Chapter Four - Clothes, Ice Cream, and Illegal Entry

*Contains one top-tier cuss word. Shield your eyes, children!*

Emerald closed her eyes as the hot water from the shower ran over her back. This morning had been... difficult. Between Leif and Rhys coming along on her run and asking so many questions, to coming back home only to realize there was only dry cereal left to eat in the pantry, it was not shaping up to be a very productive Monday.

Still, there was work to do. And she was nothing if not responsible.

Sighing, Emerald opened her eyes and started lathering up her hair. She'd put her shower off a lot longer than she normally would, wanting to make sure Ava was awake first. She'd used the time to try cleaning up some of the mess in the living room, a task made somewhat more difficult by the Daemos coming and going.

She eventually managed to distract them by giving them the clothes Ava had bought the other day and telling them to try figuring it out by themselves. It was a task she didn't think they were taking very seriously, only because (for whatever reason) they seemed more inclined to listen to Ava over her.

'God, it's like we're their paren - ' Emerald cut off the thought, putting a hand over her mouth. No, now was definitely not the time to be thinking about that. Shaking her head to clear it, she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and got the conditioner set.

As she turned to get her loofah, Emerald got the distinct feeling of being watched. She slowly peeked around the shower curtain, not feeling any better when she saw the bathroom door was still firmly closed and locked. She checked to make sure the baseball bat was still leaning within easy reach against the side of the bathtub before closing the curtain.

Leif was half-leaning out of the wall in her shower. "Whaaat are you doing?" the Daemos asked, one eye cocked in confusion as he openly looked her over.

Her reaction was immediate. "WHAT THE FU - ?!"

"What's that?" he interrupted, pointing at a horizontal scar on her lower abdomen.

"None of your business!" Emerald grabbed the bat, not caring about the water she was spilling on the floor. She hefted it in her hand, turning to hide herself as best she could. "GET OUT!" she screamed, swinging at him.

* * * * *

Ava sank further into the bath, closing her eyes as she tilted her head back. She vaguely wondered if Emerald was having any trouble getting back on track with her work after the disaster that had been this weekend.

"I'm sure she'll be fine as long as she got to go on her run this morning," she assured herself. "She can get pretty grumpy if her schedule gets too far off."

Johnny gave an agreeable-sounding mew.

Ava thought she heard Emerald yelling, but brushed it off. The Daemos had been hassling her all morning: she'd probably just lost her temper with one of them. Still, it was a little weird for her to do that. Sometimes it seemed the older woman had the patience of a saint...

"Ugh, you too? What are you doin'?" came a voice from nearby.

"Relaxing. What does it look like?"

"What does that do?"

Ava chuckled. "What do you mean, I - ARGH!"

Leif was hanging half out of the wall above her, staring down. "I'm trying to figure out why you're doing this. The larger female human tried to attack me while she was standing under running water, so I figured I'd come in here to see if you were doing the same thing."

"Why are you in my wall?!"

To her horror, Asch suddenly appeared half out of the wall next to Leif. "Leif, what are you - wait, what is she doing?"

"I asked the same question! I was gonna go ask the human sorcerer about human clothes since we can't figure 'em out."

"I thought Noi figured it out."

"Yeah, I don't trust Noi. I was going to ask the big human what to do with them, since Rhys would just get all smart with me, but the human was standing under water and tried to hit me with the 'bat' again. So I came to ask this one what to do, but the human is just sitting in water."

"Ugh, disgusting," Asch sneered.

"I'm taking a bath! Do you guys not know what a bath is on whatever planet you're from?!" Ava was trying to cover herself with her arms. "Also, I have a name too, you know!"

"Planet?"

Asch narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure what you meant, but it sounded like an insult!"

* * * * *

Emerald came charging out of her bathroom, barely making sure the towel around her body was secure as she ran towards Ava's room. She wielded the bat in her left hand, holding the towel closed with her right.

As she skidded into Ava's bathroom, Emerald saw all five Daemos were assembled around the bathtub. She heard the young woman arguing with the "prince," something about idle threats.

