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

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“I love for these moments,” said Meng with all the love she could manage. In fact, for everyone that wasn’t Kat she had actual hearts in her eyes that were beating in time with her own. It was a cool effect. An intentional effect that Meng was playing up for affection, but only partially. Bing and Feng weren’t looking, Kat couldn’t see it. It was basically just for herself.

“Don’t you mean, ‘live’ for these moments?” asked Kat confused.

“Oh, well, that too,” said Meng with a dismissive wave, “but honestly? Living is easy, loving is much harder. As a cultivator, if I just wanted to live I could find some place in the ground, seal myself up and meditate for a few hundred thousand years, maybe even a million if I got lucky. It’s barely living, but I would be ALIVE.

“No, I meant what I said, I LOVE for these moments. This nonsense with my kids right here? I would do just about anything for them Kat. My little babies have been so serious in the last few decades and they really need to lighten up sometimes. Sure they’re old enough be adults, but cultivating slows down the aging process. They’re mentally… maybe 20 if they’re lucky,” said Meng.

“Wait what?” said Kat.

Meng shrugged, “Why do you think young cultivators are known for making rash and poorly thought out decisions even as they age hundreds of years Kat? The answer? It’s because they aren’t aging normally. They are the rough equivalent of teenagers. Why do you think the elves haven’t suddenly taken over the world Kat? Sure there’s a fertility issue, but a much bigger problem is the extended puberty and childhood that makes it seem like dumb decisions are good ideas,”

Kat glanced down at the pair on the floor. Feng’s robe had been removed from his shoulders and was hanging loose, but Bing was missing a sleave. What little dirt had been on the ground seemed to have ended up on their faces… wait. Kat narrowed her eyes and realised that Meng had been carefully dropping dirt out of her storage ring… for some reason. “I suppose that’s fair. I’ve watched over a lot of kids, and it’s always great to see them in good spirits. It… can be rare in an orphanage,”

.....

Meng nodded, empathising with the issue even if she couldn’t really understand it. Her own time in the orphanage was a memory she didn’t truly possess anymore. She was all but certain it HAD happened, but there was nothing more than vague impressions. She remembered no one and nothing from her time there, her training drowning out all earlier memories, for better, and for worse.

*Sometimes I wonder how many other children were recruited into the program. Too many in all likelihood. At least I know that they don’t take anyone under ten. Too hard to train when they’re younger than that ‘inefficient’ they said. I wonder if I was picked up before they implemented that policy or after.*

“Why are you adding dirt to the ground?” asked Kat.

“Because my kids are rolling around on the ground like they’re five and while I do approve of this behaviour because it’s adorable, and they’re not going anywhere close to all out, their spatial awareness is atrocious. I taught them better then that. They have so much dirt on them already and yet they still haven’t noticed,” said Meng.

“Should… should you really be turning something like that into a teaching moment?” asked Kat. Meng of course went to answer in the affirmative but… *Perhaps not? That is all I did as a teenager. Train. Fight and Train with the occasional practice mission. Hmm… should I stop then?* Meng smiled down at her children. *No. This amuses me greatly and gives me a sense of warmth in my chest. A bit of extra laundry is a cheap price to pay. Though… I will have to start doing that myself again. Annoying.

Makes me wish I could go back to the days I wore fake clothes around, or the time I just used my illusions to make my clothes look clean. Not a good idea. Just because they LOOK clean doesn’t mean they are. How I missed the smell for so long will forever be a mystery, and I’m lucky that knife only managed to cut me lightly on the hip. Two harsh lessons learnt for a cheap price.*

“It amuses me Kat, and I’m willing to take that joy where I can so… should I be doing this? Perhaps not? Am I going to stop? Not way,” said Meng, unsure of what Kat’s reactions would be. To her relief, the demon chuckled and gave an understanding nod. Kat could understand that sometimes watching kids be kids could be very amusing, even if it might be better to stop them.

Eventually though, they did have to get off the ground. Feng growled when he saw the state of his clothes, but Bing just got to changing, “Bing! Have you no decency!” hissed Feng.

“Well you’re my brother and you’ve seen me naked plenty of times, Kat is asexual and probably finds my naked body to be about as appealing as the wall behind, and the only other person here as our mom, so really, what am I doing wrong?” asked Bing.

“First off, that is not our mother,” hissed Feng and Meng flinched but didn’t interrupt. “Secondly, Kat is a DEMON I don’t care if she’s asexual, you shouldn’t be displaying yourself in front of one. Thirdly, yes I have seen you naked but that doesn’t mean I WANT to,”

At this point Bing had removed everything, and Kat did mean EVERYTHING before pulling out a portable shower. Bing stood under it and scrubbed the dirt off. “Well, let me correct you on some things,” said Bing as she swallowed, “Firstly, that woman changed our diapers. She fed us, trained us, and loved us. And you know what? It does hurt that part of our relationship is built on a lie, but I can’t hate her. I love my mother too much for that. If you want to disown her fine, but she’s MY mother and you can’t take her from me.

“Secondly, I am in no danger from Kat. Sue perhaps, but not Kat. Not only would her girlfriend be unhappy about it, something Kat would never risk, but you do know what asexual means right? No sexual desire. None. Nada. Zip. In fact, I think it’s more likely you’d have a reaction to seeing me naked then Kat would. Which is my final point. If I can’t trust my twin brother not to molest me in the shower? Well fuck who can I trust?”

“It’s just not proper!” hissed Feng. “You are an heir of the sect, and should be more careful about who you display your body to!”

“We have an army of servants Feng! I’ve had people watch me bathe for as long as I can remember! Who the fuck cares if it’s you three instead?” said Bing.

“The servants have a duty! They would not compromise themselves like that,” hissed Feng.

“I’ve pretended to be a servant plenty of times, and quite a few of those times I used my position to seduce the people I was serving. That’s not even going into the cultivators that treat their servants like their own personal harem. Honestly, I taught you better then that Feng,” said Meng.

“You taught me lies!” hissed Feng.

Meng winced at that but looked to her daughter for comfort and found Bing looking at him like he was the dumber then rocks. *Ah! My lovely daughter! Now I just need the other one and I can be happy. Feng has apparently decided that I’m a no good harlot but at least one of my daughters still love me. Hmm… a bit more seriously… I can live with that. Not happily, but I can leave with that.* “Daughter, your brother is an idiot,” said Meng with a grin.

“It seems that way mother, truly I wonder how we can be related to such a fool,” said Bing with a sigh.

*Um… well… technically I’m not… but I really don’t want to bring that up when Feng is so much less accepting of the situation… so… hmm…* “Personally I think he gets it from his father,” was Meng’s compromise. “Men, such fools. Though, I suppose you won’t have to deal with that sort of issue will you Bing?”

Bing blushed, covering herself up a bit with her hands and legs. She was mostly clean now, and Feng was looking at the ceiling ‘in protest’. “Mooooom! You can’t just say stuff like that while I’m showering… but… um… what about you?”

Meng shrugged, “Eh… I guess I’m closer to Kat? Probably? I don’t think I could ever truly love someone the way I should. Sex does feel pretty great, but like… I don’t really look at anyone and go ‘yeah I’m down to fuck’. It’s more like a favourite sporting activity of mine. I don’t hate it, and I DO have a sex drive but romance? Pretty sure for me that’s dead,”