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

— Kat —

Getting the kids out was time consuming… but just a wait in the end. They were eventually able to crawl out once they’d calmed down. Elly wasn’t in the best shape, with a number of cuts all over her arms and legs. Her outfit wasn’t in great shape and all around Kat was worried about potential infections in the future.

The other kid… who Kat realised she’d never got a name for was in much better shape… solely because he’d worn better clothing. It wasn’t really armour but he had leather pads covering his arms along with long sleeves and pants. They were rather scratched up and might need to be replaced but they’d saved him from… most of the incidental cuts Elly had picked up.

After lifting Elly up to check out her wounds, the boy was looking somewhat upset at not getting the same treatment. Kat had experience with that and was much stronger now so she just picked the boy up as well, using one arm each alongside her tail to keep them both in place. Kat was hopeful it would calm the pair down…

Until they both burst out into another round of tears, latching onto her hard. If Kat was still human she’d probably be having trouble breathing with how tightly the pair were clinging to her neck. As it was though? They couldn’t even restrict her air with their attempts. They just weren’t strong enough. Apparently the muscle in her neck were just that good.

*Do I just put them to sleep at this point? It’s probably for the best because apparently calming them down has just relaxed them enough to let them cry.* “Think it’s time for some sleep?” Kat asked while looking at Char and pressing down with her aura a bit harder. Char’s eye’s sharpened at the affect, clearly noticing the difference.

“Nooo, I don’t wanna sleep,” mumbled Elly.

She was also, quickly ignored when Char gave a firm nod. Kat let her aura billow out. The bangle wasn’t restricting this at all… and frankly she might have tried to push past it even if it was. These kids had been through enough. There was some mumbling but eventually, the stranglehold on her neck started to loosen and the pair drifted off to sleep.

*I… I don’t know how to feel about this.* “Let’s start heading back,” said Kat. “Let me know if something is nearby and might attack us. I’ll be a bit limited for obvious reasons,”

“Understood,” stated Char. Kat found her thoughts wondering a bit as they stepped outside of the cave. The sun was mostly set, with only the barest hints of orange visible in the distance. Clearly she was going to have to keep her demonic fire burning so that everyone could see. Then again perhaps Char would be fine? Better safe then sorry. Perhaps it would chase some of the unease Kat was still feeling about the whole thing away.

*I really don’t know how to feel about this. I’m repeating myself but… I guess I didn’t expect the kids here to actually be injured. That was a real monster, and these are real cuts. Real kids too! They aren’t Thyme in a mask… at least as far as I can tell anyway. Yet I can’t just ignore the fact that Thyme would fix them up if they got hurt. If they did something stupid like this and something bad happened Thyme would make sure they lived and were completely healed.

And like… I don’t know what they were asked to do. Did Thyme suggest they go out into the woods and a monster just so happened to show up? Were they already hidden away when the monster was released somehow? If that’s the case where did all these scratches come from? Because once again. These are REAL injuries that are actually bleeding. I can SMELL the blood… and I probably should clean them up a bit. Though I don’t have any hands. Hmm…*

Kat glanced over at Char. “Should we do something to clean these wounds? I just realised that we haven’t and not all of them are completely clean,”

Char shook her head. “No waste time. Get safe, then clean wound. Infection not matter if monster kill you first.”

“Alright,” sighed Kat. *Back to complaining. How much input did Thyme have? Like, even if we assuming ‘basically none’ is the answer… Thyme still paid them to come to the island. Well actually, that’s another question. Are these two actually kids? They’re acting like it and were certainly scared… but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some way to make them kids for a bit.

Like, if Thyme’s time magic is strong enough he could return people to their childhoods for a while. Probably? That seems like something magic should be able to do but I really don’t know enough to say for certain. Then again… is that any better? They were acting like real kids and if this traumatises them… does it matter that they were just kids temporarily?

And once again. What if they’re real kids? Is it OK to put them on a monster infested island? How different is this to the rest of the world? Is it better that they’re lightly traumatised here, where it’s technically safe so that they’re less likely to get themselves killed in the real world where Thyme isn’t watching over them? What if they only did it because they knew it would be safe? Did they know? Who was in charge of letting them stay here? Did their parents agree?*

Kat found she had a lot of uncomfortable questions on her mind that she really didn’t have any answer to and she had no idea if it was even her place to ask them. The tournament wasn’t just Thyme’s playground. It was a big, worldwide event. She knew plenty of people that would kill for a chance to participate in something like this. Now granted, most of those ‘people’ were in fact children and their judgement was questionable… but Kat was sure plenty of adults would be just as interested.

This was, potentially, a once in a life time opportunity for them. Plus, Kat had no idea what they’d been promised to come and participate. Mol was obviously here for the free time to do her art and get paid for that in some way… but how much was she getting paid for it? How much might the art sell for?

Kat hadn’t been thinking about it before, but now she realised that… art created during the final round of ‘THE Tournament’, perhaps the grandest and most intricate there will ever be, unless Thyme gets brought back for more… it could be worth a lot. A lifechanging amount of money.

How many people here were having their life changed? *Is it wrong of me to look down on the parents who allowed their kids to get ‘caught up’ in this if… the money from this event is enough to feed the family for a year? Two years? How many farmers signed up after a bad harvest to make sure their family remained fed and happy?

I’ve got no real idea what money is worth here and no idea what’s on offer. Heck, it’s possible that Thyme is offering to pay for magic lessons! Kat was certain quite a few people would pay handsomely for that privilege. A ‘teacher recommended by a level 5 Dryad’. Sure Thyme might just be paying them… but that’s still a hell of a recommendation.

Or maybe none of this is true. I’m basically just wasting time thinking about all these random what-ifs and perhapses. I just… maybe it’s my way of venting my discomfort? Lily’s still asleep even though it’s dark out. I just… wait.*

Kat paused as Char held up a hand. Glancing around Kat couldn’t see anything she needed to pay attention to, but Char was carefully bending down to pick up a rock. Hefting it a few times to check it’s wait she then pegged it at a nearby mushroom tree, causing a hissing sound to echo out.

A snake thing reached down from the ‘tree’ branches and hissed at her. Char hissed back while summoning a sigil. The snake hissed back before retreating back up into the branches. “Keep eye on tree. Snake scared. Not likely to attack. Might be stupid though,”

Kat nodded, “Alright.” As they continued their walk Kat kept her eyes firmly on that tree, even looking back after passing by. The snake didn’t show itself even after they’d moved far outside of its range.

*Dammit! How many things have I missed? It’s not a concern for me… not really… but this island is dangerous. It might become more dangerous as the days go on and I just can’t decide how ok am I with this place having actors now. I… I don’t think it would be better if they were ‘real’ people but URGH. It’s such a confusing thing. I just… I don’t know what I’m meant to think. I guess I just have to trust Thyme knows what they’re doing.*