Asch summoned a fireball in his hand, approaching the bathtub. "How dare you! I'll - "

Ava reacted faster than Emerald could, splashing some of her bathwater at the Daemos and extinguishing the flames.

The effect was instantaneous.

For once, Rhys sounded genuinely afraid. "She knows disarming magic!"

"Aaaa! RUN!" Noi screamed in panic.

All five Daemos scattered like cockroaches after turning on the kitchen light. Emerald gave a deep sigh, closing her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be okay when everyone just gets out and lets me bathe in peace!"

The older woman somehow managed to give her a hard look without opening her eyes. "Don't start with me. I really thought they were going to hurt you." She turned away. "Just... hurry up. I think we need to have a little discussion with our roommates about personal space."

* * * * *

"Okay, if we're going to be your prisoners, we need to lay down some ground rules," Emerald announced angrily. She and Ava were still wrapped in their towels, her own bat leaning against the doorway to Ava's room.

"As prisoners, you don't get to make rules," Asch growled back.

"Who's the powerful sorcerer?" Ava interrupted. "That's right: me."

"Sorceress," Pierce corrected.

"Wait, does that mean the larger female human does not have access to magic?" Rhys cut in, confused.

"Why do you think I have that bat nearby?" Emerald glared at them each in turn. "I... gave my magic to her a long time ago, so she can defend herself." The lie felt wrong on her lips, but she knew it was the only thing protecting them at the moment.

"Is that how you got that scar on your stomach?" Leif stared at her, his eyes sparkling with thoughts of bloodshed. "Was it in a battle -"

"A-anyway, we're getting off track!" Emerald interrupted, flustered. "Why are you guys coming through our walls?"

"Once our home is linked to a surface, we can enter from any place at will in close proximity."

"So... you guys can come in anywhere in our apartment, at any time?" Emerald definitely did not like the sound of that.

"He literally just said that." Leif gave her a condescending look.

"Alright: I can fix that, then." Ava disappeared into her room, soon emerging carrying a large red crayon. She marched over to where she had first seen the Daemos enter and emerge from their separate space. "This is my magic spell wand called Cray-o-la. Once I mark this door, you are bound to only use this spot to enter and exit. If you don't use this spot, you'll die."

Emerald barely managed to stifle a giggle as the Daemos began loudly voicing their displeasure, covering the sound with a cough. True, she wasn't happy about Ava drawing all over her wall, but the guys seemed to be buying the lie completely.

"You can't do that!" Rhys seemed outright offended.

"I. Just. Did." Ava took a quick breath, calming down. "Now the next thing: stop calling us 'Human Sorcerer' or 'Large Female Human' or 'Prisoner', okay? We have names."

"Ava." Pierce met her gaze calmly, then turned to Emerald. "Em. Or Emerald."

"Ho - how did you...?"

"You two have been calling each other those since we arrived."

Ava started to speak, but Noi interrupted her. "Do you know our names?"

"I... uh, I know that..."

Emerald sighed, coming to Ava's rescue. "Rhys. Leif. Noi. Pierce. Asch." She pointed to each Daemos in turn as she identified them.

"Now that that's out of the way, we need to talk about personal space - " Ava was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. " - right after we answer the door."

"In the meantime, you guys put these clothes on." Emerald followed Ava towards the front door. "Can you get the door? I need to get dressed and get started on my work."

Noi pleaded. "But, we're not sure how - "

"You guys are smart. I'm sure you'll manage to figure it out."

"If you are getting dressed, would it be possible to observe how you do it?" Rhys asked in a suspiciously-nochalant manner.

"Absolutely not." Emerald paused for a moment. "Surely a clever Daemos such as yourself can solve a simple puzzle like human clothing?"

He rose to the bait instantly, a gleam in his eye. Satisfied, she continued into her room as Ava went to get the front door.

* * * * *

"Oh, Mrs. Oates!"

