just needed to return to his crystalline palace, located on the tiny universe’s edge.
Waiting for him was Kairos’s assistant, the strange, part-dragon, part-something-else being known as Elksia.
“You took your sweet time!”
Kairos sneered at Elksia as he landed on the large platform outside the main entrance. “I can take all the time I like.”
“You said you were going to do your checks! That takes 24 hours! You were gone for 28 hours! You taught me to keep track of these things! Did something exciting happen and you didn’t invite me?”
“No, what are you on about?”
Elksia put one hand on her hip and pointed her weird, clawed fingers at Kairos. “You said you’d be gone for 24 hours. You were gone for 28 hours. Something don’t add up!” the time assistant snorted.
Suddenly, Elksia paused. She snorted again, but this time she inhaled more air. She then began to sniff in Kairos’s general direction. Immediately, Elksia’s disposition changed, into a much nicer, friendlier and curious one.
“Soooo! Who’s the lucky lady?”
Kairos stared at Elksia. “How the fuck did you know?”
“You smell of sex.”
“What does that smell like?”
Elksia shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. I just know the smell. It’s different yet the same for everyone. So who is she?”
The Whenvern grunted, not wanting to answer. “Why should I tell you?”
“Well, if someone comes by while you’re out and claims you got them preggers… I gotta know who you’re fucking so I do or don’t let them in.”
“Really?” Kairos snapped. “You think I’d be so careless?”
“Not even abstinence is guaranteed to make sure one never gets pregnant!” Elksia giggled. “Better safe than sorry! So, who is the nice lady?”
Kairos sighed, giving in. Really, Elksia was right, pregnancy, even among deities, was always a small fear. “Her name is Seimeni.”
“That sounds-” Elksia stopped mid-sentence. “Wait… Is that the same Seimeni that Retvik mentioned he had a brief relationship with? And the same Seimeni that Arkay mentioned he wanted to spend time with after he was done being a death god?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Elksia thought to herself, then went back to shrugging. “Oh well. As long as everyone is happy and consenting, ain’t my place to comment!”
“Wasn’t even your place to comment in the first place…” Kairos growled as he pushed past Elksia, into his grand palace. “Sometimes you ought to not be so nosy.”
“Sure, sure!” Elksia smiled as she followed Kairos inside. “But we can’t be keeping secrets all the time either now, can we?”
Kairos turned around and glared at Elksia. Elksia frowned, knowing that she needed to shut up.
“I mean, alternatively, you could just… let me know if you’re going to be late?” Elksia asked.
“I will keep that in mind…” Kairos grunted. “But for now, I want you to be less intrusive. Understand?”
Elksia shrugged. “Yeah, sure boss…”