Chapter 185: 145. An Auspicious Encounter

I tapped my phone to turn off the alarm, then looked to my girlfriend and apologized. "Sorry Kaylee, that's all the time I have for now. I have to get ready for that appointment."

Her ears drooped and her tails all hung down low as she pouted, "But you promised to teach me how to teleport. It's going to take forever at this rate."

"We can work on it again first thing tomorrow," I told her. "And we're making progress. Like I keep telling you though, it's a complicated spell. And you really don't want to take short-cuts and get it wrong."

The small kitsune sighed as her tails twitched a bit, but her ears continued to droop and she gave me a sad look, "Are you sure you have to go? What's this appointment for anyways? What's more important than keeping your promise to teach me demonic magic?"

I grimaced as I moved to our closet and started looking for something nice to wear, "It's uh... My other..."

My voice trailed off as I debated what to tell her, and how to say it. At my second session with Theresa last week she suggested I should try and be a bit nicer to my other self, and a big part of that was referring to her by her name. Instead of calling her things like 'not-me' or 'other self'. Tess suggested that communication and cooperation between the two of us should help us to work better together. She also said it might help me feel less uncomfortable about my other self, if I let myself get more familiar with her and tried talking with her more.

Now it was about half past three on Tuesday afternoon, and almost a full week had passed since that last session. I knew I hadn't been doing a good job with that stuff, I'd mostly been ignoring and trying not to think about that other voice in my head again. On the other hand I'd been doing ok with lots of other things.

Like on Sunday, even though it didn't seem like much the werewolfs were happy with the information I got them through the different scrying spells. Belinda didn't say what they were going to do next, but I had a feeling Ryan was going to try and track the guy down with his police contacts. And we all promised to keep our eyes open for anyone matching the description I came up with for the guy. We also left an open offer to help if the wolf pack ran into any more trouble.

Then yesterday me and Nina were at the animal shelter again, all the kitties and other cute cuddly critters were happy I was there to look after them and stuff. And today I spent the past four or five hours working with Kaylee, teaching her more demonic magic.

"Cass?" my girlfriend spoke up again after I'd been quiet for a couple seconds. "What's this appointment you have to go to?"

I sighed as I picked out a fancy burgundy blouse and a black skirt combination. Then despite how uncomfortable it made me feel, I used my other self's proper name as I replied, "Cassandra is meeting May Hawthorne. She's going to introduce us to that other goddess, the one who helped May decide to change how she was doing things?"

Kaylee's ears folded back as she frowned and all her tails started twitching around. "You're going by yourself to meet Miss Hawthorne and some goddess friend of hers? Are you sure that's safe? What if it's some kind of trap or something?"

"Cassandra thinks it's safe," I replied with another grimace. "I'm not really interested in meeting either of them, but she thinks it's important."

Kaylee was still frowning but she cocked her head to one side as her ears both stood up and pointed at me, while her tails swished slowly back and forth. "That doesn't make any sense Cass. You're talking about yourself like you're someone else again."

"Yeah," I sighed again. That was another reason that whole topic was awkward and uncomfortable.

Melanie and Cerys seemed to know or understand that I wasn't Cassandra, and I was pretty sure Sasha knew that too. I didn't know if Nina and my parents understood that as well, or what they thought about the situation. Same with Willow for that matter. But my girlfriend seemed to be at the other end of the scale, she didn't understand or wouldn't acknowledge that Cassandra and I weren't the same.

As I pulled off my leggings and t-shirt I said, "You remember what happened at Nina's birthday party, right? What Cassandra said? She's the goddess of chaos, not me. I'm Cass, the friendly demon."

The small kitsune still had her head cocked to one side like a confused cat. She watched me slip on my skirt and the nice blouse, then shook her head again "You're the same person Cass. I know you're part chaos goddess and part demon, but all together you're Cassandra Underwood, you're my girlfriend."

That was something else Miss Fuller said, like no matter how separate me and not-me felt we were both part of the same complete package. Anyways I didn't want to get into that debate with my girlfriend, when it was already uncomfortable enough just trying to deal with it on my own.

Fortunately a convenient distraction came in the form of my phone, when it pinged with a text notification. I checked it then said, "That's May. I have to get going now. Sorry Kaylee. I promise we'll keep working on the magic, first thing tomorrow morning."

