《The Sandwich and the Egg》


 Part 1

    <div>


    The perfect sandwich, with an egg.


    Matt arrived home late today, having been stuck on the phone at work past closing time with an upset costumer. The call began at noon, cutting into his lunch break, and lasted several hours until it was past time to go home, and the call only finally ended when the customer became so fed up with the process they hung up. Matt wasn''t bad at his job, and he certainly gave his best, but sometimes that just wasn''t good enough, and it wasn''t a situation where he could ask for help from a coworker or one of the higher-ups, either. He was simply stuck until either it ended or it simply became so late he had no choice but to hang up himself, with the promise to pick up where they left off the next day. On top of everything, he hated the sound of his own voice, but finding another job was out of the question as nothing else around here paid well enough for him to live on his own as he did.


    He thought the long day over in his mind as he finished putting together his sandwich as muffled yelling came from downstairs. It seemed the two ladies in the apartment below his were arguing over something. He chose to ignore it, and instead turned on the tv, setting it at a slightly higher volume than normal. The yelling stopped suddenly, and muffled rhythmic speaking could be heard. It was strange. Deciding to ignore this, he let out sigh as he sat down on the sofa after his long day, plate in hand, and just as he was about to take a bite, an enormous cloud of smoke suddenly erupted right in front of him.


    Matt coughed at the sudden smell of sulfur, and a large figure emerged from the smoke. It was tall and menacing, covered in red fur, and looked much like a dragon. Black flames flickered from its eyes. Matt and the dragon-thing stared at each other for tentative moment, then the creature began to snarl. Finding himself quite confused and not wanting to get eaten, Matt slowly proffered his sandwich. The creature gave it an uncertain sniff, then grabbed it and ate the thing whole, barely chewing it in its massive mouth. Its eyes opened wide in surprise. The yelling from downstairs resumed, now even louder than before. Both he and the creature looked at the floor, and came to the same realization at the same time. His neighbors were the ones who summoned... Whatever this thing was, but it showed up in the wrong house. The creature gave Matt another stare, showed him a thumbs up, and vanished in another puff of smoke, leaving behind one very bewildered man.


    Two loud shouts of surprise were heard, then the cacophony downstairs immediately subsided, but Matt was too out of it to notice that. As the smoke dissipated, he released the breath he wasn''t aware he''d been holding. He opened the windows and turned on a fan to get rid of the sulfur smell, and wondered if he should confront his neighbors about what just happened. He nearly got eaten because of them! After considering his options, he decided to ignore it and look for somewhere else to live right away. He didn''t want to get involved in whatever the hell was going on downstairs. Suddenly his stomach growled. He groaned, bemoaning the loss of his sandwich, but he wasn''t too upset over it as that BLT had apparently just saved his life. Not wanting to expend that much effort a second time, especially this late, he quickly threw together a PB&J.


    Opening his laptop while munching on his new inferior sandwich, Matt typed in his password with one hand and idly browsed his messages as he finished eating. Once nourished, he checked the local listings for a new place to live, but there wasn''t anything else in the area this cheap. He groaned. How did people even afford this area? He even had himself a decent-paying job but everything else was out of his price range. He knew his friends around here were struggling to make ends meet, even with roommates. That was it! He would just have to deal with living with someone else for awhile until he could figure out a real solution. He could leave single living behind if it meant never coming face-to-face with mysterious entities again, or the people who summoned them. He browsed the listings again, and once again, there was nothing he could afford. He shut his laptop in frustration and got ready for bed. He still had work tomorrow after all.


    The next day, Matt slogged through another several-hour call with the same customer from yesterday, but thankfully, the issue was finally resolved. Before lunch this time even. After making it through the day, he managed to return to his apartment complex on time. He sped past his neighbor''s door, wanting to associate with them as little as possible before climbing the stairs to his home. As he put the key in the door to unlock it, he could hear clanging sounds coming from within. "An intruder!?" he thought. He stopped. The racket continued as he stood still. After thinking it over, he decided to try to catch a glimpse of his intruder then call the police. He carefully unlocked the door as quietly as possible. Opening it a crack, he noticed scratches all over the floor and a large red tail sitting on the floor.


    "Oh god!" Matt accidentally said out loud.


    The clanging sound stopped, and a set of three fiery eyes turned to look at him. "Good. You''re back," A deep voice resounded. A clawed hand dragged him in. "Give me your good food, this cold stuff isn''t appetizing."


    Matt looked at his fridge. The inside was beat up, and most of his food was missing. Shredded plastic containers littered the floor. "Y-Y-You''re here for f-food?" he asked meekly.


    "Yeah. That thing you gave me as an offering yesterday was good! I want more. None of this cold stuff is good."


    "Y-You have to..." He started hyperventilating. This thing was back, it was hungry and he was supposed to sate it somehow.


    "Hm? Something wrong, human?"


    Matt staggered backwards and fell, and was now sitting on the floor. "What do you want?" He managed to get out between breaths.


    "I''m hungry, that''s all. Normally I hunt, but I want more delicious things. Where are they?"


    "You have to cook the food." He replied, starting to calm down slightly. "It''s not very good, the way you''re eating everything."


    "Cook? You mean like with a fire? I suppose there are some races that do that. Very well. Cook something for me."


    Matt looked back at his fridge in fear. There was hardly anything left."I don''t know if I can."


    "What''s the problem, human?" It asked menacingly with its eyes furrowed at him.


    "Y-You already ate everything! There''s nothing left!"


    The creature grumbled angrily. "...Fine. I will admit I am at fault here. I will not consider this a breach of contract."


    "Contract?"


    "Yes. The contract you agreed to yesterday."


    "What? I didn''t agree to anything! You left just as soon as you showed up!"


    "By providing a satisfying offering, I agreed to provide you with a service. Something those two imbeciles below couldn''t do."


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    "You were going to eat me! I had no choice!" Matt yelled, finally standing up as he started to gain confidence in the situation.


    "You were mistaken. I thought you were the one who summoned me without following the rules. I was angry at you."


    Matt stood there flabbergasted. Unknowingly, he had made the situation a whole lot worse. Now he had to deal with a contract with some otherworldly being. "So... What do we do now?"


    "Right now I want more food. I''ll provide you with greater service for feeding me more delicious things."


    "Okay. Okay, I... Have an idea, but you''ll have to wait a bit!"


    The creature grumbled again. "Very well."


    Matt did the only thing he could do in this situation, and ordered delivery. He had hoped the nearby pizza place would be the fastest, but the message in his browser said forty minutes until it arrived. Not wanting to waste any more time trying to find something else, he conceded and ordered a variety of pizzas. This was going to hurt his wallet.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± The creature said in its deep voice. ¡°The food just arrives by itself?¡±


    ¡°Someone else does the cooking, and then they bring it here.¡±


    ¡°I see! I can¡¯t wait!¡±


    ¡°I hope it satisfies you.¡±


    ¡°It had better. I¡¯m wasting quite a bit of time here, you know.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know! I didn¡¯t even know I agreed to a contract in the first place! And why does that mean you get to just come here and tear apart my kitchen and eat all my food anyway?!¡±


    ¡°I decided to provide you with greater service if you could provide me with more good food.¡±


    ¡°That! You decided that on your own! And what does ¡®service¡¯ mean anyway?¡±


    ¡°Well, you humans would put it as granting wishes.¡±


    ¡°Wishes? Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yes. So, human. What do you wish for?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want any wishes. I never asked for this.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here, whether you like it or not. And I can¡¯t leave you alone until my side of the contract is fulfilled. So make a wish.¡±


    ¡°Um...¡± Matt hurriedly ran through the possibilities in his mind. Sure, he wanted money and a good life just like anyone else would, but he didn¡¯t dare make a wish for something so extravagant. This could only be trouble. He realized he¡¯d been staring at his ruined kitchen for awhile now. He just had to make a simple wish and this could all go away. ¡°I wish for my kitchen to be returned to normal.¡±


    The creature smiled. ¡°Very well. And because I enjoyed your offering so much, I will even do it free of consequence.¡±


    ¡°What!? You didn¡¯t say anything about consequences!¡±


    ¡°Relax, human. I said there wouldn¡¯t be any.¡± The creature lifted its hands and a wave a deep purple energy spread over the kitchen. Matt looked on in surprise as the scratches and dents all repaired themselves. Even the food containers on the floor were repaired, but the food they previously contained was not replaced. The creature, seeing Matt¡¯s stupefied reaction, wore a smug look on its face. Everything was returned to how it had been before the creature arrived. Matt collapsed into a chair.


