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

— Lily —

Kat clearly thought the distraction gameplan was a good one because shortly after Lily had the thought Kat got started on lunch for everyone. It would still be a while, but it gave Lily a good hint as to what to ask next. “Let’s get away from some of the heavier stuff then… um… what’s your favourite food Meg? And do you know what Hunter’s is?”

Meg’s eyes literally shone at the question. “Ooh, that’s actually an interesting topic. See, demons can eat just about anything but for most demons, we have a pretty comparable pallet to other sentient creatures. Greed demons are a bit different. They tend to go for precious metals and certain high quality cloth. Which is another thing.

My skin is lovely, but it has always been so. I feel a little bad sometimes that I won the genetic lottery in that regard…

“Until I remember that I DIDN’T GET THE RIGHT TASTEBUDS!” Lily stepped back at the genuine anger in Meg’s voice. “Look, sorry for yelling but it really does annoy me. See, as a Greed demon or ’Moneybags’ type I actually NEED to eat cloth every now and again to keep my skin in good condition. Better quality cloth means I need to eat less but the cloth itself isn’t too important.

It’s also not like I won’t heal at all, but it can cause problems.

“There’s also the precious metals but there are workarounds for that. Anyway, as a Greed demon I get craving for cloth when I run low. See, we don’t digest it with the same stomach as everything else gets sent, instead we have a specialised organ for processing and braking down fabrics to enhance our skin. Which sounds great… except it still tastes like cloth! At least to me.

“I know my mother doesn’t have this problem. She actually likes the taste, but for my its awful. Not sure if it’s as bad as it is for other people, and the cravings help me push through the issues, especially knowing I have to eat it to avoid medical issues… but it’s just not a good time,”

*That’s really not something I’d ever considered being a problem. I guess I didn’t properly consider what it means that demons can eat just about anything. I sort of assumed that tastebuds would all be different. Though… now I think about it. Kat liked that boiling soup… I wonder if her tastebuds also ’taste’ temperature?*

“And see, while that’s inconvenient it doesn’t end there. A much smaller problem is that I still get drawn to the texture. So to me a lot of food feels weird in my mouth. I put up with it because it’s not too bad and the taste matters more… but its so weird. Especially fruit. I hate that because I love the taste of sweet things.

Fruits, candies, that sort of stuff… but the texture? Not so much.

“I mostly eat rock candies, chewing on them even when I know that’s not the intended eating experience… or I go for smoothies and things and just treat it like a drink. Oh, and I learnt where I can by some really solid pastries to make various pies out of. Those guys are the best. My condition is rare, but apparently not completely unknown so I have some options… but not a tonne really,”

“I wonder if that’s why my family likes jelly so much?” pondered Kamiko.

“Hmm…? You say that like it’s impressive. Jelly is quite good and I probably have it more than most… how much jelly do you eat?” asked Meg.

“Oh… lots? At least one cup of jelly a day, but sometimes we just have jelly for all three meals? We’ve got a special supplier to help make sure we’re not going to have nutrition issues… but it’s a LOT of jelly,” admitted Kamiko shyly.

“Huh… well as I said I know a place to get good pastries made for me but they’re a small time backer. Do you get them from a big company? Do they do other specialised foodstuff?” asked Meg.

“Oh, um… not really? They mostly make special jellies. I think they started off in the medical field with a focus on developing medicine for children and making it into jelly so they would eat it before branching out. Honestly… I have a strong suspicion that my family makes up a large part of their annual profits,” admitted Kamiko.

“A bit of a shame but maybe you can talk to them. They might know some people. It’s been a massive pain to find stuff I really enjoy eating unless I want to go to the Gluttony area… and that’s usually artisanal stuff done in house and on… not small scale because they’re Gluttony demons but not a properly commercial scale and the prices tend to reflect that.

I mean, food I enjoy eating would be nice but I’m just not prepared to put in the sort of money I’d need to if I was to get consistently good meals,” said Meg.

“Oh… um… no we just sort of go with jelly,” admitted Kamiko.

Meg shrugged, “Shame but I didn’t exactly expect anything different. I mean, I spent some time looking around you know? Quite a bit of time actually… and the clan… they might have been willing to do something admittedly… but they’d have been annoying about it I’m sure,”

At this point Lily carefully slid over to Kat and leant against her girlfriend’s back. Lily didn’t want to risk not being ready for questions and as such remained humanoid… for now. It WAS a great way to take a break though. Kamiko, bless her shy soul, was doing a wonderful job. Lily almost wanted to send a thumbs up or a ’Yes you go girl!’ Kamiko’s way but that would definitely get called out by Meg.

Probably.

Especially when Kamiko made a quick glance her way before asking a question. “Um… why do you think they’d have been annoying about it? Hunter… um… Hunter seemed to think they were quite accommodating about diet and stuff,”

“Ah, well that’s the thing. They are… but it’s not technically a diet thing. They make sure the taste is good, and the nutrition is great but if I wanted even more then that? Well I’d have to either be a prodigy or do some favours… normally. My rather consistently poor attitude towards them would mean they’d make me agree to a bunch of favours, or just tell me no,”

“Um… are you sure?” asked Kamiko.

Meg opened her mouth to confirm that yes, she was sure… except she wasn’t, and quickly realised that would be the case. “No. I have encountered similarly situations with other requests, and I’ve heard some people complaining… but no, I’m not certain. I have heard they take the food situation a bit more serious then they do other types of requests…”

“Could it be worth trying then?” asked Kamiko. “Or maybe asking how you can acquire stuff that fits your needs if you think that would have a higher chance at success?”

Meg clicked her teeth together, “I’m actually not sure. Part of me wants to say that they’d just provide me with the better food as a way to keep me around. Not paying for it would be the excuse and more subtle attempt… but if I didn’t know where they were getting the food from then I couldn’t get it myself.

“At the same time… while I do dislike the clan and wish to leave it… I admit that there are some good people that remain with the clan and the cooks always seemed to be among them. It’s mostly made up of the more… casual hunters who enjoy hunting things as a way to food new ingredients to use, though normally someone else actually goes out and hunts the food. Too much time spent cooking obviously.

Still… hmm…

“I don’t like admitting it but yes, the cooks might be willing to help me out. I’m just not sure if it’s the cooks I’d be meant to ask… but do I care about that? No not really. Hmmm… don’t want to cause issues for them while they’re cooking but a lot of them work all day and I’d hate to stop them going home or getting started. So… I guess in between meal times?

Hmm hmm… awkward but a very interesting idea you’ve given me Kamiko,”

“I am willing to assist you with this Meg,” added Hunter.

“Oh? I would’ve thought you’d have turned me down or perhaps asked for a reward… a reward that is likely just ’stop bothering me for a month’ or however long you felt like you could push it,” queried Meg.

“Perhaps, but I understand I now have to deal with you for at least a week without a way to properly escape your presence so I recognise gaining more goodwill now is essential,” answered Hunter.

“Aren’t you just adorable Lil Sis. You’re not meant to admit that part out loud,” informed Meg.