"How do you look? Well." She took a minor pause. With the looks she was giving just now, Luna could only guess what the Wyrm wanted to be called. While she didn't want to say or even think it... She didn't know if she could truthfully answer her the way she wanted. "Smarter?" It wasn't incorrect. Mostly doctors, professors and some other professions that were considered smart tended to wear glasses so it wasn't really incorrect. "They look cute on you as well."



"Cute aren't they?" Katherine said, summoning one to the table in front of them. "I handmake the bodies myself. Rather unique looking I suppose, but I think they're cute. Some of the spirits aren't the biggest fans of them though. They get over it rather quick." Katherine paused and looked at Clione for a second. "Or perhaps as a priestess of sorts... You're talking about the spirits I have inside? I only collect the wandering souls that have various reasons for being unable to stop their current existence. It's like a lost soul orphanage." She just gave the other woman a smile. She thought it was fairly humorous. "Regardless, they help me and I help them. It's a kind of exchange."

Kozue Komichi

Kozue really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY didn't need to hear that. She coughed to change the point of the conversation. "Anyhow, you want me to fight her? Or, rather, duel her. I like to think it'd be hard for me to lose to a demon." That would make sense as to why the water spirit wanted her to go with her. Well, if the demon was annoying then so be it. It didn't hurt to make people see such vile creatures for what they are.

Avaline

---

At the mention of looking 'smarter' Avaline puffed out her chest, holding a clawed hand on her hips and the other holding the edge of her glasses as she gave Luna a confident smirk. That however, quickly dissolved by being called 'cute'. Cute? She wasn't cute! She was smart, intelligent, and ten times better than that other dragon!

"C-cute!" Avaline couldn't help but to pout lightly, playing with a loose strand of hair. "W-well, If Master Luna says so..." The end of her tail was wagging in its usually happy manner. "A-ah! Right! If I want to be more intelligent I also need intelligent people clothes!"

Livia

---

"Oh, hello Fia. Have a fun time exploring?" She asked. "It's fine dear. I'd rather see you out there playing than in here helping me constantly, though your help is wonderful and makes it much easier on me." She leaned back in her seat, thinking of a way to approach this conversation delicately. "Is there something you wanted, Fia?"

Chione

---

"Hmm...I see..." Chione frowned lightly. "Times certainly have changed, to desecrate the souls of the dead as such." She blinked, realizing what she had said may have been slightly insensitive or antagonistic. "Ah...sorry, that was, aha, a little wrong of me to say." Spirits of the dead were supposed to rest, undisturbed. She knew that better than anyone. There were a few times when it was appropriate to raise spirits from the underworld in order to protect sacred areas, but using them in this fashion made her feel uneasy.

"Most spirits, as far as I know, prefer to pass on, even if they have lingering regrets. Spirits that stay here in this realm only will lead to irritability and perhaps trouble." She frowned, holding a hand to her chin. "But I suppose if that's the way things are here, then I have no reason to say it is wrong."

Celine & Marie

---

"Huuuh? You want to duel little old me?" Marie frowned, pouting and tilting her head to the side in a seemingly troubled manner. "What'd I do? Jealous?" She grinned. "Weelllll, I wouldn't mind giving my fans a show. They deserve something special for being so loyal, heh. Alright then, priestess." She smiled confidently, brushing a strand of white hair away from her face as she faced the two of them.

"Tsk, her voice is giving me a headache. Kozue, discipline this demon."

"Heh, so eager. Fine, I'll even give you the first move." She didn't take any sort of defensive positions or even seem to have a weapon.

Lyssa

---

"Ah! Byeeee! Tomorrow it's a daaaate!" Lyssa waved bye to Fia as she hurriedly left her room. Well, that made her feel tons better. Right, so about that trap then. It was easy enough to trap a pervy masochistic and subbie ninja. All one had to do was throw one of their favorite things under a precariously placed basket. Favorite thing in question? Clamps of the ah, lewd, nature, hehe. Then it was her turn to do a thing.

Cocoa

---

"Otille! of course I accept!"

Almost immediately, Otille would feel something heavy ram into her side and wrap their arms around her in an overly excited manner and knocking her to the ground with force enough to at least knock the wind out of her as she fell to the ground. The cow, cocoa, was now laying on top of the human completely naked and nuzzling the girls neck affectionately with her arms attached firmly around her neck.

Fia nodded as Livia responded, a little relieved the headmistress wasn't upset - though the attempt to make her feel at least a little guilty succeeded somewhat as her smile faltered just a bit. "O-okay." Something she wanted? A complete conversation for once would be appreciated, though there wasn't a god to pray to for that one. "I-I had asked about Cynthia ... looked like you wanted to ... say something. Then Katherine came in ..." The fourteen year old figured that was enough to be said to summarize the situation so they could finish their talk. "Also ... I didn't like that woman ... Chione?"

Hopefully before someone else decided to walk in and steal her conversation. Fia looked at the door a little nervously, as if willing it to remain closed.


Huh? What was that cheerful voi-

SLAM.

Otille coughed as her world returned to focus, looking at the girl on top of her as she took hold of the situation. Brown hair, long, cow like ears and horns. Looking at the missing cow in the pen, she guessed this had to be Cocoa.

H-had her spell actually worked? The girl smiled slightly at the thought - though her eyes widened as Cocoa started to r-rub against her? Sure, she'd always done that as a cow ... but now? Otille looked down towards her familiar, seeing the little cowbell around her neck and - where were her clothes!? Otilles eyes drifted towards the clothes she had hoped to would automatically fit onto Cocoa as they laid in a useless pile on the ground.

"C-Cocoa! Put the clothes on!" Otille's face blushed completely. This was all a bit much - it wasn't that Cocoa was unattractive, she just felt this conversation might be easier like this. Especially considering Cocoa was as cuddly as she had always been, apparently.

"Ahh, well, I don't know if you can really put any... Uhhh, 'intelligent' clothes on. I think your claws would make that difficult." Luna said, wanting to ground the dragon's head a bit. It was nice to be happy and want things, but it was good to take a step back and think about it a bit. "I'll get your glasses for now, if you want." Without lenses of course. She had perfect eyesight it seemed already. "Instead though, I think you should think about it. Intelligence has nothing to do with the clothes you wear or the accessories you attach. But, why do you want to seem so intelligent?" Luna asked, with a hint of curiosity in her voice.



"Yes, I am rather irritated by those words of yours." Katherine said, sounding slightly irritated. "These are the most adorable vessels for lost souls you have ever seen. Hardly a desecration." She was teasing. She tried to make it fairly obvious. Then she looked a bit more serious, as a serious conversation deserved it. "You can think of these little ones as the ones that couldn't pass. I don't force them to do anything except accept the body I give them. If you want a true desecration, then perhaps you should find that adoptive father of my." She seemed irritated by even mentioning the man.

The woman took a sigh and spoke again. "Anyways, I'm not stopping them from separating from that body if they desire, they need just ask. If they decide they can pass on they're free." Well, it probably wouldn't matter much to this woman. "But forget that. You are from Egypt I take it?"

Kozue Komichi

Of course. Demons were to be so prideful weren't they? "Very well." Kozue said, putting her hands together with open palms and bowing. "To the winner." Since the demon offered her the first move, she should gladly accept. It seemed as though she hardly moved a muscle. The only real sign that she had moved physically instead of teleporting was the gust of wind that trailed behind her as she appeared in front of Marie. In the same motion, her hand moved down and aimed at the demon's stomach at an attempt to wind Marie. From there, she raised her elbow quickly and struck at the demon's face.

Solana Lightsword

Sol woke up, warm in Sorcha's grasp. She was pretty tired earlier, but this little nap was a lot more than she expected. She felt mostly refreshed from the nap pulled while pulled close to her dragon friend. "Sorcha...?" She said, quickly finding the dragon was one of the warmest blankets she had ever had the pleasure of being with. She was asleep still. Sad, but the dragon could sleep a bit more.

