Chapter 544: One Final Hub Surprise!
Chapter 544: One Final Hub Surprise!
Eventually things did calm down enough to put away the couch and bring out the dining table. This one was larger then Kat had seen before and looked like it could seat ten demons. It wasn\'t a great fit for the room. Sure it did fit and there was space for everyone, but it didn\'t feel like the area could handle much more and it wasn\'t really feasible to wander around the table to get anywhere.
Not that it was necessary. Once the celebratory dishes came out it was very obvious there would be no need at all. Despite the rather spectacular looking display and wide variety of shapes and sizes of the dishes on offer… when one looked closer you would find that the entire buffet was actually made of jelly.
Kat couldn\'t help but smile at the absurdity of it all. It was something that was so quintessentially family for these Succubi and it made Kat happy just to see them all digging in. Even the way they were eating was an interesting viewing experience that Kat was currently enjoying way more than the food. Not to say it was bad, but it just felt right to leave the jelly for the rest of them. She didn\'t have the obsession the rest did and they clearly loved the stuff. The idea of the family trading rare artifacts for jelly recipes sprung into her mind at one point causing her to laugh slightly as she continued to admire the scene.
The Triplets, for all their differences, ate completely in sync. They\'d each grabbed a bowl of jelly and despite the differing aesthetics of their choice. Their tails wagged in sync, their hands moved the spoon to their mouths at almost the same pace. Kat had originally thought they were making the exact same movements, but upon closer inspection she noticed they actually accounted for the slightly different shape of their jelly and timed it not so they moved together but that their spoons left the bowls at the same time and entered the mouths at the same time before repeating the process.
Aslena and Kamiko had ended up together, their chairs pressed in closer then strictly necessary with their arms practically touching. Despite this Aslena was pointedly not looking at Kamiko even as her tail swished further and further in Kamiko\'s direction the longer she sat there. Aslena, while still eating a considerable amount of jelly, ate with slightly more refinement then the others. The movement was smooth and she seemed to savour the taste a bit more.
Kamiko almost looked like an excited chipmunk in comparison. She would shovel as much jelly as she could into her mouth, cheeks filling to accommodate more than was probably reasonable before she\'d stop and allow herself to chew on the stuff with a big smile on her face as her mouth filled with flavour. Her eyes darting around taking in all her family and gleaming with happiness even if Aslena would look slightly further away when Kamiko looked that direction.
Nira and Elmony seemed to be a more shocking pair, or perhaps just Nira. Elmony took big chunks of jelly that she somehow managed to precariously balance on a normal sized spoon before taking it into her mouth and chewing on it for a while. Nira was doing a very similar thing. Normal spoon, big portions… but she was making incredibly erotic instead making it look more like she was taking a certain kind of meat into her mouth instead of soft jelly, occasionally flicking her tongue out to grab it before the spoon properly reached her mouth, and shooting glances at Aslena and Kamiko while making it looked like she was really directing them at Trigrath.
Who was actually being quite normal. He ate perhaps more quickly then could be considered normal, but compared to the uniqueness of the rest of his family it was quite standard. His eyes though, he took in everyone the same way Kat was, gathering fulfilment from watching his family rather then a nice meal.
Once the meal was done, Kat felt very tempted to stick around for a bit. Chat about things perhaps and go over the day. Alas, it was actually getting a bit late already and she didn\'t want to return home after Sylvie had decided, or been forced to head to bed, whichever was more likely these days.
So Kat said her goodbyes and offered hugs, which all but Trigrath and Aslena accepted. Once she\'d gotten everyone Kat waved goodbye and headed outside. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a rustling sound nearby and turned to look, presuming it to be the wind. When Kat did though, something strange was happening. Nothing was there. It seemed like she had simply heard the wind… but she also felt like something was there.
Before she could properly consider the idea that something was being hidden from her eyes… they seemed to take offence to the idea and started to burn slightly. Kat grit her teeth and went to step backwards out of reflex but halfway through the motion something clicked into place and all of a sudden she could see a cloaked figure standing nearby and stumbled instead of making a normal step.
Kat\'s tail fought and won the battle for balance and she ended up standing, but her mouth was open and her eyes were wide as she looked directly at the strange figure, wings opening to their full width to look more threatening.
"A shame. It seems the technique is imperfect" said the cloaked figure before moving so fast that she was in Kat\'s face before Kat could do anything. Kat\'s mind whirled into combat mode but even with her increased perception it wasn\'t enough. As soon as Kat entered the mode, the figure just smirked and grabbed Kat pulling her into a submission hold with Kat\'s arms stuck behind her back and her tail wrapped around her legs.
*WHAT THE HECK! I didn\'t even notice! How did she tie my tail up? How is she so fast?* Before Kat could blink she was suddenly in the back garden and even more confused. This feeling only got worse when the figure lightly pushed Kat away letting her stumble as her tail unwound and freed her legs.
"What the heck?!" said Kat
"I apologise but I moved you here to abuse my mother\'s privacy wards. They aren\'t the best, but combined with my own technique it should suffice to keep them from noticing anything is wrong" said Cloak.
"Ok… but what\'s goin on and why?" asked Kat coming up with an idea of who this was somewhat quickly.
"Firstly, I wish to confirm how you saw through my abilities. You are the first to notice me in quite some time" asked Cloak.
*I wonder if I should say? I mean… if this is Meridithna like I think it is… I don\'t really mind sharing that information. It isn\'t a secret… but if it isn\'t…* "Why should I Meridithna?" retorted Kat.
The figure let out a light snort. "That was a poor way to try and guess my name. Were you hoping for some sort of grander reaction?" asked Cloak "Now. How did you notice me?"
*Perhaps it was but it\'s not like I had any better options with you hiding yourself in a cloak.* And what a cloak it was. The cowl seemed to be complete darkness, not allowing any proper hint of what was there. The hands though, gave away plenty. If the voice wasn\'t already a clue, which given how much it sounded like Nira it certainly was, the hands that could only belong to a Succubus were another big hint.
"I\'ll answer you if you tell me why you weren\'t inside enjoy the party Meridithna" said Kat stressing the name.
The cloaked figure sighed. "Things are more complicated then you might think Kat" Cloak responded stressing the name as well, "I can\'t just tell you something like that even if I wanted to. Now. Are you going to tell me how you saw through my protections?"
"How about tell me a bit about how they work? Or at least why you thought they would?" asked Kat
The cloak leaned slightly to one side then the other, as if hopping from foot to foot. "I find this an acceptable trade"
Kat nodded. "True sight" was her simple answer.
Cloak cursed. It was interesting, Kat didn\'t really hear the word so much as she felt that it was an expletive in a language she wasn\'t supposed to know. It was a weird impression to say the least. Eventually, Cloak answered. "Damned True Sight. I thought I could get around it to. I wasn\'t actually hiding from your eyes, I was making sure that your brain decided I was unimportant. I\'d thought that would work"
*You know… I\'m not actually that surprised it failed. I mean… if it was that easy to get around everyone would know how. True Sight seems really rare and really important after all. If it was so easily duped nobody would care.*
When Kat broke from her thoughts though. Meridithna? Was gone.