[Xander – 13 years]

Did I hear him right?

"A god?" Dad asks. "In a bear?"

It seems I did.

"Gods are misunderstood by most mortals," Grandpa Adrian says. "They simply come into existence from time to time and are, as far as I'm aware, eternal from that point on. But they aren't all-knowing, nor are they all-powerful. As young, baby gods, they only know about themselves and their powers, as well as about the gods whose domains they're within or near. I'll get to that shortly. Their own powers are also relatively weak and new to them."

Dad, Mom, and Ms. Johnson move behind me, probably so they can focus on Grandpa Adrian and Trenton without being right up close, but also not obstructing my view.

"As newly-formed deities," Grandpa Adrian says. "They have a natural curiosity about the place they're in. Nearly all baby gods possess an inanimate object and remain within it for awhile. Usually decades, in Earth years. They do this to learn about the world and people around their appearance point as they learn about their own powers and more about being a god.

"And no," he says. "There are no evil gods. Gods are inherently either aloof or benevolent. Trenton's own powers are still forming. He can't do much more than move around the object he's within. Their powers form more slowly than a human's, but when you live for eternity, a few of our decades feels like little time at all."

"Makes sense," I look at Trenton. "What kind of god are you? Oh… right."

"What did he say?" Dad whispers.

"He reminded me that gods don't really have a 'type' in that sense," I tell him. "They just have things they like. He's told me that before. And as a lesser god, he doesn't really have powers yet. What's a lesser god?"

"Essentially, the baby gods," Grandpa Adrian explains. "Most gods do have a leaning towards using powers related to what they favor, but they all have the same range of powers for the same level and location.

"And that brings me to domains," he continues. "There are several levels to gods. A lesser god has no 'domain'. No place they're really set to. That comes after their powers fully form. Once they do, they become a local god. Local gods stick to a smaller area, such as the Greater Dragon Falls Region. They do have the ability to observe everything within it.

"Then there are regional gods," he informs us. "They cover a much greater area than a local god, which becomes one later in life. Could be thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years to us. After that are global, which cover an entire world, then system, which covers an entire solar system. Galactic naturally covers an entire galaxy."

He stops there. Is this a part where I'm supposed to come to a conclusion about what he's saying?

"And then, after a really long time, they become universal?" I make a guess.

"Unclear," Grandpa Adrian answers. "There are only one or two galactic gods per galaxy. Much like people who originate from transcended beasts, their domains can overlap or even match. They get along with each other, so it's not an issue. Which is useful for the gods, or they'd run out of room to have a domain in, leaving them all in the young state like Trenton there.

"The universe hasn't been around long enough for there to be a god over the whole of it," he tells me. "At least, not based on how long it takes to go up to each level. But the gods generally agree that they can tell there's another which does cover it. But none of them have ever met that one, nor felt their presence. They simply feel that one exists. What the other one is, they're not entirely sure."

I look at Trenton.

"Oh."

"What is it?" Dad asks.

"Trenton says that they ain't sure if the one above them is actually universal or an even higher power."

"Indeed," Grandpa Adrian says. "That higher god could be from another universe altogether, if those exist. I'm… not sure. Much like the gods, I'm not all-knowing, despite my age and experiences."

Grandpa Adrian gives me a long look in silence.

"What?"

"What's interesting," he says. "Is the fact that you can actually sense divine energies and speak/understand the divine language. Those 'not-real fairies' you see are a form of divine fairy. Even I can only sense them, not directly see them. The same goes for the divine power of the gods, which you seem to be able to see as well. That's how you know about - within the bear, yes? From seeing it, not just sensing it?"

"It's not exactly seeing," I say. "But I guess that's close enough?"

"It is," he confirms. "Outside of actual divine beings, such as gods and the divine fairies, few creatures can directly see divine energies. Yet you possess that same ability. The same goes for divine blessings – you can see them directly instead of merely sensing them the way I do."

