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

--- Lily ---

Lily was no closer to understanding the intricacies of releasing magic in an easily digestible format. It didn't help that Marigold didn't fully understand the situation either, and with essentially no social immersion it was hard to make further guesses as to how it all came about.

So by the time they came across someone else to question, Lily still didn't know what she wanted to do with any copies.

At least they'd found Blue. She was one of the other big people Lily wanted to find. Blue had chosen a spot a little up from water's edge, but still firmly on the beach. She'd either found, or carved out a decently sized 'pool' and seemed to be regularly refilling it with water as she sat in the shade and relaxed.

I wonder why she isn't just swimming in the ocean? Is this also practice for her? But if this IS practice then why isn't she doing more than occasionally pulling the water from the ocean? Is she trying to stop it draining into the sand? That seems… wrong. From what I've seen, especially at volleyball match, Blue should be capable of controlling more water then that with no trouble.

"Hi Blue!" shouted Lily to give the fae a bit of warning. In response, Blue grabbed a bit of water in her pool and made a hand to wave back at the approaching pair. Lily waited till she was a bit closer to ask, "So… I was wondering if you'd be open to answering a few questions for me?"

"And I'm wondering if you'd be interested in having some fun… later," added Marigold. Lily glared at the elf. "What? Just because I'm hanging around as your emotional support elf while Kat is off practicing doesn't mean I can't have my own needs you know? Blue's pretty hot you know?"

"Hang on… you invited yourself along, and don't you have Vanya for that… AND AND what is this about an emotional support elf?" asked Lily.

Marigold sidestepped closer to Lily and started to scratch her eyes. Lily bit down on the impulse to purr for as long as she could but eventually her throat started to rumble. "See, you feel so much more relaxed already… and yes Vanya is great but I can think of so many unique ideas we could try out with a water mage.

Plus, if Blue was down for it I'm sure Vanya would be interested in participating as well," answered Marigold.

"Look… I'm not entirely uninterested," said Blue as Lily tried and failed to claw at Marigold. "I'm not ready for anything too far… but… I guess what I'm saying is that maybe I'd be willing to do some stuff with my water as long as it goes no further than that. And Lily? Sure, what questions did you have? Did you want to organise a time for that story about how we get back into the tournament?"

"Ah… not right now? It still sounds interesting but that's not what I was going to ask. I'll make sure to bring it up with Kat though! I'm sure we can find some time to go over it, and I'm sure it's an interesting story," said Lily before she cut off slightly abruptly.

"Oh, right um… so what I wanted to ask is your opinion on this offer Thyme made me…" Lily quickly explained the broad strokes of Thyme's offer and then repeated the exact wording just in case. Afterwards, she went into what she'd already covered with Marigold, just to cover everything.

"Well… it sounds to me like you already know that the books are the better option long term… so I guess I'll ask you a different question. Are you looking for short term gains? Or long term ones?" asked Blue.

"Um… long term I guess? I mean… I'm not dying any time soon. Not only am I just shy of immortal, and perhaps not even 'just shy' for long… but I also have excellent healthcare. So… yeah what are you talking about?" queried Lily. Lily looked rather adorable as she tilted her head to the side while talking, her ears swivelling around a bit just to really sell the image.

"Gah, you're way too good at that sort of look Lily. It's adorable. I can see why Kat's taken with you. As for what I mean… well, at this point you're going to the final right?" Lily nodded at Blue's rhetorical question. "Well… if you feel like you're going to NEED spells to win that, perhaps you should consider going for Thyme's notes instead? Sure they won't be as good as the books…

"But if you want to spend more time practicing spells instead of deciphering which spells are even wroth practicing… perhaps you should go for the notes? Sure the final round is still weeks away… but people study magic for years and some people still get nowhere. I don't think it's reasonable to expect sudden enlightenment inside of a month, not if you've just got random spellbooks.

"Now Thyme's notes? Even if Thyme is under major restrictions you could probably get most of those spells in 'fighting condition' before the final round if you really push yourself. I doubt that's necessary… but I'm sure you COULD manage it. Based on what I know of you… you've got some real talent for magic. So I suppose the question is, do you want to risk not having that power come the next round?

And if you think you CAN risk it… do you actually have the time to study the books between Contracts?

"That last part is mostly just an idle thought. I didn't really consider it until I just said it… but it make sense. Say it takes… let's just say two weeks per book. If you're regularly off doing missions, you might only be able to get through one book every two months or something. So… yeah was that what you wanted to know?"

*I can't say it's what I wanted to know at all… but Blue does bring up good points. Probably more relevant ones then Marigold did actually. Granted, Blue is intentionally making it a different question… but it does give me perspective. Perspective I'm not sure I wanted… but perspective I now have.

Even if it's not what Blue meant, this seems to be the choice of 'Do I want to be useful now?' or 'Do I want to be useful later'? And I'm already feeling somewhat useless a lot of the time. I feel like I need to get stronger so that I can actually help Kat instead of just letting her humour me.*

[You know that's not true.]

*GO BACK TO YOUR PRACTICE KAT! I'M TRYING TO HAVE AN ANGSTY MONLOGUE.*

[Your mental yelling won't work on me! I can feel all the happiness you're sending my way because I knocked you out of that depressing spiral. So it's not going to work.]

*Curses! Foiled by my own brain!* While Lily was having her 'angsty monologue' and chatting with Kat Marigold had slid over to Blue and was trying to start her own conversation. "So you said you were down to do some stuff… what are you thinking might be on the table?"

Blue blushed and looked to the side. "Um… look I'm still not certain of it. I haven't even really worked out if I like men or women. I… god am I really about to admit this?" Marigold made a 'go on' gesture and Blue sighed… but continued. "I DO know that I have a libido. I've… explored myself a bit but yeah never felt all that drawn to people.

"So… this seems to me that it's a safe enough way to explore some things, especially because I know you're not looking for any commitment… but I just don't know what I'd be willing to do. Especially not when you're… rather extreme in your tastes. I mean, I've been in combat enough that I should be fine but… it's different even if you enjoy whatever it is,"

"Hey no pressure. If you want we can work our way up to the more interesting stuff?" offered Marigold. "Would it make you feel better if I said I've had sex with a water mage before?"

"Maybe?" said Blue to the air. "Yeah I don't know if that changes anything at all. Wait… if you've already slept with one why were you saying it'd be new?"

"Ah, the last one was so boring. Sure she was a water mage, but she was horrible vanilla in like… everything. The kinkiest thing I managed to get her to do was hold my hands back with some water while she sat on my face. Which like, sure it was a fun time, but not all that unique you know? We've got handcuffs or rope for stuff like that already," said Marigold.

Blue let out a choked cough. "Yeah… that might be a bit too much information right at this moment Marigold. Still… I'll give it some proper thought before the end of the day at least,"

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