By the time Kat and Vivian returned to their house it was well into the afternoon and the sun was setting. Kat had recovered somewhat and was now capable of exiting the car by herself however her mind was still somewhat fogged, and her body felt strange to her.
*Perhaps talking to Callisto will need to wait. I'd like to be fully functional for such an important conversation. Then again if I run into her when I walk through the door should I just have the conversation then and there?*
Vivian opened the door for Kat before she could walk into it accidently. Giggling slightly at Kat, Vivian followed her into the living room where Lily was reading a book next to Sylvie who was similarly engaged. Lily and Sylvie looked up upon hearing the sound of the door shutting. When the saw Kat's dishevelled state, covered in twigs and random bits of grass then immediately got up and went to meet her. Lily worked on getting the debris out of Kat's hair and horns while Sylvie worked on the stray bits stuck in the kimono's sash. Thankfully the rest of Kat seemed clean, the kimono hadn't picked up grime and Kat's skin wasn't marked with dirt, but they just chalked that up to her changed skin. After cleaning Kat up they leaned in to hug her and Kat responded in kind.
"Is everything alright." Said Lily.
"It's fine, I'm fine." Said Kat being careful not to poke out her friend's eye.
"What happened?" Said Lily
"Don't worry I just froze a bit of a national forest" said Kat
"Sylvie said you had a fever; how do you end up freezing a forest" said Lily
"Well I really needed to cool down didn't I? Had to get rid of my fever somehow" said Kat
"We were worried about you Kat, can you tell us what happened" said Sylvie
"Now girls, Kat's had a rough day, if she needs to she can tell you all about it. I'm sure she'd love to tell you both when she's had a bit of rest" said Vivian
"Thanks for the consideration Vivian but I'd like to tell them both now." Said Kat
"So, I woke up this morning absolutely full of energy. I was practically vibrating in my seat, in fact perhaps I was considering how hot I was running. So I had a quick chat with Vivian, and she agreed to take me out for a run. Obviously, it wasn't safe for me to run in the neighbourhood considering everything, so I headed for the forest instead.
"Eventually I just couldn't wait anymore so I hopped out of Vivian's car and took into the fire and let off some steam before a took a short rest with my face in some stone, highly relaxing. I managed to chill out a bit, possibly freezing some other stuff but that's fine. Met up with Vivian a bit later and then we came back. That about sums everything up" said Kat.
"I mean, I can pretty much confirm that I suppose" said Vivian. Lily and Sylvie however did not look impressed with the joking pair.
"We've been seriously worried, and I hate that I know you can't lie so obviously what you said is close enough to the truth but even still. What happened?" said Lily
"It really was basically what I just said, but with a lot more fevered insanity and a lot less out for a nice jog. Got some neat horns out of it though, so I'd say it was worth it." said Kat
"Kat, you look really cool now" said Sylvie. Kat laughed and patted Sylvie on the head with the top of her tail, her arms still occupied with hugging. Lily pouted as if she wanted to contradict Kat but, in the end, she wasn't willing to spoil the moment. Kat really did seem fine now and the fact she couldn't lie about it was of some comfort.
After standing in the hallway for another minute they group waddled over the couch unwilling to let each other go just yet. Despite Kat's explanation and assurance, as well as Lily and Sylvie's willingness to accept them they also still understood that Kat is lucky to have come out of this as healthy as she did. No one was willing to mention that fact, but they all seemed to understand it. Vivian chose this time to sneak off to visit Callisto. She'd had her time to look after Kat already and she was more than willing to let Sylvie and Lily have their turn by themselves.
"Kat, what are the chances something like this happens again? Do we need to be worried about more of your future changes" said Lily after fifteen minutes of relaxing on the couch.
"I think you've got nothing to worry about. I've completely awakened or, so I've been told. So nothing like this should happen again, in fact what happened this time was never supposed to happen so it should be fine" said Kat
"What do you mean a mistake? It- it could have been really bad" said Lily not willing to quite say what was on her mind.
"Just a minor technical difficulty with the process Lily, it's all been resolved now, I think" said Kat
"Why did you add that I think on the end, I saw you pause, you had to add that on the end so it wasn't a lie didn't you?" said Lily
"Well, I mean…" stammered Kat in surprise. *I didn't think Lily would already be using this sort of thing against me.*
"There, are some ongoing issues. None of them are dangerous though, in fact I even get a break tonight from summoning. I might have to do a job later in the week but I swear I'm not in any extra danger" said Kat.
"I trust Kat can deal with anything." Said Sylvie. "She came back to us this time, despite everyone worrying. That means we don't have to worry as much next time."
In the silence following Sylvie's sentence the three girls heard a door shutting and turned around to see Vivian getting some water out of the fridge.
"Um, sorry to interrupt you I was just sneaking down for some water and I wasn't planning to interrupt you guys." Said Vivian.
"Join the hugs Vivian." Said Sylvie.
"Well, if you insist." Said Vivian placing her glass on the counter. Vivian picked up Sylvie and placed her on her lap then snuggled in next to Kat.
"Seeing as I'm included now, I'll add that we need to take you girls shopping. There is still nothing in your rooms and I was going to take you today but well, things happened so I guess it's fine. Lily you are more than free to come as well, I plan to take these girls and maybe Callisto though I doubt she will want to come, to the city two hours away to buy some things." Said Vivian
"I'm happy to come, there is actually a few books I was looking at that I can't really pick up around here. Also because schools over my parents probably won't freak out too much. I wonder if it would be better or worse to tell them Kat's adopted mother is taking us…" said Lily
"Um, Vivian, how exactly do you plan on hiding the fact that I have wings, a tail, and even horns now?" said Kat.
"I'm glad you ask Kat, I've actually been thinking a lot about this. If we go to the city I think I have a master plan that will work and it's only because of the location." Said Vivian
"Well, don't keep us waiting" said Kat
"The answer is… Nothing" said Vivian big smile on her face accompanied by grand hand waving gestures
"I don't follow." Said Kat
"Absolutely nothing." Said Vivian. Kat stared at Vivian with a deadpan look.
"Ok fine. So that city actually has some conventions throughout the year, and sure none of them are happening at the moment but I bet if you just act naturally and don't do anything weird people won't even comment on it. At worst people will take a bunch of pictures but that's fine right?" said Vivian.
"Do you really want to go shopping and be interrupted by random people taking photos every few seconds?" said Kat. Vivian shrugged, and Lily made a concerned face but didn't say anything. Sylvie just shrugged with a smile on her face as if it had nothing to do with her.
*Well, I guess it won't be so bad. It will be nice just hanging out with Lily without having to worry about schoolwork or demon stuff.. We haven't really been able to just hang out and it will be a good chance to get to know Vivian a bit more, see what kinds of things she likes. Besides I haven't gone shopping in the next city over before, I wonder what it will be like?*