It was Thursday, Kate was getting ready to leave the library for today and pick up some groceries on the way home when Eisheth and Evelyn teleported in. Kate raised an eyebrow. There was no way she would interrupt whatever was coming next.

“That was super neat!” Evelyn looked around.

“And easy. I told you it wouldn’t take us any time to stop by here quickly.”

“I wish I could do that. So many uses…”

“Indeed. Hello Kate.”

“Hey you two.”

“Hi!” Evelyn sounded extremely excited. “I need to tell you something, the others too! Can we go into that cafeteria of yours for that?”

Eisheth nodded. “Of course we can.”

The succubus led the two humans to the restaurant, conjured some tea and turned back to the door to get Nirrti and Apollyon. That turned out to be unnecessary. The two demons arrived very quickly without having to be notified.

“Okay, now I am actually a little nervous with you all here.” Evelyn glanced around the room.

“There is no need to be. I am sure whatever you wish to tell us will have little bearing on our opinion of you.” Apollyon tried to be supportive. How she knew what Evelyn wanted everyone here for was something best not questioned.

“Well, I am actually hoping it has some influence…”

“Then I would ask you to elaborate.”

“Well, I uh… figured out what you are. Eisheth nudged me a lot, and we agreed that seeing your reactions would be worth it…”

“What are we?”

“You’re demons. Well, you three are, Kate is still human… mostly… I think.”

“I am, mostly.” Kate grinned.

“Okay good.”

“You are right about us. I am glad you know now.” Apollyon shifted back to her demon form. Evelyn stared for a while before noticing that Eisheth and Nirrti had done the same.

“Holy shit… this is all for real.”

“It is.” Eisheth stepped towards her friend. “Are you comfortable with us showing ourselves like this?”

“Uuuuuuh, yea, I am. You’re real demons, actual for real demons.”

“Many humans take issue with that fact. I know we already talked about it, but you should tell the others as well.”

“Tell them what? Oh, right. I don’t really care what you are as long as you are my friends. I am just a bit in awe right now.”

“I will enjoy our cuddle night in this form, if you have no objections.”

“Oh yes please!”

“Your eagerness is reassuring.” Apollyon added.

Nirrti finally spoke up as well. “I am very happy that you accept us as easily as Kate did. How did figure it out, if I may ask?”

“We were out for coffee and people were staring at Eisheth and we talked about that. I’ve never been in public with her, so I never noticed how unnatural that all was and after being prompted a little, it was the only real conclusion I could come up with. You did a great job laying out the breadcrumbs without directly telling me.”

“So, our faith in you was warranted. I hope a lot of questions have answered themselves now.”

“Absolutely. I have so many more now though.”

“And I will answer what I can.” Eisheth smiled.

“Looks like we don’t even need a movie tonight. As much as I want to look at you all some more, I suppose you will be in these forms when we play on Sunday?”

“If you are comfortable with that.”

“Totally am.”

“Then we will be ourselves on Sunday.”

“Awesome! But we should get going though, I don’t want to keep you all from whatever you were doing and I am getting mildly peckish again.”

“Let me deal with dinner today, alright?”

“Sure.”

“We best get going then.” Eisheth nodded to the other demons and Kate. They all returned varying gestures as Evelyn and the succubus teleported away.

Kate looked at Nirrti. “She took that really well.”

“She hid her fear expertly. She is not consciously afraid of us, her excitement is genuine, but she has the same fundamental reaction all humans have. Even you.”

“Yea, I remember.”

“And like you, she will overcome it with ease. I almost expect her to be entirely comfortable with us and what we represent by the end of the night, or Sunday evening at the latest. Her mind carries more cultural baggage than yours did. While she has turned away from religion, remnants of her upbringing remain.”

“I see. Well, I am glad she is fine with you anyway. It’s great to have another person I can share my excitement about demonic stuff with.”

“I have no doubt that she would be eager to listen to your enjoyment, but do not expect her to be as eager to change herself. Most humans are not.”

“Fair. I suppose if most humans were like me, you’d have a lot more new demons around. Makes me wonder actually, how many humans became demons recently, like in the last hundred years or so?”

Nirrti turned to Apollyon, who answered in her stead. “One. Azazel.”

“Wow, there must be really few who were born human then.”

“Barely over a hundred. Many of them were Atlanteans we managed to rescue before they would have been slaughtered by the Atlantean leaders. Many of those we saved remained human, we offered and they declined. After the fall of Atlantis we turned further sixty-seven humans with Azazel being the most recent. She is only the second demon who joined us since the last war.”

“Oh. That explains why everyone is fawning over me so much, even the really important people.”

“Yes.”

“I hope I live up those expectations.”

“It seems like we weren’t clear enough. There are no expectations. Whenever we talk about finding your place and what you want to dedicate yourself to, we only try to make suggestions. If you wish to spend millennia travelling and relaxing, that is up to you. We will not judge you for that.”

Kate didn’t respond. She simply took a moment to think before hugging both demons.

“Should I have said something else?”

“No, I just have some very complicated thoughts about what happens after I become a demon. I am only certain that I want to stay here, as a librarian. I will figure out the rest when I get to it. Yumi was right, you weren’t born with everything figured out, I don’t need to have all my shit together before I turn, just the shit I find important.”

“That’s certainly one way of putting it, but you are right. You have eternity, there is no need to rush anything.”

“I should rush the groceries though, it’s less than an hour until the store closes.”

“I agree, you should hurry.”

 

Meanwhile, Eisheth and Evelyn had gotten comfortable on Evelyn’s large bed, sharing a bowl of small chocolates. The succubus had remained in her demonic form, as promised.

“I have to know, does Apollyon ever bump her head on doorways?”

Eisheth chuckled. “Not that I have ever seen, not that she would ever admit it either. I have though. Doors during the medieval times used to be very small in this region. Too small…”

Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh. “I expect demons to be so much more magical and aloof in some way.”

“We may be immortal and ancient, but we are still just people. We eat, we have naps, we go for walks or lazy around on the beach.”

“What’s it like? Your house… or apartment or whatever.”

“Cozy, obviously. We don’t need to sleep, but I have a large bed. Naps are amazing. I also have a small garden, no fence though. There are just a few stones in the ground to vaguely mark where the garden ends and the forest begins. I still lie down in the grass on some days, just looking up at the sky and the birds. My sisters and I did that a lot when we were young. I never really understood why Lilith kept doing it when we grew up. Now that she’s gone, I understand. Sorry, okay, well… I’ve got several plushies around the house. I also keep the bedroom window open when it’s not stormy outside so cats can come in.”

“You have cats in hell?”

“All cats come from hell or go there eventually.”

“Wait, really?”

“Of course. Why do you think I, as a succubus, am such a cat magnet. I don’t just influence humans. Demons perceive me as comforting, and cats see me the same way. Cats are actually the best at returning the favour. You are good too, of course.”

“Being compared to a cat is certainly the highest of compliments.” Evelyn reached for another small chocolate. She was eager to learn more about her friend, but this was supposed to be a fun and cozy evening first. So, she decided to keep asking more later; for now, she scooted a little closer to Eisheth and closed her eyes.