D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

Kat stood up and brushed herself off, “So, where should we go?”

“Oh um… I don’t really know. I mean you saw where I ended up but I don’t know if that was the best place to go and there’s a whole bunch of doors everywhere else, and hey why did you bring your girlfriend with you? Not that that’s a problem, I was just asking. You don’t need to answer of course…” Kat opened her mouth but… nope. Hedera was still rambling. “Sorry, just… I see how powerful people are based on a glowing aura around them. I can turn it on and off and Thyme really messes it but like your aura is large enough to cover your girlfriends when she’s pressed up against you like that so I don’t really know how strong she is and sorry I’ll be quiet now,”

*What… the fuck.*

[Um… she’s really a rambler I guess? Instead of having an issue with sleeping everywhere she just blurts things out?]

*She wasn’t this bad like… five seconds ago.*

[Yeah I got nothing.]

“Ok, calm, please,” said Kat slowly and as gently as she could as she walked over to Hedera. “Now. I can answer your questions if you ask one at a time, though we should get moving. Even if it’s just walking. Though, a question of my own. What… exactly was all of that?”

Hedera took a few deep breaths before nodding and started to walk forward. She quickly slipped from a stilted, almost robotic gate to something smooth and rather swift considering the lack of effort she seemed to be putting in. “Ok… so… I just… say things when I get nervous. I can bottle it up for a while, I learnt how to do that… but… well.” Hedera sighed. “I can’t exactly hold that back forever so once I feel safe I just sort of… let out a bunch of word vomit,”

Kat raised an eyebrow and Hedera continued. Still swiftly but taking breaks occasionally to breath. “Right, um… in this case? I feel safe enough with the agreement to talk but not so safe that I’m not nervous I suppose? I also didn’t think lying to you would be a good idea because I’ve heard that demons can sense lies so I guess I just told you a bunch of information I really shouldn’t have??”

Kat let out a long sigh of her own. *Of course. It’s a little funny in that she’s correct I CANM senses lies but I don’t think that’s standard and I definitely didn’t know I could do it before. Assuming I even could before Rank 4.*

[I think so, but yes. It seems like a rare-ish ability. Perhaps it’s something that needs active work to develop but your truesight helps?]

Who knows. Hedera glanced around a bit after she finished speaking, only to realise that she hadn’t re-asked any questions. “Oh. Right… um… so I guess the question I want to know most are all about Lily? Like was it safe to take her with you? Why bring her? I know you said she was a familiar but… well I have no idea what to think about that,”

Kat considered what answer to give. She had a few. ‘Lily wanted to come’ ‘Lily is strong herself’ but the easy, uncomplicated answer was… “She basically had to come along. Familiar bonds can have issues being stretched across dimensions especially when they’re new. When we’re older and the bond has been in place for more time we might be able to split up for some time but right now? We don’t have a choice so she was always coming with me. Of course, I love having her around but that really is a separate thing,”

“Oh… huh… well… I mean that makes a lot of sense I suppose I hadn’t really thought of that. I can see how that would be a real problem. I guess I just expected it to be a difference reason?” Hedera mumbled. “So… is Lily strong?”

Kat nodded, “Yup. Not as strong as I am but she’s quite strong herself so I’m not too worried about her safety. Though… if you don’t mind, can you elaborate a bit more on how you see power levels?”

“Ah… well…” Hedera glanced around as if there would be someone spying on her through the walls. “I technically shouldn’t, it was meant to be a secret but I clearly blew that part already. So… I guess not? Um… I can sort of… ‘click on’ an aura? It’s a glowing area of… not quite light that tells me how powerful someone is based on how big it is. Thyme really mess with it because Rank 5 is a pretty big light and Thyme tends to hide little versions of themselves all over the place so it’s hard to see how strong everyone is,”

Kat was tempted to follow up with more questions but they’d arrived at a door in the wall. “So… want to check this out?” asked Kat.

“Um… we might as well… did you want me to scout first?” asked Hedera uncertain.

“No,” said Kat instantly before rethinking it. “Well… maybe. Let me open the door first because I’m strong, tough, and I regenerate. If it’s a big room might be good for you to scout afterwards but let’s see what’s behind the door first,”

Hedera nodded, still a little unsure but she stepped back and out of the way so that Kat could get past without touching her. Kat just moved to the door and turned the handle only for it to snap off in her hand. “Ah… woops… I think that door was meant to be locked…” mumbled Kat.

Hedera winced. “Um… does that usually happen?”

Kat shook her head, “No not often. I… there’s sort of a ‘mortal’ setting for my strength and I thought I was using it? Hmmm…” Kat looked at the handle in her hand and didn’t see anything too odd about it though. Kat ran her finger around the edge of the door handle. It was completely smooth. It wasn’t bent or warped in any way. “I don’t think this was my fault,”

“Of course not,” agreed Hedera… though from the twitch in Kat’s eyebrow she could tell the elf was lying.

Letting out a sigh Kat shook her head. “No, see look at the edge of the doorhandle here,” Kat passed the doorhandle over and Hedera spun it around in her hand.

“Oh! I see… so it was designed to break then?” asked Hedera to which Kat nodded. “Hmm… should we try opening the door without the handle then? Break it down? Or should we see if the other doors are the same?”

Kat shrugged, “I’m happy to try either,”

Hedera nodded. “Um… well… I think the next door is somewhat close by so let’s just run to that one first? It shouldn’t even take a minute,” Kat gave a nod and the two of them took off. Kat didn’t go at her full speed and Hedera probably didn’t either but it was a quick thirty seconds and they were at the next door.

“Do you want to try opening that one?” asked Kat. Hedera looked uncertain. “I’ll still put myself ‘in front’ so to speak once the door is opening but I was mostly offering to let you try the handle,”

“Oh um… alright,” said Hedera as she gently grabbed the handle. She held it for a few moments before very carefully turning the nob. Hedera managed to get it about halfway around when there was a light snapping sound and the door internals clanked shut. Hedera winced as she held up the now ‘liberated’ handle. “It seems I can’t open them either…”

[Give me a go at the next one. I can surround it with shadows and keep it from breaking!] “Lily has an idea for the next one?” offered Kat.

“Well… I think the next set of doors is a bit further away… but um… sure,” agreed Hedera as the pair ran off once again. It took about two minutes to get to the next door and Lily covered the whole handle in shadows, being careful to keep everything in one piece. She was even making sure to put a bit of pressure on the ‘end’ of the handle forcing it into the door, gently of course, but in hopes that it would keep everything together.

Lily turned the handle until she heard the internal bar disengage and then carefully pulled the door towards her, making sure that her shadows were coating everything and that she wasn’t simply pulling the end of the doorknob off. The door was slowly moving outwards even as Kat moved to so that her back was to the door opening, protecting Lily and Hedera from anything that might come through…

And then the door hinges snapped and the whole thing fell to the ground. Lily’s ‘grip’ on the door handle slipped and that fell apart as well and suddenly they were all looking at the broken door and the wall that had been revealed to be behind it. At least, it looked like that. Lily pulled the door away completely to reveal… nothing. Except… [I can feel a spatial disturbance. There WAS something behind this door but it… ‘snapped shut’ when the door broke.]

*URGH!*

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