Sol gave Sorcha a light hug and then slipped out of bed. Maoin left it seemed. She wasn't in sight though there was a note... Yep, the cat was gone for now. Food... Soup... Setting... 3? What in the blazes was setting 3? "I, uhhh, guess it's a cook thing?" Sol said, confused by the meaning of the phrase. She just set the note down. She was hungry, but this was more than enough for her not to want to. Perhaps Sorcha knew it when she woke up. Too bad she never asked the servants to show her how to cook in either her old home nor the Lightsword.

Something caught her eye though... "A spider?" She said, noticing a small spider creeping it's way down from the ceiling on a web, as spiders are wont to do. She put her hand out and let the small thing land on her hand. It was rather cute, as far as little creepy crawlies went. It didn't seem dangerous at all. It just looked up at Sol... Studying her, making sure she wasn't planning to turn it into a meal. [color=b22222]"You're a cute little thing. I should call you Arachne. Nonono. That's too obvious. How about Ariadne? Maybe you can make me some thread that can lead me back home one day."

Avaline

---

"Ah...!" Avaline scoffed, seemingly offended by the question. "I do not seem intelligent, I am!" She confidently proclaimed, smugly grinning at Luna. Obviously, as a dragon she was inherently smarter than these humans and as such she had to look the part. Or at least, she would like to think she was. She knew she wasn't the smartest person out there, but...well, it made her feel better to at least try to be such.

"Hmm...but you are right," She held a hand up to her face, wiggling her claws in front of her eyes. "It would be difficult to wear clothing over these things..." Her shoulders drooped a bit, looking over to Luna with a small pout, as if trying to think of something else to do. Truthfully, she didn't want to return to the dorm. The other dragon scared her a bit and she would have liked to remain out with Luna as long as she could.

Livia

---

"You...didn't like her?" Now that was odd. Livia half expected the opposite, if what she was assuming was correct. Still, a surprise was a surprise and she pursed her lips, humming in thought as she placed a teacup on her desk. "Well, now that is a little surprising, Fia." She chuckled. "But no matter...she'll likely not trouble you further at least. More on the topic of Cynthia, yes I wanted to speak with you about that." Livia got up from her seat, walking over to the redhead and ruffling her hair a bit as she gave her a warm smile.

"I know I've been rather lax with the way you ask favors from Cynthia," She began, kneeling down to Fia's level. "But Cynthia has a lot of other duties to attend to other than giving you a bath every day. You can start doing that yourself." Her tone was serious and stern, but not hostile or scolding. "She's been getting a little behind on her own work because of her doing favors for you...that said," She stood, starting to walk towards the door and motioning for Fia to follow. "I certainly wouldn't mind assigning another maid to help with this sort of thing."

Chione

---

"Aha...sorry," Chione did truthfully apologize. "If it's any consolation, they are extremely well crafted. You've put a lot of effort into them. Such finely crafted dolls would make the old artisans jealous." She chuckled, shaking her head as if recalling something but pushed the thought from her head.

"But yes, I am from the sands. Egypt, as you call it these days. Well, not the current place mind you. I was sleeping for a very long time until recently. It seems there is a problem I am being called to resolve, though I won't trouble you with the details." Chione continued, not commenting further on the problem in question. It was quite likely she was going to be mute on that subject for a reason. "I must say though it is quite cold in this land of yours. The sun is hidden by clouds and this...'fall' is quite uncomfortable for one lightly dressed as I." She shivered lightly as she said that.

Celine & Marie

---

Marie did not have time to react. Kozue's strike landed square in her stomach, her eyes widening with simply how fast the human had moved. In the next instant, she felt pain in her jaw, stumbling backwards and falling flat on her back as the air left her lungs. Ugh, damn...that might have been speed enough to rival one of the seats of Hell...how was a human capable of that. Urgh, Marie rolled over, quickly catching her breath and pushing herself to her hands.

"Huh. I actually expected more. Are you just all talk, demon?" Celine chided from the sidelines.

"Urgh," Marie wiped some dirt from the side of her face, snarling as she stood up. "Fine, human." She gave Kozue a cold glare. "You've surprised me. Fine, I'll grant you a sight that most humans don't deserve. I only have one of my spears, but that's all I need for you!" Pure, white light filled her closed fist, energy swirling as a spear of white unholy light formed in her hand. Marie dashed forward, though nowhere near as fast as Kozue, and thrust the spear forwards.

Cocoa

---

"Ah, yes Otille!" Coacoa hopped off the human, smiling happily as she reached for the clothes and attempted to put them on. Putting on clothing might be ehm, inconvenient for her but since Otille asked, she'd do it! No need for her not too, after all! After a few seconds of struggling with them, she finally succeeded. It at least gave the human long enough to stand up and likely catch her breath, but the cow didn't give Otille long. As soon as she had the clothing on, she was already now cuddling the human again, wrapping the human in an almost inescapably tight hug and pressing Otille's face against her chest and giggling happily.

"Eee, I can't believe you asked Otille! Ohmygosh this is great and amazing I'm so glad you bought me with you!" It seemed she was happy with this arrangement at least.

Ariadne

---

The dragon yawned loudly as Sol got off of her, rolling over in the bed again and wrapping herself up as good in the blankets as a dragon could get. All she did was mutter lightly to herself and otherwise ignore Sol as she went to inspect the note Maoin had left.

The spider on Sol's hand in question, didn't respond much as spiders usually do. At first, it seemed like it was scared, as if the human was going to hurt it. It was a spider after all, so it wasn't exactly a predator, and it didn't even have any venom! Still, when Sol spoke to it, it stopped walking, staring up at the human with a look that almost seemed curious. It definitely didn't seem hostile to Sol, at least. In fact, it seemed a little helpful, if such a thing was even possible.

It skittered across Sol's hand, attaching a loose thread of webbing and quickly scaling down her hand to the floor before skittering across it and up to the note that Maoin had left.

Fia nodded as Livia asked for conformation - and was a little surprised. Wouldn't be bothering her anymore? The phoenix tilted her head, but as the topic of Cynthia was brought up Chione was quickly forgotten.

Fia was surprised as her hair was ruffled and Livia lowered herself down so they'd be at the same height. She supposed the headmistress wasn't too upset, although she wasn't too surprised that she complained that she took up too much time. Cynthia was her servant after all, and it was her responsibility to care for the headmistress first, she supposed.

She looked up curiously as Livia stood however and motioned for her to follow. Where were they going? "Wait! Really?!" The girl was utterly surprised as Livia finished her last sentence, mouth somewhat agape after her exclamation and feet stopping in their tracks. She couldn't be serious, could she? No, she seemed serious. "... where ... are we going ...?"

Fia hurried along to catch up with Livia.


Otille averted her gaze as she returned to her feet and waited for her familiar to put her clothes on - was this really how the cow had thought about things the whole time? At least Cocoa seemed to understand what clothes were. As the farmer began to prepare another surprise however as she caught her breath, she felt her face be squeezed into two very soft objects as Coca exclaimed her happiness.

She was happy that the cow wasn't upset at least - in fact, she seemed impossibly ecstatic. She was proud her spell had worked as well. However, she would appreciate being able to breathe again. Otille struggled for a couple of seconds until her head was far enough away from Cocoa's chest that she managed to take a couple of breaths.

The novice mage had assumed that most familiars would cute, smaller things that would easily be cuddled based on the way the girl on the streets had explained it - using her catgirl as a demonstration. But right now, she felt that Cocoa certainly wasn't small by the looks of it. "T-thanks. I wasn't awarer I could." A couple more breaths, and a hand scratching behind the cow's ear. She'd always liked that, right? "Sorry for making you haul the cart, but it was important. I'm glad you seem happy though."

"You don't need to prove yourself to me, you know?" Luna said. "That aside, take care of those frames, we're not buying another one if they get ruined." Luna stated, acting like a mother. "Nothing else you wanted to do, though? We could probably head back to the dorm." She mentioned, taking a look around, noticing a butchery. She'd been there before for groceries and it seemed somewhat busy."Of course, we could try to get you on Sorcha's good side. We can buy a ham or something for dinner. Well, there's a lot of us so maybe two. Or maybe Maoin already has something planned..." They've been a little reliant on that girl for food lately haven't they?

