Chapter 837: Backyard Thoughts


    We’re back to Kat.


    —


    After some time spentforting her girlfriend, Kat and Lily decided it was time to leave. That was when Evaline ambushed them in the hallway. Instead of threats or punishments though, Evaline yed up the ‘it’s been so long since I’ve seen you’ card instead. Something much more powerful and Lily didn’t have the energy to fight against it after her recent mental scarring.


    A quick kisster and Kat was hopping the fence. It sounded a lot worse than it was in reality. When Kat went inside though... it was rather quiet. Sylvie was having a nap and Callisto had set up in the garage. She appeared to be doing some woodworking. Her form obscuring most of the wood she was working with making it hard to tell what it was. The headphones on her head were what really sold the fact she didn’t want to be bothered.


    So Kat walked back out and into the yard before flopping down on the ground. She didn’t know what to do. *Ugh. I feel so... listless. I don’t want to just sleep like Sylvie... but I can’t bother Callisto... and it’s a bit toote to walk to the orphanage I wouldn’t make it before dinner and certainly not back in a reasonable amount of time. Well... that is unless...*


    Kat quickly shut down that line of thought. She was trying not to make a big deal out of the fact she was a demon and flying or running fast enough to pass cars in the suburbs were not good ways of keeping powers to yourself. Kat took a nce at the fences around Vivian house. The two on either side were pretty high and you couldn’t see through them. One was made of metal sheets and the other had a thick hedge pressed up against it.


    With that established Kat hopped to her feet, summoned her fans and started to run through her katas. Letting herself speed up slowly. As she did though... she could finally feel it. The difference between earth and other dimensions. Oh it was always clear she was weaker and slower here but now that she was repeating the familiar movements it became crystal clear. Pressing demonic energy into her limbs didn’t really help as it should have either.


    .....


    She couldn’t feel the dimension doing anything to her energy but she could feel thecking speed and know that the world didn’t appreciate her efforts. As the movements started repeating Kat sunk into her mind. A chance to let herself think. About Lily, about Apep. About everything really.


    *First things first I need to visit Gramps while on break. I haven’t talked to him in so long... I don’t want him to think I just forgot about him so that’s at the top of the list. The real question is, do I want to go alone or with someone... and regardless of that when do I want to show up? The best time might be early morning before the other kids get up. Help Gramps with breakfast and get out before anyone can get up and notice me.


    The other possibility is to just head in during the day and avoid mealtimes. Gramps will be his office working though. He might appreciate the excuse to not be filling out more paperwork... or maybe not. I’m not a kid that he needs to give attention anymore... I wonder if that makes it better or worse. I’m not sure.*


    Kat ended the sequence with a strong punch and winced at the slight explosion of air when she snapped into ce. When she was moving it never really caused issues but when she stopped whatever she did to the air around her to prevent friction burning her alive seemed to just shut off. It still wasn’t that much wind or even that loud to the average person... but it was noticeable weird. If people investigated they’d have questions. Kat sucked in a deep breath and restarted her work. This time focused on going as slow as possible without changing her mental clock speed.


    *Then there’s Sylvie. She’s grown attached to Callisto and that’s wonderful... but it seems like she still doesn’t have any friends at school. None that she’s told me about anyway. I should make time to do something with her but I’m not really sure what. Board or card games could be fun but that would probably pull in more people. A nice... family activity... strange to think about.


    Still that really is more of a group activity unless the game is chess... but I’m not good enough to offer Sylvie a challenge. I’d need to spend forever abusing my demonic energy to speed up my mind and chances are I’d still lose in the end. That would be a horrible use of my time. I wouldn’t enjoy it at all and Sylvie’s too smart to miss something like that on my end.


    Hmmm. I’m really not sure what we could do. It turns out that when you’re not responsible for a building full of children or attending school you have a lot of spare time. No homework. No responsibilities. No hobbies either really. I’ve got my katas... but that’s just one thing and really isn’t a hobby so much as it is work prep.*


    Kat flipped in ce and stomped the ground, wincing at the hole she made onnding. Note to self. *mming your foot down is cool but also damaging to the terrain.* With a sigh Kat moved off to the side and continued her workout. If it could really be called that when she wasn’t even sweating.


    *Sylvie’s a bit young to read stories too I think... hmm... might be best to find something neither of us are good at and spend some time trying to pick it up. Maybe art? Probably wouldn’t make any noticeable progress in a few days though. Or the fact that I can control my muscles so finely would be too much of an asset. Maybe. I’ve not really done much art outside of mandatory art sses.


    I’ll put that in the ‘maybe’ pile. I’ll probably just end up asking Sylvie what she wants to do anyway. Now what about Vivian and Callisto. Callisto is probably the harder of the two. I’d offer to do the chores for the day but Callisto seems to actually enjoy cooking and cleaning. Probably helps her wind down and helps with the whole ‘doesn’t really sleep’ thing.


    So that’s off the table. She also has the same problems as Sylvie when ites to a lot of other activities. Board games would drag in people and I’m not good enough at chess to y her seriously. Kat let out a deep breath as she thought on what Callisto usually did before an idea wormed its way into Kat’s mind. Maybe she’d appreciate help moving the furniture or something? I can easily lift couches, chairs, tables. Basically whatever Callisto wants. I could carry buckets for cleaning the windows two and take out the ss frames without even straining my arms. I think I like this idea. I’ll make the offer at dinner.


    Vivian... Vivian... she’d probably just enjoy spending time with me. I could let her drag me to the shops to look at clothes or something... she might also enjoy having me along at her work? Hmm. Not sure I can excuse the horns properly or if Vivian would want to have me around. No that’s not fair, she’d probably prefer I was but clients might not like her bringing a kid to work. I really need a way to hide my horns and wings. Might have to put off doing stuff with Vivian out and about until that’s dealt with.


    Then there’s Lily... I should probably take her on a date... but I’m not really sure how to do that without running into the same issues I do with my ns for Vivian. I need some way to hide my horns and wings. Lily’s ears being squishy makes hiding them under a hat pretty easy... even if her tail is less easily hidden. Hmm... maybe if Callisto doesn’t mind helping me out I can set up a pic lunch? That’s a nice date idea and we could either do it here in the backyard or with a bit more help from Callisto of Vivian we could head out to the forest and hang around there. *


    Kat finished her set and slowly brought her hands down to her sides before dismissing her fans. *I also really want to train properly. It’s hard to do on Earth. Especially my demonic fire. I might be better off contacting Kamiko and trying to work out some way to practice with her or whoever it is that teaches Kamiko. Spars between the two of us should be pretty even unless my regeneration ising into y. I’m not sure I want to go that route though... I don’t want her to think I’m just using her for lessons or something.*