    ¡°That was magic, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the human word for it, yes.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± The creature became smug again.


    ¡°So¡­ Is the contract done now?¡± Matt asked nervously.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then, um, why are you still here.¡±


    ¡°Because you made another contract by promising to feed me delicious things again.¡±


    ¡°What!? That was so you wouldn¡¯t destroy my house!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s done is done. Is the food nearly here?¡±


    Matt sighed and check the time. Twenty minutes left. ¡°Thirty minutes,¡± He said, just in case they were late.


    The creature suddenly leaped forward and was now practically nose to nose with Matt. ¡°Don¡¯t. Lie. To me.¡±


    ¡°S-Sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Matt exclaimed, leaning as far back in his chair as he could. ¡°I just said that in case it''s late! I didn¡¯t mean anything by it!¡±


    The creature stared into Matt¡¯s eyes with its own set of flaming ones. ¡°I¡¯ll look past it. This time.¡± The creature then backed off. Matt broke out into a cold sweat. This thing could detect lies on top of everything else. He would have to be careful of what he said from now on. The creature curled up in the living room where there was enough space for its massive body. ¡°I¡¯ll wait here.¡± The next twenty minutes were the longest of his entire life. The two sat in silence, waiting for the pizza. Eventually, the doorbell rang. Matt was about to open the door, when he suddenly realized his guest was quite visible. He turned around to tell it to do something, but the living room was empty. Turning back around, he greeted the delivery man and set the large stack of boxes on the counter.


    ¡°Throwing a party?¡± The delivery man asked.


    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± Matt replied.


    Matt shut the door and turned around to see the creature suddenly behind him, nose to the boxes.


    ¡°Smells promising,¡± the creature said.


    ¡°I hope so. I paid a lot of money for that.¡± Matt said as he was opening the boxes and laying them out on the counter.


    The creature ate handfuls at a time, not minding the temperature at all. A human¡¯s mouth would be covered in burns if they ate like this. ¡°Yes! Yes! Who knew humans had such good food!? Oh, you¡¯re getting extra nice service this time!¡±


    Matt smiled wanly, ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    The creature finally settled down and was now licking its claws and muzzle clean. When it finished, it gave Matt a strange look that he could only interpret as contentment. It stood up and slowly made its way too him, then suddenly grasped his head with one of its still slightly wet hands. Memories flashed through his mind.


    Suddenly Matt remembered the time when he wore his sister¡¯s pants. They fit weird, but nobody noticed he wasn¡¯t wearing boy jeans that day. He remembered how easily he made friends with girls growing up. He remembered being a little boy and seeing his mom put on makeup, and then secretly putting on her lipstick that night. He remembered a lot of incidents. Hating his voice. Hating having to shave his face every single day. Lamenting how men¡¯s clothes didn¡¯t do anything for him. Feeling uncomfortable when his dad said how proud he was to have a son. Coming across a character in a book named Ivy, and really relating to her. He opened his eyes.


    ¡°I have granted your deepest wish. I¡¯ve enjoyed your food a lot, Ivy.¡±


    The first thing Matt noticed was that his hand was smaller. His gaze traveled up his arm. His arm wasn¡¯t covered in hair anymore. His chest now had breasts. He tilted his head down in surprise, and felt something move with him. He grabbed it, and realized his hair was long now. He got up and started running to the bathroom to look at his reflection, and tripped over his clothes, falling face-first into the floor. He grabbed his nose in pain. ¡°Oww...¡± His voice was different he suddenly realized. He got up and carefully made his way to the bathroom.


    Matt gasped when he saw his reflection. It wasn¡¯t him in the mirror, not like he was used to seeing. In the reflection stood a girl, looking much like his older sister. Long black hair, hazel eyes, somewhat small build. ¡°Ivy¡­ It called me Ivy.¡± Matt, now Ivy, started crying again. She had gone twenty-six whole years without knowing what was wrong the entire time. All that depression, the self-hatred, being friends with girls but never having a satisfying romantic relationship with one, it all made sense now. How could she have missed this? It seemed so obvious! She started laughing.


    Ivy undressed to see her new body. She still had that mole on her left thigh. The scar on her right arm where a dog bit her was still visible. All the little things were still there, but now they were on the right body. This was beyond unbelievable, and for the first time in her life, she felt really uplifted and happy in a way she had never felt before.


    Ivy put her clothes back on and frowned. They didn¡¯t fit her anymore. In fact, nothing she had would fit. As if answering her complaint, her pants shortened and shrunk to fit her new frame. Her shirt did the same, and suddenly she was wearing a bra that hadn¡¯t been there before. She gasped in surprise as her bathroom filled with feminine products. She returned to the living room and opened her laptop to check all the pictures of her in them. As she browsed through them her mind filled with memories of her new life. It was pretty much the same, but now she was a woman in them.


    Ivy laughed with glee. She never knew she could feel so happy and so right. First order of business in her new body was to go out in public and restock the fridge.


    With time Ivy settled into her new life. She actually enjoyed her job helping people over the phone now that she didn¡¯t hate her voice. She was a little bit closer with her mom and sister than she had been before. There were a lot of little changes that happened, and overall everything just felt perfect. She was in bliss. Time passed, and one day as she got home from work, she found a big red monster with flaming eyes in her apartment.


    Ivy dropped her things and ran up to the monster, wrapping it in the best hug she could muster. ¡°Thank you. Thank you so, so much for what you did for me.¡±


    ¡°I was simply fulfilling a contract,¡± the familiar deep voice replied.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but no contracts this time. I¡¯ll fix you up a feast.¡±

 Part 2

    <div>


    After showing up again for the first time in months, Ivy came to know the monster a little bit more. The monster revealed itself to be a demon, which didn''t really surprise her all that much. It granted cursed wishes after all. Then she learned that this demon was new, and didn''t really care for the typical offerings people made for it, preferring food now instead, which was unfortunate for the people summoning it because they had no way of knowing this wasn''t your average demon. It was lucky for Ivy however. She could have spent her whole life miserable, but it saved her at the cost of some pizza.


    While no longer surprised by the demon''s visits, Ivy did have to set boundaries to make sure she had enough money to feed it when it came. They settled on twice a month, or once per paycheck. She even learned the demon''s name, which was Azara. Knowing a demon''s name was apparently a big deal, but Ivy didn''t really understand or care about that. They were unlikely friends, and that''s what mattered.


    One day Ivy came home to find her big red dragon waiting for her as usual, but it was talking with someone else. Another demon, this one incredibly tall and slender, stood in the living room, hunched over so as not to scrape the ceiling with its horns. This one was male by human standards, and was even wearing clothes; some kind of suit from the look of it. He narrowed his one eye at her as she entered.


    "You must be Ivy. Tell me, why do you keep summoning this demon?"


    "I told you," Azara interjected. "She feeds me."


    Ivy added, "Like they said. I give them food, that''s all. Who are you?"


    "I am a gatekeeper between realms. I noticed this demon was repeatedly being summoned, so I came to investigate."


    "I''ve never summoned them, though. Not even once. The first time I met them was by accident."


    "Really?" He turned to Azara. "Is this true?"


