The festival had ended with a rather lovely fireworks dispy. The library had the best view of the city and saw quite a few people arrive just for the view that evening. Now, it was Monday afternoon. Kate and Apollyon had postponed their private day to Tuesday to fix the cat situation Monica and Laura had found themselves in.

  “That is a rather cute shed.” Kate and Apollyon had just teleported to the plot Monica and Laura wanted their house built on.

  “We are considering just keeping it and having it renovated.” Monica nodded in agreement.

  “A good pn. Now, you said you found a Hell cat in there?”

  “We caught her sneaking some of our socks in there. We didn’t want to do anything without consulting you, since she is a cat from Hell.”

  “We might need to get help from the other Hell cats we know, but let’s see what this is all about first. I assume she has made a home in the shed if she is taking the socks there.”

  “We think so too.”

  “Before we go in, I should warn you that you might be about to adopt a cat. If she doesn’t want to leave, the best choice would be to convince her not to steal from you and be nice to you, which basically means she would accept to live with you as a sort of pet.”

  “Laura?”

  Laura nodded. “That would be quite cute, and I love cats anyway. I would want a cat someday anyway, so why not her?”

  Kate smiled. “Good. Let’s see if she’s home then.”

  Kate carefully opened the door of the shed while Apollyon and the two humans stood back. A dark brown striped cat had amassed quite the pile of socks and other small fabric items in a comfortable corner and now stood ready to defend it against the intruding demon.

  Kate knelt down. “You made quite the home here, haven’t you?”

  The cat didn’t move.

  “I know you can understand me and I can understand you, even if the humans around here can’t. I also know where you came from. This pce is far colder than the Abyss.”

  The cat seemed to rex slightly, moving back onto the pile of socks.

  “Why don’t you show me why you got all these socks?”

  The cat considered for a moment before shifting back into its original form, a bck and brown striped abyssal cat, two tentacles sprouting from its shoulders. It shuffled its extra appendages into two socks and proudly dispyed them. It felt quite smart for figuring this out.

  “That is clever but you know why humans had those things you stole, those little bags? They get cold too. They made those to keep their paws warm.”

  The cat found the idea of using the weird bags, the socks, to keep its paws warm amazing.

  “It is a good idea the humans came up with, but you know what humans also do? When you found the right type of human, and you let them have their little paw warmers, they will give you food and as much warm stuff to snuggle on as you want and they will make sure you are never cold.”

  That was a strange thought to the cat. Why would humans do that, what do they get out of this?

  “I know you’re barely a few decades old, you don’t even have a name yet, but humans might surprise you. They get your presence from it. That is often enough for them. Give them a rub, sleep on them, eat the food they give you and they will just love you.”

  The cat didn’t fully understand why humans would do that but considered its presence a gift to be cherished. Free food, free warmth and servants that would provide chin scratches sounded like a good deal.

  “You should show the humans outside that you are up for that deal and maybe visit them where they live now. They have friends that want to give them a home near your shed and if you stay at your humans’ house, those friends can make your shed better too.”

  Leaving the shed unguarded was not a good pn, but if the humans were to commit to additional socks… well…

  “Yes, they will give you paw warmers, not their paw warmers but ones specifically made for you. How does that sound?”

  The cat liked this agreement.

  “Shall we present the results of our negotiations to the humans then?”

  The cat agreed and moved to the door, Kate followed it. Slowly and carefully, it approached Monica and Laura, rubbing against them and looking up at them expectantly.

  “So, you might have overheard the things I just negotiated with her, if you agree to buying some socks for her and having a cat, I recommend picking her up. Oh, and avoid her ears when you pet her.”

  Monica shrugged. “Okay, Laura? Do we want a cat?”

  Laura nodded eagerly and picked the young abyssal cat up. “Do you have a name little fluffy one?”

  Kate shook her head. “She doesn’t. She’s too young and never spent enough time with demons or humans to be named. She would also like you to name her, since you will be her humans.”

  “Moni, do you have an idea?”

  Monica tilted her head slightly. “Well, she caused a bit of mischief, didn’t she? What about we call you Mischief, or Missy for short.”

  Missy liked that name and she liked being carried around. She tried to hug Laura with her tentacles.

  Kate smiled. “She has accepted her new name and you as her humans.”

  “That is super adorable. She does understand us, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, so, Missy… I know we can’t properly understand you, so please understand that whenever we make mistakes, it’s not because we don’t like you or care for you. It’s because we don’t know better.”

  “She understands that. She would also like you to know that she prefers food with fish in it.”

  Monica chuckled. “Then that is what we will try to get you.”

  As the two humans started fussing more and more about Missy, who relished the attention, Kate turned to Apollyon. “Guess we didn’t need to call on Rin or Sera after all.”

  Apollyon shrugged. “We might still need their help eventually. I doubt that Missy knows how to properly live with humans. A teacher or two might come in handy.”

  “I will tell Missy to expect them before we leave.”

  “Good. We should stick around for a while anyway, let those two have their fun with their new cat friend but still be ready if anything happens.”

  “Agreed.” Kate looked around. “Lovely pce for a home.”

  “They chose this plot well. Well within walking distance of the city centre for a human and close enough to public transport for anything further away. Not to mention the lovely view.”

  “A view that can’t be blocked. That’s library nd.”

  “Yes, reasonably new nd as well. We bought this area when we connected the containment cell under the ruins to our vaults. Preventing another incident like the accidental discovery of the defense rings under the university was a priority.”

  “Huh, I didn’t know that.”

  “It’s not overly necessary knowledge, but now you are informed.”

  “If I remember correctly, this is the st plot before our nd begins, right?”

  Apollyon nodded. “Yes, but it might be an idea to use our nd here for simir purposes. We are gathering quite a few humans that need to be housed in this world.”

  “If we can’t get something more directly in the city, that might be a good pn.”

  “Hm… that is all consideration for the future. Today, we help with Missy and tomorrow we don’t worry about anything. Tomorrow, we take a break.”

  “Sorry about postponing that by a day.”

  “It is fine, I still get my day with you. We have eternity, after all.”

  “That we do.”

  “Speaking of having a day with another, have you spent a night with Lilith?”

  “Uhm, no. Not yet.”

  “I recommend it, she is quite lovely in bed and she yearns for that sort of intimacy with another demon. Amusing to think that she was too shy to ask you. The former high inquisitor considers you too special to simply ask.”

  “No way! I’m not that special.”

  “Considering your path and where you have ended up, I agree with Lilith. What I do disagree with is her belief that she isn’t special or that you are beyond her in any way. It’s a bit of a human view of things.”

  “I will have to ask her then.”

  “Please do that. I am sure she would appreciate it, as would I. We have been a bit possessive of each other recently.”

  “I noticed that too…” Kate sighed. “I guess with so much going on these past months, experimenting with others isn’t as alluring as it usually is.”

  “I feel the same. Well, now that there are fewer important events in the near future, we should find the time to enjoy the rest of our friends.”

  Kate nodded. “But first we take a day off, then we will see about having some rexation time with the others.”

  “Yes, there are many whose warmth I have not felt in many years. I shall remedy that.”

  Kate started to giggle. “I don’t know if we should tell Sarah about this part of our culture.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s got a thing for demons.”

  “Don’t we all?” Apollyon smirked.