“You are stressed.”
Litvir blinked, then looked up. They had been sitting on the roof of the building where they lived, watching the sun set and the stars rise. No one should have been there with them. But there was.
“Dada?” Litvir exclaimed as they turned around. “How did you get here?”
Relkir shrugged as they walked over and sat down next to Litvir. “The same way you got here, I assume. There are stairs and a door that lead to the roof.”
“Oh…” Litvir frowned. “I forget about that. My home is just below me so I think funny and go through the ceiling… But still, what are you doing here?”
“I came to check in on my kid.”
Litvir frowned some more. “Sometimes I forget.”
“You forget what?” Relkir asked. “Also, I got you a gift.”
Litvir grunted. “A gift? I am a big person. I do not get gifts.”
“Everyone gets gifts. I get gifts for Gath sometimes. Your thie Rethais gifted Gath and I some time off together next month. I got a small gift for General Ritlir as a thank you for suggesting me and Gath go on a date. Everyone gets gifts. Big or small, it does not matter.”
“I guess…”
Relkir nudged the gift closer to Litvir. Litvir pretended to not notice it at first.
“Go on.”
“I… I do not want to…”
“Why not?” Relkir queried. Their words were gentle though. Calming. Soft. “You deserve gifts.”
“I do?”
“Yes. You are a good person. You spend your entire time trying to protect others. So you deserve a little gift here and there. So I got you one!”
Again, Relkir nudged the gift towards Litvir. Litvir relented and took the gift. It was just a box with a purple paper ribbon on it. Litvir knew that Relkir had a lot of ribbons, they used them to organise things. Litvir hesitated, then opened the box up. Inside was some sort of weird toy. Like an inflated lizard. But squishy. And filled with something. Litvir wasn’t sure they liked touching it at first. But a slight squeeze felt like it didn’t belong in Litvir’s hand, despite that squeeze feeling almost… calming.
“Um… What is this?”
“It is a chew toy.”
Litvir inspected the object further. “I do not understand.”
“You put it in your mouth and chew on it.”
“How… why would I want to do that?”
Relkir shrugged. “Before you… hatched, I went Defensive Stance for the first time. But unlike what you saw with the Whenvern, I was… I was less murderous. I saved your mama and a lot of other people, even if I do not remember what happened. But afterwards, I was very angry and stressed and found it hard to calm down. That was when Lesii suggested a chew toy. I would chew it and it would make me less stressed. It also assisted with the adrenaline rushes.”
“And… you think it might help me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Litvir was confused. “Why would that help me?”
“Because it helps people in general. We got one for Retvik, because Retvik is getting a little bit of tooth pain as their teeth are getting sharper, and I decided to get one for you as well, because you are a kid.”
Litvir sighed. “I am not a kid. I am an adult. I am 17.”
“You are not an adult. You are a teenager. You are still a kid. And because you are a kid, you get kid things, like a chew toy, which you can chew on to make yourself feel less stressed.”
“Oh…” Litvir hesitated, then picked the toy up and bit it. For a moment, they did feel a bit less stressed. “This… this is weird…”
“Actually, I looked it up, and it seems that chew toys are not as weird as we think!” Relkir smiled. “They are a somewhat new addition to a young Rethan’s collection of toys, but Temthans and Ksithans have been making chew toys for a long time, for as long as Rethans have been a species almost. Chew toys are perfectly natural. And at the same time, Temthans have chew toys even as adults. They are meant to relieve stress. You are stressed, so I got you a toy to help with your stress.”
“Oh…” Litvir didn’t know what to say. They chewed on the toy a bit more, then settled down.
“Do you feel better?” Relkir asked.
“A little. I am just… I do not know.”
“You are overwhelmed. Which is understandable, because you are a kid.”
“I feel like I always be overwhelmed though…” Litvir sniffed. “And it is worse because I am always going to be a kid. I am a kid and an adult and a god and it is all so much, and then I look at my little ba and they call me big ba and I feel sad because I want to be a baby and spend all their time with Retvik and I cannot. And what bothers me more is that… I will always be here. Retvik will slowly get big and become an adult. But then one day they will die. I want to protect them forever, but I cannot…” Litvir wiped their eyes. “Normally I do not have a problem with this thing. But lately… I do not know. It hurts. And it is made worse by the fact that I protect everyone, but at some point, I will not have anyone to protect me.”
Relkir sighed as well, then shifted closer and hugged Litvir tightly. “Well, I have some good news.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I will be here, by your side, forever. I will always be here to protect you.”
Litvir sniffed, then started to cry. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I have killed for you. And because of that, I… I accidentally made myself as permanent as you. For as long as you protect the universe, I will be here, protecting you. I promise.”
Litvir blinked, then burst into tears, falling into Relkir’s hug. They whimpered, but they let Relkir slowly calm them down.
“Cry as much as you need to, Litvir. You are safe. I will make sure of it.”
“Thank you, dada… I love you…”
“I know you do, Litvir. I love you too, forever…”