    "Yes," replied Azara. "Her neighbors botched their summoning, and I ended up here instead of there. Ivy gave me food and I established the first contract. A second contract was then established. After that we agreed that I could just visit for food, which I''ve been doing."


    "Hmm," the slender demon said. "This is a strange case. I can sense a connection between you two. Does she know your name?"


    "Yes. I trust her with it. She has not abused it so far."


    "And what made you trust her?"


    "I looked through her memories and saw what kind of person she was."


    The slender demon shot Ivy a surprised look. "You''ve had your deepest wish granted?"


    "Yes," Ivy responded. "I didn''t even know it was what I wanted until I had it. Since then I''ve been so thankful to Azara for what they did. That''s why I''m fine with feeding them occasionally. It''s just kind of become a regular thing since then."


    "What was the consequence of your wish?"


    "There wasn''t one."


    The slender demon went wide-eyed at this and looked at Azara. "Consequences keep karmic balances! What do you think you''re doing?!"


    Azara turned to the side and said quietly, "I like this human. She''s nice."


    "...I''m going to sit in on this to see what it is you do. Please continue as normal without me."


    "We just eat and talk a bit, then Azara leaves."


    "I want to see your usual interactions."


    "If that''s the case, then how about I cook you something too?"


    "That won''t be necessary."


    "Try it," Azara said, smiling. "Trust me."


    The slender demon grimaced. "We''ll see."


    Ivy set the bags of groceries she was still holding on the counter and began unpacking them. She always bought a lot to feed her demon, but she wasn''t expecting another guest. Hopefully this new one didn''t eat as much as Azara did. Tonight she was making a big heaping mountain of lasagna. As she went about cooking, her guests settled themselves in her living room. The slender demon would occasionally give her look of suspicion with his eye. She tried not to mind the looks as she went about her business and the demons in her living room talked about things like the demon realms, or curses. Her life was becoming stranger these days. Eventually the lasagna and all the side dishes were done, and she set about preparing two giant bowls for her guests.


    The slender demon gave Ivy an incredulous look. "You actually expect me to eat this?"


    "I expect you to try it."


    Azara was ignoring the two and already shoveling lasagna into their mouth.


    "Give me a fork. I''m not like... her." He said, looking at Azara.


    "...Her?! Is that their pronouns?"


    "I suppose so, yes."


    "Azara why haven''t you said anything?! I''ve been using they/them for months!"


    With a mouth full of food Azara replied, "I don''t really care. Use whatever you want."


    "Are you sure? I don''t want to offend you."


    "Yeah. Use whatever."


    "If you say so. I''ll be using she/her from now on, then." Ivy then turned around to grab Slender a fork. She decided that was his nickname until, and if, he gave her his name. She realized her forks might be too small for him, so she ended up grabbing a spatula as an alternative. After offering both to him, he opted for the spatula.


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    "It''s strange seeing a human being considerate of a demon," Slender said, before hesitantly taking a bite. His eye opened wide in surprise. "Azara was right. This is good!" he said, going in for more.


    Ivy smiled as she ate from her plate. She was happy that all demons needed apparently was good food. As she ate she remembered that sometimes Azara talked about hunting, and wondered if that was the extent of food for demons. Slender seemed more civilized though, and even asked for a fork. Maybe demon cuisine was just bad? She decided to ask. "Is demon food just unappetizing? I know Azara hunts, but what do you usually eat?"


    "It''s not that my food is bad, your food is simply unexpectedly delicious."


    "Well what do you think about mine and Azara''s relationship now? It really is just me feeding her every other week."


    "It''s still strange. I''ve never seen a friendship between a demon and a human before, but from what I''ve seen and what the two of you have shared with me, I think it''s safe to say that that''s exactly what this is."


    "That''s great! I''m glad you understand."


    Slender put his hand up. "I can''t let this continue, however. The relationship you two share is abnormal. From today on, she is forbidden from returning here."


    "Then I just won''t leave," Azara suddenly stated.


    "What!? That''s ridiculous! You can''t just live in the human realm. You have a job to do!"


    "I''ll do it from here. Easy."


    "You can''t!"


    "I will."


    "How will you live? There are no demons who live in this realm!"


    "I''ll just use Ivy''s form, then. Ivy," Azara said, looking at her. "Let''s make another contract."


    "What? I''m sorry what is going on here? What do you mean by ''borrow my form''?"


    "It''s just a contract that let''s me be human. That''s all."


    "What are the consequences?"


    "None."


    "You''ll be living here though. Do you know what that means? You''ll be leaving your life behind. You''ll have to have a human job to pay for bills and food and you''ll have to manage your demon job on top of that. I wouldn''t mind you living here but... I don''t see how it''s feasible."


    "See?" Slender said. "Even the human is reasonable. You can''t live here."


    "I just need Ivy to make a few wishes and I''ll be set," Azara replied. "And I won''t even have to adjust the karmic balance of the wishes since it''s allowing a me, a demon, to live in the human realm."


    "...You''re really set on this?"


    "If I''m going to be stuck in one realm or the other, then I choose this one."


    Slender sighed. "I''m leaving for now. But I will return for you." He warned as he vanished in a cloud of smoke.


    "So... You''re moving in? Just like that?" Ivy asked Azara.


    "Yep," Azara replied, smugly. "You''re stuck with me now."


    "Okay then. So how do we do this human form thing? I''m curious what you''ll look like."


    "Since I''m the one who will be making the wish, I''ll have to loan you some of my power."


    "O-Oh. Is that dangerous?"


    "Shouldn''t be. Let''s do it."


    "Um. If you''re sure then, okay."


    "Grab my hand," Azara said, offering her messy lasagna-covered hand.


    "Give me your other one."


    "Fine, just take it already," she said, switching hands. Ivy grabbed Azara''s hand and felt her claws close around her hand. Then a warmth spread from her hand to her whole body, slowly filling her up. "Now let''s do this before you burn up from the inside."


    "What!? You didn''t say anything about that!"


    "Relax. That''ll take awhile to happen. When I make my wish, all you have to do is accept it, and let the power flow out of you. Got it?"


    "Y-Yeah. Okay. I trust you."


    "Good. Now. I wish to have a human form."


    Ivy relaxed and closed her eyes as she assented to Azara''s wish. The warm feeling she had vanished as if being sucked out of her. When she opened her eyes, Azara didn''t look any different.


    "It didn''t work?"


    "It did. The wish was on my terms, so now I can be a human whenever I want to be instead of being stuck as one." She closed her eyes to focus, and began to shrink. Her fur disappeared. Her claws, horns and tail receded. Her eye flames flickered out of existence, and her third eye vanished. When she opened her eyes again, she was now a very tall, very beautiful red-headed woman with dark skin. She was also completely nude.


    "I''ll um... Get you something to wear."


    "No need. We just have to repeat the process a few more times to make sure I have everything I need."


    Ivy grabbed Azara''s hand once again, and felt the same warm power as before fill her up again. They did this a few times to make wishes, taking care of everything she would need to live with humans. She wished for supplies, human common sense and all the legal paperwork she would need to live. She also wished for a job at Ivy''s company, knowing it was one of the better paying ones in the area. She fully intended to live as a human would instead of just wishing for a lot of money. When they were done, she was fully dressed, prepared, and no longer covered in lasagna.


    "So what does this mean for your name? I understand that demon names hold power but will you still go by Azara?"


    "I will. Because it was my wish I was able to add the stipulation that my name doesn''t hold any power anymore, since I am human now."


    "You can just do that?"


    "Yep! I''m all set. Speaking of being human, I''m so small and frail now. You really live like this?"


    "Yeah. We all do."


    "Let''s do one more wish then. I''ll make us tougher!" She said with a smile.


    "''Us''?"


    "Yeah! Don''t want my reason for staying here getting hurt."


    "You stayed here just for me?"


    "Of course! You''re the most interesting thing in my life. Back home it was all about making sure I granted wishes for sustenance and hunting."


