Upon Vestia: Chapter Twenty-Four

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Dawn chuckled and shook her head a little "I don't need a party." She said softly, chuckling.

~~~
Skye looked to the door then came over to open it "Mourn? What's up?"

Helen smiled and went to the mattress to pick it up and take it to the tub to empty it in there. It wasn't difficult at all with her magic to help.

~~
Sawna dipped her head tot hem then headed for her shop to check it out and make sure it hadn't gotten messed up in her absence. Yes, think about something she could fix instead of something she had no control over, if it even needed fixing.

Hewitt chuckled. "Of course, that would be unseemly"

---

Amity greeted Sawna cheerfully. "Good afternoon Sawna, how are you today?"
The hologram was still acting up, flicking and distorting.

---

Kay nodded and took only his tablet. He nodded his head to Sawna in thanks and led the way to Starr's room then.

"Amilty, you are working again" Sawna said, smiling at the hologram as she came in. "I am well."

~~
Starr was laying on her bed, waiting for the medics to come since she knew they were.

Vestia's bots brought in pillows for Helen while she worked, and dropped them off in a corner.

~~
Ethan nodded. "Completely ridiculous and unnecessary. Worrying is for the weak." He added, "Oh yeah, did you enjoy the books I got you?" Astrology, heh.

~~
Asher followed Kay to Starr's room, and knocked on the door. "Starr?"

"mourn and Asher managed to repair me, mostly." Amity smiled. "Welcome back."

---

Hewitt rose from his bed and dug out the books, thrusting them into Ethan's hands. "I fixed them."

---

Kay waited, chewing his lip anxiously.

Ethan took the books, and looked confused for a moment before he realized what Hewitt meant. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he flipped a book open, "You didn't..."

Hewitt folded his arms and cackled. "Very poor editing I have to say, how half that drivel even made it to publishing I don't know." He'd annotated and corrected various bits, including at one point the sentence structure.

"You can't do that! That's a violation of library rules!" Ethan looked through the books, outraged. "Think of the precedent this will set. Children use the library, they'll think it's acceptable to write in books! It'll put ideas in the adults heads! I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Matt decided it was a great idea!"

Hewitt laughed heartily. "It IS a great idea! Half the books you have in that library of yours aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Consider this improvement."

Ethan spluttered in disbelief. "You're disrespecting my library and defacing my books! I should fine you!" He wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't already fined Hewitt, come to think of it.

Hewitt looked amused. "And will you?" He looked challenging, almost defiant as he smirked up at Ethan.

Ethan hesitated. He hadn't actually fined anyone yet, oops. He steeled himself and nodded. "You wrote in all of these? And did you write in any others?"

"not all of them, only the wrong ones." Hewitt pointed out the few books.

Ethan looked kind of relieved. Well, that wasn't as bad as he'd feared. He recalled the fine policy he'd decided on, and added it up the replacement costs for the books in his head. He told Hewitt the amount he owed.

Hewitt just chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. "Fine fine, use the money to buy decent books why don't you? not this kindling"

"You have no respect for the library," Ethan grumbled. He held the stack of books protectively. Still, Hewitt had been interested enough to mess them up, so... success? "Next time I'll buy you board books, so the writing wipes off."

Hewitt scoffed. "Then nobody would learn from my stunning contributions."

"You can teach the children astrophysics, they'll love it I'm sure," Ethan said dryly. "I'm sure the parents are looking for a teacher for their kids."

Hewitt paused, actually genuinely seeming to consider that. "Do you think animal children have the cognitive capacity to comprehend such things?" He asked.

"Maybe. Star dragon kids start talking at a week old, so they must be fairly intelligent," Ethan said. "And as adults, supposedly they can create stable planets. That must take some ability to understand astrophysics."

Hewitt looked like he didn't quite believe that. "Damn right they should, can't go around magicking up celestial bodies with no regards for the stability of the universe. " Hmm, no this was actually a tempting suggesting. teach science to the star dragons... certainly it had appeal. A chance to show off his superior knowledge, an opportunity to get to study Star Dragon 'magic' up close and to ensure no real damage was done should one of those little reptiles decide to create a small star somewhere on a whim. Hmm. A smile crept across his face. "Of course, I AM retired..."

Ethan smiled oddly. "You've retired before, haven't you? Doesn't mean you have to stay retired. Besides, if you're going to mark up my books, you need to be able to pay the fines." The thought of Hewitt trying to teach children was... amusing. "You don't seem like someone who would tolerate kids well, though."

Hewitt shrugged. "Depends on the offspring. Aketi young are not much trouble, eager to learn. Are animal offsping more inclined to irritating and disgusting behaviour than their adults?"

"Yes, they tend to be a nuisance," Ethan said. "Star dragons are better behaved than most species, but many meat creatures have bad tempered offspring who cry a lot." One of his owners had had kids, so Ethan knew from personal experience that they could be unpleaasant little creatures.

Helen finished emptying the mattress and folded it up. "Thank you for the pillows" She said happily then held up the folded mattress "Do I just give this to a bot or let them lead me to where it goes?"

~~~
"Come in" Starr said, she hadn't bothered to get up and lock the door or anything. She did sit up though, preparing herself to talk to them.
~~~
Sawna smiled again then chuckled "I want to hug you, even though I know the you I can see is a hologram, it's good to be back here."

"The bot should be able to manage it, I think," Vestia said. The mattress was a little ungainly for the bot to carry, but it had been big enough to handle a few pillows, so it would be okay. "Thank you."

~~
Asher opened the door and wheeled his way into Starr's room, wondering belatedly if anyone had told her he was wheelchair-bound now. Oh well. He smiled at her, "Hey Starr, it's good to see you again."

Helen gently handed the thing over to the bot, making sure it had it before she stood up again.
~~~
Starr blinked then shook her head, surprised and shocked. "Asher, what happened to you?" Nope, if anyone had told her she hadn't been paying enough attention to retain that.