“Stop scratching.”
“Shut up, I’m itchy!”
“The scratching isn’t helping.”
“But I’m so bloody itchy!”
“The scratching will make it worse.”
“Can’t get much worse right now!”
Kohra was not doing great. His arms were bothering him, where his fur was regrowing at a worryingly fast speed. He could see some of the fresh hairs literally getting longer. The sensation was bothering Kohra and he was also very itchy because of it. And despite Valksia’s warnings, Kohra was rubbing his arms a lot, trying to make himself feel better.
“It’s going to leave marks.”
“I don’t care, I’m itchy! I’m… Oh!” Kohra suddenly perked up. “Litvir! You’re out of bed!”
“Bed is lonely…” Litvir muttered as they sat down next to Kohra and Valksia. They were wrapped up in a soft green blanket and were holding a stuffed animal in one hand and a large bottle of water in the other. “Wanted to talk. I have things on my mind I cannot explain.”
“Like what?” Valksia asked. “Are you feeling better, Litvir?”
“I can see again. That is good. My eyes are itchy. Same as Kohra’s arms. Because they are growing back…” Litvir sighed to themselves. “Everything is a bit painful and itchy right now, but I should be happy to be alive but I am instead scared and nervous.”
“Do you want to talk about it, to settle your nerves?”
Litvir hesitated, took a sip from their bottle of water, then nodded. “I would, yes.”
“Well, alright, dear!” Valksia smiled caringly. “What is bothering you?”
Before Litvir could talk, someone else appeared. Dalosisaar was wearing bandages around his chest.
“Am I interrupting?”
“No, not really?” Kohra grunted, still rubbing at his arms. “Are you itchy too?”
“Yes, a little. I…” Dalosisaar hesitated. “I wanted to apologise.”
Litvir grunted in annoyance. “You do not need to say sorry. You did not do anything wrong. We all did as we were told and it went bad anyway!”
Valksia nodded, agreeing completely. “Litvir’s right. Dalosisaar, you did everything you were supposed to do. The stupid ball acted unpredictably. And since none of us are Time Drakes, you included, there wasn’t really much we could have done. I think the whole thing caught Epani off guard as well.”
“I mean, it did literally nothing until we nuked it, and that makes no sense because Aster crushed it a few times and yeeted it out of the universe and all it did was come back and sit there…” Kohra frowned. “It was totally unpredictable. And you helped Aster get rid of the tons of radiation thay kept on repeating itself. Litvir on the other hand got all kinds of messed up.”
I am not angry at Dalosisaar or you or… or anyone…” Litvir muttered. “Am angry at the big stupid dragon. Did he know what was going to happen? Because he seemed to know how to fix the problem! And he took his time and was rough with me!” Litvir’s annoyance was increasing. “I was just doing what I normally do, taking the pain for everyone else. But the big old meanie seemed angry at me and at Epani…”
Dalosisaar tried to cross his arms, but the soreness of his chest made him change his mind. “I think we can all agree that Kairos is a dick. But Litvir, you seem like something else is bothering you.”
Litvir sighed some more, then nodded. “I have worries.”
“About what?”
“About Kairos. He is a big old mean dragon but… we were supposed to keep him away from the ball for a reason. And then we let him go near the ball.”
“To be fair!” Kohra interrupted. “We didn’t have a choice. It was either we let Kairos go near the ball or you get stuck in a nuclear fireball forever.”
“I know, I know…” Litvir continued to sigh. “Mean old Kairos saved us. But I think… I think maybe… maybe the ball did something to him.”
“Like what?” Dalosisaar asked.
“The ball did a thing to force Kairos to go near it. And then maybe… maybe…” Litvir trailed off, then grunted and gave in. “I… I do not know… I do not know about these things. I just know about the mind reading stuff, and even then, I do not know much about it. But there is a dark thing… A dark thing I caught a glimpse of. But I do not know if the thing I caught a glimpse of was always there, or if the ball caused it, or if it is some other, unrelated thing. Or even if it is a thing at all and I am imaging it.”
Valksia patted Litvir on the shoulder. “Honestly, little one? Your stresses and worries make sense. But whether you’re imagining it or not, we’re behind you. I will speak to Syksis and Nanik and see if we can convince Kairos to let them check him over.”
“Yeah!” Kohra added. “If anyone knows mind stuff, it’s Nanik. She can help confirm or deny your worries.”
“But… what if my worries are true?” Litvir whimpered. “I am scared that Kairos will attack us again, and there is not much we can do to stop him!”
“Actually… about that…” Dalosisaar lowered his voice. “While I was recovering, I was… thinking to myself. Like, we’re all the same type of deity, right? Kairos started teaching me how to use time powers, and it is… stupidly difficult. But… There are some things I can teach to you all. That I want to teach to you all. We would have to do it one person at a time, and in secret… but Litvir, I think I have a way to solve your fears. In the future.”
“In the future?” Litvir sighed. “We might not… have time.”
“We’ll do what we can. My plan is to teach Elkay first, since, no offence, he is the smartest of all of us. If he can learn it, then he can help me teach you all as well. It’s not much, but it is a start.”
Litvir took a deep breath. “I guess. But I am still worried.”
“That is understandable, kid. But, for once, I think we will be alright, at least for a little bit…”