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

Before Kat could ask about some good memories the two sisters had together, a new thought occurred to Kat. ”Oh, before we get too far off from the destined profession talk, I’d like to know if it’s more common amongst certain kinds of demons?”

Aslena bit her lip at that and tapped her teacup lightly a few times. ”That’s another one of those hard to answer questions. Getting that sort of information from Pride or Envy is a lot like pulling teeth. Then, if they give you information, there’s an even chance they’ve messed with it in some way.

”Even still, there does seem to be at least some correlations. Succubi actually rarely get one. Some would argue our natural inclination towards… sensual pleasure let’s say… especially in pure Succubi counts, but from a medical perspective it just doesn’t hold water. You can see someone with a destined profession actually has a unique demonic energy response to performing their job which Succubi tend to lack. I mean, for a lot of them they still very much enjoy the work, and it gives them…” Aslena rolled her eyes but said it anyway ”great pleasure I’m sure.

”Still, it does seem to commonly occur in Sloth demons, especially Shadows. It’s a bit arguable in Wrath demons, because they tend to gain a special response to combat, a sort of… priming effect, I’m not to clear on it, this is just something I’ve overheard from Mom understand?” when Kat nodded Aslena continued ”Wrath demons seem to get a very similar response when in combat. It isn’t the same, the data is clear on that, but it’s so close that it can be hard to measure exactly so the data on Wrath isn’t that clear.

”Lust of course, having so many Succubi, has some of the least, with Greed surprisingly also not getting many. Which some people actually find rather strange because they tend to keep things in the family when they can and as far as I know they enjoy what they do, so…” Aslena took a sip of tea and shrugged not really sure what else to say. She didn’t really know the specifics, it was just one of the more interesting topics Nira had mentioned in the past, and Aslena had a better memory then Kamiko, nearly at Kat’s level, but she used it to much greater effect then Kat herself.

”Huh, weird” said Kat not really knowing what else to say. *I guess I just don’t know enough about the culture or the biology side of things. Or the… whatever extra magic biology comes into play as well. I mean, there’s no way plain old genetics is what allows some of the mixing of traits I’ve seen from demons. I’m certain there’s more. Still, I wonder how that impacts things. Maybe I just ask? Actually let’s do that but Kamiko involved.* ”Kamiko do you know how that effects things with the faction makeup?”

When Kat looked over, she saw Kamiko’s eyes widen in something that wasn’t quite panic, but definitely wasn’t surprised. Kamiko floundered for a moment as she tried to deal with the fact she was now required to participate in the conversation. Aslena let out a low snicker at the sight, which actually seemed to calm Kamiko down for some reason. ”Oh um…

”I really don’t know Kat… I mean, yeah I just don’t know. I think… I don’t even think they make up the best workers all the time? I mean… Aslena is actually one of the really luck ones. She’s said it already but… having some talent in the profession you feel a calling for is one thing, and something you can work on with effort but… being a genius in your field and having the drive to use it is another. I… I actually think she might have been underselling herself a bit there.

”If one in ten demons have a calling, and half of those are good at what they do, only a tenth of that half are good because of talent, rather than inordinate practice and then of the talented tenth, perhaps… perhaps in a thousand demons you’d get fifteen? True geniuses. Then you have to make sure they Rank up at least a little and well… yeah…” Kamiko trailed off, not willing to look Aslena in the eyes after saying all that.

It wasn’t really the information Kat had been after but it was clear nobody really knew that. Aslena’s reaction though was actually very interesting. When Kat looked back at Aslena she was now very pointedly not looking at her sister. She had a teacup hiding most of her face but the blush on her cheeks was visible around the edges of the cup and Kat felt her jaw drop. She was just thankful she kept her lips closed to hide the effect somewhat.

*What the hell is this? Aslena weak to praise or something? No… she surely gets that from work enough times. I wonder if this relationship with Kamiko is as doomed as I thought going into this. Oh, she’s clearly still in need of some discipline and a personality adjustment but maybe… maybe time and a little bit of help will be enough for her.* 

”Naw, you pair are adorable” said Kat not wanting to call Aslena out directly lest she spoil the progress she felt was made there. That’s what it was to, progress. For Kamiko, that chance to talk about her problems with Aslena had helped her more than she realised, and allowed her to let out at least some of the negative feelings that had been festering about her sister in a controlled manner. This combined with having a friend ask the question compelled Kamiko to answer more honestly then she’d thought she would or a stranger point, more honestly then she knew she could. ”Do you have any good stories from when you were younger?”

Aslena, teacup to her mouth swallowed a large gulp of tea as she placed it back down her mind whirring. A part of her had a story ready, the part of her that wanted to rub it in Kat’s face how lame her sister was, telling a story that would be amusing for her and embarrassing for her sister. A larger part of her clamped down on that impulse as she swallowed. She’d just gained a compliment. A real, genuine compliment that meant a lot more to her then she was willing to admit even to herself and she’d be dammed if she didn’t at least try to repay the favour in some small way.

So Aslena breathed, she took in a deep breath and centred herself, letting her thoughts stilled slightly and her face settle into the small smile she wished it to have and not the embarrassed grin of a few seconds before. ”I do actually, have a rather fond memory from when we were little. We tried to play a prank on the triplets see. Oh, I’m certain in hindsight it didn’t work, especially because we didn’t bother with stilts but…

Aslena started to narrate the story of a much younger pair of demon sisters. Aslena had come up with the idea to pretend to be like the triplets, having seen how comfortable they always were with each other. The problem of course, being how different Kamiko and Aslena looked. Of course, what other reason could it be?

So, over a few weeks Aslena collected her ’weapons’. Paper mâché to make Kamiko a set of horns to match her own, and, in a rare moment of humility, some pink hair dye for herself so that they’d have changed one thing each. Aslena was also making on the side, a matching set of two outfits for them that was green with pink fish on one, with the colours inverted on the other. 

The dresses were already up to professional standard, but Aslena wasn’t thinking it through properly either, she’d made them the same size because of course, they were supposed to be matching. They were even slightly too big for Aslena, who was in her early teens at the time, and wasn’t sure when the project would be done.

In the end, they’d dressed up, Kamiko had hidden her horns with buns as usual and placed the fake ones on her head. Aslena had mirrored her, adding pink dye, which may or may not have been the wrong pink for the task, but with a matching hairstyle to ’hide’ her horns.

”… and the triplets went along with it for the whole day. Pretended they couldn’t tell who was who, but yeah… it was very clear that we’d forgotten quite a few major things. I mean, the hair dye wasn’t great, the height difference, the fact that Kamiko’s outfit didn’t fit her at all, and really the triplets all have a great sense of smell and that alone would have done as in straight away.”

”I still have it you know” mumbled Kamiko not really wanting to be heard.

Aslena though. She did hear. Her head whipped around to face Kamiko who was admiring the details on the table. Kat could hear Aslena’s hair whip through the air, so fast she turned. ”What?” a faint spoken question, one wanting to know but not believing, especially as she used Kamiko’s closet frequently.

Kamiko gulped and looked over at Aslena. Spinning cross eyes met the stary night. ”I still have that dress, hidden away with my other precious things”

It was too much for Aslena, she bolted from the scene, and Kat was sure, that she could see slight tears in her eyes as she left barrelling down to the second level.