"But I still can't tell what they do," I add. "I can't see them that clearly, and only if I try really hard. Trenton's been trying to teach me how to tell the differences, but it's difficult."

"It can be, yes," Grandpa Adrian nods. "Hm. I cannot see any trace of something within you which would grant you the ability to see them."

"What about Grandpa Blaze?" I ask. "He seems to be responsible for a lot of things."

"He can sense them better than me, yes," Grandpa Adrian says. "Except not as well as you. Nor is that something inherited, not when it's not an innate part of someone. Even I could not deliberately cause my sense for divinity to be carried by my offspring. There really is something interesting going on. As far as I'm aware, the only non-divine being within the galaxy who has divine senses innate to them would be -, but it doesn't look like he's given you a True Seed, so that can't be it."

"He's really nice," I say.

"Who?" Dad asks.

"You know him?" Grandpa Adrian asks at the same time.

"I talk with him at night sometimes," I nod.

"When?" Dad frowns. "How? Where? Who is this?"

"Ah," Grandpa Adrian says. "Wasn't aware he'd even noticed you. He's aloof enough I wasn't aware of his existence until he sealed that Rift. And Trey, he's a dream being. I'm not entirely sure what they are, myself. In millions of years, I never once encountered a creature like him. But he's not harmful. And Xander likely talks with him while sleeping."

"Oh, right," I nod. "Yeah. It's after I go to bed."

Grandpa Adrian clears his throat.

"If you're encountering him," he says. "You're not just in bed, Xander. You're asleep and in the dream plane."

"Oh, right," I say. "It feels the same as the waking world to me, so I keep forgetting I'm asleep when I go there, don't I?"

Grandpa Adrian chuckles.

"No doubt," he says. "But anyway, that unusual state of yours aside, you aren't hallucinating Trenton talking to you. He's just a very young god who's possessed your bear in order to learn more about the world around him. It's easier for the younger gods to do so that way. But he's incapable of doing much more than minor telekinesis right now."

"Okay," I look at Trenton. "Is that why you didn't protect me from those… from my previous foster family? Because you couldn't give me a blessing to protect me?"

The bear nods.

"Ah," Grandpa Adrian says. "You know what else is interesting about you?"

"What's that?"

"The reason the divine fairies keep their distance," he gestures to himself. "As you can see, I have a number of divine blessings, and the fairies love me. Yet they keep their distance from you."

"Because I'm that worthless."

"One day," Grandpa Adrian says. "What they did to your mental state will be just a slight scar rather than a deep wound. And it's a shame Greyson got to them-"

"Not all of them," I say, then look at my sneakers. "Um. Sorry for interrupting."

"Not all of them?" He asks. "What do you mean?"

"I suspected it for awhile," I admit. "But Greyson didn't kill the foster brother from then. I've already confirmed it. I've only told Sig until now."

"He didn't?" Grandpa Adrian raises an eyebrow. "I was able to verify that he's gone."

"But you didn't check the World Memory," I say. "And Greyson did some funky stuff. He's still alive. I thought you knew…"

"No," Grandpa Adrian says. "I didn't."

"He's living with his grandma," I tell him. "His dad's ma. And he's in therapy. I think… I think Greyson realized that he was just a victim, too. That he did what he did to me because he was maybe scared of it happening to him. I've wanted to go to his space, to know for sure, but… I get scared when I get there."

It's hard for me to get the words out and I'm really quiet, but I know Grandpa Adrian can hear me.

"His space?" Dad asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "The one people go to at night. Or sometimes during the day."

"Dream worlds," Grandpa Adrian chuckles. "It seems Xander really struggles to differentiate the sleeping world from the waking one."

"It really does feel the same as waking," I say. "I don't feel like I'm asleep, it feels like I'm awake."

"Back to what I was saying," Grandpa Adrian says. "The reason the divine fairies keep their distance from you is out of respect for the god which blessed you."

