the maid finally acquires clothes

How to Bed A Demon (and live to tell! 55% success rate according to recent polls)

"Have you found anything useful?" Asked Lev, who sat across her at the local library. A stack of books almost as tall as Reem wobbled next to him. "Just hand me anything you think might help. Sinon and the others will take care of the actual research once they show up."

"...who?"

"Sinon... oh, wow. Her name does sound a lot like the one from your demon."

"I was about to say, yeah."

Demon horns make them horn

"Don't mention this to her."

Reem almost dropped the book. "I-I will. Won't."

It'd been a while since she'd last visited the library during the morning. The scent of paper under a drowsy sun was soft, yellow, comforting. Too bad people at Sun's Edge loved guns more than education; many books had begun to rot, or tear, or had... FOLDS... at the EDGES.

Armories were full, libraries empty. The end was nigh, or so they said.

Demons having a higher sex drive than average is nothing but a stereotype. Shocking, right? But it’s true. If there’s anything I’ve learned in my quest to (the word had been scribbled over) a hundred of them over a hundred days, it’s that we're not that different, us and them. Really! War is over, folks. Our only enemy should be prejudice.

The last sentence was underlined.

The sexy demon myth was widespread enough that Reem had asked Sionn about this a couple of days ago. His response had been, "I'll report you to HR," and when she asked who that was, he filed a complaint to himself by himself, then penalized her.

The only thing we should be conquering these days are the heart and loins of our beloved. No matter the species! Vampire, human, giant—you do you, bucko!

Lev waited until Reem had rented the book (the library had so subsist SOMEHOW) to tell her, "By the way, your demon said he'd tag along."

She sat across from him again. The library bench screeched in agony. "Nah, he didn't."

"If you say so."

Do be careful when kissing them. If you approach them too fast, you’ll startle them, and they might break your face. Once/if you get past that, the other thing—or things, rather—to keep in mind are the FANGS.

Most of them keep that in mind, too, so don’t worry too much, unless it’s their first time, in which case

...was he...? No. Lev was just bluffing. Of course Sionn wouldn't show up in the middle of the day to humor a child's antics.

it’s best to be as supportive and understanding as you can.

Reem hated days off, so if anything, wasting her time like this was a saving grace. While the boy in black filled page after page with notes, Reem flipped page after page of nonsense she would never ever need in her life.

Lev's invitation to a 'study session' had taken place yesterday at the coffee shop, so... so then how could he possibly have been able to tell Sionn about it?

Exactly.

He hadn't.

He was just being mean.

Everyone was mean lately.

"Wha—it's the maiden!"

And loud.

Reem screeched when someone—some teenage boy with spiky red hair—grabbed her by the shoulders. Since he began to shake her, it came out like 'awawawawa'. "Lev, you should've told me that your minion is the girl the demon ate!"

It was a good thing that the only customers were Reem, Lev, the redhead, and the librarian, who wasn't paid enough to shut them up. "Mahieu," said Lev, "Put that thing down."

"The girl?"

"Yes. Put it down." Lev held his head. "It's too EARLY to be this dumb. If the demon had eaten her, then she wouldn't BE with us, you absolute bellend. Where's Lenna and Sinon?"

Mahieu the redhead shrugged, putting Reem the thing down, who plopped onto the table. "No idea. Lenna said they needed to do 'girl things'."

"...not the 'girl things'... and you didn't even save Sinon this time... you monster..."

"She was a bitch to me yesterday, so nah. Anyway, I'm glad the minion is safe."

Reem pounded her fist on the table, weakly. "Not a thing. Or a minion. Or a girl. I am a. Grown. Woman. You little brats."

"You pissed her off," Lev said. "Apologize."

"Sorry," peeped Mahieu. This only pissed Reem off more. "So like, if I'm understanding correctly, the maiden we couldn't save is also your minion who also working as a double—"

"Shut up."

"—agent for—"

"Shut up!"

Mahieu raised his hands, as though aimed at with a gun. He snorted. "Sure. Alright."

Lev tossed a pencil at him anyway. "Yes. Just shut up now. Reem, go away. Your work here is done. Your de—date should be showing up soon, so go... attend him or something. I dunno. Just shoo."

