Chapter 944 - 944 Chapter 944 Musings of a Bruce
D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad
944 Chapter 944 Musings of a Bruce
Despite the tension ratcheting up in the room, the home team felt that same silence was much more comfortable for them. Roxy was having trouble keeping up with what seemed like nonsense. The thing that was causing her more issues was actually just how honestly everyone was taking the information. Nobody was cracking, not even the slightest slip. Roxy knew Sylvie was a smart child⦠but she wasnât even ten. The idea she was being lied to, with no tells⦠well after all her years of practice she had some pride in those skills. Roxy wasnât willing to believe sheâd gotten so rusty⦠so what the heck was going on here?
The answer that her pride wanted her to come to was that⦠it wasnât a lie. That everything being said was true. To admit otherwise would be disrespecting her skills⦠but her mind couldnât accept such a thing. Vivian was horrible at hiding things, even through letters. Could she really have hidden something like this? No, certainly not⦠right? Roxy took another sip of tea as the silence lingered.
Bruce took his own first sip of tea. Heâd been watching the entire exchange and was able to notice a few more details. Kat wasnât lying⦠but something strange was going on. Heâd picked up on her quick chats with Lily, but didnât have the context to know what it meant. He realised that Vivian had managed to find some interesting brats, and had gotten better at misleading her mother⦠even if she didnât have any resistance to Roxyâs teasing. Bruce wanted to shake his head at that. Vivian could walk through an orgy fully clothed and just apologise for entering the wrong room with a straight face. He would know, he watched it happen once. Genuine accident, and Vivian was just so calm throughout the whole thing. He was actually the more put out of the two.
Yet, even still, Roxanne made a slight insinuation that she was having a romp in the sheets with Callisto and the girl just melts. Once again, Bruce had to resist shaking his head. He really did wish the pair would make up their minds in some way. Despite what Roxanne might want to believe, they werenât getting any younger. Time was marching onwards and bullying Vivian about a relationship that may or may not be serious was just growing to drag the whole thing out. Bruce wished Callisto would have a bit more input on the issue as a whole, but thatâd be like trying to get blood from a stone. Callisto would go along with whatever Vivian wanted⦠and he never could figure out what exactly Callisto wanted other than that.
The fact that Vivian had managed to pick up one âconfirmedâ lesbian was something that eased Bruceâs mind. It wasnât quite true, but it did ease his mind. Bruce was of the opinion that little fact would do more to shake up Callisto and Vivianâs relationship then anything Roxanne could ever hope to do. He didnât know which way the dominoes would fall, but if one of them could just ADMIT to something then they could both move forward. Bruce didnât care if that meant moving forward together, or apart but if either of them were a bit less successful heâd be worried about how much they were spinning the wheels.
Bruce suppressed the twitching in his fingers, the need to spread them out was strong but his will was stronger. Enough about things he wasnât going to interfere in. Roxanne would continue her ineffectual game, and enjoy doing it. Callisto would take two steps forward, and another two back during the whole episode⦠and Vivian would collapse under the embarrassment, wait till Roxanne left and then remove it all from her mind. What was interesting⦠was the new kids.
Sylvie, the younger one, actually interested him more. Despite being on Vivianâs lap, the kidâs demeanour screamed Callisto. Honestly, if didnât know how fiercely loyal Callisto was to his daughter, the first guess as to why they were adopting the kid was because Sylvie was actually Callistoâs flesh and blood daughter. He supposed that Sister was possible as well⦠but how Callistoâs parents managed to be blessed with such an intelligent child⦠well let him muse âinnocentlyâ that it was a strong argument that God didnât exist. If those two could end up with a child so smart and skilled despite all their choices⦠well. Luck had to be the driving force of the world didnât it?
He could see that Sylvie was watching everything, and new from the letters heâd received that she knew a great deal as well. Anyone that could go up against Callisto in a game of chess and take a few rounds was impressive. Callisto wouldnât let anyone win against her more than once if she could help it. Going a bit easy to get people into the game? Sure. Consistently falling to someone to let them feel better? Never. Sylvieâs intellect was extreme and it was quite clear the girl knew how to use it.
The problem that presented at the moment, was Roxanne wasnât making a great first impression on the girl. Sure pranking Vivian was fun, and it was deserved, Bruce would never deny that, he was against going about it this way. Heâd argued they should call ahead. That they should at least warn Callisto, so she could inform the kids. He was ignored. It wasnât a great surprise, and he wasnât too beat up about it. Roxanne was correct in her arguments that Callisto would warn Vivian. It was an easy conclusion to reach⦠but he was regretting not fighting the decision harder. It didnât seem worth the damage they were currently doing. Irreparable, no, but certainly not ideal.
.....
As for the older girl⦠Bruce thought it likely she was warned about Roxanne. He wondered about that choice. Kat was holding her own, obviously, but did she really need the warning? Bruce knew that if he had to choose, Sylvie wouldâve been warned about what to expect. She was clearly intelligent enough to understand the specifics and perhaps even the reasons behind them. So the fact that Kat had been warned instead something, especially considering it was Callisto who offered the warning.
Bruce wondered why that might be. He briefly entertained the idea that it was not to protect Kat, or Sylvie, but instead to protect him and his wife. See, if Kat really WAS a demon then Roxanneâs game was suddenly much deadlier. The stakes had been drastically increased and only some of the players were aware of the stakes. That thought seemed to worm its way into his mind. It wiggled and agitated the surrounding thoughts until suddenly it was his focus. It was silly, ridiculous.
Yet at the same timeâ¦
Bruce and Roxanne werenât actually religious. Oh, Roxanna and he went to church regularly, and they taught the bible to kids growing up. Not because the church was good, but because the stories in that âholyâ book were all quite deep. Theyâd been refined over thousands of years. If they werenât worth reading, the whole thing wouldâve fallen through. Additionally, the sense of community the church fostered was a wonderful thing for a child to have growing up. That being saidâ¦
Bruce had seen a lot of strange things in his travels. Most of these could be explained, and those that canât simply need a bit more research on them. Still⦠in so many regions throughout the world there is a sense of belief that imbues itself into the biggest personalities. Politicians, preachers, even just successful businessmen. Thereâs something a little more to all of the good ones. So now, Bruce found himself really looking at Kat as if it was his first time seeing her.
The first thing he noted was that her horns clearly werenât plastic. They werenât painted either. Regardless of if they were actually stuck to the young womanâs head, they were REAL horns. Perhaps they were just attached to a headband but now that he was looking, it wasnât hard to tell that they were no cheap props. The next thing he looked at were her wings. Thatâs where things started to get strange.
Once again the quality of the âcraftingâ on them was exceptional. The leather looked great and they moved as Kat shifted slightly in her seat. Thatâs when he realised something else. They could twitch. It wasnât anything major, but they would fidget. Kat would roll her shoulders, and then, flex her wings just a bit⦠in clearly and distinctly separate motions. Bruce was starting to reach a conclusion about just who was playing the game better today⦠and he was thinking it wasnât Roxanne anymore. The real kicker was when he looked at Katâs tail. It moved and shifted lazily. It wasnât just a costume piece stuck to her back⦠it moved. Sure, it could be robotic⦠but it was much to smooth for that.
Bruce let out a breath of air from the corner of his mouth, as if that would relieve the pressure he was feeling. Roxy was in for a big surprise in a few moments. Bruce⦠well Bruce was going to sit back and enjoy the show.