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

Chapter 2037: Chapter 2037 Magical Theme Park Part 3

— Kat —

Kat and Lily stumbled off the ride, holding on to each other to try and stay upright better and it was barely working. Kat was only managing so well because she was continually wrapping her tail around the nearby fencing that helped keep the line in place. “Why did we think that was a good idea?” asked Kat.

“Blegh. It seemed cool, and somewhat interesting, and the screaming didn’t seem as menacing as it should’ve been because this was a theme park,” grumbled Lily.

“I didn’t even know I COULD feel nauseous from stuff like that anymore,” whined Kat.

“I’m less surprised then you about that part. What I don’t understand is how those things stay open. It’s a surprise they’re not coating in vomit…” complained Lily.

“Maybe it’s because most people don’t spin them quite as much? It didn’t seem so bad when we were picking up speed but after I stopped holding the control orb thing in the middle it all got a lot worse,” moaned Kat.

“Maybe it has an anti-nausea enchantment?” queried Lily. “I didn’t see one but it might explain it?”

“Maybe,” agreed Kat. Not wanting to think about that deathtrap any longer then necessary. The pair managed to stumble over to a nearby playground. It was clearly meant for smaller children and the ground nearby was very, very soft. It was a bit like those squishy rubber mates but in this case it was made of real grass. Real grass that felt softer then some beds she’d slept on. Or maybe that was just the nausea talking.

Kat let herself drop face down onto the grass, letting go of Lily so as not to pull her along… only for Lily to fall right after her now she had nothing to hold onto. Lily directed her fall somewhat so she fell across Kat’s back. It was not the best plan because she got knocked on the chin with one of Kat’s wings. “Ow…” whined Lily despite the fact such a small fall couldn’t really hurt her.

“There there,” said Kat as she reached her tail up to pat Lily on the head.

“Man you two are hopeless,” said a young voice from nearby. Lily rolled over slightly to see them, and Kat decided just to look through the connection. It was a kid, about eight perhaps? Or were they a dwarf and not that old? Kat didn’t really know what a child dwarf looked like so it was hard to say. They seemed pretty smug, but that could mean anything. In the end, neither of them responded.

“What? No response? I knew you were hopeless but the fact you can’t even talk…” the kid shook his head like he’d seen some great tragedy. “So sad…”

Kat just let out a short snort of laughter. She’d grown up in an orphanage. This sort of talk was basic stuff. She wasn’t the slightest bit concerned with his needling. It brought back fond memories if anything. So instead she just nodded into the grass and turned her head slightly to get more comfortable.

Perhaps if she was talking to an adult or a teenager that would’ve been the end of it. She clearly wasn’t interested in talking or rising to the bait… but this was just a kid. So he decided to poke at her. Literally. With a stick. Lily watched him do it too, and Kat still made no real effort to move. He’d been sitting at the top of a wooden slide, and apparently had the stick from somewhere else because there were no trees nearby.

The kid slid down and used the stick to poke Kat’s cheek a few times. Now, Kat had plenty of experience with kids trying to get her attention and knew there were few correct choices in a situation like this. She wasn’t responsible for the kid, so telling him off wouldn’t go anywhere. Answering properly would be encouraging this sort of behaviour. So Kat decided to go for a unique, third option.

She pretended to yawn just as the next poke was due to come in, the stick entered her mouth… and she casually bit off the end of it. “What!” screeched the kid.

“Crunchy,” responded Kat.

“You can’t do that!” insisted the kid.

“Why not?” asked Kat.

“You… you just can’t! You shouldn’t eat trees!” the kid responded.

“Ah but that was a stick not a tree. Plus, my jaws and teeth are a lot stronger then yours. Eating trees won’t hurt me,” claimed Kat. Though the taste isn’t anything to right home about. Lily was of course trying not to burst into laughter. She’d let herself slide around a bit so that her fae was buried in Kat’s back and the kid wouldn’t notice.

“My mum told me it was bad for you though!” insisted the kid.

“Well, um… hmm… what’s your name?” asked Kat.

“Tony!” cheered the kid.

Kat smiled, imagining him in a decade or two, with a fake twig in his mouth still poking people with sticks. “Well Tony, it’s not good for kids to eat trees. It would be really bad on your teeth. They could chip and you might lose them!”

“But… but I thought those grow back?” queried the kid.

“Only once,” Kat explained. “You’ve got your baby teeth, and then you grow adult teeth a bit later.” *Though I would’ve thought he was at that stage already? Might just be a late bloomer. I know a few kids who were like that. I know one poor kid that still had some baby teeth at thirteen.*

Tony nodded slowly, as if this all made sense but he still couldn’t quite believe her. “You still shouldn’t eat trees though,” stated Tony firmly.

Kat shrugged, not really wanting to convince the kid that he should eat trees, or that anyone should. *Hmm, not sure I love the fact that he’s gotten that conversation that he wanted by poking me… but the fact he immediately seemed worried because I was eating the branch probably means he’s not much of a little shit.*

[Still a bit of one though?]

*All children are. That doesn’t mean they aren’t cute or worth protecting. It simply is the way it works.*

[Fair enough]

“So what are you doing out here by yourself?” asked Kat. Immediately, she could see Tony’s face close down and lock up.

“Just cause I want to,” shrugged Tony, still half glaring at her. *Gee. I wonder if that could be a lie? Really need to rely on my lie detection to figure this one out.*

“Fair enough. Do you often come to the park here alone? Or is it just because you felt like it today?” asked Kat.

“It’s because my stupid brother wanted to go to the Gravity place. It makes me stomach feel awful so I didn’t want to go,” insisted the kid.

“Ah, fair enough. Though, if your stomach feels bad after that… why did you make fun of us for the same thing when we came off the spinning balls? Surely you’d know what it feels like then?” asked Kat.

Tony winced a little but then got angry right after. “You just gotta be ready for it and keep your hands on the thing in the middle! You’ll never feel sick if you do that. The fact that you got sick must mean your dumb.”

Kat rolled her eyes at that. She was still facing away from the kid… though maybe she should change that. Kat raised her back a bit and jerked a bit to throw Lily into the air for a second. Just long enough to spin around and catch her girlfriend on the chest. Now she could easily look up at Tony. “Still, we didn’t know that,” said Kat.

“You must be extra dumb then,” insisted Tony.

Kat shrugged, “Maybe I am… but if I’m so dumb how come I noticed that you just talked about your brother before? Not his friends… or the group of kids they’re watching over? Are they your friends?”

“No,” Tony bit out before he could stop himself.

“Want to talk about it?” asked Kat.

“No,” Tony answered. Much more quietly this time. Kat just waited. Staring up at the sky, watching the clouds for a few moments. She didn’t look at Tony even once in the next minute. He cracked easily. “They aren’t my friends. They never have been. We… my brother and his friends used to rotate watching us. Treat us all like one big group but…

“But I don’t like any of them. They’ve all been mean to me at various points just because I’m the oldest. The only outdoor activity they seem to like is the park here. I’m constantly put at disadvantages in all of the games we play and my brother never looks out for me! The other siblings do! But not mine…”

“Have you talked to your parents about it?” asked Kat.

“No? Why would they care? They’re the ones that are always getting other people to watch me. Dad at least has an excuse with work but Mum just leaves me alone all the time,” grumbled Tony.

*Sorry. Looks like this therapy session is about to interrupt our date.*

[Don’t worry. I knew what I was getting into.]