"Oh Ava, I've been so worried about you and Emmy."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I heard you screaming and yelling all weekend! I was especially worried when I heard you screaming for three hours straight."

"Wh-why didn't you call the cops, then?"

"Oh. That might have been a good idea."

"Mrs. Oates... what if I was, like... dying?"

"Oh, I'm sorry dear. My memory goes when I don't have notes on my fridge. I'll be sure to make a note for next time. But I'm glad you're all right." She smiled disarmingly. "Besides, I was certain it wasn't serious, since you live with Emmy. She always has everything under control."

"Heh, yeah. She usually does."

"Oh, speaking of Emmy, do you think you could have her take this present to my grandson down the street today? She always delivers things on time for me, and I appreciate it so much."

"Heh, yeah, I can make sure she gets it." Ava stepped forward and accepted the gift in one hand before retreating back through the doorway.

"Oh, thank you so much, Ava." The older woman pressed a few dollars into Ava's free hand. "And here: the usual payment since you two are so sweet. Now, what were you screaming about? I - *gasp*"

Rhys was knocking on Emerald's door. "Emerald, look! I figured out how to put clothes on!"

"No one saw him do it and he won't tell us," Pierce grumbled sulkily by his side.

"That's because it's a test from her, and I passed!"

"Go away!" Emerald could be heard yelling through the door. "You guys have been more than enough of a distraction for now, and I just want to get dressed in peace!"

'Oh my God, I can't believe they just said that!' "S-s-s-s-so..." Ava stuttered, turning back to Mrs. Oates...

... only to see the old woman winking slyly at her. "Oooooo! I see what's going on."

"Please, it's not what you think..."

"Pah, I was young once, too. I'm glad to see you two are in good hands. Especially Emmy." Mrs. Oates got an oddly serious expression on her face. "If anyone deserves to have a bit of kindness, it's that girl."

"Oh my God, you have the wrong idea."

As if enacting some sort of sitcom scenario, Asch chose that moment to come around the corner. "Prisoner, get over here now!"

If possible, Mrs. Oates' eyes grew wider. "Oh my!"

"IgottagoMrs.Oates, sorry!" Blushing furiously, Ava slammed the doors shut.

"I was pretty wild back in my day as well!" Mrs. Oates called through the closed doors. "No shame if you've got game!"

"Oh God, not sweet little old Mrs. Oates..."

* * * * *

Emerald came out of her room just in time to hear Ava yell "You guys suck!" 'Great... more fighting,' she thought tiredly. 'I'm never going to get any work done today.' Resigned, she began to make her way towards the living room.

"Excuse me?" Asch murmured dangerously.

"You heard me, your Majesty!" Ava was furious. "It's bad enough you guys are taking over our home, but now I have to imagine sweet little Mrs. Oates like... ugh. And she thinks we're... ugh!"

Emerald snickered, coming to a stop next to the younger woman. "A wild sex machine?"

"Don't... speak to me like that." If possible, Asch was growing more threatening by the second. Even Johnny began to notice and growled at him.

"Make me stop, then," Ava challenged, closing the distance to the Daemos prince.

He answered by forming a fireball in his hand.

"HEY!" Emerald moved to step in between the two.

"Your Majesty, stop!" Rhys called out in alarm.

Before anyone could do anything, something crashed into Asch's side, knocking him and Ava apart. Emerald caught the younger woman before she hit the floor, steadying her until she found her footing.

Everyone watched as the little ball of condensed darkness slithered its way over to the bench near the wall of Ava's room.

"What is -?!" Leif exclaimed.

Everyone stared in stunned silence as the shadow ball transformed itself into a fluffy cat-like creature with pastel fur. A lavender ruffle with white stars circled its neck, a white crescent moon on its forehead.

"Another spirit?" Pierce questioned.

Emerald looked at it more closely. "That's not a cat I've ever seen."

"Fascinating." Rhys squinted. "This spirit looks more like a spirit on Daemos, while the other looks like a... Ee-urth one."

"Okay, wait. When you say 'spirit', do you mean 'cat' or..."

