Lucy and the Definitive... Cat?

The Most Dangerous Demon

"Mard comes into the garden, almost drops his book and growls," Jackal's eyes open wide as he starts to chuckle, "I never pulled up my pants and ran so fast in my little life."

Mard face palmed as Jackal kept talking while poking the campfire with his stick, "he chases me and suddenly... Boom!" – he clapped his black hands – "Mard slips in the puddle and..."

Rosebud was laughing, tears gathering along her lashes as Jackal comically fell into Silver's lap. The undead mage poured some wine into Jackal's mouth before pushing the storyteller off him. Jackal tilted his head back and spit the wine in the air like a small shower, "splashes puppy piss everywhere."

Mard shook his head as the demons all laughed at the story. Rosebud rubbed her face into his arm as she laughed against his white shirt. He could feel her body vibrate from her hearty laughter and gently kissed the top of her blonde head as he finally let himself chuckle at the memory.

This was still new to him, showing a side of himself that he had never let his demons see before. It was a side of him that only Rosebud had known, she never needed to meet the old him. If only she knew that if it wasn't for the humiliation of the cat form, if he had met her prior to that...

No, he didn't want to think about that.

He wanted to laugh with his demons and hear old stories with a new sense of peace and knowledge of himself. Mard wanted this time to rest around the campfire before they would have to meet the gathering storm. Most importantly he wanted his demons to know his mate and see the parts of her that would make her their Queen.

Silver threw back his head and laughed, the lich always had a certain spirit to him. Mard held a slight smile as he watched the different levels of joy from his demons. Under a starry night sky and lit by a roaring campfire they all looked different to him. More human and less human. More animated and calm, rather than on guard and tense.

Except for Silver, the old undead mage didn't have an on-guard button or a fuck to give.

"That was the last time I let Jackal out of my sight till he was fifty," Mard added.

Silver scratched his facial fuzz, "still not as funny as when Jackal tells how you woke up with a scared demonling who pounced on you."

"What?" Rosebud asked, her coffee colored eyes pleading to hear this story as her bottom lip stuck out a little.

Mard let out a breath, "that is not fair," he said pressing his finger to her nose and watching her scrunch it. The demons all inched to the edge of their seats (for those that had them) and leaned forward. He could feel the anticipation dripping from their awaiting faces and Mard stood up.

He looked into the crackling fire and took in a small breath, scenting the fresh air, burning wood and wildflowers. Mard slowly rolled up his sleeves, trying to prepare his thoughts for the story. "Jackal used to have nightmares as a pup," he started.

Mard had never fostered a demonling before, this was new territory for him. He had no idea about things like proper potty training – don't pee on his roses – and that demonlings imitate the adults to try and understand. He didn't know how creative and wild they were or how sensitive their minds were to things he was immune to. The King had no idea what he was doing.

"He saw me decapitate a criminal. Not thinking much of it," he shrugged, "why would you? I went about my day, not talking to him. That night, I thought everything was fine." Mard looked down at Rosebud before looking over at Jackal, who was frowning, and staring lost into the flames.

Mard pursed his lips and decided to skip over the part of his story about the succubus he entertained that night. Rosebud did not need that detail. "I was dead asleep when out of no where I heard this whimper," he looked at Jackal and smiled, "and as Jackal said," Mard slapped his chest, startling the demons, "Boom! There was a shaking small demonling on my chest." He chuckled, "I shot straight up, sending the small pup tumbling down on my legs."