BXBX NOVEL Chapter 542: A Slow Exit Stage Left
Chapter 542: A Slow Exit Stage Left
Kat was happy to just take in the calming atmosphere of the room as Kamiko freaked out in the background. Truth be told, it was a nice room. Not really to Kat's taste, as she felt it was slightly overdone, but nice all told. The water feature was perhaps the best part to her mind, bringing calming waves to it with ease.
Eventually though, Lillian is the one who spoke up, for while she was not impatient, she knew it was time to let the other two go. "Is there anything either of you want to ask me before you leave?"
*Hmm… not really? I mean… I had all my questions answered earlier I think. This place is quite nice and I should visit again. I do hope the prices aren't too high, the flying room especially… though I could probably do that anywhere. Still, the air currents in that room are something else…*
While Kat was deliberating, Kamiko spoke her own thoughts, "I know you said you didn't need to convince me… but do you think I should join Lust? That I'd enjoy it here?" the words were said slowly, and with more thana slight bit of reverence in her tone that Kat simply didn't have.
"To speak my mind freely Kamiko… I would say it greatly depends on what you gain next time you Rank up" started Lillian, "for while this Faction is likely to do good for you and be something you can enjoy being a part off… I suspect that you would be even happier in Medical if you gain the required talents.
"You are more like your Mother in her young age then you might expect. She has changed quite a bit since the youth she once was. Though, her… teasing proclivities were still there, the rest of her personality was more like yours then perhaps any other of her daughters, which I find noteworthy"
*Holy shit.* It was strange to hear Lillian speak so casually about Nira's youth. It was clear that she wasn't overly familiar with Nira, more, likely not even an acquaintance, but the simple fact she was more than old enough to refer to it was something that Kat had, at times, issues grasping. It was one thing to be told Lillian is likely the oldest individual she'd ever met by a significant margin, and a completely different one to truly understand such a thing.
"I see…" mumbled Kamiko mulling over the words. "Thank you for the advice Lillian." Lillian actually sighed at the end of Kamiko's sentence. Watching how she nearly stumbled over just saying Lillian's name. Lillian was reminded once again, why she had gone so far out of her way for Kat.
Indeed, she actually turned her face up to stare into Kat's eyes as if asking, 'and what is your final question?'. I don't know… do I have… hmm… why not? Screw it! "Do you know where I can get some nice chairs? My home dimension doesn't have anything that allows for my wings"
Lillian raised two eyebrows at this before jumping out of Kat's arms and swapping back to her original appearance. When she spoke it was once again with the tri-tone. Though this time it was dripping with amusement. "No good chairs? Why that's a minor tragedy. On our way out I'll simply grab a spare from the store room for you. We by them by the thousands Kat. All shrunken down. You just need to poor a bit of energy into it and it'll change size."
"Oh… oh um thank you very much" said Kat shocked, "I… well I didn't think I'd just get one from you… but that's actually a huge help. Sure couches are nice and they aren't the worst thing on my wings but honestly it doesn't compare to a chair that's made properly for them"
Lillian nodded and started to lead the way out of the room. "Indeed, I spent quite some time finding the right chair for myself as well. It's hard because of my stature but I had the time and money to look for something that would work well for me, but now I have found it… well I regret nothing. Granted it took like a century… but I had more than then of those under my belt at the time"
It was another hit to Kat's idea that Lillian wasn't 'that' old… and yet it didn't really shake her any further. It was now simply a fact that Lillian was older then she was, and likely older then all the humanity on Earth… and yet it did not matter for she was adorable, and a passing acquaintance that she hoped to visit again.
They entered the elevators for what would be the last time today and Lillian took them to the store room. It opened into a space stacked high with boxes. Lillian disappeared for a blink before returning and offering Kat a small box that no doubt contained a chair she was after. "Thank you again. For this and the great day. It wasn't quite as relaxing as I might have hoped… but it was fun" said Kat.
Lillian just nodded happily and skipped to the back of the elevator as it shut again. Kamiko was standing off to the side trying not to be confused by what she felt was an absurd situation. Still, it didn't take long for the elevator to drop them back on the ground floor. The pair of taller demons stepped out and before they could really think about it properly, the door dinged behind them. Whirling around Kat saw Lillian waving as the door shut, and the day at Lust ended.
The walk outside was fast and once the exited the building Kat reached out to grab Kamiko's arm, but noticed she was looking out into the distance. "Ah… Kamiko?" asked Kat
"It seems this is it huh?" murmured Kamiko
"What do you mean?" asked Kat "The week is over sure but why do you make it sound so much more final?"
"I'm n-" Kamiko chocked on the answer. "Fine ok, I do know why I think that… but at the same time I also don't really? I… I just… it's weird Kat. I already said to you that I didn't exactly have any friends before… and… and intellectually I know that I'm not about to say goodbye to you forever but… I FEEL like it is. I feel like I'm really losing something here"
"Kamiko…" Kat said softly as she came up from behind and wrapper her arms around the smaller demon. That alone was enough for tears to begin seeping from Kamiko's eyes. Seeing this, Kat slowly led the girl off to the side. They'd just stopped outside of the entrance before when Kat had been planning to leave. "Look… I…"
Kat sucked in a big breath as she kept walking, tightening her arms around Kamiko, half carrying her until they were completely off to the side. Finally Kat managed to find her words. "Perhaps I'm better at this" Kat's words were strong, but she too felt the sadness she couldn't quite keep from them, "because I've done this all before you see. I had… well… it was a long time ago so I'm not sure how true it was… but I like to think I had friends in the orphanage when I was younger.
"We laughed and played together and had the best of times I'm sure. I still wasn't the most social, but when you're so young you can move past that. Except… many of them were adopted. We didn't really get to know each other and for me… it was very quickly apparent that I couldn't have permanent friends. We were young and lacking in ways to keep in contact with each other.
"Over the years, plenty left, and I did not despair at that, for I understood that most kids truly desired a family again. Eventually, after this had happened enough I took steps back, emotionally I suppose. They became acquaintances or… or… charges, wards that I took care of. Even before I was ten I started to think like this.
"It wasn't because I was older, because in some cases I wasn't" Kat tried to ignore her own tears at this point but they were coming regardless of that. "It was because I'd been around the orphanage so much longer. I knew the way things worked. I had experience mending the hurt and broken children that came in. I couldn't fix them, they needed a family for that, but I did help, I think…
"So I know what it is like to see them leave. And I can imagine you feel much the same way… but Kamiko. I'm still here right now. You can see me again easily. This is not a final goodbye. Plus I was going to have dinner with your family before I left"
When Kat finished Kamiko snuggled further into the embrace, not taking proper account of her horns but Kat didn't mind, simply shifting her arm slightly so it was no longer digging in. *Huh… guess I was… carrying that around for a while. I don't regret my choices. But perhaps they were heavier then I recognised.*