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

The group ate at another small but excellent restaurant before they made their way back to they were staying at. Sue swindled a dress out of the whole thing to wear to the party tomorrow night, and there was a few more encounters with other cultivators… but none of them were assassins. Kat didn't need to do anything because it seemed that Bodeir was always the… higher Rank? Kat didn't really understand how the system they all seemed to operate under worked.

Still, after seeing it happen a few times, where Bodeir and another guy would face off. Stare for a while, until conceding that Bodeir was… somehow a 'senior brother' and then he'd offer advice that almost certainly meant nothing. It was always the same template… though Kat was a little shocked when she saw it play out the same way upon meeting a female cultivator.

She was ripped, much like the first guy, and wore a skirt and bustier that left her very exposed to the elements. She wasn't shivering though, and managed to brave the elements quite well. In fact, the three girls she had clinging to her were clearly colder despite their increased levels of clothing. She had quite a few scars, and was by far the fiercest looking cultivator they met on their walk. Despite that, she still deferred to Bodeir, got cryptic advice, and left.

Though, the woman in question did give Kat a very suggestive wink. Of course, Kat only found it out was suggested when Lily started projecting killing intent at the woman, forcing her to shiver for the first time since they'd met and turned away. Kat used her fans to hide the smile that wouldn't seem to leave her face. Lily was adorable when she was being overprotective. It wasn't as though Kat was in any danger from the cultivators here. Despite how fierce the lady looked; Kat was certain she was stronger.

When they got back to the mansion Bodeir went off to do Bodeir things, while Kat, Sue, and Lily found a pack of cards. There was a bit too many cards in each suit, but they just removed the extras. Apparently 52 was a common number for a deck of cards even in the demon world, it wasn't the only one, but it was common enough. Sue spent most of the game trying to turn it into strip poker then playing seriously. Considering they weren't even playing poker, but hearts, or more accurately, Black Lady, a variant of Hearts where the Queen of Spades was also a card to avoid.

Lily was able to do surprisingly well despite not having hands. Her memory was good enough to check over every card once, then line them all up on the table flipped over. Kat, in a show of solidarity did the same. Sue decided to have fun with things and put her cards on the table as well… but her memory wasn't quite perfect and she didn't even bother to flip them over. Lily and Kat could see Sue's cards quite clearly and were rather torn as to how much they should take advantage of that fact. Sue also turned out to be terrible at the game. So knowing what cards she had didn't hurt her chances of winning… much.

Sue actually did manage to win one round, Lily and Kat both not realising that she managed to shoot the moon, meaning she collected every hearts card, and the Queen of Spades, letting her win the game. Kat and Lily were just about to congratulate Sue on her masterful win… but Sue beat them to it asking how she won, apparently not being aware of that rule despite using it to win. Kat and Lily couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

After that round, everyone tried to win using that tactic, mostly as a bit of fun. Lily got the closest, but never quite manage to get all the hearts to secure the win that way. Kat didn't get more than five, despite making an active attempt to collect hearts and Sue… mostly just came along for the ride. Not winning, but usually coming second after Kat and Lily switched their tactics.

Eventually it was time for bed, and they split up, Kat going back to the roof, and Sue heading for Bodeir's bedroom. Kat had maybe an hour to relax when she heard someone approaching the house. They were dressed up in black and were 'trying' to sneak. The thing is… it was all just so awkward.

Firstly, black might sound like a great colour for stealth, and in a lot of cases it is, especially at night. The problem was that snow was EVERYWHERE, and the places it wasn't? Normally had packed white ice down instead. This was made worse by the blue/white lamps that shone dimly in the garden… and the person in question made absolutely not attempts to avoid. So instead of being hidden in shadows, they were a very noticeable black spot on a pure white background.

The worst part was… instead of actually sneaking, they were sneaking the way you'd expect a child to sneak. Big, slow steps onto their toes… but they didn't know to put their feet down gently. The crunching of ice after every step was a major giveaway that someone was nearby and with everything else added together? Kat was surprised whoever it was even managed to get to this manor without being caught. Perhaps everyone else who saw them just pitied the poor soul.

Kat watched them walk up to the side of the house and attempt to climb up to the window belonging to Bodeir. Kat frowned a bit at that. *They went straight for that window. They're either very lucky, or they know that Bodeir is staying in that room. But… but if that's the case why are they so bad? Surely if someone is smart enough to case the place a bit they're smart enough to know sneaking like that is terribly obvious?*

Kat didn't really know what to make of it, but she let them get as far as fiddling with the window before she swooped down and grabbed them into a chokehold, hand over their mouth. They tried to struggle but Kat was, much, MUCH stronger then whoever this was. Kat's tail was unmoving as it pinned the attacker's legs together and Kat's arms pinned the figures own.

Eventually, the lack of oxygen seemed to kick in and the already weak struggling dipped in power until eventually they stopped moving. Kat kept up the chokehold for a bit longer and then dropped them onto the hedge. They didn't even twitch. Kat poked them lightly in the side a few times and got no movement. *Hmm… well… they're not really a threat so I don't want to just execute them. What should I do though? Hmm… hmm… give them to Hromdir maybe? He seems competent.*

Plan in mind, Kat set off to visit the room she knew Hromdir was staying in. Kat knocked and waited for a few seconds. There was the sound of shuffling sheets, and… Kat's ears twitched, oh, that was someone putting clothes on. Kat shivered, she did not want the mental image thank you very much. With that bit of mental damage suffered, Kat was preparing herself when… the door opened to reveal someone who was decidedly not Hromdir poking their head out, eyes groggy and uniform in a messy state.

They looked around the hall, squinting but not really seeing Kat. It took her a moment to realise that was because the light was off. Summoning up some fire beside her face, Kat said, "Hello, can you get Hromdir for me?"

The butler jumped back, knocking his head on the doorframe before stepping forward and wincing as he rubbed the impact sight. "Um… er… yup, I can do that," hissed the butler as he tried to supress the pain. To save himself from some embarrassment he quickly shut the door behind him, and got to shaking the elderly servant awake. "Hromdir, Hromdir get up!"

"What is it boy? I'm an old man and I need what rest I can get to stay active!" said Hromdir with a  chuckle.

"That demon girl, the one with red hair, she's at the door for some reason and asked for you. I don't know what she wants, but I wasn't going to refuse her. Standing all creepy-like in the dark. Bashed my damn head on the door when she summoned that spooky flame of hers," grumbled the butler.

Kat of course, could hear all of this through the door no problem. *It wasn't that creepy was it? I'm just used to the fact that I can see without light and forgot that it might be an issue for normal people. Plus, I'm all but certain these butlers are all cultivators. The fact they can't see in the dark is really more of a black mark against them then my forgetfulness is for me.* Kat was very much downplaying the ease of which a cultivator could figure out night vision.