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

----

When the group hopped out at Bodeir's temporary help, it was to minimal fanfare. Meng had ensured that nobody would see them pulling in, and she wasn't going to change that just yet. Kat got off first, and called out to Sue and Hromdir, who came running. Kat gave a very basic summary, but was quickly dragged away alongside Bodeir in his bubble, which, to Bing's surprise, remained active even after Meng offered to wake him up safely. 

"Right, now that that's over, Kat can argue why we're allowed on the ship. I have a letter to deliver, so you guys can talk without me being here for a bit. You'll have at least half an hour, but you might not have any time after that," said Meng. 

Bing stared at her mother until Lian took the initiative to hug Meng. Bing quickly joined in, and Feng huffed, walking off to the back garden, either to take some time for himself or to give the new sisters time to chat. "What's his problem?" asked Lian. 

"Look… it's complicated, I wouldn't want to explain it poorly and make him look bad," said Bing. 

"Oh trust me, he already looks pretty bad. Lily knows about Feng's part in Kat's injuries and apparently she's more hurt then she's letting on despite her regeneration. Lily was NOT happy with him for that, or Kat for that matter. So nothing you can say will make it worse," said Lian. 

*Ah… yeah I didn't think about that. Feng was just being an idiot just then I think… no real defence for him over those actions, it's one of the reasons Meng was so mad at him.* "Feng… Feng has decided that Meng isn't worth loving because she's broken a bunch of laws and you shouldn't make exceptions for family," said Bing with a sigh. 

"Well that's just stupid," said Lian bluntly, "I'm not surprised Meng was right about that though," 

"Wait… you mean she knows?" asked Bing with a slight tinge of fear. *Why does she already know!*

"Why wouldn't she know Bing? She's not some random spy that recently replaced your mother, that's been the whole damn point. She's raised you both for decades. You think she can't guess what you're both thinking with a bit of time and effort? Not only is she trained in this, but she's got lots of experience dealing with you both," said Lian with a shrug. 

"Why do you say that like you aren't on the list," said Bing with a glare. 

Lian shrugged, "I'm not saying she doesn't know me just as well, she probably does, I'm just not surprised by that fact at all. I also think Feng's being stupid, but he's always been stupid, so I can't say I'm surprised either," 

"Lian," hissed Bing. "His reasons are good ones, and even if we don't agree with him, he IS our brother, or are you disowning him or something?" 

Lian shook her head with a smile, "No I'm not disowning him for being stupid, I already knew he was when I accepted my place as the third sibling."

"I'm not saying he's doing the right thing here…" said Bing carefully. *He's probably doing the right thing. Maybe? He's doing the more morally just thing, at least according to how we were raised. I'm just not pleased with it… especially now I understand his reasoning, because he certainly FEELS right.* "I'm just saying he has a point," 

"I think he's being a hypocrite myself," said Lian with a shrug. 

"What are you talking about?" asked Bing. 

"Well, a few reasons. The first, is that he's regularly allowed his friends to pick on me in the past, and taken their word over mine, just because they're his friends, with the excuse 'I trust my friends not to lie to me' or 'it's your word against three others'. The worst example was when I was escaping to your room, covered in paint that one time, and he asked what happened. Didn't want to believe it when I said his friends had done it intentionally. 

"Now, a lot of these issues were years ago now, he's grown up and so have his friends, but not THAT much. The idea that he isn't biased towards people he likes is ridiculous. Additionally, as much as he's whining, he's still coming along. If Meng was some untrustworthy monster that deserves to be punished, why would he listen to her and just quietly come along?

"Could it be because Meng is willing to protect while we cultivate? Perhaps because he knows she's got resources for us all? Oooh, how about the option that he's scared to be left here because if he sticks around they'll throw him in jail or execute him for being a traitor? If he was really so principled as to not make exceptions… why not allow himself to be judged?" offered Lian.

"You can't just expect our brother to walk to his death!" hiss Bing, irritated that Lian would even suggest such a thing. 

"But I'm not," insisted Lian, "I'm happy for him to come along. I'm not happy for him to delude himself into thinking he's some paragon of virtue and arbiter of the law. He's a kid that wants safety and protection same as us. We're just honest about the fact that we love Meng too much to think ill of her. Maybe he doesn't, but he's still USING that love she has for him to benefit…

"And frankly? If he truly has no love for Meng anymore and he's just sticking around to get as much as he can from her before leaving? That's infinitely worse then what Meng has done. Meng never betrayed a single person who loved her. Sure she pretended to be that person, but she never was. It was all a job to her. This is personal, and I'm taking Feng's decisions pretty personally at the moment," 

*I… I don't know what to say. I want to shout at you for saying such things about Feng… but once again, my siblings prove to have somewhat valid ideas even if I don't like them. I hadn't really considered what it meant when Feng said he had no choice but to come along… because he DOES have a choice. Well, not a real one, not to me…

But if I recognise that Feng could turn himself over, could submit to the law and try to get away free, because he hasn't done anything… then I also have to recognise that he doesn't have to stick around. That and… well… it IS disgusting to abuse the love and trust of a woman that was raised to be a spy. 

She doesn't know any other way to live, and she's trying, making a genuine effort to be a good mother. I can understand why Lian would be mad at Feng for abusing that… I don't think he is… probably. What… what would I prefer to believe? That Feng is delusional and still loves Meng despite his attitude, or that Feng is also a bad person?

Fuck my siblings. They're such pains.*

"Welp, you've given me another existential crisis, just like our brother did earlier. I don't know if I'd rather believe you're right, or believe you're wrong… but I'm not happy with either idea," said Bing. 

"Does that mean we can be mad at Feng then? Because both options make him look bad, and I'm down for him to get spanked as punishment or something," said Lian. 

"Please tell me you're not into that or something…" mumbled Bing. 

"Hmm…" Lian seriously considered the idea, "I'm not sure… at least, I don't want to think about that sort of thing when it comes to Feng. I've got no romantic interest in him at all, and If I do get off on the idea, I'd really rather it wasn't Feng's face on the guy getting smacked. I just meant that he deservers a good punishment, and I will enjoy his suffering," 

"That does sound kinda sadistic Lian," offered Bing. 

Lian shrugged, "Eh, perhaps it is. I just think that if he's going to act like an ass there should be a punishment for it. Even if he just whined a bit less I'd be happy. I mean, if he's sticking around it means he's made his choice. I don't want to hear him constantly badmouthing my mother, even if she's HIS mother too," 

"You really jumped on this whole adopted sister thing quickly," said Bing. 

Lian gave a shrug, "Yeah well, I already thought of you as a sister for a long time. Making it official is nice, but it's not a big change for me. Though… you sound a bit annoyed about it. Was Sue right about that crush you're harbouring on me? I have to say, incest isn't MY fetish, so I have to turn you down," 

"I'm going to kill that Succubus," grumbled Bing, hands clenched at her side and teeth together while Lian just burst out laughing.