And was not at all surprised to see Green and Nixilei snickering, though in very different manners. Nixilei had a wry smile and was letting her laughter ring out freely. It was only her restrained posture and quiet laughs that kept it to snickering.
Green, was instead actually trying to restrain herself to at least keep up the illusion that she was sleeping, or not paying attention but she was failing. Small spurts of laughter leaked out from her as she pointedly looked away and tried to calm her breathing.
Gareth… well Gareth looked like he didn't know if he should laugh or cry, and Kat felt the answer was probably to sigh instead. Kress was a friend and someone that he had known for quite some time. Didn't change the fact that he had clearly done something that was monumentally stupid.
The group just stared at each other from across the training room, as they waited for their two fey companions to finally finish their fits of laughter. Once they had finally recovered Gareth was the one who spoke first. "Was that really necessary"
"Yes" was the response that met him from two sources, neither of which was Kat.
Gareth turned to Green hanging off his shoulder and sighed before looking at Kat for her answer. "Well, if we didn't have Nixilei around to heal him just in case I hit him too hard I wouldn't have done it. I'm not really mad at all, but I do think he needed to be put in his place, so if I can do that by scaring him just a bit it was all worth it"
Gareth's smile faltered even more "You call that scaring him a bit?"
Kat shrugged "Yeah I do. No permanent harm has been done to him. He isn't some small child to threaten with a time out, he is a nearly fully grown adult who runs around with swords slaying monsters. He needs to calm down a bit, because the next 'monster' he ticks off may not be so forgiving. Imagine if he'd truly annoyed Thyme for instance"
Gareth's smile dropped into a frown at that. "I suppose you are right about that. Honestly he's lucky that Thyme takes things in such good humour. And you are right, it's just. He has his reasons you know? And he's been a good friend to me for many many years. You've only really seen the worst of him"
"Look Gareth" said Kat turning to face him fully, but dropping her remaining demonic tricks "It took me all of the like, three days I spent with him to see he needs some help to sort himself out. Nixilei and Green clearly think the same otherwise they wouldn't be laughing"
Gareth looked down at Green for confirmation, but she just buried her head in his shoulder. Turning instead to Nixilei she met his gaze with steel in her eyes. Gareth was the one to break first, looking away and turning back to Kat.
"Ok, so maybe he does need some help, but surely beating him unconscious was not the answer" said Gareth
Kat nodded "It isn't the answer, it's the fear that I instilled before that point. However, fear isn't going to keep him in line forever. I've had to deal with many bratty kids. You need to show them how they are wrong properly, not just scare or punish them because they'll just learn to hide it better
"Why, I bet the only reason Kress still acts so overtly is because he hasn't ever really been confronted like this. Nixilei always gets stopped when you stand in, under the guise of fairness. Though I'm not saying she was doing it for his benefit"
Nixilei shrugged at this "I certainly wasn't. I was doing it for my own"
Gareth gave a placating gesture… which looked a little silly because he only had access to one arm "Ok, can we just, move on? You've made your point. Can we discuss how we want to deal with our partnership moving forward?"
Kat pushed her now resting demonic energy towards her head to give her some time to think. *Hey system. What sort of limits do I have on beacons? Can I just have as many as I want or what?*
User Kat may have one active beacon at the current time. This will increase as User Kat's Rank increases.
*Will giving one out conflict with the one I have already given Minor?*
No. The limitation on beacons is not a D.E.M.O.N.S imposed one. It is a physical limitation of the demon in question. User Kat is not capable of producing multiple Beacons at this time.
*Hmmm. If I can only have one should I be a bit careful with them? I really want to make sure that Minor can get a real one when I meet her though. Can I dismiss Beacons whenever I want?*
No. User Kat must touch the Beacon in question and reabsorb it.
*This is suddenly becoming a bit more of a concern then I thought it would be. Do I have any other options?*
User Kat is recommended to make a Contract involving the Beacon involving keeping it within their hands.
*Oooh. Yeah that makes sense actually. I really have to remember that I can do that. Other than that though is there anything to really consider?*
No. User Kat will suffer no ill effects if Beacons leave the intended recipients' hands. It only means that the new owner will be capable of Summoning User Kat.
*Well that isn't so bad then. Ok. If they ask, I'll hand over a beacon under contract. It's not for a few weeks yet that Minor will have the chance to contact me because her grandmother said she had to wait at least a month. That means I've got time to make sure I can cast another one.*
Letting her mind return to a more normal speed she spoke "Of course Gareth. Please tell me how you'd like to deal with this"
Kat retracted her wings, letting them sit in their half-folded position that was most comfortable. She let her tail drape around her neck like a scarf. Her kimono, which had at some point started to move around as if blown by some unseen wind settled and she rested her hands in front of her body.
"Right" said Gareth "We'd like to have you return for future rounds. Mostly the same contract as before, but we'd require you to be trying to win all rounds in the future. It was only so lax this first time because between the rest of us we were confident to take the prize even without your assistance"
Kat nodded "That seems completely acceptable. I'm happy to try in the rest of the tournament rounds, it was quite fun when I did so for this one"
Gareth held up a hand "One thing you should be aware of though. Most organisers will not be as powerful as Thyme. If they aren't monitoring future rounds the chance of injury skyrockets"
*Hey system what happens if someone cut off my arm?*
User Kat would need to reattach said arm then it would recover rapidly. It is unlikely to decay while separated, but the wound will fully heal over eventually making reconnection much harder.
*Hmmmm*
"That should be fine. I'd like to see Thyme again, but even if we do not I'll be ok with more deadly combat" said Kat
Gareth nodded "Good. Is there anything else to cover?"
Nixilei spoke up before Kat had the chance "We must discuss if Kat is to provide us with a beacon to contact her in the future. It is possible to do so without it, but the price just for the summoners services would be exorbitant if we were targeting a specific demon"
Gareth nodded "Yes, Nixilei brings up a good point. Will you provide us with one?"
Kat let a tiny bit of fire leak out below her eyes again giving them those strange shadows while she maintained her smiling demeanour "I am willing. But it would require a contract stipulating you would keep it safe and within your hands. I would rather not let such a thing out into the wider world"
"Wait" said Nixilei "You will at least need to give us permission to hand it over to a summoner else we cannot use the beacon to call you. Unless of course you are willing to teach us instead?"
Kat shook her head "I am incapable of teaching you the required spell for summoning me. I simply do not know it on the summoner end. Sure I can remember the runes but that is about my limit"
Nixilei nodded "I understand. In that case I have nothing more to add. Though I would request you make the beacon able to be handled by any within our group instead of a single individual just in case"
Kat shook her head but grinned "I'll be leaving off one name in particular if that is to be the case"