"What god would bless me?"

"The sole one whose domain is the Milky Way itself," he answers. "From what I was able to find, he took notice of you when you were ten, saw what was going on, and granted you a blessing of protection. It's why you ended up crossing paths with Greyson, why you ended up at the boys' home you did after the rescue, and why Trey ultimately ended up becoming your foster father.

"And no," Grandpa Adrian looks at Dad. "It doesn't take away free will. I can go into more detail with you about how it works later as there are quite a few nuances to it, but I think Xander wants to start his stream. Those hand gestures he's been doing all related to it."

"I was setting things up so I can start the five-minute pre-stream as soon as this discussion is over," I tell him. "And then sending a message in chat letting them know I should be starting soon, but I don't know how soon. They're really active even though I'm not online. And there's a poll up asking them what they think I'll be baking. More specific than 'cake', 'cookies', and so on. Flavors and designs and stuff."

"You put a poll up?" Dad feels surprised.

"No," I answer. "The AI for XansonTV did. I added a new feature to it so that it can do polls in waiting chats when no mods are around. Things related to the content creator's streams and videos and stuff.

"It's supposed to be things like which of the options they liked from the last stream, or if they've seen the latest video, or whatever," I explain. "It seems I didn't set the parameters right and it can do polls asking about things they're anticipating. At least the 'no more than once every hour' part is functioning right. But I should maybe configure it so that the creator can adjust the frequency.

"The purpose of it is more to see if it's a viable way for extra feedback," I continue. "Since some chats tend to be really active even when it's quite awhile before a stream. Like, my chat often has people talking in it two or three hours before I'm supposed to begin streaming, which is just weird. Asking what they think I'm going to do wasn't in my design, though. I'll need to see what happened."

"That was me," Grandpa Adrian tells me. "I added that part in before adding the change. Some chatters enjoy guessing at what streamers will do. The system will learn over time whether or not that streamer's chat likes it and adjusts frequency of such questions based on that."

"Oh," I say. "Okay. Well. Is it okay if we get to the stream? We've already spent so long talking and while I did learn a lot, I wanna get to the baking."

"It is," he chuckles. "We'll let you get to it."

"Alright," I walk over and pick up a potted plant, then place it on the table beside where our live audience are to sit.

Berry really shouldn't sit on the floor like that if he wants to watch, a table will give him a better view. I should also probably warn Ms. Johnson that the plant she's sitting beside is a person, but Dad was very clear that what Berry does is harmless and I should let him have his fun when it's just that.

Trenton floats back over to me as I do this, and I look at him.

"You can put yourself on my shoulder."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Trenton nods, then floats onto my shoulder.

Mom and I do some last checks to make sure everything we'll need is out, then I begin the five minute pre-stream. Once the stream begins, we get to work on baking the cakes. The decorating portion is where I'm learning stuff today. Icing and candy art techniques, both new ones and reviewing old ones. The cakes come out looking delicious, but I have to wait on eating them.

So as usual, I pull a massive cookie out of a stasis bracelet and eat it to finish off the stream.

"Ms. Johnson?" I ask as Mom and I clean up the dishes.

"Yes?" She responds.

"You're gonna tell them that I shouldn't go back to public school, right?" I ask. "I-I don't think I can handle it!"

"My official report," she says. "Will say that I believe it's best if your education continues the way it is. I saw how you struggled before moving here, and after seeing you in a class with Mr. Wilson, believe it's best for you to learn in a smaller, more personalized educational setting. Having an instructor who can teach you one-on-one is better for letting you catch up."

"Even though it's my own pace and I get to pick what I'm learning?"

"Even with that," she confirms. "My report will include a reminder that you have the ability to completely leave school altogether due to your work, but you choose to remain attending classes. If you were to be forced to attend a regular school, you would more likely choose to leave school altogether rather than put up with that.