She pouted at me again, but after a second or two she moved forward and gave me a kiss. "Good luck Cass. Don't let May push you around or anything. And if there's trouble, get your moms involved. I wish I could help too, but I know I'm not strong enough yet, and I don't know enough demonic magic yet."

"Thanks Kaylee," I said as I kissed her back.

Then I grabbed my purse and focused on May Hawthorne. Like she said in her text, I teleported myself directly to her location.

As soon as I cast the spell I felt that tingling energy sensation of another god nearby, the same thing I first experienced that afternoon last month when Miss Hawthorne showed up in our backyard. And sure enough I found myself standing next to May on the side of a small street somewhere. For some reason it was kind of dark out, as if the sun was going down despite it being the middle of the afternoon.

Then I realized Miss Hawthorne was sort of staring at me, which made me feel self-conscious. I grimaced, "What's wrong?"

"You..." she hesitated a moment, "Your arrival wasn't subtle, Cassandra. It looked like you were using demonic magic, for some reason?"

I blushed as I glanced around, "Oh. Right."

Fortunately if anyone noticed me teleporting into the middle of a street they didn't stick around to gawk. As I started to take in more of my surroundings I got more confused. There were a couple cars parked on the side of the road, but they were pointing in the wrong direction. And it was definitely a lot later than it should have been, the sun was nearly set already. Finally I realized the building we were standing next to was done up to look like some kind of 'authentic' English pub.

"Where are we?" I finally asked.

May gestured for me to accompany her as she started for the front entrance, "It's a little village in east Kent, England. I own a cottage not far from here, and thought we could have our meeting over dinner. The steak and ale pie here is truly excellent."

"England?!" I gasped as I nearly tripped over my own feet. I'd never teleported that far before, and I'd never been so far away from home before either.

She just nodded as we both entered the pub together. It was about half full, which I figured was probably pretty good for a Tuesday. There was some background music playing, but that was lost to the low din of conversation. A few TVs were mounted here and there, they were showing different sports games, and the smell of drinks and food was in the air.

May led me to a booth near the back, then she slipped into one side and moved all the way over so there was room for me to sit beside her. I hesitated for a moment, but it was clear she expected the other goddess to sit across from us. So I ended up sitting next to Miss Hawthorne, even if it did feel awkward.

"Hello luvs," a middle-aged blonde woman greeted us just after I sat down. "What can I get you to drink? And do you need to see a menu?"

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May replied, "We're waiting on a third, but you can get us a bottle of your Alsatian Gewürztraminer, and three glasses. And yes, we'll have a look at a menu as well."

"Could I just have a glass of water please?" I asked the waitress.

May looked at me while the waitress headed away, "You're old enough to drink Cassandra, aren't you? And regardless, you are a goddess after all. Human laws have no meaning to you."

That made me blush a bit, but I replied quietly "Not old enough until Sunday. But legal or not, I'd rather just have water."

She seemed to accept that, and instead commented "By the way, I haven't said anything about your divinity being new, and I suggest you keep quiet about that as well. Other gods and goddesses will see it as a weakness, they'll likely try and take advantage of your inexperience and naïveté."

I felt a little surge of confidence, which told me my other self was finally ready to join the conversation. And as awkward as that was, I was actually relieved to sense her. Considering she was the one who wanted to meet May and this other goddess in the first place, I had no idea why it took her so long to make an appearance.

"What about you May?" I heard myself ask. "How can I be sure you're not going to try and take advantage of me?"

"A fair question," she responded. She didn't seem the least bit offended or upset by that, her voice was level and calm as she stated "I am in your debt for reuniting me with my daughter. Further, Sasha considers you a friend, perhaps even family. I appreciate that you have no reason to believe me or trust me, but nonetheless I offer you my assurances that I will not act against you."

At that moment I felt that energy-tingling thing again, warning me of yet another god nearby. May lowered her voice and said, "We can talk more on this later if you wish, but for now let's focus on the meeting you requested."

I turned to look, just as a petite silver-haired girl approached our table. She was about my height, a bit slimmer than myself though, and a few years older. I'd guess she was in her early twenties perhaps. Her long straight silvery hair hung partway down her back, and her eyes were a stunning purple colour that reminded me of Willow. She was wearing a simple sleeveless black dress and sneakers, and had a small purse dangling from one shoulder.

