Just as I expected, the section for the youth reading events is quite a bit fuller than normal due to me mentioning ahead of time that I'm the one doing it for tonight. Library staff have already stopped entry to the area as it's at-capacity for the youth, so their parents have to wait elsewhere and some kids have to be turned away. Small, easy-to-eat snacks have been distributed to the kids, who are quietly munching on them as I enter. Ryan's allowed to enter with me, and he sits to my side as I sit in the plush armchair meant for the reader.

"Good evening, everyone," I say.

"Good evening," most of the youth respond, with a few responding with a variant of "Hello!" instead.

"My name is Evan Rethe," I tell the children. "And I'm the reader for tonight. This is Ryan, some of you saw me reading a story to him on Saturday. He's here both to listen to the story, and in case a certain creature shows up."

There's no telling what Aster might do if he shows up, so Ryan will wrangle him if it's needed so that I don't need to interrupt my reading.

"Hi, Ryan!" Some of the kids wave to him, and Ryan greets them back.

"Tonight's story," I hold up the thick tome I carried in with me; I didn't want to use a spatial storage in front of a bunch of children since they'd have a lot of questions. "Is taken from a book about storm beasts. This particular tale was found in a Dungeon about eight hundred years ago and has been translated and adapted to our language as best as possible. Is everyone ready to hear it?"

The youth all confirm they are, so I open up to the page I bookmarked and begin reading.

"For as long as he had lived, a young boy stared out of his home's window nigh on every evening," I read to the kids. "Save for the nights where the weather would not permit, for he was poor and his family could not afford glass for their windows. When the temperature dropped, or the winds or rains picked up, a wooden shutter was dropped to protect the inside of his home. One clear evening, as he watched the sun set through his window, clouds suddenly filled the sky and a fierce wind kicked up as heavy rains began to fall…"

I continue reading the story, the children hooked on every word by the time the boy hits the ground. The storm continues for three weeks, continuing each day and night without rest. Crops are destroyed, farm animals die, and many homes are destroyed. The boy's own parents die from a lightning strike as they attempt to work their farm.

Desperate for respite, the villagers offer the boy up as a sacrifice to the gods in hopes that the storms will cease and their land will be healed.

Instead of gods, they find a storm-furred wolf appearing, letting out a fierce growl which sends all to their knees. All save the boy, who was tied to a post. The ropes binding him shatter from the magic of the storm wolf, who allows the boy to ride him away.

The boy and the storm wolf adventure together after the rescue, the boy turning into a young man and eventually an elder. When he finally decides to return to the village from where he was born, he finds it still covered in an unending storm – though devoid of all people. Many young boys were sacrificed but the gods offered no relief. Leaving the region was nigh impossible due to fierce winds all around it. Those who lived there died, either from starvation or from the force of the winds, the power of lightning, things falling on them, or something else.

"'What caused these storms?' The elder asked the storm wolf, unchanged through their journeys. 'We have seen much these past ninety years, they can't be natural, can they?' The storm wolf thought and thought, and eventually gazed out at the relentless wind, rain, and lightning. 'The wrath of the world,' came the answer. 'It is naught but the wrath of the world.' 'The wrath of the world?' The elder asked. 'What brought that about?' 'It can be hard to tell,' the storm wolf responded. 'But it was not aimed at you, which is why I chose to save you that day.' 'Thank you,' the elder placed a hand on his companion's head. 'These past ninety years have been the best I can imagine.'

"The two watched the storms," I continue reading. "And as timed passed, the elder sat down and leaned against his faithful companion, with him those past ninety years. He closed his eyes, his breathing stilled, and his body began to fade. So in-tune with his companion the elder was, he turned into a shower of sparks and rain in his final moments, sparks and rains which turned to clouds and joined the unending storm.

"To this day," I reach the end of the story. "The storm wolf watches the unending storm from where his friend faded, the storm his companion had joined in the end. The day the storm ceases will be the first and last time he ever sheds a tear."

With that, I close the book. It's not the greatest of stories but that partially results from it being a translation of another language, one not native to this world. However, children often love the tale or I wouldn't have picked it. My entire younger audience is completely entranced and only at the sound of the book snapping shut are they shaken from it. Even some of the adults watching from the other side of the half-wall around the reading zone were entranced by the tale.

Also partially my reading voice.

"Thank you all for listening," I say in a calm, gentle voice. "Did you like the story?"

Confirmations all around, though a boy about thirteen raises a hand.

"Yes?" I call on him.

"What's the moral of it?" He asks. "My teacher says that every story has a moral, but I can't figure out that one's."