"This is especially true," she continues. "Because you'd be behind your classmates yet forced to attend the same classes as them. At the same time, you'd need extra tutoring time outside of those classes in order to help you catch up. More of your time would be taken up that way, and it would only cause you more stress.

"That, in turn, would cause you to decide to drop out altogether," she says. "That's my conclusion, based on what I know of you."

"What if they still want to make me attend regular school anyway?" I ask. "Then things would get bad and… yeah, I'd probably ask Dad if it's okay to just pull out of school. And maybe still ask Coach Adam and Mr. Wilson to help me learn."

"That will be in my report as well," she chuckles. "And I'm sure they'll listen. I have known you for three years, and know well what works best for you. After seeing you in your lessons today, I can assure them that you're learning, and in a way which helps you. You might get to pick the lessons, but it's from a set chosen by your teacher. There's more to it than that, but I'm confident they'll allow this to resume."

"Xander," Grandpa Adrian says before I can ask if she's really sure. "The state wants to make sure you're being educated despite being home-schooled. The bar is stricter because you're a foster child, but at the core of this is their concern for your education.

"If she tells them that you're learning," he says. "And in a way which is allowing you to learn the stuff the school system failed to teach you these past seven years, then they'll be inclined to allow you to continue as you currently are. The reminder that you are able to drop out of school altogether if you so please and would more than likely do so if forced to attend a regular school would make them hesitant to do that. They'd rather you stay in what is essentially private tutoring over dropping out.

"Because you're learning," he says. "And because you'd simply drop out if you were forced to attend regular school, the state will be inclined to allowing you to remain as you are. And if they don't? I'll remind them that you built the first-ever commercially-viable hoverboard while struggling with basic multiplication. Then ask them what they were doing at the age of twelve."

I don't understand what that last part has to do with anything, but I think Grandpa Adrian is saying that he'll tell them to rule the way Ms. Johnson is suggesting, if they are insistent on making me return to regular school.

"Oh," I say. "Okay," I look at Trenton, then back to Grandpa. "I was thinking about it earlier, but how come there ain't a database of the packets for exempt youth? A public database anyone can access? I know that teachers can't just pick and choose what's in the packets, there are standards to follow, right? And it's basically from a list of things for each subject/lesson?

"Wouldn't it make sense to just put that online?" I ask. "In a way that the exempt kids can access? They'd probably still need teachers for help with stuff, but it'd make it easier for them, right? Since right now, they basically have to go to a school to get the packets. But if it's online, they could just pull it up. But I dunno if there's some reason that ain't done yet."

"Various reasons," Grandpa Adrian tells me. "But those reasons have become lighter over the past several years, as technology has developed. Even more so recently, with the increase in new magitech that's come out. I've been looking into seeing what can be done to balance the spirit of the program with the ease of use and efficiency."

"Okay," I say. "So it's something which might come out soon?"

"Yes," he nods. "Once I finish determining what's necessary. I won't bore you with everything involved and why it's not as simple as putting it all online, but there are logistics which need handling first."

"Okay," I say.

"Do you have any other questions?" He asks. "If not, then I'll be taking my leave."

Should I ask him if I'm hallucinating Santa, too? No, I won't. He can fool my lie-detection magic. If he says "yes", it could be just so that I don't stop believing that Santa's real, even if Santa isn't. That's a question better left for when Christmas comes around, for when I see whether or not I actually see Santa again.

"I have a lot of questions," I say. "But I don't think I'll be asking most of them. Or remember all of the ones I wanted to ask you. There's probably something I've forgotten. Can you give me a booklet to give me the rest of the information I'm allowed to know about gods?"

A booklet appears in his right hand, and he offers it to me.

"Thanks," I put it into a bracelet. "I'll look at it… some other time. I want to take a nap. Before I do that, though, Dad? Can I go visit Carter? I want to ask him something."

"Carter?" Dad asks. "He would've just gotten out of school, wouldn't he have?"