"How much do you eat?" She asked, unsure of it since she'd not paid too much attention to the Wyrm's eating habits. Her attention had been focused on some other issues lately.



"Cold?" Well, it wasn't all too surprising with that outfit truth be told. "I probably have something warmer you could wear. I'm not much a fan of the cold myself." She mentioned, showing off her own rather covering robes. "I suppose I could part with one such piece if you wanted." That was a good enough way to gain her trust wasn't it? She didn't seem all too dangerous as of yet at least. Even if she really was anyway, the Puppeteer wasn't too worried. She felt like she could take on a demon if she really wanted to after all.

After asking her question though, it didn't take too long for their food to come. These eateries were always so prompt at getting food out. It was really wonderful. After setting the food to her customers, the waitress said, "Enjoy!" and skittered off.

Katherine took a spoon and stirred her stew around a bit before looking back up to Clione. "It's not going to get any warmer around here if you plan to stay."

Kozue Komichi

Yes, Celine was correct. Kozue had mostly planned that those would be blocked or dodged. She didn't really expect them to directly connect as they did. Perhaps this demon was playing weak... But it didn't seem that way. Not to Kozue at least. The Priestess was just lucky that the girl used a spear and not something with more bladed edges... Like a sword. Her speed seemed slow to Kozue. Perhaps it was just the way she practiced growing up, but this demon didn't seem quite what she pegged herself to be. Of course, she trained to fight demons so this might be part of the reason. It felt like she could fight at double strength at demons, so perhaps it was a motivational thing.

As the spear thrusted at her, she decided to play into it. She dodged to the side lightly, body parallel to the weapon. One hand reached out and grabbed the spear, the hand closest to Marie. She pulled the spear in it's current path, hoping it was enough to catch the demon off guard again and have her stumble forward. Kozue was betting on it happening though, and as she pulled, she spun around as well hoping to clock Marie in the head with the back of her fist.

Solana Lightsword

"Ah! Where are you going?" Sol said surprised. She didn't expect the little thing to just leave her hand in that fashion. Not all of a sudden at least. It then went over to Maoin's note. "Huh? Why'd you go here? Spiders can't read... Can they?" She asked herself. That didn't seem quite right. "Unless you're the smart spider I've ever seen." She lived with two humanoid dragons and a humanoid cat that could all speak... It wouldn't be too odd for a spider to understand written language. Probably. "Why'd you come here and not your little web in the corner?"

Avaline

---

"G-getting on her good side?" Avaline feigned a disgusted expression, grimacing as she recoiled back a bit. Despite her vocal response, it was clear at least that she wasn't being too honest. "W-why would I want to get on her good side. We're natural enemies, after all." she continued, running a claw through her black hair, shoulders drooping a bit. It was true that she did honestly, and truthfully, wanted the approval of an actual dragon such as Sorcha...but such a thing wasn't something she was ever going to get. True dragons like her only viewed failed dragons like her with nothing more than tolerable disgust at best.

But she had Master Luna, now. That was enough for her.

"Ah? Food though? I eat whatever I can?" Not really an answer, but she didn't really have a better one. She wasn't the best hunter in existence.

Livia

---

"Hm? Home, Fia. I have plenty of other maids to choose from, you know." Livia replied, leading Fia out of the main office and towards her villa. Aside from Cynthia, she had a number of other maids that cleaned the place. Cynthia just so happened to be their boss, so to speak. Normally Cynthia's duties ranged simply from helping her with any personal needs, bossing the other maids around, and otherwise making sure everything was up to snuff.

"In fact I recently hired another maid...well, technically Cynthia hired her." Reaching the door to her Villa, Livia didn't even have to open it before the 'new' maid opened the door and greeted her in their usual slightly ditzy manner.

Chione

---

"Ah, you're right." Chione replied. "But if you have something I could borrow, I would be very appreciative." Perhaps this woman wasn't evil, then? Just a little lost like she had once been. Hm, difficult to ascertain just from one meeting. Soon though, their food arrived and the priestess had to admit, the food was well done. She was a little upset she couldn't pay for it herself, or otherwise ahem, offer her services in payment but still.

Hmm.

"Ah...well, I think I've decided what I'll be doing for money." Chione commented thoughtfully. "How fares the...festivities around here? Anyone need a good dancer?" She was used to solo acts, so even if there wasn't some festival or something she could easily do it herself. Even a few instruments, if she could find someone to play. Maybe she'd have to make them herself...

Celine & Marie

---

Tsk, this human was fast. She should have taken that into account. Still, wasn't much she could do to match her speed, even if she was at her best. How did a human move so fast anyways? She hadn't a clue. It definitely wasn't magic, that was for certain. Well, whatever it was - it didn't matter. She'd win regardless, of course. She'd win, because she wouldn't suffer any such loss to a human.

"Hpmh!" She had a few tricks up her sleeves herself. As soon as Kozue grabbed the spear, Marie reacted quickly. The pale white light blinked from existence, Kozue would find herself grabbing nothing, only causing the young demon to duck under Kozue's fist. Once done, Marie spun, the spear appearing once again in her hand as she slashed upwards with the end of it, aiming for Kozue's face.

Cocoa

---

"Ehe, of course I'm happy!" Cocoa leaned into the petting, tail swishing happily. "And don't worry Otille! I can carry anything you want, even you!" Without waiting for Otille's permission, the cow girl wrapped her arms around the farm girls waist, easily picking up the girl off the ground, one hand under her legs and another holding her back tightly. "I'm more than strong enough! So where too?" The cow seeming eager if nothing else.

Ariadne

---

The spider seemed to at least like Sol or something judging from the way it behaved. Maybe even somehow intelligent, too. It crawled over to the stove, seeming to find the buttons for 'setting 3' and tapping it lightly with one of its legs before stopping, and looking back up at Sol. Or perhaps not. It was a spider after all. Maybe it was just doing what spiders normally do.

It did however, seem to take notice of a fly buzzing around the room and turn its attention from Sol.

Maoin finally finished her errands - she'd had a bit of her allowance to spend, but the familiar shop tended to have plenty of the stuff she wanted. She returned to the house, placing her items with the rest of her few belongings before sighing and taking a look around, shaking Lady Sorcha's shoulder softly in a manner that would wake her up. "Lady Sorcha, you've had your nap. It's time to get up. You need a bath anyways."

Noticing Sol in the kitchen, Maoin approached. "Hungry, Miss S- AHH!" Spider! And so close to her noble lady! Maoin looked around quickly, grabbing a towel of sorts and quickly scooping the spider up. "D-Don't worry, I'll take it outside." The catgirl quickly scampered out the front door, opening the cloth on the ground - she considered brushing the spider off the cloth, but after a second on contemplation let it have the small thing. She could fetch the textile later. She didn't want to kill the poor thing - it took care of flies, after all. But it could do it's job outside! She spent far too much time cleaning the house for a spider to take up residence!

Maoin returned inside, closing the door behind her. "Sorry about that, Lady Solana. Hungry? Sorry if my directions are hard to understand - if you want I can make it for you?" Maoin already grabbed the leftover tub out from the coldbox, turning the setting to three - the same place the spider had indicated.


Maids to choose from? Fia seemed a little uncomfortable at the idea, but only for a moment. It wasn't like she was buying a slave from the market in one of these dreams - she'd been around the maids, and for the most part they seemed happy to work there. Though as the door opened up, Fia looked at the girl a little surprised.

Wasn't this Cynthia's friend? Mugi? The phoenix looked towards the headmistress, seeming a little confused. Wasn't she cold or something? The fourteen year old looked towards her mage. "Not her. Too cold. She'll melt."


"AH! Cocoa!" Otille yelped slightly as she was picked up, looking at Cocoa as if she was some chivalric knight that proudly carried her burdens - and blushing just like the peasant girls in those stories as well. For a couple seconds Otille was speechless as she looked up at the face of her familiar, turned away, then looked back. "Thanks ... Didn't the Headmistress say they needed to do something important?