She slipped into the opposite side of the booth and smiled at May and I as she got comfortable, "Hello again May. And hello to you as well, I take it you're the one who wanted to meet me?"

I noticed the other goddess didn't have an English accent, which I thought was strange. Then again neither did May, and she was originally from around here too.

"Good evening Amethyst," May replied to the new arrival. Then she took care of the introductions, "Cassandra, this is Amethyst. She recently rebranded herself as a goddess of queer, trans, and demi-human people. And Amethyst, this is Cassandra, the friend I spoke to you about."

The silver-haired goddess smiled, "Hello Cassandra, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," I heard myself reply, as my other self seemed to take charge again.

That's as far as we got though, the waitress finally returned with the wine and my water and some menus. She set out the three wine glasses and my water, then gave each of us a menu, and finally went though a whole thing with opening the wine and letting Miss Hawthorne sample it before she poured us each a glass.

That actually drained the bottle, so she took it away with her while May and Amethyst both had some wine, and I had a sip of my water.

Neither of the others looked at their menus, but I had a look at mine. They had the usual stuff, like burgers, sandwiches, wings, that kind of thing. They also had some typical English food too, like fish and chips, that meat pie May was talking about earlier, and something called 'steak and kidney pudding' which sounded kind of scary to me.

The waitress came back after a few minutes, and both May and Amethyst ordered the steak and ale pie with chips, so I ended up asking for that too. May also ordered a second bottle of wine, since the first one was only good for a single round and they'd both already drank half their glasses. The waitress nodded and collected the menus then she headed off again.

"So Cassandra," the silver-haired goddess said as she looked across the table at me. "I hope you don't mind some questions? I'm curious about your domain, since May didn't mention it. Or is that a secret?"

My other-self shook our head as she responded, "I don't mind a few questions, I have a few of my own for you as well. As for my domain, I am the goddess of chaos."

Amethyst seemed surprised to hear that, her eyebrows jumped up. She looked at May and asked, "Is this your daughter? I thought she was exiled?"

"No, she isn't my child." Miss Hawthorne shook her head then elaborated, "Cassandra is a different chaos goddess. Although having said that, she is familiar with my daughter."

"I see," the other goddess responded. Then she looked at me again with one eyebrow arched, "You wouldn't happen to know a demon that goes by the name Kid Chaos would you? One of your worshippers perhaps, or a cleric maybe?"

Not-me smiled, "I know exactly who that is. I'm curious what makes you think they're a demon though? I'm also wondering why you're asking after them, what do you want with them?"

Amethyst exchanged a brief glance with May then replied, "It's about some enchanted plush toys that Kid Chaos has been distributing for over a year now. The toys were originally sold in vending machines, but the past year people have been getting them through the mail. May told me she suspects they're the work of a demon who used to consort with her daughter."

Hearing that left me feeling nervous again, that maybe this other goddess was upset with Kid Chaos for some reason. Before the anxiety could get too strong I felt Cassandra's confidence surge, and her sense of calm settled me down.

In fact it almost felt like both of us were coming together as we prepared to defend our work with the plushies. Both me and not-me felt that strongly about helping trans people that we weren't going to let anyone bully us or boss us around about them.

Cassandra kept us looking calm and relaxed on the outside, while inside we were almost ready for a fight. And neither Amethyst or May seemed to notice anything about us had changed.

Meanwhile the silver-haired goddess continued, "As for why I want to find them, I was hoping maybe I could work with them. Or at least give them some friendly advice? They're helping trans people, those enchanted toys are giving people instant magical transitions, but Kid Chaos isn't doing anything about the people's ID or documentation or anything else. It leaves them in bureaucratic limbo. I've helped a couple dozen already, and I'm sure there's more out there."

Realizing the other goddess wasn't looking for trouble let me relax slightly, but the feeling of cooperation between Cassandra and I remained strong. Our smile got a bit wider as we announced proudly, "There's over two hundred of those plushies out there now, and that number will continue to grow."

"And I'm very interested in discussing your collaboration idea Amethyst," we added. "I am Kid Chaos, and those enchanted plushies are my creation."