"A what?"

"A cat. So, for example: Johnny's a cat, and this new cat is a cat."

"What? We call them 'spirits' on Daemos. Usually they bind to someone and act as guardians of a sort, but their uses vary."

"Ooooh, so this adorable wittle kitty cat is a guardian?" Ava made little duck faces, while Johnny stared at his mistress in jealousy.

"I'm starting to think there aren't any actual animals on Daemos." Emerald stared at the newcomer as well. "Do you guys have any sort of creatures you eat, or are you guys all vegetarians?"

"Ve-ge... what?"

"Vegetarian. It means you eat plants, and maybe certain animal products, but no actual meat."

Before Rhys could answer, the cat / spirit got up and went over to Asch, sitting down in front of him.

"Does that spirit know Asch?" Noi was making his 'surprised' face again.

"It appears so." Pierce sounded thoughtful.

"I-I-I've never seen this spirit in my life." Asch seemed flustered, blushing as he stared at it.

"It looks like it knows you." Emerald kept glancing between the two of them.

"I said I don't know it!"

"Maybe it's just taken a liking to you. I've never seen this spirit before either." Rhys intervened.

"Must have crossed from our world somehow." Leif looked thoughtful as well. I've seen this kind of spirit before, but they're very rare to come across."

"Then Asch should consider himself lucky." Pierce seemed to be giving Asch a warning.

The Daemos prince continued glaring down at the cat / spirit.

"Be nice!" Ava scolded. "Stop giving that cute kitty a mean look, Asch."

Asch looked at her, stunned. "...you said my name!" He gave a light chuckle. "Never heard a human say my name before..."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Emerald noticed Rhys look worried all of a sudden. "Uh, um... h-hey!" he stuttered out. "How about since tensions are calm now, you guys go back to figuring out how to put on the human clothes!" Before she could say anything, Ava interrupted.

"Oh right, I almost forgot. Em, Mrs. Oates wanted you to deliver a gift to her grandson today."

The older woman sighed. "Can you do it for me? It's already noon and I haven't even gotten started on any of my work yet. Besides, you need an excuse to get dressed so you don't hang out in your towel all day."

"Can I see how you do it?" Leif called out after her.

Both Ava and Emerald answered at the same time. "No!"

* * * * *

"Alright, here's what's gonna happen." Emerald looked around at the Daemos. "Rhys, you're going to go with Ava to deliver that present, since you were so good and managed to get your clothes on the fastest."

"R-really?!"

"Not fair." Pierce was sulking again.

"Yeah!" Noi agreed, pouting.

"Stop acting like children!" Asch whirled around on Emerald. "And you! Don't order my men around!"

"You wanna learn more about Earth, right? Then stop fighting us and let us help you guys. Just trust me, we're not going to fight this anymore. We're just... gonna go along with it."

"Speak for yourself," Ava whispered next to her.

"Hey, we wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't decided to pretend you have actual magic!" Emerald hissed back. She turned to Rhys. "Now... the horns..."

"What?"

"Humans don't have horns. You're going to have to wear a hat, or... something."

"But... we wore our horns before."

"Yes, but now it looks odd without your world's outfit," Ava piped in. "It really stands out, and if people found out about you guys, you'd be sent to like... Area 51 or something."

"What's that?"

Asch gave a resigned sigh. "We can hide our horns with magic."

Ava was still going on. "If you get sent there, then - Wait... you can?!"

"Yes. We used to hide them when hunting down -"

"Food!" Leif interrupted. "Yes! They would, uh... glow under certain circumstances."

"Wait, that's not - duh!" Noi was cut off as Leif smacked him upside the head. "Oww!"

More alarm bells went off in Emerald's head. 'If they don't know what animals are, then what do they need to hunt down?'

"Like this: observe." Rhys placed both his hands upon his horns, distracting the older woman from her thoughts. After a small flash of light, the horns had disappeared from view.

Ava was suitably impressed. "Wow!"