    "Wait, you eat by granting wishes?"


    "Yeah. It''s also something I''m supposed to do to help maintain karmic balance in the universe. Other than that my only other food was wild game, so until I met you I never really thought about food."


    "Oh, I see. So I''m just your food provider then," Ivy said teasingly.


    "Don''t be like that. The gatekeeper said it himself, we''re friends, aren''t we?"


    "Yeah, of course."


    "Then let''s make that wish."


    After finishing the last wish, they cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and went to investigate all of Azara''s new things. It was mostly necessities such as clothes and a computer, but they could get more things over time. They then settled on the sofa to watch tv before bed. Azara had seen tv shows before while visiting and hadn''t really been interested, but now she was doing her best to be human.


    "Mind if I get more comfortable?" Azara asked.


    "You''re going to take your shirt back off?"


    "No, I mean this." She suddenly grew two feet. Her horns and tail came back, but not as large as before, and her eyes were flaming again, plus her third eye returned. "That feels a bit better. The human form is so stuffy."


    "O-Oh. I wasn''t expecting that."


    They spent the next couple hours watching tv and browsing the internet. Ivy had Azara temporarily return to her completely human form so they could take a few pictures and post them online. Finally, the day was done and they both had to get ready for bed as they had work tomorrow. But there was a problem. There was only one bed.


    "Um, sorry. I didn''t think of this, but where will you sleep?"


    "On the bed?"


    "You''ve seen my memories. You know I''m attracted to women, right? Are you fine with that?"


    "Yep. I already thought this over when we were making my wishes. There isn''t room for another bed in this apartment, and I''m not sleeping on the couch. I also don''t mind sharing with you."


    "And you don''t care that I used to be a guy?"


    "Nope. And you never were. Besides, I''m not even human, but you don''t seem to care about that."


    "I guess you''re right." Ivy smiled. "Let''s get some sleep.


    "There we go."


    Azara refused to leave the form she was currently in, where she was still shaped like a human but had demon parts. She said it was more comfortable. This caused a problem, as beds aren''t designed with eight foot tall midform demons in mind. She ended up having to curl up into a ball somewhat, which caused her to basically be spooning Ivy.


    Azara slept well that night, wrapped around Ivy, but the woman being wrapped around did not get much sleep.

 Part 3

    <div>


    The following day as the human and demon pair left for work, they passed by Kathy, one of the downstairs neighbors, who sniffed them and said, "You two reek of demon. What have you been up to?"


    "Oh no! I smell?!" Ivy exclaimed.


    "Mind your own business, you incompetent witch," Azara said angrily.


    "Azara! That''s mean!"


    "It''s true though. She''s bad at witchcraft. It''s obvious she and the other one only do it as a hobby."


    Kathy, the middle-aged, supposedly incompetent witch decided to smile and say, "I''m sorry, I don''t believe we''ve met."


    "We met once before, and you left a terrible impression. Do better next time."


    "Okaaaaay," Ivy interjected. "Let''s get out of here before you insult the nice witch lady even more." She grabbed Azara by the arm and pulled her toward the exit.


    "Fine. She insulted us first, saying we reek and all."


    "That doesn''t mean you should be mean back! Plus she''s a witch! What if she curses us or something?"


    "Even if she tries it''ll just rebound on them. I''m too powerful for petty curses to have any effect."


    "What about me, though? I''m just regular human!"


    "A human with a demon''s protection. You''ll be fine."


    "If you say so. And... Is there really a smell?"


    "Only to magically attuned people like her. Nothing to worry about. And it doesn''t stink. Saying we reek was insulting. It''s just natural demon magic."


    "What if we meet someone else who can smell it?"


    "Then we''ll deal with it. It''s unlikely, anyway. Humans with magic aren''t exactly common anymore."


    Ivy sighed as they got in the car. "I hope you''re right."


    "I am!" Azara smiled at her. "I know this stuff, okay? Now let''s get to work! I''m excited."


    "I think you''re going to be quite disappointed. It''s just a regular job."


    "I''ll decide that for myself."


    After picking up some coffee at the shop directly across from the building they worked in, they made their way back across the street to work. Ivy sat down at her desk, while Azara went to talk with the manager to get set up. Ivy hoped she would be okay in there. After a while she and the manager came out and walked over to Ivy.


    "Ivy, you''ll be training her since you''re already familiar with each other," the manager said. "Go in the break room and go through the basics with her first, then start on calls when you think she''s ready."


    "Okay."


    The two made their way to the break room to begin training. As they sat down, Ivy noticed Azara had a sticker on her chest that said "Azara Knowles".


    "''Knowles''? You took my last name? Are you trying to be my sister or something? We look nothing alike."


    "Sister? No. You''re my wife. Isn''t that obvious?"


    "WIFE!? What!? Ohhhhhh my god. What did you do?" It was lucky they were in the break room, so people probably didn''t hear that shout.


    "Is that a problem? I thought since we would be living together it made sense, and we saw each other on a regular basis for several months. Isn''t that dating?"


    "Your common sense is skewed. Did you think all those times you came to visit were dates?"


    "Not at first, but it made sense in retrospect once I had human knowledge. Was I wrong?"


    "Yes. I''m sorry but yes, you were wrong."


    "So being your wife is no good?"


    "Um... It''s not that. It''s just, we never actually dated, you know? I was repaying what you did for me and we just talked and had fun and... Maybe they kind of were dates now that I think about it."


    "Haha! You''re being silly."


    "That doesn''t mean we can just get married, though!"


    "Why not?" She leaned in close. "We like each other, don''t we?"


    "Well, yeah. But..."


    "And I know you''re attracted to me like this. It''s easy to tell, especially when we were in bed."


    Ivy blushed as she remembered trying to sleep last night. "It''s... That''s... We''ll talk about this later!"


    Azara smiled knowing she won for now. "Okay~."


    When they eventually left the break room to work on dealing with calls, everyone in the office turned to look at them. "Ivy! You never told us you were married!" One of her coworkers yelled.


    Ivy stood stunned for a moment while Azara tried not to laugh. "Ah. Uh, yeah. It''s... Pretty recent."


    After that they had to deal with a barrage of questions, like "How did you meet?" and "What was your wedding like?". Azara let Ivy do most of the talking as she spun story after story, trying to keep it as simple and straightforward as possible. Things settled down after awhile and the manager made everyone get back to work after they had their fun.


    "I''ll make us some wedding rings later," Azara whispered with a smile as they sat down.


    Ivy groaned. "This is too much too fast."


    "...I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to make you uncomfortable. It seems I still have a lot to learn about humans."


    "It''s fine. We can fix this, right?"


    "Do you want to?"


    "...It''s just so sudden."


    "I am asking you, ''Do you want to change this?''"


    "...I guess we can see how it goes for awhile."


    Azara smiled. She knew what Ivy was really like because of their second meeting, and with the current situation, knew that this would make her happiest. It made Azara happy too.


    They got to work and Azara picked things up fast, and could demonically coerce people over the phone into doing what she needed them to do, which made her perform fantastically at this job. She received praise for it, which made Ivy slightly jealous for doing so well on her first day. Later, after arriving home, they found Slender waiting for them.


    "Come with me," Slender said. "You''re going to explain to your father what you''re doing here. Ivy, you''re coming with."


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    "O-Okay," Ivy stammered out. She was going on a sudden trip to the demon realm.


    They gathered in a circle and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Ivy felt her stomach lurch forward as whatever form of transportation this was took its toll on her body. She staggered forward and nearly fell over, but Azara caught her.


    They appeared in a cave, and before them stood a dragon demon, much like Azara''s demon form, but a bit larger and a slightly deeper shade of red.


    "Hi, father," Azara said, after returning to her demon form.


    "Azara," he returned. "I heard you''ve moved to the human realm, and will no longer be a karmic balancer. Is this true?"


    "Yes."


