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

This chapter is from Lily's perspective.

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Lily smoothed down her outfit the best she could and tried not to regret her decisions. The clothes she'd… acquired… from Jara were nice. Good material, well styled… they just weren't really appropriate for trying to convince your worried parents that you were responsible enough to go dimension hopping. The clothes were baggy in all the wrong areas to hide what curves Lily did have and they called the mind to certain… not quite family friendly dancers. Lily could see it a she looked in the mirror and her parents would be able to as well. The minor wrinkles from being stuffed into that bag didn't help matters either.

Nothing could be done about it now though. She had to leave in five minutes or less to make sure her dad could participate in the conversation… and as it stood he probably wouldn't be sticking around for the end of it anyway. *Calm down Lily. It's fine. This is fine. You look great. There's nothing wrong with the clothes you picked out aside from a few barely noticeable wrinkles.*

[Indeed you look beautiful] cheered Kat mentally. Lily pouted into the mirror. While Kat's words did warm her heart they were undercut by the fact she was alone in the bathroom and Kat had yet to actually SEE her in the outfit. Oh Lily knew well enough that Kat would argue she was beautiful all the time and the clothes didn't matter… and it was even true now. At least, she thought so.

Her looks might not be model worthy, or at least, that's what she tells herself. For Lily, her new body was wonderful. She thought of her current body as the best she could possibly look. From most perspectives that part was true. The real sticker was the 'not model worthy'. Her new appearance was perfectly symmetrical and contained no blemishes at all. She hadn't really noticed but other than a few freckles that were intentionally placed so her face didn't look fake, she had no blemishes at all. That's not even getting into the lack of body hair where it wasn't wanted. All that is also ignoring the fact Lily was never ugly… she just had issues with self esteem after… certain individuals.

So, there she was. In front of the mirror killing time by nervously trying to smooth down her outfit ineffectually. Lily wanted to grumble and complain. To procrastinate. To find some excuse to avoid dealing with the mess she was about to walk into… but there wasn't much chance of it working. Assuming Vivian herself didn't come in and drop her on the doorstep if she got too worked up Kat was bound to come in and comfort her, ruining her chances at just hiding away.

Lily pulled her lips into a wide smile showing her teeth as she checked them over again. Vivian had left her a spare toothbrush and her canines were not kind to the abused plastic. Apparently having sharp teeth was not always a boon. The little bits of plastic she needed to pick out attesting to that. *Maybe I can just use my smile to intimidate my parents?*

[I'm sorry Lily but you're too adorable for that] was the reply she got back from Kat.

*I really need to find some way to stop sending you all my thoughts.*

[I can pretend I didn't hear anything if you want?]

*No… no I don't. I might NEED to find it and maybe it'd be useful sometimes… but I don't know I could ever bring myself to use it often without feeling guilty.*

[Hey, I keep my thoughts to myself occasionally. It's fine to want privacy especially in your own mind]

*In concept perhaps. In reality I don't like the idea of giving up our connection, even just muting it somewhat on my end to hide some thoughts. I don't know why it's worry me. It should be perfectly normal but it feels like such a foreign idea…*

[Well now you're just working yourself into a worry. Come on. It's time to get moving]

Lily sighed and took on more glance at herself in the mirror before heading for the door. Kat was right. As much as she wished that wasn't the case. So out of the door and into the wide world. Lily led their two man group to the fence. A small part of her suggested going the long way… but she'd wasted too much time already and she'd miss her father. Even if that was a goal potentially worth aiming for…

It was probably best to confront them both at once. They'd keep each other in check somewhat. Dear old Dad would never gainsay Mom… while Mom never wants to look unreasonable in front of Dad. That and… it's nice to have Kat come with. Wait. Kat you know you aren't just escorting me right? I do expect you to come in?

[Yes Lily we covered that earlier in our planning.]

*Right. Yes. Of course I did. Lily breathed in deeply as she hopped the fence. Only to pause and realise… she'd just hopped the fence. Lily creakily turned her head backwards to watch Kat  do the same thing… but… I… how did I do that? I… oh dear. I didn't realise I was that strong… I just… I just sort of jumped over…*

Kat chose to remain silent on the matter and lightly scratch behind Lily's ears to chase away some of the worry. Lily blushed deeply as even that light touch sent a deep rumbling purr spilling out of her from deep in her chest. It wasn't quite enough for her to completely loose her mind. Which was both good and bad. Good because she didn't really have the capacity to be quite so worried anymore… and bad because that worry was being replaced by mortification. And she's just scratching my ear!

That excuse was feeling more and more hollow by the second. It was true yes but part of Lily was starting to wonder if it was technically an erogenous zone for her. Sure she knew what… that… felt like and this wasn't it… but… with her new body and… being so close to Kat… she hadn't exactly had any time to… 'test some hypothesises' about her new humanoid form. What was applicable before may not be applicable now and vice versa. It was probably not indecent… but by the demon's grace it was close.

In the future, Lily would protest any mention of the pained mewling she DID NOT make when Kat took her hand away. The fact Kat hadn't even continued scratching for thirty seconds was… never mind. Lily shook her head and tried not to pout at the action. It had calmed her yes but now she felt jittery and wired. Like she'd downed a pack of energy drinks in a few minutes. She felt wired and alert but also terribly unimpressed by the sounds her body wanted to make in protest.

So Lily sucked in a deep breath once again and walked around to the front of her house. As she stepped closer and closer the house seemed to get much larger. Her family home had never loomed before. It was a quaint house. Not too large… not too small. It had space for everything with only a bit of clutter… and of course space for new things as well. Now though… now she felt small. Like she was back in Memphis form. The walk around the side of her house dragging as her mind either sped up, or her perception of time shattered.

As she turned to the door Lily felt like she'd just ran the hundred metres. She was so much fitter in her new body. She could jump fences in a single bound. She shouldn't be winded. Her tail should be nice and calm as well. It shouldn't be puffed up to thrice its size and waving around like it'd been set on fire. Lily's new sharper teeth ground into their slots her mouth provided for them. Had they been weaker, she was sure her newfound jaw strength would have caused them to break and shatter. She stepped over the small raised lip of the house to be directly in front of the door. Too close really. She brought her hand up…

And it stayed there. Raised in the eye mere millimetres from the door. She just had to knock and then she'd be inside… talking to her parents. Just what she wanted right? If only she was trembling a bit, then maybe the shakes would cause her to close that last little bit of distance and she could say that she'd knocked and they'd heard nothing. Despite that though, she remained completely still, teeth grit, tail fluffed and arm raised. Just a single, minuscule motion. Yet Lily felt like it was a nearly insurmountable difference. That all the strength in the world wouldn't be enough. Then Kat leaned carefully on her back, pressing into her and Lily felt her heart blossom. She was better than this. She could do this. She knocked.