The girl gestured towards the three bags of loot. "Can you pick those up then? Oh, we could go to ..." Otille quickly described the directions to Luna's residence. "And we'll need to find somewhere to stay afterwards ..." Otille seemed to be deep in thought, but didn't think Cocoa would have too much input on that. She'd probably be happy to sleep in a warm stable, if it was up to her.

"Geez, I really just want you two to get along. We're all a family now and I don't want us to be hateful of each other." Luna said before leading Avaline into the butcher. There were plenty of different types of meats here. Just about anything someone needed. "But yes, we're having to feed a lot of people now, so pick two things out. Maybe some hams or something."



"It's good to help those around you. Let us head to my place after here and I'll get you something warmer." Katherine said. She wasn't all too sure what exactly would fit the woman. She seemed a little fuller up front, but it didn't seem to be much more so. The waitress passed by so Katherine grabbed her, "Here's the payment. Keep the extra for yourself." She said, placing some coins in her hand. She wanted to be able to leave whenever she wanted.

"Alas, I know little about who'd want a dancer. Well, I'd love to just look at one of those belly dancers every day, but I couldn't do that really. I don't have that kind of money." She added in, jokingly. "You might be able to ask around the taverns maybe."

Kozue Komichi

Oh, how these magical spears were annoying. Disappearing and reappearing. She sort of wished she had her weapon right now. For now, she'd make due. This demon seemed fairly weak. Well, in the physical sense of it. She seemed to either be holding back, or perhaps being held back. It was disappointing.

For the moment though, she just side-step the spear a bit. Enough to bypass the spear tip and then moved in to make an open palmed strike to Marie's shoulder. Strong enough to send the demon backwards some. "How much of your power is being held back? This fight is disappointing. If this is all a demon is, then perhaps my years of training is worth nothing." The warrior-nun said, meaning to be insulting.

Solana Lightsword

Sol followed the spider to the stove and... "Oh! Setting three? Oh! That's what it means." She gently petted the spider a bit. She knew little fear, at least, when it came to this spider. It was rather cute AND helpful. She couldn't help but wonder if it was some sort of mythical spider of ages past. Though, she didn't have much time to think on it more as Maoin walked in and them promptly noticed the spider after trying to wake the Dragon-Lady. "Ah, wait! Uhh, Kitty?" She just followed behind Maoin to the door and picked the little spider up, letting it crawl onto her open palm."[/color]

She looked to Maoin and just had to tell her as it was. "This spider is good, Kitty! Her name's Ariadne and she's really smart. She even showed me what 'Setting 3' was on the stove. She took the little creature over to where the stove was and held her hand level to the countertop. "Can you show me 'Setting 3' again, Ariadne?"

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

Mugi was cleaning about. Dusting this, wiping that... In fact, she was cleaning the inside of the front windows of the building when she saw Livia and her little familiar walking up. "Oh my! My first time to greet her while working." The Yuki-Onna said as she timed opening the door just right. "Greetings, Miss Livia! Miss Fia. Pleasant day, isn't it?" She said happily.

Then Fia said something about her melting... She looked confused and worried. "Ehh? What? Melt? What? Don't... Melt me? Please? My cutie just got me to help out and I hate to end it all, already."

Avaline

---

"Uhm..." Avaline paused, scrunching her face up in thought. What did she want? She didn't particularly have any favorites. Not to mention, after gorging on sweets from the shop earlier she wasn't exactly the hungriest person at the moment. "Meat?" Avaline replied honestly. "Deer? Ooh, what about fish? Maybe some rabbit? Ah...wait!" She slithered up to Luna, holding her claws together in front of her and looking up at Luna eagerly. "I know I know! How about...some boar! Wild boar is the best!"

Livia

---

"Tsk, of course it's not going to be Mugi." Livia replied. "Hello, Mugi. Pleasant evening, isn't it? Don't worry, the only one who might be melting you is Cynthia." She chuckled impishly, walking into the Villa behind Fia. "How goes work? Adjusting well? I trust Cynthia hasn't been too distracted from her usual duties." She gave Mugi a friendly smile, patting Fia on the head.

Chione

---

"Aha? Really?" Chione replied with a small smile. "Well, I'm not much of a belly dancer. My dancing is a bit more...animated." She laughed lightly. "Spend most of your youth as a vagrant and thief you learn to aha...amuse the crowds." She gave a friendly wave to the waitress as she came back by, but her attention for the most part lingered on Katherine. "A tavern, though? Hm...It's been a long time since I've been in such a place. I'd rather perform under the sky, if possible, but that is something to consider." She leaned back in her chair, finishing the last of her meal.

"Mh...well, whenever you're done perhaps you can show me to your home, then. I would at least like to have something warmer for tonight."

Celine & Marie

---

Marie grit her teeth, the force of the push sending her stumbling back. She planted her right foot into the ground, balancing herself and stopping her from falling completely. Marie took a few steps backwards, grimacing in mild discomfort. How dare this human even consider touching her? Filth! The demon glowered, spinning the light spear in her hands.

"I may not have my full ability, human, but I can guarantee this is all I need to beat you!" She wasn't able to use her full armory...her commands, her spears and crown, but she didn't need them. She could handle this human herself. She had to handle it herself. Tsk, she could easily beat this fool of a human if she turned this into a ranged fight, but she would beat this girl at her own game. With a frown, she closed the distance between her and Kozue as fast as her legs would let her.

She slashed horizontally forwards, following it up with an thrust forwards.

Cocoa

---

"Roger roger!~" The cow grinned happily, before scrunching up her nose, ears flicking in thought. "Ah...hold on." If she was going to carry the loot, then she wouldn't be able to carry Otille. That was something the cow didn't exactly find appealing, but since Otille asked she should do it right? For a few seconds, she stared at the gathered loot and turning her gaze from the treasure back to the human as if trying to solve some complicated puzzle.

"Hmm, yep yep! I know the way!" Cocoa replied as far as the directions went. "Hey hey, Otille. I can't carry these things and you at the same time. Maybe you carry them? and I'll carry you both?"

Ariadne & Sorcha

---

How rude! Here it was trying to help, and this cat not only shoved it outside, it hurt a bit. The spider would have given a cry of protest if it was capable, but all it could do was accept being relocated. Unfortunately for Maoin, it was a clever little spider and it had its ways of getting out of such situations. Before it could though, Sol was quick behind the kitten and picked her up again. The spider quickly skittered up the young Lightswords arm.

Unfortunately for Sol, the poor spider had been scared half to death. Instead of skittering over to the stove top, it simply left Sol's hand and ran across the counter and up the wall, back to its web.

"Hrmm..." Sorcha meanwhile, was sleeping in a rather ungraceful fashion upon the bed, one of her legs hanging over the side of it with the covers half on the floor. "Don't wanna get up..." She complained.

Maoin gave Sol a skeptical look as she returned to the kitchen, setting the stove to 'setting three' herself. She liked the spider? And had NAMED it? The kitten resisted the urge to roll her eyes - Lady Solana was only twelve though, and she didn't have to be lying to believe in strange circumstances. "Of course, Lady Sol. I apologize for trying to get rid of the spider?" It was impossible for the servant to hide all of her skepticism, of course.

The cat glanced towards the spider - sometime when the younger noble wasn't around, she'd take it back outside. But for now, it wasn't worth arguing about - and her lady intended on falling back asleep. Maoin headed over to the bed, sitting down next to Lady Sorcha and sitting her up (with a bit of effort) and rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to get her up in a relaxing manner. "Mistress, I don't want you napping so long you can't fall asleep tonight. And besides, you need to eat a bit. You must be hungry, Lady Sorcha."


Miss Fia? The familiar wasn't used to that, but she didn't mind. Livia was followed into the familiar by the servant, who appreciated the headpats despite giving a playful pout at them. She listened to the pair's conversation, not having much input herself. She was glad she wouldn't be at risk of melting Mugi though she was curious what Livia had planned for her.