    They were talking in a language Ivy had never heard before, but for some reason she could understand them.


    "Human," Azara''s father said, turning to her. "Can you understand what we''re saying?"


    "Yes."


    "So you''ve been touched by her power then," He returned to Azara. "Does that mean you''ve taken her for a mate?"


    "Yes."


    He turned back to Ivy again. "Do you accept this, human?"


    Ivy knew she could answer "no" here and be rid of Azara for good, but she didn''t want that. Azara was her friend. She wasn''t sure about the "wife" and "mate" stuff, but she definitely did enjoy her company and wanted her in her life. As she thought about it she realized she might like Azara more than she would care to admit. "Yes," she finally responded.


    Azara and her father both smiled at that.


    "Very well, then. Go live in the human realm with this ''Ivy''."


    Slender, who had been silent until now, was dumbfounded. "This isn''t what we agreed on!"


    "We agreed on nothing. You came here complaining about my child and expecting me to control her. Then, after I made you leave, you even went so far as to come back here with her and her mate to as if to prove some kind of point. It''s clear you disapprove of their relationship and wish to separate them."


    "This is ridiculous! It''s a human! And she''s not going to balance karma anymore! How is that going to work?!"


    "Karmic balancing is only necessary for some races. Our kind feeds off of it, but it is not required. As for the human matter... I admit it is strange, but I see no problem with it. The only problem here is you."


    "This is unacceptable! I-" he was cut off as Azara''s father cast some kind of magic to force him to leave.


    "Well, you two. You are free to go. But come back sometimes, okay?" he said as he turned around and headed deeper into his cave.


    Azara returned to her human form. "Well, my mate? Shall we go?" She offered her hand.


    "Y-Yeah. I can''t believe I went from not even knowing we were married to agreeing to it in the span of a single day," Ivy replied.


    "Hehe. I knew you would."


    "And how would you know that?"


    "I saw your memories, remember? I know you. And I like you. Plus I can tell when you''re lying, and you weren''t lying when you said "Yes" to being my mate. And I know it''s sudden but I can tell you like me too." Azara hugged Ivy and transported them back to their apartment. As soon as they returned home Azara said, "Now show me how to cook! I want good food!"


    "Alright. Let''s do something simple then since it''s your first time cooking. I think we''ll have teriyaki chicken and rice tonight."


    As Ivy cooked the food, she carefully explained everything to Azara, including things such as how the stove worked as she wasn''t familiar with it. They weren''t sure yet how far her magically obtained common sense went. Azara studied carefully, and later when they were eating, she had to be taught what all the silverware did. Suddenly, midway through their meal, Azara started laughing.


    "What''s so funny?" Ivy asked.


    A shriek sounded from below, followed by someone storming up the stairwell. Someone started pounding on the door, and Ivy had a pretty good guess as to who it was. Ivy opened the door to find Lily, the other downstairs neighbor staring angrily at them. "How did you do that?" she demanded.


    "Do what?"


    "Tell her it''s none of her business!" Azara said in the background.


    "Will someone tell me what''s going on exactly?"


    "You were rude to my wife this morning so we put a curse on you to scare you, but it rebounded somehow."


    "Wait, you cursed us and you''re the one who''s mad?!"


    "It was supposed to work! And how did you find out we''re witches? You shouldn''t know about that!"


    "You want to know?" Azara asked as she got up. "I''m the demon you insulted several months ago." She suddenly returned to her demon form and dashed toward Lily while growling. Lily bolted back down the stairs and slammed the door shut.


    "What just happened?" Ivy questioned.


    "When we first met, those two so-called ''witches'' downstairs first screwed up my summoning, and then they tried to sell your soul, when it wasn''t theirs to give, in exchange for a wish. I got mad at them and fake attacked them as a warning just to scare them. Now they were coming at you again just now with a curse."


    "They seriously tried to sell my soul?"


    "Yeah. It doesn''t work that way. You have to give up something of your own."


    "Wow. Thank you for defending me."


    "Of course. I''ll always protect you," Azara said, giving Ivy a peck on the cheek. "Now let''s finish eating."


    "Y-Yeah," Ivy replied. Azara knew all the buttons to press to make her blush. It wasn''t fair. "Let''s look at moving out when we''re done. I don''t want to live by them anymore."


    "That''s fair. Sure you don''t want to punish them somehow?"


    "They were attacked by a demon. I think that''s heavy enough. Though maybe we should report them to some kind of magical authority if such a thing exists? Mostly I just want to get away from them."


    "You''re such a nice person to not want revenge on them."


    "Not wanting revenge makes me nice? Anyway, I don''t think I''m even qualified to take on witches."


    "Please, with how powerful I made you, you could take on anyone."


    "...That worries me."


    "It''s just in case I''m not there."


    "Okay. I''ll trust you."


    "It''s really nothing to worry about. Now let''s look at houses. Not to insult you but it''s obvious this place is cheap."


    "Yeah, no insult there. I''m incredibly aware of that fact."


    They spent the next hour or so browsing places to live that they could afford on two people''s salaries. They found a few places that might work and sent out some emails. They were still perusing when the doorbell rang.


    Turning on the speaker, an angry voice immediately rang out, "Let me in!"


    "Who is it? What''s going on?"


    "It''s Claire! You know, your sister? The one you didn''t tell about your wedding?" Ivy unlocked the building door for her and for the second time this night, someone was stomping up the stairs. When she came to the doorway she barged into the apartment and glared at Ivy. She was steamed. "Why didn''t you tell me?! Why did you tell anyone?"


    "I''m really sorry. It just happened so suddenly! How did you even find out?"


    "You know Steven, the guy you work with? He told me. Or did you forget he exists, too?"


    "Oh. With everything that''s happened this last couple days I completely forgot."


    "Why? What happened?"


    "Um... I can''t-"


    "You can tell her about me," Azara interrupted.


    "Are you sure? Is that really okay?"


    "From what I know of her, I trust her. If things go south, I can fix it."


    "This sounds really suspicious," Claire said.


    "I understand, but let me explain," Ivy began. "Azara.... She''s magic. And we were dating for awhile now, but to officially begin her life she had to change a few things, and one of those changes was a sudden marriage. But that doesn''t mean I didn''t agree to it."


    "Magic. That''s what you''re going with? And a sudden marriage still doesn''t sound like a good thing."


    "Claire," Azara called out. "Watch this." Azara turned into her midform. She was now eight feet tall, and had horns, a tail and three eyes. "See? I''m not human. Ivy here helped me out by agreeing to be my wife. But believe me when I say she could have rejected me any time she wanted to, and that she''s married to me because she likes me."


    "It''s the truth," Ivy said.


    "So... Magic is real, then. Okay. Okay! Okay, yeah. That''s new," Claire muttered to herself. Then she snapped back to reality. "Okay. Start from the beginning."


    The three women sat down in the living room. Azara returned to her human form for Claire''s comfort. Then Ivy began talking about how her neighbors were witches and wanted a wish granted but screwed it up. Claire laughed when she heard how Azara was basically bought with food at first, and Azara became indignant but couldn''t deny it. Ivy also explained that she used to be a man. Claire still accepted Ivy, and realized that even with her altered memories, a lot of things from Ivy''s past made a lot more sense now. They left out some of the more demonic details, because they didn''t want to worry her too much. People still had a pretty negative view of what demons were, after all. At the end of the story, Claire had one request. "I''d like to make a wish."


    "What is it?" Azara asked.


    "I want my original memories back."


    "What!? Why?" Ivy asked.


    "Because I want to know the struggles you went through, Ivy. You''re my sister. You always have been and you always will be, but I feel like I won''t properly know you and be able to be there for you if I don''t have those memories."


    "I... Okay. I understand," Ivy said, tearing up slightly.


