“Good day, Lady Epani.”
The Allmaker normally didn’t need to check in on her twelve little deities, but occasionally, they’d come to her, asking for advice. All of them were very good at their jobs, they’d worked pretty much flawlessly so far, and Epani was actually proud of them. None of the Twelve Anew hated each other, they worked together well and they were a beacon of unity.
The person behind most of that unity was Dalosisaar, the deified Thraki who had tried to help Kairos when the Whenvern got hit with Corruption, during the Sudden Darkness. His duties were two-fold. He kept the rest of the Twelve Anew both in order and together, and he also spent a lot of time assisting Kairos. Today though, after his weekly meeting with his fellow Twelve Anew, Dalosisaar had requested a quick meeting with Epani.
“Hello, little one!” Epani smiled. She was in a simple, Temthan-like form today, but, as always, Epani had that strange, glowing lure on the top of her head. “Are you alright?”
Dalosisaar nodded. “Personally, I’m doing fine. And most of the Twelve Anew have also been fine. Pretty much everything is fixed up now, Valksia’s water purification systems are up and running on all affected planets, Elkay’s nearly ready to open the Great Library to all people, and Aesop and Kohra have been helping the Torr and the Spasts be less asshole-y and more friendly. We’ve also had no major intrusions, and we haven’t been attacked by a young Voidborn in over a week.”
Epani’s smile only got bigger. “That is all wonderful. You are doing great work!”
“I appreciate that, Allmaker. However, there is one small problem.”
“What do you mean?” Epani asked. “Is it something you require Kairos to fix?”
“No, no, not at all. But it is somewhat time-related.”
Epani thought for a moment. “Hm. Are you looking to take some time off work? You have been working very hard lately, assisting Kairos on his projects.”
“This is about time off work, but it’s not for me. I make sure everyone takes regular breaks. But I am really concerned about Litvir.”
“How comes?”
Dalosisaar sighed. “Litvir has been working very, very hard. We all have, but Litvir in particular doesn’t listen when I tell them to take time off. And when Litvir does do as I ask, they don’t actually take time off, they go home and do school work. At most, Litvir is only taking two hours of rest a day, and spends one of those hours asleep. The other hour is when Litvir visits their adult Rethan guardians, but they have little time for much else. This is massively unhealthy for them.”
“Why is Litvir not taking time off? Epani asked. “You should all have at least 6 to 8 hours a day, on a rotating cycle, so you all have a chance to rest.”
“Litvir is using almost all that time for their education.”
Epani thought for a moment. “Isn’t Kohra doing the same? He did say he was trying to finish his university studies.”
“Kohra’s university stuff is more relaxed, he only has classes three times a week, and properly arranges his schedule to make room for his assignments, most of which are longer term projects meant to be done over the course of two weeks. Litvir is currently in… uh, whatever Rethans call their middle schools, and they have to be present for all lessons.”
“I see. A simple solution would be to alter your godly schedules so that Litvir always gets their school time and space for homework, but Dalosisaar, I feel like you have more you want to say.”
“Yes…” Dalosisaar lowered his head. “I think we’re going to have a bigger problem with Litvir.”
“How comes? Litvir has been very sweet so far.”
“Um…” Dalosisaar hesitated, not really sure how to phrase his next few words. “I don’t think Litvir will be a dangerous problem, just a sad one.”
“Oh?”
“Basically, I am concerned that Litvir will snap and break down. They are only, what, 6 months old? And in that time, Litvir has done nothing but work. Twelve Anew work, school work, home work. The breaks they take are brief, and Litvir isn’t eating or sleeping properly, because they think they need to get back to work, that work is more important.”
“We don’t have these problems with Kohra though? Epani asked.
“No, Kohra’s fine. But Kohra is 19 years old. Sure, he’s a Spast, they age weirdly and Kohra is admittedly partially stuck at the age of 19 forever, but Kohra at least had the time to BE a child. He had lots of opportunities to be completely free and have fun, both before and after being deified. Litvir though, they have only ever known their permanent servitude to both the Twelve Anew and you and Kairos. And because of their lifestyle, Litvir seems to think there are “quotas” of how many good things should happen to them, they have been a servant for their entire, brief existence and they don’t know any better. Litvir is a baby who has never experienced being a baby, being a child and having a chance to just… live.”
“I see…” Epani trailed off, then thought to herself again. “Perhaps it might be a good idea to take Litvir out to do things.”
“You mean, us other Twelve Anew taking them places?”
“Yes. Make it so that Litvir has no godly work what so ever, and also sign them off school for two weeks. Then take them on some trips to some nice places across the universe. A zoo, a museum, a playground, whatever Litvir desires. And, for their six month anniversary, get Aster and Nanik to set up a party for them, so they can celebrate. Basically, give Litvir two weeks of good things, so they can both experience being a child but also experience the wonderful universe Litvir wants to protect.”
Dalosisaar bowed slightly. “Thank you for the advice.”
Epani went back to smiling. “You are welcome. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, and looking after your fellow deities. Is there anything else you want to ask?”
Dalosisaar shrugged. “I can’t think of anything.”
“Alright. Go and sort out a new schedule for the upcoming weeks, then tell Litvir the good news.”
“I shall. Thank you, Allbirther.”