“Kyr Aesop, are you busy? I… I need some help…”
Aesop blinked repeatedly, not just because someone was asking him for help, but because of who specifically was asking him for help. He looked up and noticed that Litvir looked a little dishevelled.
“Hey, Litty, what’s wrong?” Aesop asked as he picked himself up off the sofa. But he paused for a moment, then sat back down and sat Litvir down next to him. “You seem… upset? I’m not sure.”
Litvir sniffed a few times. “I… I need some help.”
“I’ll help you out, no worries, but you need to take a deep breath. You’re stressed as fuck.”
“I… I am scared for my dada.”
“Ah…” Aesop hesitated slightly. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to them?”
“I do not know where they are! Dada sent a message to mama saying they were caught up with work and would be late but they never came home from work! And I need to stop mama from getting stressed and angry so they can look after my little sibling and not get in trouble too!”
“Okay, okay, kid, calm down!” Aesop put a hand on Litvir’s shoulder. “When was the last time you spoke to your dad?”
“Um…” Litvir thought for a moment. “I called dada a few days ago, like… but… I saw them on… on Monday. When I went to go and see mama and my little ba as well. But I have been busy with work and stuff! So I lost track and now I feel really bad because I cannot protect my dada!”
“You’re getting over the top again!”Aesop patted Litvir some more. “Alright, so, first off, take some big breaths, because you’re super duper fucking stressed. Secondly, your dad is probably fine. You’re a Rethan, your dad is a Rethan, Rethans don’t kill each other. It’s not like your dad is dead. The worst case scenario, they’re at the doctors or a police station or something.”
“But I do not knooooow!” Litvir was shaking. “I am scared! And I cannot ask old mama Elkay or Aster or anyone because they are all busy!”
“Don’t be scared. I’m sure…” Aesop suddenly paused. “Hang on, who is your dad?”
“Dada Relkir.”
Aesop paused again, then slapped himself across the face. “Fuck. Your dad is the badass Rethan who helped us put Kairos down! And got some weird powers out of it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Did… did Dalosisaar not tell you that your dad turned into a time god because he… they stabbed Kairos in the brain?” Aesop tutted. “He said that he and the stupid time snake bitch were keeping an eye on Relkir to make sure that they didn’t lose control of their time powers. Maybe they’re in a lesson with Dalosisaar? Actually, let me call dragonboyo and ask…”
Aesop patted Litvir on the shoulder again, then grabbed his communicator and made a phone call. It took a moment for Dalosisaar to answer.
“I am busy, Aesop. Is this important?”
“Yeah, it is. Litty’s worried about their dad and doesn’t know where he is, I wondered if he was doing time lesson shit with you?”
“Uh… no. Ksini has been dealing with that sort of thing. She wouldn’t let me help… But Ksini is also in a session with Epani right now, apparently she had a lesson with Litvir’s dad the day before yesterday?”
Aesop grunted. “That… matches up with when Litty here says that their dad said they were stuck at work… Hm, I think we have a problem. Can you grab Elkay and Aster, then come and meet me at the chill out place at the castle at the centre of the universe?”
“Why? I did say I was busy.”
“Mate, I think Ksini has… done some shit… and I need to keep Litty calm. He’s literally shaking, he’s so worried and scared…” Aesop paused some more, then turned to Litvir. “Does your dad routinely meet with Ksini?”
“I… I do not know… I just know that Ksini makes dada keep everything secret… Like, no one knows out side of us Twelve Anew. Not even mama really knows.”
Aesop grunted, then turned back to his communicator. “Yeah, Dalo, gonna need you to come here. If Litvir’s dad, the baby time god, is missing, I need you to get your ass here and help us find him. And the best way to do that is grab the boyos and storm Ksini’s castle, because I guarantee the stupid snake bitch knows exactly where he is.”
A long sigh echoed down the communicator. “Alright, fine. I need to finish up here though. Give Kohra, Elkay and Aster a call, get them to come to you, and we’ll all go and speak to Epani and Ksini together. Using Aster’s diplomacy. Because you’re right, we can’t have a Time Drake unaccounted for.”
“Cool. See you shortly, dragonboy!”
“Ugh. You too, Aesop…”
Aesop closed the call then shifted closer to Litvir and put an arm around them. “We’re gonna find your dad, alright?”
“Yes…” Litvir stuttered.
“Don’t be scared. I just told you, we’re gonna find him. He can’t have just vanished. My bet is that Ksini put him somewhere so he could do his time power lessons then forgot to send him home. Mortal tech tends to break when in Ksinis’s places. But in the mean time, I’m gonna call Elkay and Kohra, and I want you to message Aster and tell him what is going on and ask him to meet here as well. Can you do that?”
“I… I can…” Litvir nodded.
“Good. You do that! Stay here, make that call or whatever, I’m gonna go get you a snack. What do Rethans like to snack on?”
That question made Litvir calm down for a second. “Uh… we like cookies.”
“The comically big cookies?”
“They are big?”
“Yeah… Anyway, I’ll go get some. Sit tight. Everything’s gonna be fine.”
Litvir sighed, then settled down. “I guess. Thank you, Kyr Aesop.”
“No worries, Litty. Us fucked up deities gotta help each other, right? Anyway, I’ll be five minutes. Sit tight!”