The original plan had been to pack up everything from the apartment and the cottage in Dis and then teleport it to the new home. Apollyon had correctly pointed out that that was an inefficient plan. Instead, portals would be set up to connect both previous homes to the new one to allow Apollyon and Sariel to quickly fetch smaller amounts of things and bring them to Kate who would immediately sort them away properly, saving time and potential frustrations. Once they finished that task, the three demons would move onto the childhood belongings still at Kate’s parents’ mansion and bring those to Hell too.

As good as that plan was, it still took a lot of time. Kate had been putting away kitchen equipment for the last half hour when Apollyon arrived with even more. This time it was the contents of the spice rack.

“This is the last thing from your kitchen in the cottage. Shall I move on to other rooms?”

Kate shook her head. “I need some help here first.” She gestured to the pile of stuff on the dining table.

“I see. Of course. Are you keeping the same storage locations as in your previous kitchen?”

“Yes, makes it all easier to find.”

“Good. That will also make it easier to put away now.” The old demon grabbed a few pans and stowed them away in the large drawer they belonged in.

After a few more items were put into their place, Sariel arrived with a box. “I have another storage container filled. Shall it be put with the others?”

“Please.” Kate nodded towards the storage room door.

That was not the only box that went in there today. Kate had opted to keep her human-made dishes, cutlery, and kitchen gear. It would just be put into boxes and then into storage for later. After looking through her childhood belongings with Lizzy, it was decided that everything Kate didn’t want to display now would be put into storage as well. Despite being unsure about it, all the demons she had talked to agreed that it would be better to get more storage than to throw out anything.

Sariel returned from the storage room. “One more trip should empty the apartment kitchen. If you have completed the sorting of kitchen items here, I will then move on to the bedroom. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s good. Thank you again.”

“It is my pleasure to help.”

“I should maybe see about cooking something nice for you both later. You know, as a reward.”

“There is no reward needed. Aiding in making your house a home is reward enough in itself. But I will not decline an opportunity to dine with my friends.”

“You better not! I insist on making good food for you today.”

“I shall look forward to that.” Sariel exited the kitchen and Hell.

Apollyon chuckled happily. “This is the best.”

“What do you mean?”

“During the second war, I faced Sariel in battle. Back then I could not imagine anything but eventually death at my hands for her. Now, I am happily moving your belongings with her. We went from two opposed military leaders to simply helping a friend move homes together. This is not what I could have expected, but I love it.”

“The best outcome, honestly. You are both amazing and I am super proud to be friends with you two.”

“I am proud to be your friend as well. I do not know what Sariel considers me, but I am glad we can simply join forces like this.”

“Hm… what do you consider her?”

“I want to see her as a friend, but I don’t know if we are close enough.”

“That’s fair I suppose. She’s a great friend, caring like you but in a… hm… naïve way? I don’t think she ever had friends among the angels and now she doesn’t really know what to do in certain situations. Doesn’t stop her from being super supportive though.”

Apollyon nodded understandingly. “Maybe I should just ask her when she returns.”

“I think that’s a good idea. From poking her mind a few times, I know she prefers a bit of directness.”

“It is not hard to see why.”

Kate simply nodded and put away the last knife.

“It appears all the kitchen utensils are done. Is there anything else you expect to put in this room today?”

“No, not today. I want something nice on the walls, but I need to pick some art or something for that, I don’t have anything yet.”

“I see. Shall we move on to the next room?”

“Yes, let’s finish everything down here. So, living room next.”

“Since it has significant overlap with the reading nook, shall I simply bring everything from your living room in Dis?”

“Please. We can sort it here. Oh, and please pick up the boxes with books from Prudence and Euphemia as well, they are in the bedroom.”

“Of course. I will return momentarily.” Apollyon stepped through the portal in the hallway while Kate made her way to the living room.

Just a few moments later, the devil returned with several books and a few of the boxes Kate used to store her leftover Heroes cards. “The first delivery. Where shall I put this?”

“Let’s just collect it all on the table and couch.”

“Understood.” Apollyon did as instructed.

Kate got to work putting things away. The Heroes boxes went onto the lower part of a shelf, and the books were carefully divided into, for now, two piles: living room and reading nook. Eventually, there would be a third pile for anything that would go into storage or the library. Kate planned to ask her friends if they wanted anything from that pile before putting it way, but that was a plan for another day.

Quite quickly, the rapid back-and-forth teleporting of Apollyon set in again. Kate tried to keep up with her sorting of stuff, but it was slower than in the kitchen. Here, it actually required a bit of thought.

Sariel soon returned as well, having put the last box from the kitchen on the border world into storage. Much to Kate’s joy, the fallen angel ran into Apollyon who had also just returned.

“Sariel, I request a moment before you continue.”

“Of course. What can I help you with?”

“Kate and I talked about how wonderful this situation today is.”

Sariel nodded. “Yes. It is good to come together as allies for something mundane yet important.”

“Not just that… I… We talked about how we view our relationships with each other. I would like to regard you as a friend, but more importantly than affirming that I would like to know how you see me.”

Sariel paused. “Apollyon… you have always been an inspiration, even as we stood on opposite sides of the border world. I did not dare ask for your friendship. I did not believe I had earned that right, having been your enemy and not having a real way to make up for my actions against you. It would fill me with greatest pride that you would see me as your friend.”

“I assume that means you accept me as your friend, correct?”

“Yes.”

Apollyon smiled. “I’m glad. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Just two thousand years to go from bitter enemies to friends. It fills me with joy.”

“I am happy too.”

Kate grunted in playful annoyance. “Just hug already, fucking Hell.”

Apollyon giggled, Sariel eventually did too. Once both regained composure, they did indeed hug.

“Now, Apollyon, let us get back to aiding our mutual friend. There is much to be done.”

“Agreed. Let us make sure this move is finished today.”

“Yes. A good goal.”

Both went back to the portals, back to work, leaving Kate to chuckle and shake her head alone in the living room.

 

Before moving to the bedroom, Kate opted to put her books and boardgames into the reading nook. The glass panels had been installed now and the protective tarps removed. It was very cosy in here.

After some deliberation, it was decided to also move the Heroes cards in here. After all, this would also be the gaming nook. Between the living room and the nook, there were many shelves to fill, leaving enough room for future book acquisitions. Still, Kate put some books into storage and wanted to gift some of them to her friends and donate a few to the library, mainly those belonging to Prudence. Those books wouldn’t be on the public shelves but replace the magically replicated versions in the vault.

Overall, sorting things into the reading nook was a quick endeavour. Once Kate was done, she made her way back to the house and into the bedroom, where Apollyon and Sariel had dutifully sorted her clothes, armour and other textiles like towels and bedsheets into two piles: conjured and ‘real’. Anything deemed ‘real’ would be sorted first, things that still fit and that Kate would wear would be put into the closet, anything else would be donated to humans in need as those would mostly be her old human clothes. The conjured pile would then be sorted by usefulness, desire to keep it and anything close enough to human-made clothes to be donated. Everything else would simply be magically recycled. Of course there was more to be done after this, mainly the proper distribution of plushies across the house, but that could wait until after dinner.