--- Kat --- (Lily, Kat and Borgick next to the cannon)


    "So… I see you''re working on that cannon…" said Kat somewhat awkwardly as she stood behind Borgick. The dwarf in question had pulled a full setup going on. He had arge table that looked like it was made by Thyme recently. It was massive and around two metres in length. It was covered in notebooks and papers. Borgick had a few instruments for measuring things.


    Rulers, protractors, stuff like as well as a beaker filled with powder.


    No response. "Um… Borgick?" asked Kat as she looked at the dwarf. He was scribbling in one of the many notebooks around and a quick nce at the spines showed that quite a few were in use, and presumably full of notes. Kat gave a slight shrug and waved her hand in front of Borgick''s eyes. The dwarf didn''t even notice.


    *You know what? Nevermind. Let''s leave him to the cannons. I only really stopped by for a chat because he was there. He wasn''t one of the big names on the list so… yeah let''s just head off.*


    [Probably for the best]


    With that Kat headed back to the inn and grabbed Mint''s attention, "Hi Mint, do you know where Green and Gareth are?" asked Kat.


    "Oh? No desire to spend some time with lonely old me?" asked Mint with a teasing smile.


    Kat considered her own response, trying to think of a sufficient one… but couldn''t think of anything that wouldn''tpletely overstep the line. "I do, but I was nning to spend some time with youst. A bit of a risk because for once D.E.M.O.N.S wasn''t super clear with when I have to leave… but if it all works out I might spend the most time speaking with you… err… second most.


    So it''s a bit of a gamble but if you''re ok with it?"


    "Hey don''t worry too much Kat. I''ve enjoyed getting to know everyone even if Marigold is an unrepentant pervert who keeps trying to get me to have sex with her instead of a proper conversation. While I am unsure how much I appreciate the offer the fact of the matter is I am not yet capable of sexual rtions.


    This body doesn''t have the parts and I doubt my control is enough to deal with the sensations and properly regte my responses," answered Mint.


    "Waaay too much information there Mint," grumbled Kat.


    "Why is that? I did not go into any specifics and everything I said was the truth. Thyme has… thoroughly exined the issues with losing control in those sorts of situation. We are not like the other races where our bodies have a sort of instinctual limiter to prevent injuring our partners. Sure it can happen if the strength differences is truly massive, but normally it''s not a problem.


    Or so I''ve been told," mused Mint.


    Kat opened her mouth. Closed it again, and then contacted Lily. *Right I have no idea how to exin this one. Do you want to take this?*


    [What?! Kat Why would I want to answer this question. I want nothing to do with this.]


    *Probably because you''d at least have a way to exin it?*


    [Kat I can see the half formed idea in your head and it''s pretty much correct as far as I can tell. Please? Save me from the embarrassment.]


    *Fine. But only because I''ve embarrassed you plenty and you''re adorable.* "Ok, so let me preface this with the fact that it''s all just guesswork alright?" said Kat as she waited. Eventually Mint did nod. "Right so… friendships and sexual rtionships tend to be kept secret. It''s sort of… an instinctive response? It''s like how you don''t poison your own water supply?


    "How do I exin this… err… ok. How about putting it this way. Sexual rtionship are by their very nature higher stakes then friendships. They took more effort to maintain, they are more important to most people, and if they breakdown the results are more likely to be catastrophic. A friendship failing usually just means two people drifting apart.


    That doesn''t happen in sexual rtionships, or not the same way… I think.


    "So, in this case, I have an instinctive desire… not to push too far into your sex life. Though… I also know there is supposed to be a time and ce for that sort of thing. Like at slumber parties and stuff but I couldn''t tell you why exactly. My best guess is that it pushes casual conversation up several degrees in importance and that''s not something everyone wants.


    "Plus from my perspective, which is NOT themon one. Sex is kind of gross. I mean, there''s just a lot of mess involved. I''m sure I could put up with that to make Lily happy but thinking about it is not fun,"


    "Ah, that makes sense. Your talk has been most informative. If you wish to find Green and Gareth they are currently in the underground pool, feel free to head down," said Mint.


    [Oh my god. I can''t believe you still managed to mortify me without even forcing me to talk about this stuff. Dammit. Whatever. I''ll live. Don''t think I''m too happy with thest part of your answer though.]


    *Well to take a leaf from Mint''s book? I didn''t go into details and I just told the truth.*


    [You know what Kat? I ALSO don''t want to know. In fact, let''s go talk to Green and Gareth and have a nice normal, hopefully non-sexual conversation.]


    Kat nodded in agreement and headed down to the elevator. When it opened they stepped out and saw Green on one of the lounge chairs with a book over her face while Gareth swamps… very slowly. His arms and legs would sort of seize up asionally but he was doing alright.


    As Kat pondered what to say Gareth made it to the edge of the pool and after propping himself on the ledge said "Hello Kat, I see you''ve got to us finally,"


    "Oh… I didn''t realise it was so obvious I was making rounds," mumbled Kat as she moved over to sit on a chair near Gareth. Upon seeing this Gareth shook his head and waved in Green''s direction. Getting the message Kat walked over, Lily in her arms, while Gareth swam at a decent speed until he was next to Green. "That was a lot faster then before. Is there a reason?"


    "Hurts just a touch if I don''t swim slowly. I''ve been told not to push too hard… but I honestly don''t know where the line is because I do also need the exercise and to keep my body up and moving so… yeah I guess it is what it is," said Gareth with a shrug. "Green get up we have guests!"


    "Urgh…" grumbled Green as the books she was reading fell off her face. "I''m up! Nobody is drowning right?"


    "Really feeling the love," grumbled Gareth.


    "Oh don''t be a big baby. Mint said she was keeping an eye on the pools, and even is she gets distracted I refuse to believe Thyme isn''t doing the same. Sure if I heard you thrashing around I''d save you, but if I didn''t hear anything and something was happening? I''m sure you''d have been fine," said Green.


    "Yup. Really feeling the love," repeated Gareth.


    Green rolled her eyes and turned to Kat. "Well Kat. Once again, thanks for helping us out. You''ve gone above and beyond once again… and we''re heading to the finals. Thest one is for all the marbles… and honestly not sure when we''ll see you after that. Win or lose… summoning you IS expensive.


    Perhaps seeing if you can just show up using a beacon for a visit?


    "I know very well that if we got you to do any work we''d start to rue more debt and don''t get me wrong it''s totally been worth it to have you around… but it does make it awkward to keep up a friendship when the job is done you know? So perhaps have that info ready when the next roundes?"


    Kat winced. "Sorry I didn''t really think about it. I haven''t exactly been checking what you guys pay me, or rather, what my cut is from what you guys pay me. I… don''t really have a good frame of reference for this sort of stuff,"


    Green nodded and said, "Look it''s fine. We''re getting a steal. We consulted the experts and because this is a repeat contract AND you gave us the beacon we''ve been able to keep the costs on the lower end of things… but it''s still a regr demon summoning. It is still a LOT of money or resources. It''s… might be best you don''t know,"


    Kat frowned at the, probably true statement. "You know? It feels like it''s been happening a lot in thest thirty minutes… but I have to say? I think that''s already more than I wanted to know," Green just shrugged in response. There really wasn''t anything she could do about it. It was the truth after all.