Chapter 106: Interlude 24 – Divine Business

=::= Cass's PoV =::=

"Do I really have to do this?" I asked as I settled into the passenger seat next to mom.

As soon as I had my seatbelt on she backed us out of the driveway and replied in a firm mom-voice, "Yes Cassandra, you really have to do this."

"But they're probably going to ask me to do reality-bending stuff again," I complained quietly. "And I'm not comfortable with that. I've only ever done it once, and that was because of Socha's influence."

Mom sighed, "You weren't under her influence yesterday when you told us you're still giving those toys out to people, were you? Actions have consequences, and you're going to have to deal with them."

"Your mum and I aren't entirely comfortable with the idea that you're still distributing those things hon," she added. "Handing out life-changing magic to the unsuspecting public can cause all kinds of trouble. Both for yourself, and for the people who use it."

That sounded a little too much like the sort of argument May and Kaylee used last summer and I immediately protested, "They help trans people! I've helped lots of trans people get affirming bodies, and they're all really happy and grateful! And I'm not just handing them out to anyone, I'm giving them to people who specifically ask, or express an interest. And I include instructions and warnings!"

"I know Cass," mom replied as she kept her eyes on the road. "I'm not going to ask you to stop doing that, but like I said, there's the potential for more trouble down the road with those things. But that's later. Right now we have to deal with this mess."

We were already pulling into the driveway of a typical little house in a subdivision not too far from our place. And even though I knew she was right about being responsible and helping the Winters out, I was still kind of dreading the encounter. I was positive this was going to be awkward, and I knew I'd be expected to use some powerful magic again.

So I may have dragged my feet a little as I followed my mom from the car and up to the front door of the house. She knocked when we got there, and after a few seconds it swung open.

"Hello Cassandra," Kirstie greeted me quietly. "And Mrs. Underwood, nice to see you again. Please come in."

Mom gave the small catgirl a friendly smile as we stepped inside, "Hello Kirstie. You can call me Julie. How have you been, how were your holidays?"

There was more awkward smalltalk like that as mom and I got out of our boots and winter coats. Then the catgirl led us into the living-room. Mom and I sat on a couple chairs, while the catgirl sat crosslegged on the sofa. Mrs. Winters joined us a moment later and asked if me and mom wanted something to drink.

That all took a few more minutes, before the refreshments were all sorted out. I had a glass of water, while the others all had coffee. And Mrs. Winters sat on the sofa next to Kirstie.

I tried not to stare too much, but they were definitely a cute couple.

As a catgirl based on the smallest domestic breed, Kirstie stood just over four and a half feet tall. Her short hair was a sandy blonde colour, and her feline ears and tail were covered in short fine beige fur, that grew darker at the tips.

Meanwhile Kathie's vulpine traits came from the standard red fox, although neither her hair or fur were red. In fact they were a sandy tone that matched both Kirstie's and Kenzie's hair and fur. The other thing she had in common with both her former husband and her eldest daughter was age. I didn't know how old she was supposed to be, but nowadays she looked like another high school senior.

So basically her hair and fur and even her age matched the other two demi-humans in her family, only her size was different. She wasn't even all that tall, she stood a couple inches taller than myself at about five-foot-five, but she certainly looked tall compared to the catgirl next to her.

"Thank you both for coming," the young foxgirl said as she gave me and mom a polite smile. "And Julie, thanks again for your help last month. Please pass my gratitude on to Tanya as well."

Mom nodded, "Of course. I hope the four of you are managing all right? I know last month was quite an ordeal for all of you."

Both our hosts grimaced, and Mrs. Winters responded "We're alright now, thanks to you and your family. The holidays were a bit of a challenge, but the four of us made the most of it."

Then Kirstie apologized again to me, "Cassandra I'm sorry for my part in your abduction last month. I didn't..."

"It's fine," I mumbled. "I know it wasn't your fault. I'm just glad he didn't hurt any of you."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence, then mom brought the conversation back on topic again. "Perhaps we should move on to the reason we're here? With the holidays coming to an end I know there's some decisions you need to make Mrs. Winters. I believe Kirstie has already filled you in on how Cassandra can help, so at this point it basically comes down to what you want, or how you'd like to proceed?"

Kathie had a sip of her coffee as she seemed to think things over, and her eyes drifted to stare at me. I ended up slowly cringing into my hoodie a bit more than usual as the foxgirl quietly regarded me.

After a few moments she asked, "Is it true Cassandra, are you a demon? Will I have to sign some sort of contract with you?"

"Apparently a verbal agreement and a handshake is good enough," Kirstie reminded her wife. "But it's important to be very specific about what you want. And what it's going to cost in return."

That left me blushing, but I shook my head and responded quietly "I don't need to do contracts anymore. Verbal or otherwise. I um, I don't really want to mess with reality? But I can do it. If I have to."