Otille smiled at her familiar, setting herself down and reaching up to rub Cocoa on the head a bit more. "It's fine, I can walk on my own. Besides, you've already worked very hard today and I don't want to strain you, alright? Even though I know you don't think you are tired." The farmgirl spoke at least partially out of honest concern for the cow, who had already spent significant part of the day hauling a cart - she was a dairy cow after all, and wasn't really intended for that sort of labor.

"Now come along." Otille smiled at Cocoa, motioning for her to follow. "I'll think of somewhere to eat afterwards too - I assume you wouldn't want to eat more hay, now?"

"You want pork then. It's the meat of pigs and the closest thing you'll probably get to wild boar here." The Knightess said, moving up to the counter and ordering two of the fairly large sized hams. "These are fine then." She said, showing them off to Avaline. Shall we head home? Maoin will probably be fine cooking these up. They were wrapped in some cheap looking twine so they could be carried a bit more easily. "Do you want to carry one? If you do, no eating it yet."



Katherine finished up her stew. She had been eating between their discussion pieces. She paid and the ate, so now was as good a time as any to leave. "Fair enough, shall we get going then?" The Puppeteer said as she got up from the table. "Well, come with me. Let's see if I can get you something warmer." She added, leading Chione out of the restaurant. Luckily, this wasn't far from her home. They made it there in quick time. "Now then, where are they?" She started to dig through her closet. "Well, we have a really nice, fluffy dress in stock. Nice warm robes. Another dress not of your size... Well, I can make you something if you wanted. You'd just owe me a favor." She pulled out a measuring tool. "I'd just have to take your sizes."

Kozue Komichi

"You better choose your words wisely, Demon. If you can't back up that guarantee, then you might have to reconsider a lot. If a melee attack didn't work before, maybe you should change tactics." The priestess ducked down low to dodge the horizontal strike. From there, she bounced back up and used a kick to bounce the spear away. She really couldn't be hit by that thing. It'd be dangerous for sure.

With that deflected, she moved in close and struck at the center of Marie's chest with her fist.

Solana Lightsword

"Ahh, Ariadne!" Sol said as the spider skittered off to it's web. Well, she shouldn't have been too surprised. She did just get rudely removed. "You better not scare Ariadne again, Kitty." Sol said looking away from the cat with a pouty face. "And I'm just a little hungry." She added, not really wanting to look it. She had not really ate for a while had she?

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

Mugi couldn't help but blush at Livia's insinuation there. Cynthia? Make her melt? Well, how charming an idea, but she wasn't sure if she were ready for that type of thing yet. "I think she's been fairly focused on her work. She gave me easy things to do like washing the floor, cleaning windows.... That sort of stuff." Cynthia had come to check on her a few times, but Mugi had expressedly stated, "Leave this to me!"

Avaline

---

Couldn't...eat one. Avaline stared at the large ham hungrily, frustration clear on her face as she obviously wanted to eat it but was doing her best not simply devour it then and there.

"A-ah! Y-yes, I can eat-I mean, no, I won't eat it!" Avaline took the ham, chuckling nervously as her other claw played with a loose strand of hair. "I have more self control than that, yes!" Her frustrated, hungry look wasn't very convincing, but the Wyrm was obviously trying her best. She'd follow Luna back home for now. The cat had made great food on the way back, so she was very much looking forward to this.

Livia

---

"Aha, well, you certainly are eager." Livia smiled before giving Mugi a serious look. "That said, I have something for you to do. Round up all of the current maids on duty. I have something I need to discuss with them about Fia." She walked into the main living space, motioning for Fia to follow. "Tell them to gather here." With orders given, she turned her attention back to Fia.

"Now. I'm not going to mind giving you a personal servant of sorts Fia...but we'll have a few ground rules, first. Understand? I'll discuss these both with you and the servant more in detail later, but for now just know that you can't order them to just 'pamper' you all day and all week. That is not what they are for." For now though, they simply had to wait for Mugi to find the rest of the on duty servants and round them up.

Chione

---

Chione followed Katherine back to her home, grateful for the charity. This hadn't been the most insightful of conversations, but she at least got some information on what she could potentially do around here. Perhaps use the time she had to make herself known as a good dancer or entertainer...again. It'd have been awhile since she had done so, but it'd be nice to try it again after so long. Once back inside of Katherine's home, Chione stepped inside and followed Katherine to her closet. She was still impressed by the living arrangements of these people. It was so far different from what had existed back in her home.

"...a favor?" Chione gave Katherine a thoughtful look. "What sort of favor exactly? Preferably I'd need something easy to move in." She didn't care so much about katherine ahem, 'taking her sizes' so to speak. She had never had many reservations about that to begin with.

Celine & Marie

---

The blow landed square on Marie's chest, causing the demon to grimace in pain as she was struck again. This annoying little human! She growled, grabbing Kozue's wrist with her free hand before she had a chance to withdraw it or strike again. Fine! This human wanted to die so easily, then she'd oblige. Rather, she'd see how she liked loosing those arms of hers! Marie slid her hand along the haft of the spear, before angling the end towards Kozue's outstretched arm and aiming to very clearly injure Kozue.

Celine simply continued observing silently from the side. She didn't seem to concerned with the outcome of events so far.

Cocoa

---

"W-waaah?" Cocoa pouted at the thought of not being able to carry Otille. "But-but that's what I'm for!" Cocoa flailed her arms in a comical manner, before quickly dropping the subject at the thought of food, though. Ooh, what did she want to eat? Maybe some sort of vegetables? Ooh, how about - "Steak!" The cow commented brightly, following after the human, carrying the piles of treasure with her. "Ooh, I've never eaten meat before. I wonder what it tastes like? Hey hey, Otille, what does steak taste like?"

Sorcha

---

"Ahhh, fiiiive more minutes..." Sorcha yawned, leaning into Maoin in a sleepy, lazy manner. Ah, she was having a nice dream too. A very pleasant dream she hadn't had in awhile. A large, open field and the noisy sounds of day to day life. There was even...Sorcha yawned, stretching her arms and flapping her wings once.

Twas but a dream. One she shouldn't linger on.

"Fine, fine, I'm up." Sorcha complained, yawning again as she took a look around the room. "...ah, Hello Sol. Woke up before me, I see." She smiled. "Anyways...Maoin, there's something I want to discuss with you so get dressed, hm? We're going out for the evening."

Fia looked at the pair of them converse back and forth about the working life until Mugi was sent off and suddenly the phoenix found herself being addressed again. Livia said she'd explain some rules, and then exclaimed they couldn't be ordered to pamper her all day and all week. For a couple seconds the familiar seemed a little confused - isn't that what servants were for? The headmistress would find her crimson haired girl looking at her with a titled head and curious eyes, as if vocalizing her thoughts.

"Then ... what for?" Fia spoke softly in one of her famous short questions.


As Chione prepared herself to be measured, the door would find itself opening once again to the homes other mortal resident - a nineteen year old cat girl, who closed the door behind herself and stumbled as she did so, eventually placing a stabilizing hand against a wall as she held a pipe-like object in her hand, taking another sniff of it and letting out a long giggle as she found something simply hilarious as her eyes found one of the many dolls in the puppeteer's employ.

"... dolls ...!" Meowka let out a burst of laughter as rolled against the wall for a moment and pushed herself off of it. She looked around the room for a couple of seconds afterwards and finally seemed to realize her mistress was there. For a couple of seconds she blinked and approached, then stared over her as if trying to get a better view. Damn, she's fine.

The cat grabbed the front of Katherine's robes like she owned them, pulled the woman's upper body closer, looked into her eyes for a moment before putting her lips up against those of the teacher. Damn, tasty! After a couple of seconds she released the other woman, and finally seemed to notice someone else was in the room.

"Oh, hi there!" Meowka looked back and forth between the two of them. "Oh, you are making loooovvvveeeee tonight, Mistress Katherine?!?" The cat giggled, before slapping the blue haired woman's ass with an encouraging spank and grinning, seeming satisfied with the resounding smack sound the impact made. "Have fun! I'll just watch."

Meowka leapt to get on top of the cabinets in a valiant attempt, but ended up slamming into the side of it instead and falling to the ground in a pile. She didn't seem to upset though, because she simply started laughing again despite the pain and moved into a kneeling position, looking at the pair of them with an idiotic grin as she took another smoke of her pipe.


