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

— Kat —

In the early morning Kat did up a large breakfast, with some help from Kamiko. If they were going to be fighting the drake soon it would be best to have everyone in top form, Kat herself included. Lily fell asleep as soon as Kat woke up, but that was fine for now. Kat still had to actually put together the breakfast.

Kamiko was put in charge of preparing the fruit vegetables because it was rather easy. Kat just needed to tell Kamiko how each of them were prepped. Of course, for quite a few of the stranger non-earth fruits and vegetables Kat had to make guess, but that was fine.

Knowing Hunter liked meat more than anything else, Kat got to work on the mince. She was tempted to do steak, or bacon, but Hunter just sort of… inhaled her food when she enjoyed it so Kat felt like it was probably for the best to stick with something that, theoretically at least, could be inhaled.

With breakfast tacos Hunter could eat large amounts if she really wanted, while everyone else ate a bit more normally.

Kat also cooked up some fish. Primarily for Lily, but there was enough for others if they wanted it. It wasn’t too hard to juggle everything with Kamiko on hand for the chopping. Kat just needed to watch everything and push it around on occasion while doing up the sauce, once again helped by Kamiko’s pre-cut ingredients.

Hunter and Bower focused on ensuring their weapons were in top shape. Kat wasn’t sure if Hunter’s weapon was bound to her the same way Kat’s fans were… and if it was bound in such a way if the maintenance did anything. *I wonder… does the dirt and grime build up because the gun thinks its ‘part’ of the gun? It could also be that the anti-dirt properties of my stuff is because it also falls off me.

Hmm… could also just be a mental thing.*

Kat shrugged the question off and poked Lily now that the food was done. Lily meowed in protest but eventually transformed. “Urgh, I feel so much more tired then I should,” said Lily. “I wasn’t even up that long. I mean… I stayed awake all day back at home when I was practicing my spellcasting and stuff. So… why am I so tired?”

“What’s your mana levels like?” asked Kat.

“Huh? What do you mean?” returned Lily.

“Well… we are sitting next to the ashy stuff that sucked the mana from Bower… so perhaps its having an effect on you?” offered Kat.

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Lily frowned and checked her reserves… but they were full. “Still full Kat. So… I’m really not sure why I feel so tired,”

“I can think of two reasons,” stated Hunter as she slid into the conversation. “Perhaps on your first watch you were hyperaware, pushing your senses to the limit to ensure we were safe. While it is important to pay attention on watch, there is no need to go too far with things, perhaps you crossed that line.

The other potential answer… is that the ash is draining you but your body is fighting it off and somehow producing extra mana to compensate,”

“Um… from what I know of mana I don’t think that’s how it works,” said Lily. “You have your natural recovery, and then you can also take in extra by meditating… but I don’t think your body can just decide it needs more mana,”

“Perhaps normally, but you have a mix of demonic energy and mana. Perhaps it isn’t your mana that’s reacting but your demonic energy? You may not be able to make direct use of it, but perhaps its working hard to keep your mana inside your body, exhausting you in a unique way you aren’t used to,” suggested Hunter.

“Hmm…” Lily thought the idea over as she put together a taco, making sure to add a good amount of sauce, and just the right amount of ingredients. “It’s certainly possible. I don’t know how likely it is, but it’s certainly possible,”

Hunter gave a shrug and as if that was the signal everyone was waiting for the rest of the party dug into the food as well. It was interesting to see what everyone added to their tacos. The wraps were mostly on the smaller side so everyone could try a variety of things if they wanted. Hunter did not subscribe to that train of thought.

She loaded up a massive tortilla with a huge serving of mince with some light garnish and then consumed that in a few bites.

Bower was happy to try just about anything, mostly just enjoying the unique tastes… though based on the pinched look he had a few times they weren’t all good combinations. Lily mostly stuck to fish, with a bit of cucumber and cheese. She did add a few other ingredients occasionally, but only one at a time. Kamiko tended to use a heavy mix of the salad, only adding a small line of mince.

Kat quickly identified her favourites, perhaps by sneaking a few bites from their piles, and then building a number of tacos with them included.

It was a good breakfast. Once everyone was done they packed up the leftovers, something they had a fair bit of now. Even if they were slowly whittling away at the pile it seemed to grow anyway, mostly due to Kat’s culinary efforts. The group spent a bit of time drinking juice and relaxing before they all got ready. There was a tenseness in the air.

Everyone knew that the drake was near and it would hopefully be found today.

Kamiko brushed aside the ash to show off the tracks again and the group headed off. Bower was kitted out in gear to keep the ash of his skin directly, Lily was tucked away in Kat’s backpack catching up on sleep, and the demons were on the hunt.

It was no surprise when the tracks took them back to the largest line of damage at the epicentre of the drake’s destruction. Everyone worked together to brush away the top layers of dust and ash to reveal the tracks… and there was a lot of them. Apparently the drake had been back and forth between a base of some sort and its hunting grounds. “Why?” asked Kat.

“No seriously, if it’s a murder machine that just keeps eating why did it bother to backtrack at all?”

“Could be a few reasons. Old instincts are the main ones. Most monsters feel safest when they have a base and drakes and dragons are very much hoarders. They can’t help but build up a collection. Even demonic corruption can’t completely overwrite their most basic instincts, well except the one for procreation because they usually don’t do that,” said Hunter.

“Usually?” asked Bower.

“Oh, um… I actually know that one…” said Kamiko. “Most corrupted monsters that grow in numbers either take control of their lesser kin and get them to do the dead… or they just like, spontaneously create minions,”

Bower gave them a nod before turning back to the tracks. “Well… it looks like the drake didn’t get back to its base if these tracks as correct. Do we want to trek backwards towards it? Get the drop on it when it goes home? Or do we want to try and figure out where it’s gone?”

“We are unlikely to get the drop on the drake,” stated Hunter. “Demonic beasts are rather well attuned to energy they can consume and our group is fairly noteworthy. If it was anywhere near the base while we hid in it everyone except myself is likely to be found. I do trust my own stealth skills, especially when combined with my ability to deceive the world, so it does not seem worth the risk to me.

“Besides, that is not even taking into account that the drake has not returned for… what looks to be three days. That is just a rough guess based on the tracks. The massive change to the terrain makes such a guess a bit harder but I can compare it to a few similar enough samples that I can say with confidence that it has been at least two days, but no more than six.

I could be persuaded to move my most likely guess up to four if this area has received light rainfall, but no more than that,”

Bower breathed out a puff of air. “Right guess we’re going to stick around on this toxic shit. I know I came out here ready to die against the drake if necessary but I can’t say I’m too keen on experiencing death from having my mana ripped out,”

“The lair would be worse you know,” stated Hunter. “While I do admit this is perhaps a larger risk then you assumed, it is entirely up to you if you remain with the group. The mist isn’t covering this area, and I think we are capable of finishing the job with just the four of us if you don’t want to stick around,”