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

Chapter 456: Father Figures are Complicated

Kat had finished up with Kamiko for the time being and the pair were making there way up for tea. Kat found out that they had basically a television screen in each of the sistersʼ rooms that could transmit video from other places in the house and Kamikoʼs dad had called them up to eat tea with him. Kat wasnʼt sure how much she would eat, but that was fine.

What wasnʼt quite so fine were her current thoughts. Aslena, as difficult as it was to decide if she required punching, didnʼt actually require that much thought overall. It was very easy to just class her as somebody not to like and deal with it as things went. It just wasnʼt a super immediate problem for Kat, and even after they inevitably met, still wouldnʼt be a major point of concern. Her father was a different matter now that Kat was thinking on it again.

*I just donʼt know how to deal with him. I can objectively say Aslena is kind of a bitch. She has few redeeming qualities from my perspective because I donʼt care at all about clothing, and am honestly glad I have such a lovely outfit I can wear all the time with the excuse that nothing else will fit around my wings. I also havenʼt met her, so sheʼs had no time to endear me to her at all. Finally, even if I wasnʼt Kamikoʼs friend, I have a long track record of disliking bullies. She is a bully, and one who directly terrorised a friend of mine. Sure sheʼs also said friends sister, but really thatʼs just an extra detail at this point.

Trigrath though… heʼs more of a problem. I donʼt exactly have a lot of gold male role models, and I certainly have no proper father figure in my life. Well, that might be a bit harsh, I do think of Gramps sort of like a father, and he does fill that role but… but itʼs very different.

Gramps is more a father to me then any other orphanage child because I lived with him for a decade and a half unlike most of the others. Inevitably we got closer, and heʼd favour me when he could, and probably a few times where he shouldnʼt. Without knowing too much, he might have also tried to have other kids be more proactively put up for adoption instead of me. No proof of that one, and if it was the case Iʼd give him a hug because the orphanage really was my home, and still is a little bit.

Anyway off topic. Despite what Gramps has done for me, there was always the understanding that he was the head of the orphanage first and a father figure second. He did what he could, but it isnʼt the same I donʼt think. Iʼll never resent that, but it does make it really hard to figure out how I feel about Trigrath.

The sort of behaviour coming from Gramps would be utterly unacceptable. Heʼd have failed as both a father figure and as the orphanage director if he let something like the fashion show happen under his watch. On the other hand, he has much more distance from a lot of the kids. Heʼd have checked with both of them, both because he knows kids can be little shits, and that they can LIE.

Now, one could argue that Trigrath should know his daughter better then that, but I also know that people are wilfully blind when it comes to their family. Heck, take Lilyʼs dad. He was more than willing to throw me under the bus to keep his wife happy. I donʼt even know if I can say thatʼs the wrong choice and IʼM the one they targeted.

So what the heck am I supposed to feel here. Both of them are his daughters, and I think, my gut tells me he is majorly at fault because as a father he should take care of his daughters, and know Kamiko well enough to realise sheʼd never want to go up on stage, and know Aslena well enough to realise sheʼd do anything to further herself. Probably should also know about the bullying.

The hard part is of course that Kamiko still likes him. Loves him in fact. Also, she hasnʼt really shared much of the good heʼs done. Iʼm sure there must be, because otherwise sheʼd talk about him in a much worse light. From what I can gather itʼs more… disappointment? That might be right. Loves him, knows he means well, but ultimately doesnʼt follow through?*

Kat disguised her sigh with the rushing of air as she was launched back to ground level for their meal. Kamiko was now happily skipping ahead of her, quite literally. After the girl had finished crying, she perked up quickly and Kat could see that it wasnʼt fake. Many years of practise from watching kids let get a sense of when a smile was put on, and Kamiko bounced back well. Sure, it took her about ten minutes after the crying to get there, but Kat was going to count that as a good time.

*On the other hand, I could probably just punch him, and when he ask why say ʼfor Kamikoʼ and heʼd accept it. Seems like the sort of backwards thinking heʼd go along with. He wouldnʼt bother with the why I was punching him, just accepting it was for a good reason once he established, I was doing it for Kamikoʼs sake. Of course, unlike Aslena it wouldnʼt hurt him.*

Now Kat was back to considering the implications of punching Aslena and what power level would be best along with where. Kat was tempted for a moment to pull her thoughts back to Trigrath but seeing him standing behind the ready made meal smiling allowed her to move on from that particular spiral.

*So, I donʼt know how strong Aslena is, but I doubt itʼs any higher than four, and even three is unlikely. If sheʼs level two, punching her in the face might be a bit much. However, I doubt sheʼd die, and Nira can be called up to solve that issue. Hmm, maybe I should think about this more.*

Kat took her seat at the table as she let that thought percolate through her mind but it wasnʼt really giving her any new answers she hadnʼt thought of before. The meal was a simple affair really, Trigrath had made up three pizzas for them to eat alongside a large bowl of what looked somewhat like fries, however they were bright green. Clearly not natural, but it looked very close to being a vegetable of some kind if you only looked out of the corner of your eye. The pizzas were sprinkled with normal looking cheese, a golden coloured base, and various toppings.

Kat grabbed a slice of the nearest one after Kamiko grabbed the same piece. It seemed to have the least number of toppings. The main topping was something like salami but greyer and had a slightly wrinkly appearance. It did not look appetising at all but Kat found herself not caring. Biting into it, Kat found it was actually quite good. Whatever the grey stuff was, she found it very salty, but mixed well with the rich sauce and the strange meaty taste it had. It tasted a little like salty jerky but it was very supple and easy to tear into.

”So what do you think?” asked Trigrath

”Iss rely goosh dad” said Kamiko with food still in her mouth. Trigrath smiled thinly at this as if he was fighting a war between telling her off because it was rude, or enjoying how cute it looked because Kamiko had stuffed her cheeks full of pizza with one overly large bite.

Kat actually waited till she swallowed to say ”It is indeed quite tasty. Whatever topping this is, isnʼt something Iʼve tried before but I like it. The sauce is good as well.” Left unsaid was that the cheese was honestly rather standard, nothing outstanding, but Kat supposed it might be a little strange it really was just normal cheese anyway.

”Iʼm glad” said Trigrath taking a slice of one of the other pizzas that had the same grey things as well as a few blue pineapple looking slices and a fine dusting of… something on it.

*Think Kat think. What can you ask to keep the conversation off Kamiko. I can already tell Trigrath is wanting to go back to that.* ”So… what do you think weʼll end up doing at Sloth?” managed Kat.

Trigrath stopped, pizza halfway to his mouth as he considered the question. ”Well… if Iʼm honest I think itʼs most likely that theyʼll get you to do something interesting”

”Interesting?” asked Kat

”Yes. They do love their normalcy. Settling into a routine is one of the great joys of a sloth demon. So… whatever disrupts that is a problem. Theyʼll send you after them.”

Kat didnʼt really know what that meant exactly, but she was already forming several good guesses.