"Not every story has a moral," I say. "This story is just a tale to listen to, something to pass the time. Most of the ones written in the language it's from are that way. They aren't there to teach a life lesson, they're there to entertain. This one is a journey between a boy and a storm wolf and nothing more."

"It was a sad ending," a girl about eight says.

"It was," I smile. "But happy at the same time, right?"

"Yeah," she nods. "Because the wolf got to stay with his friend until his friend died old."

I talk with the kids about the story for a few minutes, then it's time for them to leave. I set the tome down and talk with some of the parents and staff as everyone clears out and while Aster doesn't show up at all…

There's a pup on the armchair I read from, the tome propped up a little and opened to the story I just read. His fur resembles rain clouds, of varying shades of darker grey. Small sparks dance across his fur as his lavender eyes watch as the pages flip. I avoid looking directly at the pup as he 'reads' the story… and try my best not to look directly over as a small mirror appears on the armchair.

Cloud looks between the book and the mirror for several moments, then his coat lightens to a more gentle cloud-like look, the sparks disappearing. The pages flip some more and his eyes continue to flick back and forth, all the way to the end of the tale.

Then he huffs a little and touches his nose to the page. While I can't see things clearly from here, I can see that the pictures changed and words adjusted as well. Did he just… alter the story?

"-and sorry about announcing it ahead of time," I tell Abigail. "I hope it wasn't too much of a problem."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Not at all," the elderly librarian smiles warmly. "By the way, how did things go with answers regarding your little pup?"

"Not bad," I say. "He tried correcting us on information in the book about Celestials, but it wasn't completely clear. According to him, though, there's only one Celestial of each coat type – he's all of the starry-bodied Celestials that have been spotted."

"Oh?" She asks. "Now that's interesting."

"It is," I smile. "Anyway, I should get going now. Just need to grab the tome and I'll be out. You have a good rest of your day, Abigail."

When I mention grabbing the tome, Cloud perks up and looks over, then quickly moves the book back to the position I had it in while the mirror vanishes. A moment later, he vanishes as well.

"You as well, Evan," she says. "And have a good one, Ryan."

"You, too," he tells her.

I retrieve the tome and Ryan and I leave. Once we're in his truck, I open up the tome to look at the section about the storm wolf.

"Rereading it?" Ryan asks as he pulls out of the library's parking lot.

"No," I answer. "I think the Celestial from earlier might be the storm wolf from the tale. He showed up when no one was looking and looked at the story after I finished, and I saw him use his magic to make changes. It looks like he changed all of the pictures of the storm wolf to be a pup, and his version of the ending is a little bit different. The storm was caused by 'the wrath of the world, which can last for eternities unless His Majesty interferes', and his friend didn't turn into clouds but simply died, and the storm wolf buried him."

"That's not as fun of an ending," Ryan says.

"No, it's not," I say. "But I guess it's the real ending."

"Guess so," he says. "By the way, Evan, neither of us ate dinner and it's starting to get a little late. Want to eat when we get to your place? I have some dinner meals in my storage."

While I wasn't expecting him to suggest that, I'm not surprised by it, either. That seems to be the type of guy he really is. All of my past boyfriends were considerate like that as well. If we were out doing something past dinnertime, they'd offer to buy or make me something.

"Already prepared?"

"You never know when you might need them," he shrugs.

"Okay," I put the tome away. "I was just planning on heading somewhere to get food, but we can eat on my deck."

Ryan and I make a little bit of small talk after that until we reach my house, then head up onto the deck for dinner. He pulls out a pair of circular to-go plates with a portion of meat, a portion of rice, and a portion of salad in them and sets them down. Two small to-go bowls with grapes and two other berries are added to that, then he pulls out a bottle of tea and one of lemonade.

"I offered Thomas," he tells. "The vendor from our last date, about fifty pounds of quality beef in exchange for some cooking with me providing the meat for the dishes. This is a type of fowl from a Dungeon I ran about three months ago. Haven't tried the dish yet, was planning on waiting until my next expedition or longer Dungeon run, but felt dinner tonight works."

I'm not surprised he liked Thomas's cooking that much, considering that Thomas is one of the permitted food vendors for feeding hunters after a longer Dungeon run. What surprises me is that he went and commissioned dinners from the guy.

Is doing something like that normal for those of a higher Rank?

"Oh," I say. "I'm looking forward to it, then."

Just as we open up the containers to begin to eat, I notice something and look over to find Aurora standing a few feet away. She's holding Aster with her mouth by the scruff of his neck and the kitten is looking thoroughly upset.

"As much as I do not wish to ask you for help," Aurora somehow manages to speak without moving her mouth, but I suppose Celestials don't actually need to use their mouths. "Would you be willing to take care of Aster for a little bit? He upset one of the other kits and I need to calm him down."

