"Any books you'd recommend in particular? Normally I might be tempted to wander, but in this case it would take a while."

"Well, I don't know what kind of books you like," he says reasonably.

"I tend to like clever writing that doesn't stumble drunkenly around the point, and have a bit of a soft spot for anything where the heroes are heroic instead of cynical and dark and complicated. When I'm in a certain mood I like to read really terrible books and rip them to pieces. Metaphorically, not literally, your books are not in danger."

"Oh, the books are immortal," he says cheerfully.

"Of course they are. I suppose now I'm free to indulge in the more literal destruction of terrible literature without guilt, but I can't say it's particularly appealing."

Giggle.

"More seriously, I'm glad they're immortal. We have enchantments on ours for preserving them, but only the really important ones are protected against, say. Being set on fire."

"If you get a chance and have books you wish were more fireproof, bring 'em here, I can copy them and add an extension to the library."

"All right. Thank you, I appreciate it."

Shrug. "I like having a really big library, it's useful when you're planning on living forever. Even though I don't like books that much. Still nice to have them. And Iri likes them a lot more."

"Smaller libraries can be a bit disappointing when you've had centuries to read all of the books in them," she agrees. "Do you collect them yourself, or is there a spell to - I don't know. Catch published books?"

"Oh, I wish! I have to go out and pick through them and decide which ones to copy. I probably don't do it often enough, I bet lots of really good ones are getting lost to time."

"That does sound like a pity. Hm. I suppose no one's willing to participate in a, a, book drop off. Send in your books for sorcerous preservation and copying, and you pick out which ones you'd like to keep."

"You can pretty much assume that nobody in this world wants to do anything that involves being near me in any way."

"That also sounds like a pity. Though it sounds like you don't so much have trouble with loneliness?"

"I do not," he confirms.

"But you don't hate all social interaction, since you seem perfectly happy to keep talking to me. Unless on the inside you've wished I would just go away and leave you to your swans and pretty castle?"

He laughs. "Yeah, I don't hate it, I just don't need it either."

She nods, thoughtfully.

"It seems sad, though. For everyone in the world to never want anything to do with you."

"Eh, can't really blame them."

"No. I wasn't going to insist they tolerate you despite your flaws because it's a little bit sad that you're bereft of purely positive personal relationships, just. I'm a celestial. It's sort of our thing to insist that Heaven's for everyone."

"Hmm?"

"Sorry, that didn't translate. Heaven's an actual place, but it's also a concept. The idea is that it's supposed to be a place where everyone has everything they want without strife or suffering or grief, where they're free to just be happy for the rest of forever with everyone and everything they love. The actual place doesn't quite meet this lofty ideal, because it's not really something you can ever just have, it's a thing to be worked towards. There are a lot of ways to cheat at it by only including the right sort of people that work with your paradise, people that haven't done anything wrong in their lives and don't subvert authority and all think in the same sort of way and need the same sorts of things, but cheating at it misses the point. Peace and happiness and safety's for everyone."

"Huh."

Smile.

"I might be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure you count as a member of everyone."