Lady Solana's pleas were heard, but ignored as the food was already on the stove and Maoin found herself attending her mistress, gradually working on the long process that was waking her owner up pleasantly. "Mistress, please?" It seemed Lady Sorcha finally responded though, stretching only a moment before looking at her and giving her a weird request. Get dressed for the evening? "... What? Where? How fancy?" Fortunately Maoin had just finished buying a new dress just for this purpose, but the dragon wasn't prepared for such a thing right now by any means.

"Mistress, not until you've taken a bath. You look like you've been travelling for a week and sleeping on a dirty bedroll the entire time. You wouldn't want to go out without being at your full beautiful radiance, would you? Why don't you slip in, I'll be in there in just a moment." An accurate statement, though Maoin delivered it with a smile as she continued to rub Lady Sorcha's shoulders for a couple more seconds before standing up. She hoped the dragoness wouldn't be too upset with her being a little honest as she headed towards the bathroom, turning the water on, and then heading out once more.

"... and besides, I'm making food for Miss Solana right now because she's hungry, and I wouldn't want it to burn. Also, Lady Lightsword is on the way home and someone else is at the door. Let me get that -"

Maoin opened the door, waved towards the right at the approaching Lady Lightsword who was still some distance away, and addressed the pair in front of her. They exchanged a brief few words, and after a couple of moments of conversation Maoin returned inside and respectfully curtsied in an apologetic manner towards her mistress with the pair of them in tow. "Change of plans, Lady Sorcha. The student Otille requests your services on behalf of the headmistress. Could you speak with her before you bathe?" She was just a peasant anyways - it wasn't as if she could look down on Lady Sorcha for being a little dirtied up at the moment.

Maoin seemed like she had something to add, but as she sniffed the air she hurried over to the stove with quick moving feet, hurrying over to save the meal as it reached the optimum amount of being cooked. The stove was soon turned off, a meal placed in front of Lady Solana. "Please enjoy." A slight curtsy.

She should probably put the ham away. Maoin hurried outside around when Lady Luna would be near the door, passing by whatever conversation Lady Sorcha was having with the guests and greeting her mistress' mistress with a quick curtsy. "Welcome home Lady Luna. Ham? Here." The kitten grabbed the ham from Avaline without really asking - she'd probably be taking care of it anyways. "I'll put it away. Is there a way you'd like it prepared?"


That's what she was for? The peasant smiled at the cow's enthusiasm, but instead of responding to that she found herself stunned at Cocoa's next line of thought. For a moment Otille simply stared at the cow before giving her an uncertain look. Well, she could respond to part of that question honestly at least.

"I'm not really sure - steak is a high quality cut of meat, and my family couldn't really afford it ..." If they had a high enough quality of a cut of meat to make steak from, they'd sell it to their local lord and take chickens in their stead - her dad had always said it didn't matter how food tasted if it only left you with an empty stomach.

Cannibalism concerns aside though, Otille looked seriously at Cocoa. "I'm not sure you'd like meat anyways ... I'll let you try, but it might not be good for you. Just a bit of what I have tonight to test, ok?" Of course, it wouldn't be steak. Before Cocoa could afford to look sad though, Otille grabbed onto her familiar's hand, holding it as they continued to walk. "It's your job to carry me, right? Could you hold my hand for me then, like with that couple over there?" Hopefully this would distract Cocoa enough to get them to their destination before they returned to the topic of steak again, instead pointing to another couple of dog-girl and mistress as they walked by.

---

Soon enough, they arrived at their destination, where Otille nervously raised her arm to knock on the door. Before she could even rattle the wooden frame once though, she'd find herself face-to-face with a catgirl in a blue dress with a collar around her neck. For a moment she was ignored as the catgirl waved towards someone approaching from down the street, and Otille continued to stare at the girl's ears long after the pet's gaze returned.

"... Can I help you?" The cat seemed to be looking at her with a combination of annoyance and impatience, though she wasn't expressly rude.

"Oh! I'm Otille, and this is Cocoa! I'm just here to um ..." The peasant thought for a couple of seconds before continuing. "The headmistress sent me here to have some treasure appraised-"

"You want Lady Sorcha. follow me." The cat headed inside, walking up to a tall but pretty horned creature with wings, seeming to address her before scurrying off again.

"H-Hi! I'm Otille, Lady Sorcha!" The peasant addressed Lady Sorcha giving a small curtsy, though less formal than the cat's by a good measure. "The headmistress said you were good with treasure! Could you appraise it for us? My village recently stumbled across quite a fortune, but none of us are able to tell how much it's worth ..." Otille looked towards the familiar. "Here, Cocoa, hand her one of the bags?"

After Cocoa handed one of the bags over, she'd feel a familiar hand rubbing her ear.

Sol looked at the food. She was hungry for sure, but had mixed feelings about Maoin right the moment. Kids. "Thanks, Kitty..." She silently went and picked at the food a bit, eating.

Luna and Avaline quickly made their way home. Luna kept the occasional eye on Avaline to make sure she hadn't ate the ham in one bite... Though she wasn't completely worried. In fact, she was half hoping to see her familiar eat the whole ham in one bite. It would be easily inconvenient, but rather entertaining. Soon enough, they returned home... Noticing some people at their door and Maoin introducing them in. Then the cat came out and welcomed them in, taking the ham from Avaline.

She should probably take hers in too. "How ever you think it would be best since you're cooking. We have two since there's, uhh, two dragons now." Luna said, moving forward before quite entering. "So we've guests? I think I saw animal ears on one of them so a student and familiar?"

Well, she was tired from walking Avaline everywhere so she just walked in, ready to take a seat at the bed. Taking note of the two guests, giving a friendly smile and nod if the looked at her. She also gave a friendly wave to Sorcha.



"I'll give you this to hold you over for now. I'll make something for you that's more fitting for you then. Perhaps you want a warm pair of pants then?" She reached in her closet and gave Chione a pair of robes not so different in color from the ones she had on already. "As for favors, nothing extreme. I don't have a hard time making clothes. So I might just need another pair of hands taller than a foot or two sometime. Small thing or two maybe. Now then, if you could remove enough for me to take a decent measurement..."

Before she got to finish, the door to the place opened. It was Meowka... She just seemed... Odd. Very odd. She bent down slightly to try getting on her level and stared back at the cat. "Meowka, are you...!" She was surprised a bit when the cat pulled her into a sort of kiss. Her eyes showed a small bit of shock, though it was done after the cat released her. She pulled her head aside and coughed a bit. "Making love? What in the actual hells is wrong with you?"

She didn't wince when the cat smacked her rear. "Apologies for her, Chione. This is my Familiar, Meowka. She seems to have taken something she shouldn't have." The Puppeteer sighed as she walked over to Meowka and took the pipe from her. "Cat nip, of course. No more for you." She handed it off to one of her puppets. "Hide this off somewhere she nor any other cats are going to get their hands on it." She put a hand to her forehead and then looked back to Chione. "My dolls will put her to bed. Shall we get these measurements over with?"

Kozue Komichi

Kozue wasn't expecting this demon to grab her hand. And to cut it off? How dare she. There was one thing she could really do, reach out and grab the hand the demon had holding her spear. She wasn't going to lose a hand over this. Not over this demon. She wasn't strong enough. It would mean all those years of training were worthless. Luckily, it didn't seem that they were as of now. She could... Well, not exactly easily... But somewhat with ease, moved the demons arms a bit. Quickly, she moved the demon's spear arm down. Her hand that Marie had locked-down... Well, it wasn't quite so locked down as she planned. She rotated her hand inside the demons grip and grabbed her wrist as well.

Now, she just need to wrestle the demon down. Marie hadn't intended it, but she made this a strength test now. And as she were now, that wasn't something the demon would win. In a swift movement, Kozue slipped a leg behind Marie's and used it to sweep Marie's out from under her. Soon enough, the two were on the ground with Marie pinned under Kozue.