Aster struggles to break free but it mostly amounts to him flailing his limbs and striking her with tiny stars.

What?

Yeah, those are tiny little stars that are shooting out of him and bursting against Aurora's pelt. She seems completely unfazed and is probably used to that form of protest, but I suspect that if a normal person were to be touched by those, they would find themselves with a new hole in their body.

"I would normally ask this of another Celestial," she says. "But he seems to like you as well and I am hoping that being with you will cause him to take longer before causing trouble again."

Basically, she's hoping that his "shiny new toy" is distracting enough while it lasts. I should probably be offended by that but it doesn't bother me.

"Sure," I tell her. "This other Celestial he's bothering, is he a more shy one?"

That could probably be Cloud, and Aster probably went to bother him after noticing the other pup's presence here. Or I guess the pup's presence, since Aster is currently some form of young big cat.

"The younger ones always are," she tells me. "His Majesty goes to great lengths to help them overcome that and be their true selves. It often takes longer than the lifetime of a world for him to help them overcome their shyness and timidness, and this young Celestial was only born after His Majesty left to examine mankind more closely."

If there's a Celestial the big boy hasn't met, their System information might reveal the normal information for what a Celestial is, or it might not exist at all. That dismisses the theory of it being Cloud who Aster was bothering.

So younger Celestials are always shy until the big boy helps them overcome it? There must be a cause behind said shyness.

"Thank you for watching him," Aurora says as she drops Aster, then vanishes.

There goes asking her.

"Aster," Ryan says as the kitten huffs, and the kit looks at him. "I've got some tasty meat and berries if you join us for dinner. Want to join us?"

Aster nods, and Ryan puts down a plate with some meat chunks on it and a bowl of berries for the kitten. At a guess, I'd say my boyfriend has started keeping dishes ready for Aster as well.

With all of us served, we begin eating.

"How was it?" Ryan asks as he collects our dishes after we finish.

"Woof!" Aster happily responds, causing Ryan to give the kitten a look that's a cross between amused and uncertain of how to respond.

"It was nice," I tell him. "You really get a ton of meat as payment, don't you?"

"I do," he confirms. "If you can find ores with spatial or temporal magics, and-or magic crystals for those, you can probably get a stasis storage bracelet made for relatively cheap. Maybe a hundred grand or so for one about the size of mine. Would make it easy to keep some food on you even if you're spending the entire day in the Mythic Forest… or in case you need it for young Celestials."

The cost is a bit higher than I'm used to, but I've already been spending a lot on things. That's another practical item as well so it won't be an issue.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," I tell him. "Not sure if I will find them or not, but it might be useful to have one to keep some meat in for the pups."

"And food for yourself," Ryan chuckles, then gives me a hug and a light kiss before looking like he wants to say something else. "I'm going to head home now, you have a good night, alright?"

"Was there something else?" I ask.

"For a moment," he says. "But it's not important so I decided not to ask. Let me know if you need help tomorrow, yeah?"

That transition suggests he was probably wanting to ask about going back to the Mythic Forest tomorrow.

"I will," I tell him. "Have a good night."

"You, too," he gives me a little kiss, then rubs Aster's head before leaving.

I wait until he's gone, then pick up the kitten and take him into my house.

"Aster," I set the kitten down. "It's rude to pester someone if they don't want to play, okay? It'll make them upset and not want to play with you. Maybe even make them dislike you. Give him time, alright?"

Aster sighs, then lets out a resigned woof. We'll see how long it lasts before he's bothering the other one with a desire to play again.

"Was he the same one you were trying to get to come visit me?" I ask, and Aster nods while meowing happily, apparently finally remembering that he's some sort of cat. "Maybe the big boy can talk him into visiting, once he's finished his tests and observations. But give the little guy some time, alright?"

Aster agrees to that, and I crouch and give him a light rub on the head.

"It's still a little early," I tell him. "But I'm going to head to bed now. Do you want me to bring out the tome with the pictures of the big boy?"

The kitten nods as his tail swishes happily, so I pull out the book and set it down for him to look at.

"Good night, Aster."

As I head to my room, I take another look at Aster. The kitten's plopped himself onto his stomach and has the tome open to a page with a picture of the big boy on it.

What Aurora said when she brought him over comes to mind. Child Celestials are all extremely shy at first and the big boy spends an incredible amount of time working to bring them out of their shells. Longer than the lives of some planets, due to Celestials not changing easily.

No wonder Aster looks up to him so much. He must've been shy at some point as well but the amount of time he spent with the King of the Celestials helping him to not be really imprinted on him. The big boy isn't just his king, he's akin to being a father to the little guy.

And I'm apparently taking over that role until the big boy officially returns.

Talk about big shoes to fill.