    Claire closed her eyes as the old memories flowed into her head. Azara had granted her wish, consequence-free, of course. When she opened them up again, she said, "Wow. Now I understand why you struggled so much in your childhood. And your depression... All the signs of you being trans were there, but we never noticed. I''m so sorry, Ivy. I really am." She started crying.


    Ivy went over and hugged her sister. "Don''t be sorry. I mean, even I didn''t notice. And had Azara not stepped in, who knows how long I would have been stuck being miserable until I figured myself out. I''m so happy now! And I''m glad you''re here. Both of you."


    "Don''t think I''m not still mad about missing your wedding."


    "But we didn''t even have one!"


    "Then have one! Oh, now I''m excited! I get to be a bridesmaid! Don''t you want a wedding?"


    "Well... Yeah."


    "You''re having a real wedding and that''s final!"


    "Hahaha!" Azara laughed. "I like you, Claire! And yes, Ivy. I agree. Let''s have a real human wedding!"


    The three stayed up late chatting a bit more and having a couple drinks, but eventually they were all tired. Tomorrow was the weekend, so that meant they didn''t have to get up early, but that didn''t mean they were going to stay up all night. Claire hadn''t planned for this visit so she slept in her clothes on the couch. She woke up in the middle of the night and spied on Ivy and Azara holding each other in their sleep. Ivy was a lot more comfortable this night.


    "Cute," Claire whispered in the dark.

 Part 4

    <div>


    After breakfast with Claire the next day, Azara suddenly looked at Ivy with a serious face. "Last night when you were told the witches downstairs tried to sell your soul you didn''t react very strongly. Why is that?"


    "I thought you took care of the problem?" Ivy replied.


    She shook her head. "All I did was give them a scare. It doesn''t mean they won''t try something again, to you or to someone else."


    "Oh. I hadn''t thought of that. What can we do, then?"


    "I can''t really interfere much with humans too much, but other humans might be able to do something. What you said last night about an authority on magic might be a valid idea."


    "Really? I was just saying things!"


    "I tried searching for any large amounts of magic power and there actually is one in the city. We should go there soon."


    "I''m coming with!" Claire chimed in. "I want to help."


    "Are you sure?" Ivy asked. "You''re not magically protected like I am."


    "It''s about your well-being. I want to do something if I can. And besides, maybe they''ll go after next of kin. None of us would enjoy that."


    "You have a point. Let''s get going then."


    Ivy and Azara took their showers and got ready to leave, while Claire returned home to get ready. She would be picked up by Ivy later. Before they went out the door, Azara held Ivy''s hand and a ring appeared on their fingers. "Now people will know you''re mine."


    Ivy gasped. "It''s beautiful! How did you do it without wishing?"


    "We''re close enough now that I don''t have to have you wish for something you already want."


    Ivy suddenly grabbed Azara and kissed her. For once, it was Azara''s turn to blush. When they separated Azara touched her lips. "That was my first kiss."


    "Our first kiss," Ivy replied, smiling. She took the lead and pulled Azara by the hand out the door.


    They picked up Claire and who had showered and changed, and complimented the rings, making Azara beam. Then they drove to the city, following Azara''s sense of direction. After a certain point they had to park somewhere and walk the rest of the way. They arrived at a small, unassuming apartment building and pressed the first doorbell.


    "Who is it?" the voice from the speaker said.


    "Hi. We haven''t met but I need magic help," Ivy replied.


    "What makes you think I can help?"


    "We have someone who can sense magic coming from this building."


    "...Come in." The door unlocked with a loud "click".


    The three stepped inside and a young, plump woman greeted them. "You didn''t say you were bringing a demon," she said.


    Claire had a shocked look on her face but didn''t say anything. They had avoided telling her that Azara was a demon last night.


    "I won''t do anything uncalled for," Azara responded.


    "Very well." She led them into her apartment and began making tea for everyone. "I''m Penelope. Now who are all of you and what do you need from me?"


    "I''m Ivy."


    "Azara."


    "Claire, Ivy''s sister."


    "I''m Ivy''s wife," Azara smugly added.


    "You married a demon?" Penelope asked Ivy incredulously.


    "Yep. I did."


    "...Impressive. You''ll have to teach me how to snag a nice demon," Penelope said.


    "O-Oh. Uh, maybe later. Right now I need your help with something."


    "Right. You mentioned that. So what is it you need help with? A curse?"


    "It''s witches. They tried to sell my soul, and they also tried to curse me."


    Penelope thought for a moment, "Their names wouldn''t happen to be Lily and Kathy, would they?"


    "That''s them! How did you know?"


    "This whole building is full of witches. A coven, of sorts. Those two used to be a part of it until they were kicked out a few years ago for malpractice and wanting to cause harm to others for their own personal gain. Before they left they talked about finding someone to use for a ritual and stole some tomes. I asked if it was them because there aren''t a lot of witches in the area, and of the few of us they''re probably the only ones who would try something like that."


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    "So what can we do?"


    "Well, I suppose in hindsight we should have done more than just kick them out. This is a problem for the coven to deal with. Give me your location and we can find them from there."


    "Really? Thank you so much! They''re my neighbors so I know where they live. What are you going to do to them?"


    "I''ll have to discuss it with the coven, but we''ll most likely strip them of their magic power. It''s... Not a pretty thing to do, but those two can''t be trusted. I think that''s the best option."


    "Oh, I see."


    "Don''t feel bad for them, Ivy," Claire said. "They''ve tried to do terrible things to you, and this is them getting exactly what they deserve. It''d be nice if they could go to jail or something, though."


    "I know they''ve done bad things. This whole situation just feels weird."


    Azara squeezed Ivy''s hand. "I''ve been thinking about how I could do something about them for a very long time now, but I couldn''t interfere directly because of the rules against demons interfering with humans."


    "How long have you been thinking about it?"


    "Since the very first time I met them. After making sure you were okay the next day, I then spent a lot of time going around the various demon realms looking for a way to stop them from trying something like that again. When I couldn''t find a good enough solution I came back to check on you as often as I could. I didn''t think the solution would just be in the human realm itself."


    "You mean visiting me wasn''t just about food?" Ivy asked in surprise.


    Azara rolled her eyes. "I''m not that much of a glutton. I cared about you from the very beginning, you know? And when I saw your memories I realized I liked you."


    Ivy blushed and could only let out a meek "Thank you."


    After a moment of silence Penelope began, "Well I''ve got a lot of preparation to do here, so you three should head out."


    "Thank you so much, Penelope," Claire said.


    "Yes, thank you," Ivy added.


    After exchanging numbers in case they needed anything else, they all left. As they got in the car, Claire said, "So. You''re a demon."


    "Yeah," Azara replied. "We didn''t tell you because of how people here view demons."


    "I think I understand. I just wish you trusted me a little more. I think it would have turned out okay if you had told me then."


    Ivy added, "I''m sorry, Claire. It''s not that I don''t trust you, it''s just that it''s a scary thing to reveal to someone and I had already revealed that I was trans and it just felt like so much."


    "It''s okay. But believe in your sister a little more next time, okay?"


    "Yes. I will. I promise."


    "Good. Now since we''re in the city, shall we go shopping?" she asked with a smile.


    "Oh! Yes!" Azara said excitedly. "It will be my first time shopping!"


    "Well then we have to go! To the mall, Ivy!"


    "Yes, yes. To the mall we go!" Ivy replied.


    They spent the next few hours going into nearly every store the mall had to offer because Azara wanted to look at everything. They didn''t buy much because Ivy didn''t have a lot of spare money, and Azara hadn''t been paid yet. Claire did buy a few things for Azara though, saying she could pay her back later. They picked out a shirt and a couple dresses.


    They also went to a Japanese restaurant inside the mall, where Azara got to experience someone else''s cooking for the first time. They had ordered hibachi, and Azara was enthralled when the chef came out to cook the food in front of them. Ivy hoped Azara wasn''t planning on trying those things at home. The food was delicious, and afterward Azara casually said, "Ivy, let''s open a restaurant."


