D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 1717 Checking in for Checkups

--- Kat ---

Five minutes later and Nira was still fussing over Kamiko. At this point Kat was wondering if they were ever going to let out up. The work crew had finished setting up the machine and were even feeding the crystal through. It kept regenerating as it did so but it might have been getting smaller? It was hard to tell when it was half crushed at any given time.

So… should we like but in and try to get your checkup done now? Originally I was happy to give Kamiko some time with her mom but at this point I almost feel like she'd be grateful if we took some of that attention from her.

[What gave you that idea? Was it the fact she mouthed out 'help me' the last time we could see her face? Or was it the fact that she nearly suffocated in that first hug?]

That second part is being overly dramatic. Kamiko can easily hold her breath for five minutes and she had time to breathe long before that. Though… yes the 'help mes' were a pretty good indicator.

[So why aren't we going over then? Surely we should help out her friend.]

Considering I don't see you moving when it's YOUR checkup I feel as though your questioning of me is unfair. Though if you want a real answer it's because Meg looks ready to bolt and hasn't left only because she's probably MORE scared of having Nira chase after her. Hunter's enjoying the show and hasn't left yet… so Meg can take solace in that much I guess? Anyway yeah… not sure it's worth interrupting Nira.

[Counterpoint? Unlike Meg you took a knife for Kamiko so I'm pretty sure we won't get in any real trouble. Plus if we play it up as saving Kamiko she'll probably be happy. Perhaps not quite AS happy but I'm sure it'll be fine.]

Alright then you've convinced me. Kat moved up to the mother and daughter pair and slid in for her own hug, wrapping the pair of them in her arms. "Hi Nira. It's good to see you but I was wondering if you can stop trying to suffocate Kamiko for a little bit and look over Lily? We know there's meant to be regular checkups and we haven't exactly been the best at that,"

Nira kept her smile as the hug ended and she allowed Kamiko to finally get some of her own space. "That's fine with me dears. I just needed to give my daughter a good hug after watching all the things she's been through and not able to help," Nira glared over Kat's shoulder at Meg. "Still, you did keep your promise and then some so it's really no trouble.

Experience new tales on empire

"I don't have my full suite of equipment here but honestly I don't really need it. Lily if you could transform back and forth a few times while I examine you?" Nira said as she pulled a bunch of little devices from the shoulder bag she'd dropped to hug Kamiko.

Lily did as was asked and continued shifting as Nira ran a few different handheld scanners over Lily's form. Not really commenting on anything for a few minutes. "Breath into this please. Oh, and try it with both forms. Ten seconds for each" said Nira while holding up a small box with a tube sticking out of it. Lily shrugged and did so as Nira continued with some other tests. Of course Lily made sure to breathe out using her human form first. Just in case.

While Lily was doing the blow test Kat turned to Kamiko. "So I'm planning to give back this storage ring because it feels like a waste to spend a favour token for it… but I definitely do want one so I was wondering if you, and probably Sue would want to come look for that?"

"Oh! Yeah I'd love to help. Um… yeah probably want to rest a bit first and see what Sue is doing but I'm totally on board with that!" agreed Kamiko.

Lily had needed to repeat the test a few times but a few moments after Kat was done talking to Kamiko, Nira had bundled everything back up in the bag and pulled out a stick. "Open wide please I need to check in your mouth,"

"Really?" asked Lily. "That seems rather… low tech,"

"Well I did say I didn't have any fancy equipment with me. Besides my own personal senses are much higher grade then anything in my bag. I'm just less specialised. Sometimes the old tried and true methods do tell us interesting things. Though in this case I imagine there won't be anything of note. Now say AAAh," answered Nira.

Lily did so, got prompted to transform, and then repeated the process. The testing stick was weird tasting and really made Lily want to bite down on it for some reason. Eventually after it was removed Nira went to burn it only to notice Lily's intense gaze on it. Frowning she handed it back over to Lily who quickly bit down on it. Lily was surprised when she was unable to snap it in half despite the flimsy looking construction and continued chewing with a content look on her face.

"Huh… ok that… was not what I expected to learn…" mumbled Nira.

"What's the issue?" asked Kat. "Assuming there is one?"

Nira nodded for a few moments. "Yes. Her tests come back mostly fine. Perhaps not all perfect but there's a margin of error with this sort of thing and Lily sits quite well in side it for the most part. The reaction to the wood though? I'd guess she's lacking in some sort of rare but potentially non-essential nutrients her food isn't providing her. It might not meant to be. A lot of Memphis will chew on things to keep their teeth in good condition… so perhaps…"

"Perhaps what?" asked Kat after a few moments.

"Perhaps I need whatever in the things I'd be expected to chew on," stated Lily still with the stick between her teeth.

"Indeed," agreed Nira. "It's not serious, or at least I don't think it is. Nothing in my test revealed her as deficient in anything. Heck, it's possible that it's not that she's lacking anything but that she feels her teeth need maintenance. I'm really not a dentist though so that's more a guess,"

"You have dentists here?" asked Kat.

Nira nodded, "Yes we do. It's an exceptionally rare profession because most demons simply do not need them. Especially when most are capable of regrowing teeth should they be damaged or destroyed… well that and a large number of demons lack teeth to begin with. Dentists here are beyond highly specialised.

"Lily's teeth seemed fine to me, her mouth looks healthy. It might just be that she hasn't indulged the instinct much and sticking what she sees as a 'chewing stick' in her mouth was the final straw,"

"Well we have been a little busy helping out, and then before that it was a lot of 'go go go' so I haven't had as much sleep as normal nor all that much time to relax," added Lily.

Nira nodded, "That would explain it. Stress hormones were a little on the high side but nothing at a worrying level, especially not when you consider you just came back from a mission so I wasn't going to mention it,"

"So… what just a stress response?" asked Kat.

Nira shrugged, "Most people vent stress in a variety of ways but beastkin like Lily technically is almost always deal with it by leaning into their instincts. Not always and not complete but if they're stressed the instincts leak over a lot more. Lily doesn't NEED to keep her teeth in good condition this way, mostly because she's not off hunting prey animals and whatnot. At the same time… it is a safe way to destress and her instincts still call for it even if it's not needed,"

"Alright I guess…" mumbled Kat.

"Good, now that that's sorted," said Nira. She clapped and moved swiftly over to Meg. She glared at the greed demon for a little bit. "Now, please note I am not fond of you but I understand that bullying someone on a mission is different to me breaking your legs to practice my healing technique. Plus… I have seen your mission records and you didn't go too far.

"I am not pleased Meg… but as long as you don't have any medical issues in the near future I will likely forget, or at least store away, much of my annoyance about you because you simply aren't that important to me. Learn to be better. You are a smart enough girl to see the issues you might face. So smarten up or someone with less patience then me might go for some revenge. You might pick your targets well from a first order perspective but you fail to recognise the second order consequences. Clearly,"

"Perks of growing up with my clan," said Meg.

"You don't believe that and neither do I," stated Nira.