"I wouldn't have thought Vivian was so violent" said Kat after hearing Callisto finish
"Well… I wouldn't say that she is. Nowadays, especially after seeing her adopt you and Sylvie I imagine her more like a very cuddly bear. Hugs are great and preferred but if you really cause problems, she has no problem knocking some sense into anyone. Actually, Chekov? You've met him right?" said Callisto to which Kat nodded in response "She met him on a job she was doing for some bigwig in the city. Chekov was arguing with one of the contractors because they thought he was stealing lumber from them because he always had so much. Well Vivian walks right up to the contractor and says 'if you've got a problem with him you can go through me' and obviously he laughed so she kicked him in the jaw and knocked him out"
"Huh, as strange as that sounds, I can picture that. Though I don't think I can imagine Chekov just taking that sort of abuse" said Kat
"Well, from what I heard he'd only just moved here and he hadn't recovered from his injuries he sustained during his escape. Of course, that was only because he didn't take a break like any sane man would and kept aggravating them but what can you do" said Callisto with a shrug.
"Right, right, yeah I can certainly imagine that part" said Kat. "Chekov seems… passionate about his work"
"That's putting it mildly" said Callisto "You should have seen the look on his face when I asked for three desks. With the way he looked at me I might as well have been God given form"
"Huh, now that's actually an interesting question for you Kat. Now that you're a demon do you think God is real. If so which one?" said Callisto
"Huh, I, I don't know really?" said Kat. "I never really thought about it before? I just sort of thought I didn't matter. Um how should I explain this… So, regardless of if God exists or not, we can't know that, not until we die, so I just believed that it was irrelevant to consider. It never mattered. Though now, maybe if God is real I could meet them? That's a bizarre thought"
"Why yes, I do suppose something like that is. Personally I never believed in him, because it just didn't seem realistic to me at all. Though, if magic is real, I guess the doors really open up don't they" said Callisto
Silence enveloped the room. Callisto seemed content to continue waving her arm around enjoying the sensation of Kat's calming aura but Kat herself was somewhat at a loss. What am I even supposed to say? Do I have any other questions for Callisto?
Kat wracked her brain thinking up a number of inane questions like what's your favourite colour or which elder god do you worship knowing that one day they will accidentally devour the universe, what your favourite food is, what's your favourite song, but none of those were really what Kat wanted. I guess one conversation with someone isn't enough to be comfortable with them even if your living with them. Or does that perhaps make it worse?
Kat finally managed to settle on the next question even if she wasn't entirely happy with it "Where do you buy your clothes? That outfit you have on is rather unique isn't it?"
"I buy all my fabric and make them myself. It is a minor effort on my behalf to do it this way but as I mentioned earlier, when you barely sleep time seems to open up to you." Said Callisto.
Pausing for a moment she turned to face Kat "It seems this conversation has run its course. Don't take this as me ejecting you from my abode but I do think the conversation has been buried in the grave. You should give the others some time of their own, they were more concerned than they let on when they read that note of yours"
Kat felt a small smile creep onto her face hearing that lifting the corner of her mouth just slightly "Well, don't you still have a question to ask me?"
Callisto let out a wicked laugh "I don't remember ever setting a time limit on that. I'll hold onto my question for now. I'm certain I can utilise it at some point in the future. Now go on, you've spent enough time with this crazy recluse for one day.
With the end of Callisto's speech she walked over to the largest of her desks and brought out a stack of paper and started drawing. Kat looked at her for a moment longer to see if she really was ignoring her but after walking over and standing right behind Callisto with no reaction she decided it was time to go back to the others.
Returning downstairs she found the three of them seated at the dining table with a number of brochures spread out across it. Most of them were clustered around the centre where a small sculpture of a wave normally sat, which was now moved to the kitchen bench. Putting a little bit of energy into her eyes she examined it further for the first time. After hearing about Vivian's woodworking escapades I wonder if this is something she's made herself. Actually are all the decorations around the house things she and Callisto have made? If that's the case why was she so insistent on Sylvie and I buying something when we went into the city?
"Hey guys, what are you looking over" said Kat.
Vivian waved her over with a big smile "Just going through some things. Lily can tell you more if she really wants to"
Lily seemed to shrink slightly now that she had been called out but answered anyway "These are brochures for some of the university's that can be considered nearby" Closing the brochure Lily continued "But uh, if you'd be willing to um, speak about the meeting you just had I'd prefer that"
"Are you sure Lily, this is important for you. I don't mind going over them with you" said Kat taking a sit beside Lily and across from Sylvie trying to keep her wings tucked in.
"No, I mean, I know but I don't really want to think about it right now. A distraction is probably a good thing right now." said Lily
"Yeah, tell us about your trip Kat. Plus all these uni's aren't very good" said Sylvie putting away the brochure in front of her.
"That's a little rude Sylvie" said Vivian.
"But they are. The course offerings are rather lacklustre. The prices are set to be around 1.5x what they are actually worth and the facilities they are boasting are at best second rate. Do you really think otherwise Vivi" said Sylvie with big eyes.
Vivian reached over and grabbed Sylvie to put her on her lap. After securing the girl in position she wrapped her arms around Sylvie and pouted. "Just because it's true doesn't make it less rude"
"Should I say untrue things so that I'm not rude then Vivi?" asked Sylvie however she looked at Kat as she asked this despite addressing Vivian.
Vivian and Kat shared a glance between the two of them and came to the unspoken agreement for Vivian to take the wheel.
"You make an excellent point my dear. If they are bad you should say so. I do suppose you weren't being overly rude, it just pains my heart to see such a cute girl exposed to the sub-par realities of the world.
Kat felt her smile twitching slightly. Why does that sentence sound so much more aggressive now that I know Vivian can happily smack someone in the side of the head with a book. Is it because I know she'd say bad things to someone's face if they were true? Or is it just that I'm seeing her more aggressively now after the talk with Callisto. Then again aren't those two things basically the same?
"They kinda suck don't they…" said Lily quietly "Maybe it's just because I don't know what to do with myself but looking at these brochures certainly didn't help"
"Well, dear, I suppose I could try and find the brochures for my old university. You've been sent stuff from around the country but I've not even heard of half of them if I'm honest" said Vivian
"Do you think I'd find a good place there?" asked Lily
"Well… maybe not? It was a design heavy place focusing on a few disciplines. At the very least the few options they do offer were top of the line when I still attended" said Vivian.
"Thanks for that, but really I want to hear about what happened Kat, tell us the full story" said Lily turning now to face her friend
"Well in that case, after I left that note I was teleported to a strange office, that had these really nice chairs…