    "You liked the food that much, huh?" Ivy asked.


    "Yes! Food is so bland in my realm! I can never go back now!"


    "Haha, you''ve been spoiled."


    "Oh, and whose fault might that be?"


    "You got me there."


    "I''m serious, though. You''re a really good cook. We could sell your food!"


    "She''s right about your food being good, Ivy," Claire chimed in. "You really do have a knack for cooking."


    "Thank you. I do actually pride myself on my ability to cook food. And I do like the idea and it''s not like I haven''t thought about something like that before... I''m just now sure how I would make it happen."


    "Can''t you just ask Azara?" Claire asked.


    Azara shook her head. "I can do small things now and then but I sort of used up all the good karmic energy in the area turning Ivy into who she is. I made that wish consequence-free, so anything further could have serious complications that I wouldn''t be able to control."


    "That''s okay," Ivy said. "I don''t need or want everything just handed to me. I''m happy as I am with Azara."


    "I think you should still go for it!" Claire exclaimed. "You''ve always wanted to do something like that and now that you have someone who can help you it should be a lot more manageable."


    "I''ll think about it. For now I want to get this witch business over with, plus we have to look for a new place to live still."


    "Anyone respond to your emails yet?" Azara asked.


    "A couple. I''ll answer them when we get home."


    Ivy drove the group back towards home, dropping Claire off along the way, who hugged them both and warned them to be careful of their neighbors, even if they had Azara''s protection against them. They assented they would and were on their way. Since they were out they stopped at the grocery store where, once again, Azara had to investigate everything because it was all new to her. Ivy thought it was cute. After making it home they cuddled on the couch while looking for more places to live.


    Azara sighed in contentment. "Do you know how long I''ve wanted this?"


    "I know. It''s also been a long time for me. When you were still visiting in your demon form I liked you then, too. I just didn''t know if it would work between a demon and a human. But you changed for me, just like that. I didn''t even know that was an option. I''d change for you too, if I could."


    "Do you really mean that?"


    "Yes. You''ve done so much for me, it''s only fair that I do the same."


    "Ivy. You don''t have to prove anything to me. I know you like me, and just the fact that you would be willing to go so far for me is more than enough."


    "I love you, Azara."


    "I love you, too! I didn''t want to say it until you were comfortable."


    "You waited for me?"


    "Yes, you dork. I will always wait for you. I would do anything for you. When push came to shove with that gatekeeper demon, I immediately chose you over everything else. I admit that was sooner than I would''ve liked, but he sort of forced my hand."


    "You really did choose me," Ivy started tearing up slightly. "Maybe it was because I was trans and didn''t know it but I just could never connect with someone in a relationship like I have with you. You mean so much to me." She leaned in to kiss Azara.


    Azara wrapped her arms around Ivy as they began to make out. Ivy fell onto her back on the couch and pulled Azara with her, but that didn''t stop their making out. At some point, neither were sure when, Azara returned to her midform. When they stopped for breath, Azara picked Ivy up in a bridal carry and she yelped in surprise. She carried her to the bedroom and shut the door with her foot, but that would do little to muffle the noise. It was a cheap door, after all.

 Part 5

    <div>


    Ivy''s phone started ringing early Sunday morning, waking up her and Azara. "Hello?" she asked groggily.


    "Hi, Ivy. It''s Penelope."


    "Yeah, I saw the caller ID. What''s up?"


    "Can you and Azara be out of the house by noon? We don''t want your ambient demonic magic to mess up anything."


    "Yeah, sure. No problem. What are you going to do?"


    "We''re going to strip them of their magic, like I said we might. It''ll be easier without another kind of magic in the mix, which is why we want you out."


    "Got it. We''ll be gone."


    "Do you have a place to stay for awhile, afterwards? I''m sure they''ll be extremely unhappy and we can''t stick around all day after everything is done."


    "I guess we could stay with my sister? I''ll check with her."


    "If you need to, we have partially-furnished apartment in our building without any tenants. The coven would love for a chance to converse casually with a demon. That kind of opportunity doesn''t occur very often."


    "We''ll see. I''ll check with Claire and Azara first then get back to you on what we''re doing."


    "Okay. Talk to you later. Bye!"


    "Bye!"


    "What''s up?" Azara asked, also sleepy.


    "The witches from the coven are coming this afternoon so we''ll have to be gone so your ambient magic won''t mess up whatever they''re doing."


    "''Kay."


    "And she said we should find a place to stay for awhile because our neighbors will probably be really unhappy, the implication being they might do something dangerous."


    "I''ll keep you safe."


    "I know you will, but I''d rather you didn''t have to. I''m texting Claire to see if we can stay there. She also said the coven would love to talk with you and that we could stay there if needed."


    "Let''s not. I don''t feel like answering a bunch of questions."


    "Well, that depends on Claire''s answer first, but I''m sure she''ll say ''yes''."


    "Alright. I''m going back to sleep. It''s too early."


    "Yeah, me too," Ivy said, stifling a yawn. She laid back down with Azara.


    Two hours passed before Claire responded saying that they were free to stay at her place for a few days, which Ivy decided meant it was time to get up. She let Penelope know she would be staying with Claire, then headed to the kitchen and started cooking some eggs. Azara came up from behind and hugged her. They stayed like that for a couple minutes before Ivy said, "This is nice but you need to let me go."


    "Mmm, no."


    "Do you want burnt eggs?"


    "No."


    "Then you need to let me go."


    "...Fine," Azara pouted as she released Ivy.


    "Claire said we can stay at her place," Ivy began as she finished up the eggs. "So we''ll need to pack for a few days."


    "What do we pack?"


    "Clothes, laptops and phones and their chargers, some bathroom stuff. It should all fit in one or two bags."


    "We aren''t bringing everything with?"


    "No, we don''t need to. We also don''t have the room for it, and anything else we forget or need Claire will have, or we can just buy. We would only bring everything if we were moving to a new permanent location."


    "Okay, I see."


    After an egg-filled breakfast they each packed one bag filled with their things. Neither of them had very much. The most expensive things in the apartment were probably the collections of clothes or the TV. The furniture had been bought used so even that had been pretty cheap. Azara made sure to pack the clothes Claire bought for her to show her appreciation.


    After arriving at Claire''s, she introduced Azara to one of her roommates, Emma. Ivy already knew her. There was also another roommate, Jade, but she worked on Sundays and was out right now. Claire showed them the couch they would have to sleep on, which was a fold out. They all hung out in the living room just talking when at about three in the afternoon Penelope called again. "Ivy? I''m so sorry."


    "What? Why are you sorry? What happened?"


    "We- We went in as planned and thought we disabled everything but they were desperate and-"


    "Penelope, are you okay?"


    "I-I''m fine, but..."


    "What happened?"


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I''m so sorry, Ivy. Your home burned down."


    "What!? Are you okay? Is everyone okay?"


    "Yes. Yes, we all made it out fine, but we weren''t prepared for that."


    "Can you explain to me what happened?"


    "Yeah. You deserve an explanation. So we surrounded the building and cast a barrier which prevents anyone inside from casting any magic. We carried pre-made spells on us that we just had to attach to the building and activate that would siphon off the magic energy from anyone inside, and if they crossed the spell circle they would automatically lose everything, so they became desperate. We didn''t count on them to have powerful magic items, though. We really had no idea.


    They realized what was happening and activated the items in a desperate attempt to stop the spell, but the opposing energies conflicted and a powerful heat started building up until everything was on fire. They stayed as long as they could but eventually ran out of the building to escape, which broke the circle, so they lost their magic, and right now they''re being questioned about the fire."


    "Oh my god. I''m glad everyone''s safe."


    "Me too. Again, I am so, so sorry about your house."


    "It''s okay. I''m not blaming you for what happened. If anything, it sounds like they were the cause."


    "You''re free to stay in that apartment I told you about if you don''t have a place to stay. We won''t charge you rent until you get back on your feet."