She was sick and tired. Reem slid herself off the table, then wobbled out the room. In a desperate attempt to make more locals read, all the front aisles at the library had books about guns and tales of courageous heroes who slayed evil demons and while also dating twenty women at once (and counting).

Speaking of which: Sionn.

Lev had lied. He was a liar who lied. Granted, Sionn wasn't exactly your garden variety demon, but even he ought to at least have an aversion to sunlight. Even if it didn't scorch him outright, his skin was so pale that he'd probably get a sunburn. So. Lies. He wouldn't show up.

Besides, in Sun's Edge, days were as hot as nights were cold, and Sionn really liked capes—the long, draping kind. He'd faint from the heat. Someone across the street would hear this and think a building had just collapsed.

Still, like the dumbass she was, Reem waited outside of the library, skimming through the book she'd rented.

Apparently, horn size was an indicator of—

Wait. No. That was untrue. Didn't demons trim them? Besides, some of them had the branchy kind like Sionn, but others had horns that curled on the sides of their heads like snails. Or stubs. Or concave, thick horns. Lots of variety.

"...not my type."

"Yes my type!"

Two girls approached the library. One of them had a sparkly pink hood with unicorn prints, the other a bedhead and a resting bitch face. 

Oh, to be young and carefree again, talking about 'types'...

"Too curated," said the one with messy hair.

"Disagree. He's cute. Like a doll. Like—oh!"

They stopped in front of Reem.

Out of bumfuck nowhere, the hooded girl began to shake Reem's shoulders. When would the nightmare end? When?! Of course these two were the ones doing 'girl things' and of course they were rude. "It's youuuu I though you were dead Sinon look!"

"I'm looking."

"It's the GIRL. From the CASTLE. Remember?"

"Ohh." Sinon looked like she sounded, which was to say that she didn't give a shit. "She looks uncomfortable."

"Right." The hooded girl released her. "Sorry! I'm just happy you're alive!" (Made one of them.) "How's it going?"

Sinon scowled at them. She was almost a head taller than Reem; the hooded girl barely reached her shoulders. "Lenna."

"What?"

"Let's just go. You're bothering her." (This was true.)

Lenna was quiet for a moment. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," lied Reem.

"It is? Then could you help us out with a little tiebreaker?" (No.) (Kids these days were so disrespectful.) "See that guy over there? At the flower shop? Yay or nay?"

Reem blinked. "Sorry?"

"Smash or pass?"

What.

So then Lenna pointed at the flower shop across the street. Reem and Sinon followed this with their gazes.

A tall, deceptively slim man watched a carnivorous plant tear chicken bones apart, probably from some leftover meal. While his doleful expression was familiar, the rest of him was not.

For one, he had no cape. For two, he'd tied his hair into a loose braid again, which was golden instead of platinum blond. For three... he was shorter, wasn't he? No claws, no horns, no fangs, no pointy ears.

"Nay," Reem said.

Immediately, Sionn-disguised-as-a-human glanced at them from the corners of his eyes.

"Lenna, you idiot," hissed Sinon, "He heard us."

Staring straight at Reem, Sionn winked.

Lenna giggled until she squeaked, for Sinon dragged her into the library.

Sinon... Sionn... Reem would just call one Angry Bedhead and the other Reindeer Menace if they ever found themselves in close proximity again.

Grinning, Sionn-disguised-as-a-human motioned for her to approach him.

It was unnatural.

Nay.

Pass.

"Do I know you?" She asked upon reaching his side. The carnivorous plant was now dueling itself.

"Yes you do. Hello, Reem."

"Hello, stranger."

His smile was sardonic. "You wound me."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. So?"

The old lady running the stand hurled more chicken at the plants. She offered some to Reem, who hurled it to the plant which had yet to enjoy the taste of flesh. "...so... we go in, I suppose."

"To?"

"To the library?"

Him squinting condescendingly was as much of a familiar gesture as it wasn't. "If we must."

"Huh? What do you mean, 'if we must'? Isn't that what we're here for?"

"Is it?"

"YES!?"

"That lad seeks to impress her, yet fails," the clerk told the plants. "The lady seeks to connect, yet cannot. However, neither seeks to understand. When words are not enough, flowers might be." Thus she gestured at her wares.

...cheeky.