"Yeah," I nod. "He rode his horse to school today, so he'll be riding him back home."

"What did you want to ask him?" Dad asks. "Is it important enough it can't wait until you see him again?"

"It's about Trenton," I look at my bear, then back to Dad. "Both he and Sig asked about my sensory share spell, the one which puts their senses to the same as what mine are. But not my senses, it's still through their own body, not mine. I did Sig's slower and he passed out from over-stimulation. He says he can't remember much of the last few moments of it, that his thoughts got all jumbled from the overload.

"But Carter…" I hesitate. "Well, he passed out after looking at me and Trenton, too. But he pretty much always greets Trenton now, too. So it has me wondering if he knows about Trenton being a god. I'd rather ask that in-person, though."

"Alright," Dad nods. "You can. But after we see Tiffany out, okay? Then you come back and either take your nap or hang out with your friends, as normal."

"The plan was for a nap," I tell him. "I'd rather do it in my bed today than on the floor of Sig's basement. I get better sleep in my bed and I really feel like I need that."

"Okay," he chuckles.

Grandpa Adrian vanishes, and I look at Ms. Johnson.

"You're a lot nicer than I thought social workers were," Berry says, causing Ms. Johnson to jump and look at the bush. "I looked at some books about foster kids and orphans and stuff, and the social workers were often horrible in them."

"Those are fiction," I tell him. "Ms. Johnson's really nice."

"It's… a talking plant," Ms. Johnson says.

"That's Berry," I tell her. "He's a noble shrubfolk. The same species as Grandma Lily. He's the boy with the blue and white hair you probably saw in some of the pictures from my party. Dad said he's shared some of them with you."

"That's my human form," Berry says as he climbs out of the pot, then jumps onto the floor and returns to his full size. "Well, my mostly-human form. I can't do the spell quite right yet, so some traces of my real self remains. That's why I've got my flower color for my hair in it, rather than brown like Lady Lily does. I'll be getting back to work now."

"Oh, by the way," I say. "Thanks for bringing that cinnamon in. The cookie with it was really good."

Shyness mixed with pride enter into Berry's mind. He's definitely happy by the compliment. Very happy.

"It was difficult to grow right with my magic," his voice is quiet. "I'm still young and learning, you know? And cinnamon trees are easy. But ones with that blend of magic aren't. Managing to bring it to harvest-ready in under three months was a challenge, but I managed to do it."

Not just in under three months, if he was honest when he told Mom that Grandma Lily dropped off the starter just a few weeks ago. That's really impressive.

"You did a really good job," I tell him. "Thanks! Anyway, see you! We're gonna go walk Ms. Johnson back to her car now."

"Bye," he waves his branches at me.

Berry leaves and my parents and I walk Ms. Johnson back to her car. She drove in her regular car rather than one of the vans for the home, but that's okay. She doesn't need the extra space right now.

"Here," I pull out some boxes.

"What are these?" Ms. Johnson asks, a small amount of suspicion in her mind.

"Muffins," I tell her. "Some of the ones Mom was packaging earlier. I was gonna bring them tomorrow after Youth Group, for the weekly breakfast drop-off. But since you're here now, you can take them, right? That way, they ain't gotta do cereal and toast for breakfast tomorrow. Oh. But we'll still do our usual drop-off tomorrow night. That includes more than just the main item, after all. Four boxes should be enough for tomorrow's breakfast for everyone."

"Oh," she says. "Sure, I can take those."

Ms. Johnson accepts the box from me and puts it into her car, and I pull out another for her. Once all of them are in her car, she looks back at me.

"Thanks, Xander," she tells me. "The boys at the home are really appreciative of you doing this. They look forward to seeing what you bring over."

"Even if most of them were kind of mean," I tell her. "They mostly left me alone. And I maybe feel a little bad for causing them problems and stuff…"

"I know," she smiles a little. "They understand you never meant to. Maybe not before you left, but they do now. Anyway, I'll be going now."