Mom spoke up before either of our hosts could start questioning me further about the lack of contracts, "I'm sure you both have plenty of questions, but please believe me that you're better off not knowing all the details. Let's just focus on how we can help you to get on with your lives."

"Very well," Mrs. Winters agreed. She had another sip of her coffee then sighed, "To be honest I'm really not sure what the best choice is for us? Kirstie and I have gone back and forth over our options at least a dozen times in the past two weeks, but we can't seem to come to an agreement on what to do?"

She continued, "I don't even know yet what to do with my ID? Obviously it needs to be updated, but should I keep my real date of birth on there? Or should that be changed like Kirstie's was, to reflect how I look? And if we do that, how do we make sure child services don't try and intervene when authorities discover there's no legal adults in this household? What will it mean for Kenzie and Kimmie?"

Mom responded, "ID is just text on a card, it only carries as much value as we choose to give it. How are your daughters handling the situation as it is?"

The foxgirl pointed out, "Whether or not you think ID is important the rest of the word does tend to treat it as such. And neither the police or social services are likely to be very understanding or forgiving if we try and tell them it's just 'text on a card' when they ask who the legal guardians are of all the minors in this house."

"Kenzie is doing alright," the catgirl added. "She got over the shock of my change fairly quickly, and she mostly took Kathie's change in stride. Kimmie's had some trouble accepting us as her parents now that we both look so young, but she's slowly coming around too. On the other hand I think she might be feeling a little outnumbered, being the only one of us who's still completely normal."

I knew I'd get in trouble but I couldn't help offering, "I still have more of those enchanted plushies. If she's interested -"

"Cassandra," mom interrupted with a warning tone in her voice, "Not appropriate."

"Sorry," I mumbled as my shoulders slumped.

Then mom turned her attention back to Mrs. Winters again, "I understand your concerns about the apparent lack of an adult to act as guardian. And you won't hear my say this very often Kathie, but I think this is one of those occasions where the best option is to simply ignore the law of the land. Cassandra can arrange whatever age you'd like on your new ID, and we can take steps to ensure there are no legal concerns to trouble any of you."

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"After all," mom added, "Regardless how old you look or what it says on your ID, the two of you will always be Kenzie and Kimmie's parents. Cassandra would never change that."

The foxgirl raised an eyebrow as she looked at me. "Wouldn't change that, or couldn't? Just what exactly are you capable of?"

I grimaced slightly as I opened my mouth to answer, but mom spoke up first.

"Once again I think it's best if we don't share all those details," she responded. "So back to the matter at hand, what can my daughter do for you Mrs. Winters?"

I looked at the foxgirl and added, "If you could have anything at all what would it be? I'm not promising to give you everything you wish for, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Once I know what you want, then we can figure out what's practical."

Kathie had another sip of her coffee as she regarded both me and mom. After a few moments she asked, "I'd still like to know what you are, and if accepting your help is going to have some cost or other impact on my life in the future."

I glanced at mom to see if it was ok, but she didn't say anything so I figured it was alright. I still cringed a bit as I looked back at our hosts and responded quietly, "It's a long story and kind of complicated, but the short answer is I'm half demon. And half goddess."

That led to a long awkward silence as both Kathie and Kirstie just sort of stared at me for several seconds. Eventually Mrs. Winters responded, "You're a Goddess? And you're attending high school, with Kirstie and our daughters?"

I was maybe blushing too at that point. I shrugged slightly, "Yeah. Like I said it's a long story, and I don't want to make a big deal out of it, ok?"

"What Cass is trying to say," mom clarified, "Is we'd like to keep it very much a secret that she's anything other than what she appears. Like Tanya and I told you when we first met, it's very important to us to keep our secrets. We're happy to help you, but we don't want any publicity or rumours spreading about us or our family."

The foxgirl nodded slowly, "All right Julie, I understand. And Cassandra, I suppose if I'm to ask for whatever I want, then this is my wish list."

She took a deep breath then started, "First I'd like my ID and other documentation updated to reflect my new appearance. I'd like my new legal age to be eighteen, and I'd like to have my documentation show that I've already graduated high school so I don't have to go back and do it again. And I'd like to revert to my maiden name Campbell, because I don't want people to think Kirstie and I are sisters. Our relationship is awkward enough now as it is."

"Second," she continued after a slight pause, "Is about money. We've been living off our savings for the past few weeks, but that won't last much longer. And I don't want to have to immediately rush out and start working at age eighteen. I know Kirstie doesn't either, nor do I want either of our daughters to have to worry about that just yet."

"You said I could ask for anything, so my second request is that none of us should have to work until we're ready or until we want to. That means we'll need some other source of income, enough to cover all current and future expenses, plus post-secondary education for as many of us who desire it."

