Aster had just headed back to the Hall of the Gods, located at the fortress at the centre of the universe, to pick up his shield that he’d accidentally left behind. The lights weren’t on, everyone had left a few hours ago, but Aster had border patrol duties on Sunday, and he wanted to grab his trusty (but small) shield before then.
Really, things were going great for most of the Twelve Anew. No one hated each other, and Aster in particular was proud of his fellow Lanex. He never thought the Perpetual Abyss would rejoin the other tribes, but with Aster’s help, they’d managed it. On top of that, the Lanex were renewing their relationship with the Torr, who had promised to be not massive assholes for a change. He couldn’t speak for the other Twelve Anew, they’d only regrouped today properly for a meeting with the Allmaker, but everyone seemed fine.
That was why Aster was surprised to see someone still hanging around. He was certain everyone else had gone home already. But for some reason, Litvir was sitting in their chair, slouched forward and leaning on the table.
Actually, as Aster got closer, he realized that Litvir was asleep. And their tail was resting against his shield underneath the table. Aster didn’t really know much about Rethans, he had no idea if waking one up was a bad idea or not, but he quickly decided that gently waking up the skinny Rethan was better than accidentally scaring them.
“Hey, Litvir, are you alright?”
As predicted, the Rethan snapped to attention, but they seemed groggy. They clearly were asleep.
“Oh. Hello, Kyr Aster!”
“Hello, Litvir. What are you doing here? Everyone else went home.”
“Uh, what are you doing here?”
Aster gestured under the table. “I accidentally left my shield here. Came back to pick it up.”
“Oh…” Litvir frowned, then used their tail to move the shield closer. They leaned down, picked it up and handed it to Aster. In Litvir’s hands, the shield looked absolutely tiny. “Sorry. I did not mean to lean on it.”
“It’s not a problem! What are you doing here though?”
Litvir glanced around, then frowned some more. They summoned a mote of light, so they could see better. “I sleep here.”
“Do you… not have a home to go to?”
“Hah! No, of course not. I am a baby. Babies do not have homes. Sometimes Kyr Elkay lets me stay at his place in his spare room. or at his library but he has guests today and there is banging at the library from the construction stuff. But the library has no furniture yet, and Kyr Elkay is a Skyavok so his spare bed is small. So I stay here and sleep here.”
“And the Rethan government hasn’t given you a home?”
“No. Not yet. I am still waiting for registration. Whole system is… uh… automaticated…”
“Automated.”
“Yes, that. They put my information in the system but it comes out wrong. My date of birth is 26th of 11th, 2024, but I am walking, talking adult. When I am registered, I will get a standard home, like all Rethans.”
“I, uh, sense a ‘but’ somewhere along the line.”
Litvir snorted. “While the High General said I could be in the 11th Legion, I may have to go into Junior Stratos and the 900th Legion anyway. Get an education certificate. It is silly but awkward. I am small and stupid. Would be good for me, to learn things, but also embarrassing as I would have to be in a class with actual kids. But I do not know where I will find the time. I have a full time job already.”
Aster pulled out a chair and sat down next to Litvir. “You’re struggling.”
“I am not struggling. I am a big kid. Just need to deal with it. I will work something out. I am a god, after all.”
“Maybe, but you are still a child. You’re barely two weeks old, and… well, you’re somewhat like me. I never really got to be a kid either.”
Litvir blinked, not understanding what Aster was saying. “I do not get it. You were made in a lab too?”
“Well, no. But I’m a member of the Perpetual Abyss. My tribe were always outcasts. Once I was old enough, I both started going to school and working on a farm at the same time. Didn’t have proper child labour laws until recently. Most children of the Perpetual Abyss didn’t get to be children, we were too busy trying to survive.”
“Oh… That… that sounds bad.”
“It was bad. But thanks to… well, me, I guess… my tribe are changing. We’re rejoining the rest of the Lanex and new, younger children will be able to have a childhood. You should be able to get a childhood too.”
“I have a duty. We all do.”
Aster shrugged. “Sure, we do, but we also have to take breaks and have a proper night’s sleep and stuff like that. Also, like, one of the first things Kohra did was buy a house on a neutral world after he disowned his father. And he’s a kid like you.”
“Kyr Kohra is 19 years old.”
“Sure, but Kohra is a Spast. They are technically kids until the age of 40, are teenagers until the age of 60 and are only confirmed adults at the age of 100. You are, physically, what, uh, 18?”
“Kyr Kaldoran said I looked like I was 15 years old.”
“Who is Kaldoran?” Aster asked. “I don’t really know much about Rethans. Or, like, anyone. It’s been quite a learning experience for me.”
“Hah. That is… putting it mildly for me…” Litvir grunted. “I do not even know how my own body works. I saw a fluffy kitty yesterday for the first time while helping Kyr Syksis and I froze and wanted to touch it and protect it and she got annoyed at me for getting distracted with the hospital we were rebuilding.”
Aster didn’t really have a response to that. “What do you mean, a fluffy kitty? You mean a kitten? A baby cat?”
“Yes, somewhat. A fluffy kitty. Not a baby fluffy kitty.”
“And it… scared you?”
Litvir shook their head. “No. I just had this strange, burning desire to hold it and protect it with my life. The feeling passed but it was weird and I did not understand it.”
“Oh. Okay…” Aster thought for a moment. “So, you don’t want to hurt cats?”
“Of course not!”
“Alright, good…” Aster fell silent, thinking some more, before turning back to Litvir. “My place isn’t very big, and I do have a cat, but would you like to stay with me? Sure, I live in essentially a space caravan, but I have a sofa you can sleep on.”
Litvir’s eyes lit up. They actually, properly lit up with a dim, lilac glow, since Litvir was also the avatar of light. “You have a fluffy kitty?”
“Yes.”
“As a pet?”
“Yes.”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure. But you have to promise that you won’t hurt my cat. And that you’ll listen to me and back off when I tell you to. Because I don’t want Mog to disappear under my bed or something and stay there for three days because you scared him.”
Litvir bounced up and down with glee. “I promise! I will be a good kid! I will do as you say and I promise I will not mess up your home as well! I just… I just want a bed to sleep on. And maybe some food.”
Aster paused. “Uh, when was the last time you ate?”
“Kyr Aesop gave me some candy a few days ago, I think. To make me go away.”
“You do realize that you are supposed to eat three times a day, yes?”
Litvir immediately stopped bouncing and blinked in confusion. “I am?”
“Yeah.”
“I had no idea. Like I said, being alive is somewhat new to me.”
Aster couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, that’s a good point! And, on the same note, actually living is pretty new to me as well. All I used to do was work before I, uh, got this new gig as a god… Anyway, do you want to stay at my place for a bit? We can, I don’t know, maybe order noodles or something. How does that sound?”
Litvir smiled, then got up and bowed. “I would like that, yes. Thank you, Kyr Aster.”
“You don’t need to call me ‘Kyr’. We’re friends. Equals.”
“Yay, friends!” Litvir smiled some more. “I like that.”
“Me too. Come along now, since it’s getting late.”
“Yes, of course, thank you!”
Aster watched as Litvir bounced off and headed towards the exit, completely forgetting about their gunstaff. With a smile of his own, Aster grabbed Litvir’s forgotten stuff, then chased off after them, glad to have made a friend.