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

"Gather the maids? Got it!" Mugi said, a little worried she'd not be able to find all of them. She searched around the mansion she didn't quite know all the nooks and crannies of. Luckily, when she told maids that they all needed to show up to talk to Livia and Fia, they quickly told her where another maid would be. Soon enough, she found all of the maids in the mansion, including Cynthia. "Hiya, Cynthia~~" She said, grabbing her love's hand and giving it a kiss. They were alone at the moment, so this would be fine right? "You're the last one. Miss Livia wanted to talk to everyone about something and I'm a bit curious about who is chosen for what."

Sol looked at the food. She was hungry for sure, but had mixed feelings about Maoin right the moment. Kids. "Thanks, Kitty..." She silently went and picked at the food a bit, eating.

Luna and Avaline quickly made their way home. Luna kept the occasional eye on Avaline to make sure she hadn't ate the ham in one bite... Though she wasn't completely worried. In fact, she was half hoping to see her familiar eat the whole ham in one bite. It would be easily inconvenient, but rather entertaining. Soon enough, they returned home... Noticing some people at their door and Maoin introducing them in. Then the cat came out and welcomed them in, taking the ham from Avaline.

She should probably take hers in too. "How ever you think it would be best since you're cooking. We have two since there's, uhh, two dragons now." Luna said, moving forward before quite entering. "So we've guests? I think I saw animal ears on one of them so a student and familiar?"

Well, she was tired from walking Avaline everywhere so she just walked in, ready to take a seat at the bed. Taking note of the two guests, giving a friendly smile and nod if the looked at her. She also gave a friendly wave to Sorcha.



"I'll give you this to hold you over for now. I'll make something for you that's more fitting for you then. Perhaps you want a warm pair of pants then?" She reached in her closet and gave Chione a pair of robes not so different in color from the ones she had on already. "As for favors, nothing extreme. I don't have a hard time making clothes. So I might just need another pair of hands taller than a foot or two sometime. Small thing or two maybe. Now then, if you could remove enough for me to take a decent measurement..."

Before she got to finish, the door to the place opened. It was Meowka... She just seemed... Odd. Very odd. She bent down slightly to try getting on her level and stared back at the cat. "Meowka, are you...!" She was surprised a bit when the cat pulled her into a sort of kiss. Her eyes showed a small bit of shock, though it was done after the cat released her. She pulled her head aside and coughed a bit. "Making love? What in the actual hells is wrong with you?"

She didn't wince when the cat smacked her rear. "Apologies for her, Chione. This is my Familiar, Meowka. She seems to have taken something she shouldn't have." The Puppeteer sighed as she walked over to Meowka and took the pipe from her. "Cat nip, of course. No more for you." She handed it off to one of her puppets. "Hide this off somewhere she nor any other cats are going to get their hands on it." She put a hand to her forehead and then looked back to Chione. "My dolls will put her to bed. Shall we get these measurements over with?"

Kozue Komichi

Kozue wasn't expecting this demon to grab her hand. And to cut it off? How dare she. There was one thing she could really do, reach out and grab the hand the demon had holding her spear. She wasn't going to lose a hand over this. Not over this demon. She wasn't strong enough. It would mean all those years of training were worthless. Luckily, it didn't seem that they were as of now. She could... Well, not exactly easily... But somewhat with ease, moved the demons arms a bit. Quickly, she moved the demon's spear arm down. Her hand that Marie had locked-down... Well, it wasn't quite so locked down as she planned. She rotated her hand inside the demons grip and grabbed her wrist as well.

Now, she just need to wrestle the demon down. Marie hadn't intended it, but she made this a strength test now. And as she were now, that wasn't something the demon would win. In a swift movement, Kozue slipped a leg behind Marie's and used it to sweep Marie's out from under her. Soon enough, the two were on the ground with Marie pinned under Kozue.

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

"Gather the maids? Got it!" Mugi said, a little worried she'd not be able to find all of them. She searched around the mansion she didn't quite know all the nooks and crannies of. Luckily, when she told maids that they all needed to show up to talk to Livia and Fia, they quickly told her where another maid would be. Soon enough, she found all of the maids in the mansion, including Cynthia. "Hiya, Cynthia~~" She said, grabbing her love's hand and giving it a kiss. They were alone at the moment, so this would be fine right? "You're the last one. Miss Livia wanted to talk to everyone about something and I'm a bit curious about who is chosen for what."

Avaline, Sorcha, & Cocoa

---

Avaline poked her head into the door of their home. Oh, there were two new people here. A cow and a human from the smell of them. She slithered into the room, doing her best to not crowd the small dorm too much. It really was getting rather crowded in here, wasn't it? She couldn't even stretch her body out completely. Still, she couldn't appear to be bothered by it! So the Wyrm found a mostly unoccupied corner of the room, and coiled herself up in it.

Cocoa for the most part, let Otille do the talking. She was too busy holding the hand Otille had grabbed to her face.

Sorcha stood, yawning again. A student wanted to see her about something? Odd. Livia showed her the way here, too. Even more odd. Well she would help since it was a request from Livia, but she wasn't entirely sure what exactly she could do. Sorcha walked over to Otille, giving her a neutral, though not hostile expression as she studied the young girl in front of her but ultimately said nothing and let Otille speak.

Treasure of some sort? Oh, so Otille wanted her to appraise it. Well, now, she could certainly do that. Cocoa confidently handed over one of the bags, in her usual slightly ditzy manner. Sorcha grabbed the bag, opening it eagerly.

"Oh wow..." She finally spoke. "This is quite something." She pulled a few pieces of treasure out of the bag, studying them. "Golden chalices...jewel encrusted crowns and even a few decorative blades." For a few moments, the dragon seemed utterly impressed. "This is quite a bit I'll have to go through so-" She pulled out a crown from the bag, and her eyes widened.

...

"...where did you say you found this?" Sorcha's tone took a curious tone as she looked back at Otille. "You...wouldn't have happened to find this in an old, ruined village of some sort would you have? A large cave, even with a large stone monument inside of it?"

Livia & Cynthia

---

As Mugi skated off to find Cynthia and the rest of the maids, that left Fia and Livia alone again for a few moments. The headmistress frowned slightly, thinking of a good response to her question.

"Well, Fia," She began. "It is true that is what servants are for. They are there to serve and take care of you, but you should not rely on them all the time. Learn and do things for yourself. Life is not always comfortable, and someday you may find yourself without a servant to aid you. To put bluntly - you should not become complacent, or believe yourself to be entitled to such luxuries. If you want to be pampered, then do something that makes you worthy of it." She'd speak of the details later once Fia chose whichever maid she wanted.

Mugi found Cynthia quite easily, cleaning the floor in the hallway outside of Livia's study. Cynthia blushed heavily at the kiss she received, but said nothing other than give the Ice-woman a curious look. Livia wanted to round up all the maids? Hm, she had to wonder what was going on. Well, no since in wondering about it. Cynthia grabbed Mugi's hand and pulled her too the foyer.

By the time they had arrived, the rest of the maids had lined up against the far wall, some chattering to the other maids and a few more than curious as to what exactly was going on. When Cynthia walked into the room, they all hushed quickly though.

"Here we are then...Fia, if you see a maid you like, then I will assign that one as your personal caretaker."

Cynthia stood close to Mugi, doing her best to ignore the maid outfit she was wearing.

Chione

---

"Ah...you have my thanks, Katherine." Chione replied. It wasn't exactly perfect, but it'd certainly do for now. "And certainly, I wouldn't mind helping out around the house a bit if you wouldn't mind but-" Before she could finish that thought, a cat person of all things barged into the room and promptly gave Katherine a rather affectionate and improperly indecent display of affection. The egyptian woman's eyes widened, chuckling softly as she glanced away from the two of them and suddenly finding the opposite corner of the room very interesting.

She let Katherine handle that in whatever manner she would decide. Not her place to judge, that was her fathers duty after all. She just helped and healed people. Whenever that was finally done, Chione cleared her throat, fidgeting with a loose strand of her long, black hair before replying.

"Ahem, yes, yes. Measurements then." Chione began to disrobe, the light, airy garment easily being pulled off.

