Chapter 39 Back in Black

Colourful fire surrounded Kat as she drifted through the summoning spell. Kat breathed deeply and exhaled dispelling a weight she hadn't known she was carrying.

*Perhaps this is the best part about the summonings, the beautiful fire, the satisfaction of a job well done. The relaxation… * Kat yawned. *I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was, I don't think I've been awake long but I suppose the last few days have been rather intense, especially meeting Minor's Grandma, I sure hope next time I get summoned she isn't going to try chocking me. Not an experience that I want to repeat anytime soon but I guess there was no lasting damage.*

Kat was able to take a few additional moments to appreciate the surroundings before she was deposited into the centre of her room. Stifling another Kat glanced at her door. *I should really let people know I'm back I suppose.* Reaching for the door Kat took a slight glance out of the window and noticed the sky was full of stars.

*Wait what? Why is it so bright in here? Oh, right, the eyes, so it's actually the middle of the night huh?* Thought Kat as she turned around to face the bed. Kat dropped Gramps' new rug at the foot of her bed before getting on top of the bed and planting her face in the pillows Kat, had just one thought before she drifted off. *A shower can wait, if everything is dirty in the morning, I can deal with it then.*

###

Meanwhile, downstairs, Thursday 9:00 am day 6 of Kat's disappearance

Papers fill the room, all that can be seen of the witness is the pompom on the end of his nightcap and the occasional glimpse of his face when he breaths and shifts some of the paper in the room. Gramps sits atop a pile of papers; the chair had disappeared into the paper abyss some time ago. The last bastion against the encroaching paper apocalypse was a space in the middle left of the room where three girls sat around a card table playing poker.

"Why are you playing a game like poker at a time like this?" said Gramps as he read through paper after paper.

"Why are you using paper instead of a computer when you have so many files to read through and store" said Vivian

"Touché" said Gramps

"Well, anyway, we are playing for huge steaks at the moment so I need my full concentration" said Vivian

"Is it really appropriate to be gambling with large sums of money against children Vivian? I didn't expect this kind of behaviour from you" said Gramps

"Money? What Money?" said Vivian as she reached into the pile of paper to reveal a large cooler. "This thing showed up on my doorstep addressed to my roommate but she didn't want it so I brought it along" Pulling open the lid inside was tightly packed with exceptionally large cuts of meat.

"That is massive, I'm not sure I've ever seen so much steak" said Gramps

"Wait Vivian the winner gets the steak? I thought we were giving it to the looser, shit I was trying to win" said Lily

"You can give it to Gramps if you win like I'm planning Lily, don't worry about it" said Sylvie

"Well, moving on from that I suppose, what fantastic journey is Kat on today?" asked Gramps

"Oh she's passed out on her bed at the moment" said Lily with a shrug turning back to the card game.

"Wait what?!" said Gramps "We should get her down here to sign those papers"

"But then we would have to wake up the guy in the corner and he looks so peaceful" said Vivian. Gramps vision shifted to the stack of papers containing the witness.

"I suppose so, but if we get these papers signed today, he can sleep all day tomorrow with no concerns" said Gramps.

The three girls nodded at this wisdom, as if this reasoning had not occurred to them, which for two of the three was true.

"I'll go get Kat then" said Sylvie "Oh and I win, royal flush, Gramps you own the meat." Sylvie then proceeded to swim through the papers and out the door off to find Kat.

##

Kat felt something press into her side. Cracking her eye open she saw that Sylvie was poking her repeatedly while staring at her wings.

"What's up Sylvie" said Kat

"It's time to sign the papers Kat" said Sylvie

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to sleep so long what time is it" said Kat

"Around 11am" said Sylvie stepping back to give Kat room to get off the bed. Kat examined herself and found her demonic attire in perfect order. *Nice, my clothes aren't wrinkled from sleeping in them, so I should be presentable already, the only issue is the wings hmm.*

Reaching down to the foot of her bed Kat picked up Gramps' rug and draped it over her shoulders to cover her wings. The rug sat oddly, clearly help up by her wings but if no one looked to closely it was probably fine. Wrapping her tail around her midsection she headed for the door.

"Oh Sylvie, you can quietly mention my wings to Vivian if you want but don't mention it to Gramps, I'll tell him afterwards" said Kat

"What about Lily?" asked Sylvie as the left through the door

"Oh is she here as well? That's fine you can tell her as well" said Kat.

The two girls made their way through the hallways of the orphanage without being walleyed and made it to Gramps room. Kat opened the door slowly unsure of how to approach everyone, but Sylvie just scooted between her legs at went straight over to Vivian and Lily before gesturing for Kat to do the same. Gramps turned to face Kat and was surprised to see the rug she was carrying.

"So the Peruvian rug story was true after all, who would have thought" said Gramps.

*Peruvian rug story? Never mind I'll just set everything straight after the witness leaves.* "It's a long story Gramps, I'll tell you all about it once the papers are signed and everyone's settled down- Is that a poker table?" said Kat

"Yup we were playing for a cooler full of steak and Sylvie one, and then donated it to the orphanage. Makes my heart proud, so young and already so willing to help others" said Vivian wiping away a non-existent tear.

"Right… and, where is the witness, I'm happy to sign the papers with you now Vivian but I don't see him" said Kat

"I think he's in the right corner under a few papers" said Vivian

"I guess I should wake him up huh," said Gramps. Walking over to the snoozing man Gramps knocked him lightly on the head.

The man jumped up papers flying everywhere, eyes flicking around the room before landing on Kat. "Ah, I suppose I have to do my job now" said the witness yawning "Well, um, I witness this, something something, wake me up when I need to sign stuff" before promptly wrapping himself back up in blankets.

"Um, can he just do that" said Kat

"Sure, I guess? Especially for something like this that's more of a formality. You and Sylvie aren't moving more than 15 minutes down the road and you'll both be able to come over and visit whenever you want, which is actually pretty unusual for this orphanage. The paperwork still needs to be filled out anyway but I'm not too worried about you three" said Gramps.

Gramps reached into the piles of paper surrounding him and brought out two stacks of forms before clearing away some space. Offering a pen to Kat and Sylvie Gramps gestured at the forms that Vivian had signed earlier.

"If you're sure just sign at the bottom" said Gramps.