    "Oh wow. Thank you for that. I''m going to go now. Everyone in the room wants to know what happened. I''ll talk to you later."


    "Okay. Talk to you later. Bye."


    "Bye."


    Ivy spent the next few minutes explaining that her and Azara''s place had burned down. She had to avoid the details about magic because Emma was there. She also mentioned they had a place to stay, which was at Penelope''s building. Claire and Emma offered to let them stay but Azara turned them down. "I don''t want to be a burden on you, and there''s already a place for us to stay, so I think we should go with that. What do you think, Ivy?"


    "I agree. I really appreciate the offer, but we were really lucky. Because we were planning on being here for a few days we didn''t lose everything. We still have the necessities, our jobs and each other. And I think the place Penelope was talking about will probably be just fine. I''ll keep you posted on what''s going on, and if we end up not wanting to stay there for whatever reason we''ll come back." They were also thinking about if they had anymore demonic visitors, which would be a lot easier to explain to witches.


    "Okay. If you''re sure that''s what you want to do," Claire replied.


    "We should get going right away then to see what we''ll need at this new place."


    They arrived at the coven''s building again and Penelope let them in after hugging them both and apologizing again. She showed them to the apartment they would be staying in. It was about the same size as the place they had just lost, only older, but still much nicer in quality. There was a large couch and some footrests that could be arranged into a bed if they needed, which they would. There were also a few chairs and a small table, but that was it for the furnishings.


    Ivy asked how Penelope was able to arrange all this for them to which she responded that she was the landlord and was actually much older than she looked. The other members of the coven all came and introduced themselves, and brought food, utensils, blankets and other supplies they could use. One of them even got rid of an old dresser she was no longer using. Another was kind enough to give out her wifi password. They also set up a barrier in the apartment to contain Azara''s magic so it wouldn''t interfere with theirs. Also, some of the witches were men, which surprised Ivy as she previously thought the term "witch" automatically meant they were a woman.


    When everybody had come by and were done introducing themselves, Penelope asked if they would be okay with having a little welcome/apology dinner with everyone. Ivy thought it felt a little surreal to go to a party the same day their house burned down, but agreed to go.


    The dinner was held in another vacant apartment, this one having had some of the interior walls torn down to make more space. It was for when the coven did things together, and Ivy and Azara were now unofficially a part of it. The dinner was a potluck, so there was a large table set up with peoples'' dishes, and Azara was having fun trying everything. Some people were asking her various questions related to demons, but held off on asking too many for now considering what transpired today.


    After the long dinner the two collapsed into their new couch. Azara was more tired from answering questions than anything else. They received a message from Claire saying she put $200 in Ivy''s bank account, and to not worry about paying it back. She also said don''t bother paying her back for clothes she bought for Azara, either. They both thanked her and decided it was time for sleep. They were still planning on working tomorrow, especially now that they needed the money.


    The next few months would pass by rather uneventfully. They received more help from the witches, Claire and even some of their coworkers. The witches did ask Azara more questions but those died down eventually. When the rent payments started back up again is when things had pretty much returned to normal. The most shocking thing that happened is they found out Lily and Kathy were arrested for arson. That is, until Azara''s father suddenly appeared in the living room one day.


    "Azara. Ivy."


    "Hello, father!"


    "Nice to see you again."


    "I came to see you," Azara''s father said. "And to tell Ivy my name."


    "Oh, really?" Ivy replied. "You don''t have to do that."


    "It''s normal for demons to know each other''s names. And I consider you an honorary demon at this point."


    "Oh wow. Thank you."


    "Japhrim. That is my name."


    "Nice to meet you, Japhrim!" Ivy smiled.


    Japhrim returned the smile. "I''ve come to bring a gift for my daughter and her mate." He set down a small chest he was holding. Azara opened it and inside was some expensive-looking jewelry.


    "Where did this come from?" Azara asked.


    "Many years ago a human formed a contract with me and was unable to handle the consequences of it. I ended up on possession of the baubles he asked for. I understand they should be worth quite something, no?"


    "Ivy! Restaurant! Can we do it with this?" Azara exclaimed, eyes gleaming.


    "You''re still thinking about that, too?"


    "Of course! I haven''t stopped thinking about it!"


    "We''ll have to sell these for capital, and if anything that should be a good start. Is it okay to sell these, Japhrim?"


    "Of course," Japhrim replied. "These are worthless to me. You can do anything you wish with them."


    "Thank you so much for these. Will you be staying for dinner?"


    "I will accept your offer." Japhrim shifted into a human form.


    "Father!" Azara yelled in surprise. "You have a human form?!" He had the same dark skin and red hair that Azara had.


    Japhrim chuckled. "I''ve lived a long life, Azara. And humans... They sometimes ask for strange things."


    "That must have been quite some time ago," said Ivy. "Those clothes look hundreds of years old." He was wearing what appeared to be an ancient aristocratic suit.


    "That sounds about right."


    "Wouldn''t want to get something that nice-looking dirty."


    "It''s fine. I don''t care about these clothes either."


    Ivy let out a small sigh at that. "If you say so."


    They spent the next few hours chatting. Ivy and Azara told Japhrim about what was going on in their lives, including what happened three months ago, which explained why they had moved places. The mentioned their wedding that they still had to plan, and they also talked a bit more about the restaurant idea they had. Japhrim talked about some of the wishes he had granted and their effects, and after hearing some of the things people went through, Ivy became so glad that it was Azara of all demons who showed up suddenly in her life. If she had made some ill-advised wish without thinking of the consequences... She shuddered thinking about it. They had dinner, which Japhrim complimented, seeming to understand a new aspect of his daughter, then he left for the night.

 Part 6

    In the days that followed Japhrim''s visit, Ivy and Azara would discover that they were in possession of a lot of money. Selling that much jewelry would take some time, but the idea of opening a restaurant actually seemed feasible now. They opened a new account to put all that money into and began saving.


    Ivy still remembered the date they met, saying it was really hard to forget, and that it had nearly been a year since then, and with the money they had in savings, they decide to celebrate by buying a small space downtown. They spent all their free time refurbishing it, and also did some advertising. The advertising done had a minor magical coercion in it just to get people interested, courtesy of the coven. Soon, they were ready to open.


    They quit their jobs and were quite busy at first, but soon things settled down into a slower rhythm. One day, Japhrim stopped by with some other demons in human form, saying "Try my daughter''s food!" They did, and soon they had a steady clientele of demons formed as well as humans. More witches moved into the area to associate with the demons, and the little restaurant they had would eventually go on to grow into a place for demons and humans to meet and exchange things between realms, but that was in the future. It would also go on to serve meals with magic ingredients and foods that were literally out of this world. Ordinary humans just thought it was a place strangely-dressed people enjoyed eating strange food.


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    Now that they were settled, Ivy and Azara finally got around to planning their wedding, more than a year after they actually got married. Claire was very excited, and was with them every step of the way. She was especially excited to help pick out dresses for everyone. At the altar Ivy and Azara exchanged vows. Ivy''s was about how Azara turned everything she thought she knew on its head and made every day fun. Azara''s talked about how Ivy saved her from a life she didn''t know was lacking. During the reception they spotted Penelope flirting hard with Japhrim, who didn''t seem to mind the attention.


    One day in the distant future, Ivy finally took notice of some changes happening to her body. She had two bumps on her head, and when she looked closer, her irises seemed visibly narrower, as if they were becoming slit. No one had noticed because it was such a slow, gradual change, but she had begun taking on demonic traits. Her constant closeness with a demon caused her to slowly get used to and absorb Azara''s magic over time. Azara said she could easily become a complete demon with a little magical push. She agreed, and suddenly there was a large furry dragon in Azara''s living room. Though, unlike Azara, this new demon was black-furred. She learned how to turn back into a human form, and they renewed their wedding vows.