Celine & Marie

---

Marie fell, unable to keep her footing as Kozue tripped her.

"Gah!"

Suddenly, she found herself pinned under Kozue. The demon glared up at the human, grimacing and doing her best to struggle out from under the human, but ultimately failing to do so. Ugh, damn it all! How could she lose so easily? To a human of all things! Bah, if word of even this minor scuffle made its way back home she'd be nothing more than a laughing stock!

More than she already was

...She grit her teeth, but said nothing to the human.

Maoin responded quickly as the knightess started to walk inside, "Yes Miss Luna, apparently from the Headmistress herself - I um ... Lady Sorcha asked to spend the evening with me, so do you mind if I cook it tomorrow instead?" The kitten responded to the knightess, hoping she wouldn't be too upset - the servant placed the ham from Avaline in the fridge, before taking the one from Luna and following suit. "I have something I could quickly heat up for you though - Lady Sol is already enjoying it!" The cat gestured over towards the younger girl, stepping over Avaline's tail as she did so in the crowded room.


Of course she knew life wasn't always comfortable - but Fia nodded though as Livia offered more explanation on what she was thinking ... it wasn't meant as an excuse to become lazy. The phoenix agreed, though was still a bit confused about what she should do to deserve it though. But she figured Livia would explain more about that later.

The familiar looked over the girls as they lined up, a little surprised at how quickly the headmistress handed complete control of the situation to her. It was a bit dramatic, and they were all looking at her now. The youngest one was probably sixteen, and the oldest probably in their thirties. Some were familiars, most were humans. Some were part time, some full time, but no matter their age or professionalism they were all staring at her.

She felt a little nervous. Actually, more than a little nervous. She looked over to Livia for assistance, but she sensed this was up to her. Her eyes flickered between them, as if going through a complex system of trying to make a decision. What if she annoyed them? Or insulted the ones she didn't pick? Or Livia didn't like her decision? Or-

"H-Hey, Miss Fia?" One of the maids stepped forward, stepping a bit forward. She was about sixteen, with a youthful appearance in spite of her uniform. "It's alright - you don't need to be so nervous! Most of us don't know what this entails either ... except for Cynthia, but I don't think she's up for grabs in more ways than one." She offered a friendly smile towards the fourteen year old who relaxed a bit, with most of the maids giggling at the expense of their leader.

Of course, Fia pointed at the girl who spoke up as she began to resume her place in the line. "... oh um ... are you sure miss?" A nod, then a tilt of the head as Fia looked at the maid. "Okay then. I'm Karia, Miss Fia. It's nice to be appointed ..."

They both looked towards Livia though, as if looking for her approval. "... I'm alright with this, assuming you are headmistress." Karia gave a slight curtsy - as of now she was only part time since she was a student as well, and therefore her skills weren't quite as up to par as some of the other staff.


Meowka grabbed for the pipe as it was taken away, gasping at the betrayal. "K-Katherine!?" No more nip!? That was a terrible fate! It was clear the familiar was ready to fight over this injustice, but one of her feet was grabbed by a doll - and soon she was swarmed, struggling against the puppeteer's servants as they dragged her onto the bed. The oppressive regime quickly had her pressed down, so in spite of her struggles she was forced to remain still against the bedding as she stared at the rest of the room, simply observing the traitor in front of her and her friend.

Of course her vision focused just as Chione began to strip. "Hey Kat, that's a fi- bbbbb!?" Meowka's face was pressed into one of the pillows as she was about to finish making her comment, the cruel torturers only letting her head up after a few seconds of silence as her struggles gradually died down once again.

Meowka simply remained quiet at this point, looking towards her traitorous mistress with teary eyes. H-How could she!? It was clear Meowka was upset, the effect likely amplified by her state of mind.


Otille nodded as the woman in front of her asked where she found it. "Yes! There was an old ruin nearby - and a stone statue!" Lady Sorcha would quickly have her assumptions confirmed as the girl nodded enthusiastically. "Well really my little brother found it. And what a blessing! Our village had been in a bad place for a few months." The farmer's characteristic smile dropped a bit as the memories returned. "He wanted to bring the treasure to the village immediately - I was a bit more superstitious and said we should y'know ... wait to make sure it wasn't someone elses. But a week went by and no-one came by and we were hungry so ..."

"... we took a few bags. Managed to purchase food for the village ... our family had enough money to keep Cocoa ..." They'd almost had to get rid of her - they were hungry after all, and food wasn't cheap. Otille waved at the cow, giving her a big smile. "... and I'm hoping to get an education with this. Start a new life, ma'am."

Luna sighed a bit, of course it was going to be something like this when she planned to get Avaline and Sorcha to get along with each other. "No, it's fine. I can cook myself. It's just been... A while." She's hardly cook since she did her last patrol back before she started school. Well, she's watched Maoin enough since then that she'd probably remember. That said, she started listening in to Sorcha's conversation. "Hmmmm." She noted that this Otille probably took from Sorcha's treasure horde. She didn't quite remember passing a village on her way there the first time, but she didn't go the other way.

"Huh? So you guys took some from that treasure horde?" Luna asked, as she butted into the conversation. Sorcha was likely to, uhm, explode at this somehow or another. She'd rather that not happen. This... Was about Sorcha's treasure cache wasn't it? It sounded like it was. "Weren't you not worried about anyone finding that Sorcha?" She giggled a little bit. That was a little bit funny, if she was to be honest. Villagers snuck into the Dragon's Lair while the dragon was away, only to bring the treasure back to said dragon. It was the start of some old comedy. Or, perhaps a tragedy. "Sorry, this is just a bit funny." She patted Sorcha's head, hoping to cool her off a bit.



Katherine did her best to ignore Meowka for now. Uggh, how she hated Meowka on Catnip. It was SO obnoxiously annoying. Rather, she considered banning it at this point. For now, she just did what she promised. "Good, good. That should be good." Was her words, though she wasn't expecting this woman to have no undergarments on. She could see why someone would be cold. "Maybe I'll throw in some panties for free... Just remember to wear them... Maybe wrap your chest with some linens." Nothing she hadn't seen before, though Meowka was being annoying. "Why are you even crying? If you calm down for a minute I'll let you move." The Puppeteer asked her familiar annoyed.

Either way, she quickly, yet precisely took the measurements from the Egyptian woman. Nothing she hadn't done before. The numbers alone said she had a nice body... Nothing Katherine wouldn't mind playing with... But no, she had other plans for this woman at the moment. Plus, she was one of those priestesses. Didn't they usually play that cute, pure and innocent card? Bah! A waste of beauty. Once she finished taking the measurements, she asked Chione, "Alright, go ahead and put your clothes back on. That's done. It'll take a little bit, but might be able to expedite them to being finished.... Possibly tomorrow, day after for sure. Simple designs can be done faster. Any preference in color? Design other than easy to move in?"

Kozue Komichi

"You can't move?" Kozue said, looking Marie in the face. This was fairly easy. In fact, far too easy. Sure, she trained for years to fight these demons, somewhat even cutting her own sense of what was truely beautiful and not because she heard they were rather so... But... This couldn't be what she trained for. No, no. "I win then, I suppose. Not much of one really. You were not at full power, I think. Hopefully it is that way, considering I wasn't even... What? Half serious there?"

She got off of Marie and pulled the demon up to a stand. "Spirit, I thought you said I could find something out about the White Fox here, but all I see is a girl with her power sapped." She wasn't trying to start anything negative, just stating facts. "Marie, was it?" Kozue said, turning back to the demon. "I find the current you distasteful to my training as if I wasted my years. When you regain your real strength, come find me. There, I will defeat a full strength demon and prove myself." She added, turning away and toward Celine. She of course kept her guard up.

Mugi the Yuki-Onna

Mugi just watched on as Fia apparently chose her own personal maid. She couldn't help but get possessively get really close to Cynthia when one of the other maids mentioned her. She really didn't know the other maids really well at this point either so when Fia chose the one who spoke, she only just learned the girl's name when she introduced herself. Still, she stayed close to Cynthia.