"Wait," Dad says, and we all look at him. "Adam was talking with me and I wanted to ask you something. Was planning on doing so tomorrow, but since you're here, I can do it now."

"Alright," Ms. Johnson says. "What is it?"

"With Xander's athletics and fitness sessions," he says. "Adam feels it might be best for there to be additional boys there. This is especially true for martial arts, so that Xander doesn't have only two people to practice against, and only one around his age and size group. Most of what they do for sports is just drills, but no actual games, and that's part of why. But for martial arts, it's better to practice with multiple people.

"What he was wanting," Dad continues. "Is to know if it would be okay for him to look into four other boys who are homeschooled to invite to this. That way, there's a little more variety for Xander to practice with.

"And Xander," Dad looks at me. "This is partially contingent on you being okay with it as well. Everyone invited will be checked to make sure they're a good fit for this and won't cause problems. They won't be joining you for the other lessons – this is purely for the fitness and athletics. Adam would also need to learn the teleport spell to make it work."

"Why teleport?"

"So that the other boys' parents don't have to deal with driving them here," he tells me. "Then back. If Adam learns how to teleport, he can teleport to their homes, teleport them here, then teleport them back after."

"Oh."

Since Adam's got sun dragon in him, he already has a small affinity for spatial magics. His capacity is good enough for that, too. It probably wouldn't take him more than a few weeks' worth of practice to do what he's suggesting, if he's already got some decent magic practice in. Considering who he's been raising for several years, he probably does.

"I wasn't sure if this was allowed, though," Dad looks at Ms. Johnson. "So wanted to know if it's permitted."

"Plenty of homeschooled children have group activities," she says. "I know of several small groups of homeschool families which have their kids do PE together. That shouldn't be an issue."

"Okay," Dad says, then looks at me. "I'll be asking your great-grandfather if he can help us find boys who are a good fit for this. I want to make sure they're ones you'll get along with."

"Okay," I say. "Um… when would this start?"

"He'd like to start it at the beginning of next semester," he answers.

"Um… can I think about it?" I ask. "But I can give him a spell orb to learn the teleport spell tomorrow. If he pays for it. Grandpa Adrian told me to charge people $1,000 for it. But I charged Luke $10,000, because of the annoying person fee I applied."

A fee of 900%. Luke still paid it despite the high price, which surprised me. Then I remembered that he's really rich, too. He was able to afford to buy two hoverboards custom-built by me.

"I'll let him know," Dad chuckles, then looks at Ms. Johnson. "Thanks. You have a good day, Tiffany."

"You as well," she says, then looks at me. "And you, too, Xander."

"I hope the rest of your day goes well," I tell her. "Bye."

"Bye," she chuckles, then gets into her car.

"You teleporting over to Carter's now?" Dad asks.

"No," I answer. "I need to change to my boots and hat first."

"Why?" He asks. "If you're just going to talk with him, you're not going for a ride."

"Well, yeah," I say. "But if he's riding his horse, then he'd either have to stop or I'd have to walk alongside and look up at him So Uncle Aurum's gonna let me ride him while I talk to Carter. And for that, I need to wear the proper clothes. So I need to change into riding boots, my western hat, and jeans."

"Ah," Dad says. "Go ahead and do that, then. And Xander?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"If you're teleporting to Aurum," he says. "Instead of Aurum coming here, then the two of you going there, you can teleport from your room. And when you return, you can teleport back to it. Give you a few extra minutes for your nap."

"Okay," I say. "Thanks."

"And you can teleport to your room right now, if you'd like," he adds as I start walking back inside.

That will save me extra time, too. He's letting me do a lot of teleporting indoors today for some reasons. Well, he never told me it's not allowed, but that's just because it makes sense. Even if I'm dumb, I'm smart enough to know not to teleport straight to or into the house without permission.

