“You’ve perked up.”
Normally, Nanik or Aster would come to the northern edge of the universe to relieve Litvir of their guard patrol duties, mostly because Litvir would routinely forget that they need to take breaks. Today though, Aesop had come to the top of the universe, because he had just been relieved from duty as well. Apparently Aesop had spent too much time down south, near the strange white ball, and he needed to take a break as well. That being said, neither edge of the universe needed 24/7 patrols, Litvir just tended to do them because they thought they needed to and they believed their presence stopped things coming close, even if they had an early warning system in place.
Today, Litvir was very bouncy. But that was mostly because they had managed to talk a Voidborn into leaving and had used their (often unwanted) telepathy in a good way for a change. The Voidborn was looking for a “cult” to join after its cult had blown up, so Litvir had told them about the nice Voidborn group thing they had recently learned about. It wasn’t what the Voidborn wanted but they appreciated the information and left without causing any harm.
“Things are good now that I am away from the ball and from mean old Kairos!” Litvir almost chirped as Aesop approached. “Also I think I made an outside friend but they do not know when they can come back.”
“An… outside friend?”
Litvir nodded cheerfully. “There was a baby Voidborn. He was small but big like me and friendly too! So we agreed to be friends. Staton said he wants to visit occasionally. Next time he does, I will bring my laptop so we can sit and watch things together.”
Aesop stared at Litvir, then grunted. “As long as you don’t let them inside the universe, I guess it’s alright, but you know most of those bastards are bad, right?”
“Yes, most are. Staton is nice.”
“Alright then…”
Aesop sat himself down on the hatch on the edge of the universe. Noticing that something wasn’t quite right, Litvir sat down next to him.
“Are you well, Kyr Aesop?”
“Not really. Also, you don’t need to call me ‘Kyr’, kid. You don’t need to call anyone ‘Kyr’ or ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’ apart from Epani.”
Litvir did that confused little head tilt they always did when they didn’t quite get something. Aesop always found it weird when adult beings (mostly Skyavok) did it, but since Litvir was a 2.6m tall baby, it was kinda cute. Then again, a second look suggested that Litvir had grown again.
“Why?”
“Because we are equals. Those words are all words you say to a superior. But you’re a god. You don’t need to use those words, because your only superior is Epani.”
“General Tessar and General-Thie Rethais and my mama and dada are my superiors too.”
Aesop tutted. “I guess. But you’re a big, strong, important person too. And you and I are equals. After all, Epani made both of us into gods.”
“She made you into a god because you did good things. She made me in the image of a person who could not be a god.”
“Eh, true, but you’re still a god nonetheless. You’ve also proved you’re a good boy and you do what’s right. Despite what that fucktard dragon says or does.”
Litvir inspected Aesop some more. “Is something wrong? You seem sad.”
“Ughhh…” Aesop grunted. “I just got relieved from ball-watching duty. I fucking hate it. That thing is just… I don’t know, but it’s awful and gives me the worst vibes. Sure, us Torr don’t have any real supernatural powers, but we instinctively KNOW when something gives off bad vibes, is dangerous and needs to be destroyed and I WANT to destroy that fucking ball and no one’s listening to me about it.”
“I… I guess…” Litvir didn’t really have any real response to that. Aesop didn’t blame them. They were just a baby after all.
“Like, surely, if we nuked it, it would fuck off, right? And I’m pretty sure it’s doing SOMETHING to the dragon cunt to make him angry and shit.”
“You do not like mean old Kairos either?”
Aesop rolled his eyes. “He crossed one of the few fucking lines of morality I have. You don’t hurt babies and you don’t hurt kids. He’s like, billions of years old, he should fucking know better. It pisses me off that there’s no way I can punish him for that shit. And I’m not alone there either. Murum’Va is also really, really fucking pissed off and it genuinely pains her that she can’t do her fiery justice shit because Kairos is above us.”
Litvir frowned. “I agree. I do not know about justice stuff, but… well, it hurt. But I would rather I be hurt than Nanik be hurt. Or mama Elkay or Aster or anyone. Or you. No one should be hurt.”
“And the dragon should know better…”
Aesop trailed off, then sighed and glanced off into the darkness. Litvir did the same.
“Hey, kid?”
“Yes?”
Aesop squinted slightly. He could see something in the distance. “What is that purple star?”
“It is not a star.”
“Really?”
“Stars cannot be purple. But I do not know what it is. It has a cloud around it that stops me from seeing. I do not think it is dangerous though.”
“What do you think it is?” Aesop asked. “Is it related to the stupid white ball?”
“I do not think so. It has been there since before the ball.”
“Huh. I wonder if we could find out what it was. Maybe tie a very long piece of rope to you and send you over to see what it is.”
Litvir blinked. “That… sounds scary.”
“Might also be fun… Still, it ain’t something to think about right now.”
Litvir blinked some more, then accidentally caught one of Aesop’s thoughts. “I do not know if the nuclear weapons will hurt it… Oh… Sorry…”
“It’s fine. Also, it is worth a try. We ain’t done anything else yet. Also, maybe it would make a nice explosion.”
“True…” Litvir shrugged. “I like explosions.”
Aesop smiled, then patted Litvir on the shoulder. “Hah! Everyone likes explosions. Anyway, we’re both done with work now. We should head home or something. I’m going to grab a beer and watch some wrestling or play video games or something, since my mates cancelled on me again. Want to join me?”
“I… I cannot have beer.”
“I’ll get you a diet cola then. You only drink the sugar-free crap anyway.”
Litvir shrugged some more. “I guess. Can we play the boat game? That is fun.”
“Sure thing, kid, sure thing.”