There was another pause while she looked thoughtful for a moment or two. Then she added, "Third and final request, I would like some kind of guarantee or assurance that we won't have any trouble with the authorities due to our apparent or legal ages. That nobody will attempt to separate us or take our children from us because they think Kenzie or Kimmie don't have any parents or legal guardians."

Mom spoke up at that part, "I believe Kenzie is already eighteen is she not? So you and she are already legal adults and don't require guardians. That just leaves Kirstie and Kimmie, and on paper Kenzie is the older sister to both of them. So if push comes to shove we can come up with some convincing legal documents that indicate Kenzie is guardian to both her younger sisters. No court or judge would try and separate three teen sisters, not without an extremely good reason."

The catgirl's face turned bright red when mom mentioned her, and she continued to blush long after that. She obviously still felt embarrassed about people believing she was younger than her own daughter, and the idea of Kenzie being her legal guardian probably didn't make her feel any better either.

On the other hand I found it kind of funny, but did my very best not to let on. Instead I looked at Kathie and replied quietly, "I can do all those things tonight Miss Campbell. So when you wake up tomorrow morning it'll all be taken care of. Your name, age, ID and documentation, the money stuff, and even some legal paperwork like my mom described."

Both the foxgirl and catgirl looked surprised, like maybe they didn't think I'd give them everything they wanted. Then I noticed even mom looked a little surprised, which made me blush and cringe into my hoodie again.

"Before I agree to anything I need to know what you want in return," Kathie responded. "Surely you're not going to do all of this for free."

That was the part where I felt even more awkward, but all that was pushed aside as my calm confident act took hold. Then without any hint of doubt or uncertainty I told them what my help would cost.

"First, you both have to swear to keep who and what I am secret," I stated. "And my parents and my sister, and my friends too. All that stuff that happened last month, this conversation, the plushies, everything."

I kept the calm confident thing going as I continued, "The second thing is, use your plush toys now and then. Say, once or twice a week? Don't just leave them hidden away in a drawer or something, get them out and enjoy some new experiences. And don't discourage Kenzie from using hers either. I know she really likes being a bun. You never know, you two might like being a fox and cat."

Kirstie and Kathie both gave me a funny look, so I added "You're both young again, don't waste your second teen years acting like stuffy adults. Lighten up and live a little, have some fun. Don't just look like teens, be teens and enjoy yourselves."

Mom seemed a little surprised by all that too, but then she knew that them using their plushies on a regular basis would help me. She didn't say anything either way, but I suspected we'd be having another conversation about all this later.

After a second or two Miss Campbell asked, "Was that everything?"

I nodded, "That's it. If you agree to that stuff and the secrecy stuff then everything you just asked for will be taken care of tonight."

After a long pause the foxgirl finally nodded, "Very well Cassandra. I agree to your terms."

"Me too," Kirstie added. "We'll make sure Kenzie and Kimmie know not to say anything either."

With that sorted out there wasn't much reason for me and mom to stick around, and the Winters were probably eager for us to leave anyways. So we bid Kathie and Kirstie a good afternoon and happy new year and all that, then we set out for home. And as soon as we got back in the car I felt my calm confident act fade since I didn't need to be all goddessy anymore.

After we pulled out of their driveway and began the short trip home mom glanced at me and commented, "Don't think I didn't notice what you did there Cass, what you got Kathie and Kirstie to agree to. I hope you understand it won't always be that easy. And if you try that sort of thing on the wrong person, you're going to get yourself into trouble."

I grimaced, "You mean about asking them to use their plushies more often? If I'm bending reality for them and coming up with money and stuff I figured I needed a little something in return. It doesn't hurt them, and it doesn't cost them anything to do that."

"That's not what I'm talking about hon," mom stated. "I mean the part where you got them to agree to 'stop acting like stuffy adults', 'lighten up and live a little', to 'have fun' and 'enjoy being teens'. You slipped that in with your intentionally-vague 'agree to that stuff' comment. I assume you're going to enforce those terms when you enact the other changes tonight?"

For just a moment I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but then my heart skipped a beat as I realized she was right. I really did say that stuff, and I included it in the deal. I didn't want to admit that I'd somehow forgotten about that stuff though, I didn't want to give mom yet another reason to worry about me.

Instead I asked quietly, "How come you didn't say anything when I said that stuff? Or are you saying something now? Do you want me to ignore that part of the agreement?"

Mom sighed as we pulled into our driveway. She turned off the car then shook her head, "No hon. You told us yesterday that you've replaced Socha as the goddess of chaos. I'm not going to interfere with your divine business, I'm just warning you to be more careful. And goddess or not, you will have to deal with any consequences of your actions. Got it?"

"Yes mom," I mumbled as I undid my seatbelt. "I understand."