People arrive from the street, not elsewhere. The Martins' ranch and the bulk store Mom and I use are the only exceptions, and that's because they told me it's okay to just teleport to the front, that I don't need to go to the street first.

"Okay," I say. "I'll do that, then. Thanks."

I teleport to my room and change, then teleport onto Aurum, who's walking alongside Carter's horse. Tate is riding his own horse, and Solaris is with them.

Carter and Tate both jump a little.

"Oh!" Carter says as he looks at me. "I was wondering why Aurum had his tack on. Thought he just wanted to take Solaris for a walk with me again and that's why he was waiting at the stables. And the tack because… I couldn't figure that out, but figured it was just Aurum being weird."

Their school has stables for if students ride their horses in, though not that many do. Not all the time. Carter's said it's usually only about a quarter-full at the most. The stable staff are good, though, so he doesn't mind riding in sometimes instead of taking the bus or getting driven in by his parents.

Though he might start teleporting in as well, once he's more comfortable with using the spell.

"Yeah," I move Trenton off of my shoulder so that he's sitting in front of me. Really small riders go in front. "I meant to text you to let you know I was gonna come and ask, but a lot of stuff happened and I kind of forgot. Sorry."

"No worries!" He says. "You're always welcome to visit! What brings y'all here today?"

"That," I tell you. "You said 'y'all', and I know you were referring to Trenton and me. When I did the sense share thingy with you the night before my Trial of Courage, you noticed it, didn't you? About Trenton?"

"What about Trenton?" Tate asks.

"That he has some sort of strange energy in him?" Carter asks. "Yeah. It wasn't very clear and hard to detect, but yeah, I noticed it. And it felt like it was something… intelligent. So I figured, he must be possessed by something, probably something benevolent. You had some of that energy sticking to you, too. And I could see it in the little fairy things you mention sometimes. The 'not-real fairies', you call them?"

"Yeah," I nod. "As it turns out, Trenton's possessed by a really young god who's learning about the world. And that energy sticking to me is a divine blessing from a different god. And the not-real fairies are actually divine fairies attracted to it. But the reason they're keeping a distance from me ain't that they dislike me, it's that the god who blessed me is just that high up that they're being respectful of me and not crowding me. Trenton said it's because they're aware I can see them and don't want to make me uncomfortable by being too close."

Which is very nice of them.

"I'd wondered if it was a god," Carter says. "Since you commented about Trenton 'recognizing the god' of our church when you visited it with us that one time. So he's a little baby god?"

"Yeah," I nod, and Trenton nods, too. "He ain't omniscient, and his powers are still forming. He's only barely able to do stuff like move the object he's possessing right now."

Trenton nods again.

"That's him doing that, by the way," I add, then look down at my bear for a few moments. "But he says it takes a lot of energy. And he likes it when I move my bear's parts. Especially when I make him dance when he asks me to. He doesn't have that good of control of his movement yet, but he's been practicing when I leave him behind. And he doesn't mind me playing with him like a regular stuffed animal."

"Oh," he says. "That's neat."

"That's all I wanted with you right now," I tell him. "To ask if you'd noticed. I'm gonna head back home now. A lot really has happened today and I feel really tired, so I wanna get as much nap in before four as I can."

Since four is when I'm supposed to get up and head to Sig's.

"Alright," he chuckles. "See ya!"

"See ya!" Tate says.

"Have a good rest of your day," I tell them, then teleport to my room.

As I change to my sleepwear, I realize that I've been in wolfkin form ever since the incident at the store. Somehow, I didn't notice and change back even when I changed outfits before and after the stream. I streamed as a wolfkin… there's no way people weren't making comments, yet I didn't notice them.

They must not have been bad comments.

Once I've changed, I climb onto my bed, readjust some of the stuffed animals, and get under my blanket. There, I snuggle Mr. Leviathan with Trenton between us, move my other stuffed animals back into position, and fall asleep.

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