BXBX NOVEL Chapter 421 420: Touching Reunion
Her amber eyes were wet with tears as she stared at me, and I could see her tail swishing behind her back as she began to slowly walk forwards.
I grinned at her, making my way up the stairs swiftly as I noticed her rather pronounced belly so that she wouldn\'t strain herself.
"K-Katherine..?"
I threw my arms around her and embraced her, the familiar, calming scent filling my nose as I buried my face into her neck.
"It\'s me, Mother... I\'m back..."
My voice cracked as I said that, and my heart began to ache as I felt her tremble against my body, her soft sobs making me feel guilty for once again worrying her so much.
Supporting her so that she wouldn\'t fall, I helped her down the stairs with her still in my arms, my collar growing wet as she cried quietly, making me tear up as well.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the Countess wrapped her arms around us as well, stroking our hair as she muttered soothing words to my Mother, who was - understandably - an emotional wreck.
"I... I-I t-thought I had l-lost you, K-Katherine..! W-When Chordeva a-and Jahi talked a-abour what happened, I-I..!"
"I know, Mother! I know... I\'m sorry for worrying you... But... I\'m back, and alive Mother... so please..."
Trying to console a weeping Mother was... a difficult task, but I managed it a minute or so later, during which Cali stood off to the side and nodded, her features appreciative.
When I finally managed to separate somewhat from Mother, Cali grinned at me as she said "Wow~ A pair of utterly ravishing puppies~! And they look so~ very sexy with tears in their eyes..."
Mother glared at the pink skinned Fiend, her eyes flashing a dark blue for a moment as she growled "Who is this harlot then, Katherine? Why is she here?"
I held back a chuckle as I wiped away my tears, the surprised face of Cali amusing me quite a bit.
"I won\'t deny that she can be a bit... of a rather loose woman, but this... Well, this is Sla\'Caligo, an Arch Fiend."
The Countess stared at Cali in silence, while Mother focused her attention on me, her eyes hard.
"Why are you with a Fiend, Katherine?"
The sudden shift from sobbing to angry was surprising, but I guess it made sense... especially for a Dogkin who was pregnant...
I smiled at the Countess and at Mother timidly, trying to figure out a way to word what I needed to say properly...
"Oh, that\'s simple! She and I are bound together~! Just like that prick Ka\'Hondi is bound to the Asmodia\'s~!"
Cali was going to be like this all the time, wasn\'t she?
Letting out a sigh, I nodded as I added "I met her in Khanla, a city over in the Wekalian Steppes, and she... offered me a deal. After some deliberation - and an oath to a Goddess - I accepted the deal, so now... we\'re bound together, I guess."
The Countess let out a low sigh as well, her sapphire eyes complicated as she said "I hope you made an airtight oath, Kat. Otherwise..."
We all looked at Cali, who was grinning ear to ear as she shifted from side to side as she listened to us.
"Oh, it was a rather fair oath, if I do say so myself~! It\'ll be fun trying to find out what I can and can\'t do to tease her~! Though, really, you needn\'t worry~! Katherine here made me swear to Reincantra of all Goddesses~! I might be a little~ crazy after millennia spent rotting away beneath a drab city, but I\'m not insane enough to piss of one of the Major Goddesses willy nilly. I do value my life, after all~!"
The snakes nesting atop her head nodded as well, and we all stared at her for a few moments before turning back to one another.
"Well, I\'ll send word over to the Capital so that when Chordeva and Jahi return from their Crusade, they can make haste home..."
My brow furrowed as I heard the word \'Crusade\', and the Countess just chuckled dryly as she said "Ah, we need to catch you up on everything don\'t we? Come, let\'s-"
"Ka\'Hondi~! Where can I find the ugly bastard? I need to have a word with them~!"
Cali interrupted us, and I turned to see her still smiling, though her eyes were cold as she asked that.
"What do you want with Ka\'Hondi?"
The Arch Fiend hummed to herself as she walked towards us, her eyes trailing over each of the Banshee\'s that stood around the room.
"A few things. First is to hit them a few times for leaving me all those millennia ago. The bastard used me for a year before just getting themself captured! Hmph! Fucking prick... the second is rather simple. All of us Arch Fiends are being released. I want to see if they\'ll pick our worthless, idiotic kindred or if they\'ll decide to be reasonable... Honor is such an odd domain, so who knows where I\'ll find their loyalty..."
Cali stopped and looked back towards me, grinning.
"This will be the determining point of what I need you to do for me, my Masque... If Ka\'Hondi is going to be a good friend and help me, then things will be much~ smoother! After all, as an Arch Fiend we can find all the lower ranked Fiends rather easily... and since I want to cull the idiots out, well... Ka\'Hondi will be a rather useful ally~!"
The Countess stared at Cali in shock as she asked "You want to CULL the Fiends? Your own people? Why?"
Stroking her snakes, Cali hummed softly as she answered "Why would I want simpletons drunk on their own \'power\' sullying the world? They cause nothing except headaches for me, so I\'ll have them killed before their idiocy causes more trouble than its worth... As simple as that~!"
Mother frowned beside me, her hands clutching at my arm in worry, understanding full well that I was embroiled into another rather dangerous thing.
Giving her a comforting smile, I pat her hands and nodded before looking back towards Cali, asking "Can we eat and rest first, or do you need to see Ka\'Hondi now?"
"We can wait, fine... argh, mortals... So~ needy in so many ways... hah..."
I had to sigh as well as I saw how swiftly the Arch Fiend\'s mood changed, her constant shifting slightly tiresome.
It would be something I would need to get used too though...