"Yes, but only Daemos with magic can do it. Which means..." He trailed off, giving Noi a pointed look.

Noi started tearing up. "I can't."

Emerald focused on him as well. "You don't have magic?"

He whimpered. "I used to, but I used it up to get us here."

"Alright then." Ava didn't seem particularly bothered. "Rhys, we're heading out. You guys: try to figure out how to put your clothes on. We out!"

* * * * *

Once Ava and Rhys left, Emerald turned back to the remaining Daemos. "Well, you heard what she said. Try to figure out those clothes. I'm going to work in my room." She stopped by the kitchen to grab a glass of water, turning around once she had it to find Noi. "Uh, do you need something?"

"Prince Asch said I am to accompany you and observe your 'work' to make sure you aren't going to alert other humans." He seemed a bit proud of himself.

"I... suppose that's fair." Emerald got an idea. "Okay then. Come with me, Noi."

His eyes practically sparkled. "You said my name!"

She sighed. "Look, if we're going to be living together, we're going to be saying each other's names a lot." She led the way down towards her room. "The sooner you get used to it, the sooner we can all move on. Okay?"

"Okay!"

Emerald let the young Daemos in, closing the door behind him. "Alright, so here's what we're gonna do: I am going to turn on this machine. It's going to make a bit of noise, but I promise you are not in any danger." She pushed the power button on the computer, beginning the start-up process.

"You are going to sit right here." She motioned to a spot on the floor. "You can see what I'm doing, but you won't be in the way. We good so far?"

Noi gave a small nod.

Emerald paused for a moment. "Can you read?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Um... a little bit. Why are you asking?"

She gave him a reassuring look. "I think I have something you might enjoy." A quick trip to the bookshelf near her closet, and she returned carrying several books. "These are called 'comic books.' They're a bunch of made-up stories with both pictures and words. Would you like to look through them while I work?"

Noi's eyes lit up again. "I would like that very much!"

"Good." Emerald gave him the stack, then went and sat down in her desk chair. "Just remember," she reminded him, putting on her headphones, "quiet..."

Noi was already staring intently at the page in front of him, moving his lips as he quietly sounded out the words.

Emerald smiled, then turned on her work playlist and got started.

* * * * *

"PRISONER!!"

Emerald ripped the headphones off her head as Asch kicked open her door, glaring at the Daemos prince. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked cooly, staring him down.

Asch was not in the mood to be subdued. "I don't know how you did it, but there is a human calling himself the 'Lord of Land' inside right now." He glared at Noi. "You were supposed to be watching her to make sure this didn't happen, Noi!"

Noi had leapt up as soon as Asch burst in, the comics forgotten on the floor around him. "I did! She's been sitting there the whole time!"

"Is this true, huma -" Asch cut himself off, confused by the look on Emerald's face.

"Did you say he called himself the 'Landlord'?"

"Uh..." he was momentarily thrown off by her tone, which was both soft and dangerous. He recovered himself quickly, though. "Yes, I did."

Emerald stood up, pushing her chair back so hard it almost tipped over. "JAKE! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN HERE WITHOUT CALLING ME FIRST?!" As she exited, she was further angered to see the Daemos 'spirit' being chased by Johnny, the two of them knocking things off the shelves as they passed by.

Jake was being pinned against the wall of her room by Leif, who held one of his daggers against the man's throat. "E-emmy!" he called out in relief.

It was relief that quickly turned to panic once Emerald got in his face, nearly pushing Leif out of the way. "Never call me that," she whispered darkly at him. She was vaguely aware of Ava and Rhys coming through the door, but she was too angry to acknowledge them at the moment.

"B-b-b-b-but... Mrs. Oates -"

"That's different, and you know it." Emerald backed off a bit, looking at the Daemos. "Can one of you explain what's going on?"

"This human came and snuck in," Pierce offered.

"Was this a betrayal?" Asch looked pointedly between Emerald and Ava.

"Noi already told you he was with me the entire time. I've been too busy with work to care about what you guys are doing..." She looked down at a broken figurine of two people dancing. "... unless it involves destroying everything I own!"

