“What is wrong, deary?”
Ret was clearly in a bad mood, and although he had tried to hide his bad mood, it was also clear that someone had noticed. Of course people had noticed, half the Thantir had some form of telepathy. But Ret was confused by who had approached him.
“Hello, Kyr Litvir… Why are you here?” Ret asked as he looked up. Ret was currently on his own, having just finished a patrol shift.
“I tell that you are not right. You finished work and are out here on your own, instead of spending time with Kuta. You ALWAYS go and see what Kuta is doing after work, and if Kuta is busy, you almost always decide to use the gym equipment until Kuta is done. But Kuta is off duty right now and you are not with them. So clearly something is wrong.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“Yes. But also I am a powerful telepath and a former psychiatrist and mental therapist, among many other things!” Litvir smiled. “May I join you and talk with you?”
Ret frowned. “I did somewhat want to be left alone.”
“I know, but you are genuinely upset. I would like to assist you and make you feel better. You are a good person and you do not deserve to feel sad.”
After a moment of thought, Ret relented, then shifted over so Litvir could sit down.
“I appreciate you allowing me to talk. Do you want to tell me why you are miserable?”
Ret looked Litvir up and down, then grunted. “It is to do with kids.”
“Ah…” Litvir’s smile flickered slightly. “That is a tricky situation. Did your conversation with the devil serpent not go well?”
“Not at all…” Ret paused. “By your wording, I take it you do not like Sini at all.”
“Oh, no, I hate her. Quite a bit. Yes, she helped bring Arkay back to us, but she also allowed me and every single one of my siblings to exist and be tortured out of sheer curiosity, then, when I confronted her about it, she claimed it was my fault that I did not do better because I was supposed to be smart enough to push through my trauma and be a better person. I am aware that I am am evil individual, but I am not evil for the sake of being evil, I was doing evil things to try and escape mortality. Sini routinely did evil things just because she could.”
“You… you do not seem that evil…” Ret muttered. “You are very strange but you are not evil.”
“I was definitely evil when I was mortal.”
“I guess, but you got better?”
Litvir shrugged. “I also died, then got better. Death does have a habit of changing one’s outlook on life. But I assume, from your lack of a direct answer, your conversation with Sini went badly.”
Ret took a deep breath. “It… it did… There… there is a fear that Kuta and I may be incompatible when it comes to having kids. Because Kuta is an old-universe Rethavok and I am a new-universe Rethavok. But also Kuta is angry at me because they think I am being selfish because I am unwilling to change my body to be more capable of making an egg.”
Litvir hesitated. “What do you mean by that last bit?”
“Apparently I am too muscular. Which means my stomach cavity is not suitable for making and holding an egg until I can lay it. If I allow myself to… get a bit flabbier, then maybe I could keep an egg until I can lay, but… that does not guarantee that I can actually lay and that Kuta can get me egg-ridden. And the fact that Kuta is angry at me makes me sad.”
“Well…” Litvir frowned. “I am surprised that Kuta is so angry at you. They are normally rather forgiving. I am sorry that you are unhappy.”
Ret grunted. “I will get over it. I just have to wait. I have waited long enough, I am willing to wait for a long time, Both for Kuta to stop being angry and for me to work out how we can both get egg-ridden at the same time.”
“Is that your plan?” Litvir asked.
“Yes. I do not want to have a kid to be on their own. Two kids is more work but it means they are not lonely. Plus… admittedly, I was one of three. I enjoyed my childhood with my siblings and it broke my heart, being separated from them for most of my adult life. I cannot have anyone else suffer the way I did.”
Litvir looked Ret up and down, then shifted closer and put an arm around him. “I can see why Kuta is so infatuated with you. You are by far the sweetest Rethan I have ever met.”
“I guess. But in all honesty, you are not a bad person either, Kyr Litvir. You did bad things in the past but you try and make up for them.”
“I was bad.”
“You got better, I guess?” Ret shrugged. “I am just sad though. I do not like it when Kuta is angry at me.”
“Do you want me to talk to Kuta?”
Ret shook his head. “There is no need to. Kuta will work themselves out. But also they are a bit sore from having their contraceptive thing removed, and that makes them grumpy, doubly so because they are also horny and do not… want me right now… It is all very awkward.”
Litvir patted Ret on the shoulder. “It is awkward, but these problems are temporary. And I know how you feel. I have had… similar arguments with Retvik. But I do not want kids.”
“It is a lot of work. And… Kuta has mentioned the… hell that you went through, even if they do not remember it much.”
“That is exactly why I do not want kids.”
“Understandable…” Ret trailed off, then fell completely silent.
“Are you alright?” Litvir asked.
“I… am feeling a little bit better now, I guess.”
“That is better than nothing!” Litvir smiled as he stood up. “If you ever want to talk, let me know. I am always happy to help you and Kuta up. But in the mean time, I shall leave you to your peace and quiet. Sometimes you need that too.”
Ret smiled as well, a tiny bit. “Thank you.”
“No worries, Ret.”