"I was with Ava the whole time, your Majesty. She did not once call in reinforcements!" Rhys was quick to clear Ava.

"That's right! I -" Ava stopped, getting a good look at the intruder for the first time. "Wait... Jake? How did you get into our apartment?"

"Um, I'm the landlord, so I got worried when Mrs. Oates -"

"Can you guys do something with your magic to make him forget?" Emerald asked tiredly.

"Leave it to me." Leif bonked the back of Jake's head with the butt of his dagger, knocking the man out instantly.

Ava gasped, horrified. "What did you -?"

"He's out," Pierce confirmed.

Noi sighed in relief. "Good job, Leif!"

"Heh, I try."

"Quick, put on your human clothes and get rid of your horns before he wakes up!" Ava was panicking.

"How?" Noi questioned.

"The way you do your Daemos clothes!"

"Really?" Leif stared at her in disbelief. "I thought there'd be more to it than -"

"QUICK! DO IT!"Three pairs of perfectly-sculpted abs immediately met her eyes as they lifted their shirts, Pierce managing to get his completely off.

"NOT HERE, IDIOTS!"

"Ava, calm down." Emerald patted her shoulder as Leif and Asch pulled their shirts back down. "Just... give me a minute to think."

Jake chose that particular moment to let out a low groan.

"Okay, not a lot of time." Emerald looked around at each Daemos. "Pierce, help me get him to the outside door."

"M-m-my name..."

"As I told Noi earlier, just get used to it so we can all move on. Now get over here and help me!"

* * * * *

"Oh Jake, are you alright?"

Jake sat up, yawning. He was a bit surprised to see Emerald and Ava standing over him, looking concerned.

"I am so sorry!" Ava knelt down next to him. "I opened my door and it slammed right into you. Hehe," she laughed nervously.

"W-wait... it did?"

"Yes, ohmygod, I'm so sorry," Ava continued.

"But the demons in your room and... I came in, didn't I?"

"Ava, why don't you go back inside. I'll be there in a minute." Emerald helped Jake stand up, holding on to his arm after he got his feet. "I don't know what you're talking about, but it did sound like you were having a pretty scary dream." She leaned in close, her voice dropping dangerously low. "It also would have been highly not-legal of you to simply open the door and enter my apartment without giving me a call first. Landlord or not, there are laws you need to follow concerning reasonable accommodations for privacy."

Jake paled slightly. "O-of course. I'm so sorry, Emerald."

Emerald released her grip on him, straightening up. "No, I'm so sorry to you for the little accident with Ava." She gave him a small grin. "At least you're alright, though."

"Y-yeah. I'm gonna go... lay down for a moment."

"I think that's a wonderful idea." She watched him go, then went back into the apartment and slammed the doors shut.

Walking into the living room, Emerald was surprised to see all five Daemos sitting around the coffee table. "Where's Ava?"

"She went into her room." Pierce still hadn't retrieved his shirt yet.

"That's fine." Emerald paused near the bookshelf to look at a broken vase on the floor, then sighed and grabbed some books off the shelves. "Here." She placed the stack of books on the table in front of them.

"Books?" Rhys stared at the pile almost hungrily.

"Just a couple I think you guys might like." She sighed tiredly. "Look, I have a lot of work to catch up on." Emerald gave Pierce a pointed look. "So if you guys could put your clothes back on and just... look through these without destroying anything else in the apartment, I'll consider today a win." She started back towards her room. "Just... try to be quiet. Please."

* * * * *

"Umm... was she mad at us?" Noi seemed uncomfortable.

Rhys tore his gaze away from the stack of books. "Yes, I'm sure. But I think she will calm down if we give her and Ava some time alone."

"Emerald seemed upset about the broken totems," Pierce murmured, pulling his shirt back over his head and tucking it in beneath his robes.

"We will make it up to her soon. But now..." Rhys's eyes lit up again. "Let me tell you all about ice cream!"