Harper turns to look at them as Mevia draws even with them at the door. She smiles again, flicking a long lock of white hair to the side and making it glitter red in the light. "Hello, Mevia. I see you've met Jesse."

Apparently Gill's comment about Harper speaking 'normally' to other lords but not to other people was fairly accurate.

"Yes." She glances down at the tiny human, who just blinks back at her. "They're small."

"Very." Harper gives Jesse a lopsided smile before opening the door and walking in. "The others are already inside. We should begin."

Mevia raises her eyebrow and glances at Aiden, who's been doing his best to avoid talking to her the entire time. "What's so big that you need to talk to all three of us about it?"

"The keys," he replies simply.

Instantly, Mevia's somewhat dour demeanor softens into one of faint surprise. "Oh." Her sharp manner goes to something smoother, her hands folding carefully in front of her as she ponders this for a moment. "Oh, I see... yes, we should probably get on that."

She sweeps into the room, black-and-red dress sweeping the floor slightly as she enters. Aiden waits for her to fully enter before following, Petra quickly trotting after and leaving Jesse and Reuben to bring up the end.

A woman with fine black hair and red eyes with a ring of green around the pupil turns to look at them. Her expression lights up, and a moment later she's dashed forward and is wrapping Aiden in a hug. "Oh, look at you! You've shot up an inch."

"He'd better not beat me," Petra grumbles halfheartedly, but she's grinning.

Aiden's face has softened into a smile as he gives the older demon a squeeze. "Hey, Isa. How have you been? Sky City gotten any more hectic?"

"No, thankfully. You four were right, hiring Milo has done a world of help for our stress levels," the woman chuckles, eyes sparkling as she pulls back from the hug.

"By 'our' stress levels, you mean 'your' stress levels," Harper points out in a vaguely exasperated yet amused tone from where she's hiding slightly behind Mevia.

Maybe she doesn't like other demons. Jesse can't really blame her.

Isa rolls her eyes at the other lord. "Fine, my stress levels, if you're going to be that picky, Harper." She turns back to Aiden, releasing him and giving his hands a squeeze. "You're all here to discuss something about the keys, aren't you?"

A moment later, her eyes flicker to Jesse. There's a moment of confusion, before her eyes widen and she's suddenly stooping down and cupping their face, turning it from side to side. "Oh... you're a human, aren't you? I'm impressed you've made it this far without someone trying to eat you."

"The clothes do help... although the overalls are definitely still very human," Mevia muses, glancing over the fuzzy black jacket and red shirt Jesse is wearing. "Very clean, though."

"Well, we're not about to have a human go fight through a horde of demons, now are we?" Maya points out, but she's smiling anyway.

Reuben squeals, and a moment later something soft bumps into Jesse's legs. They look down to see a small chicken with a tiny crown and medallion clucking up at them.

"Oh!" Jesse stoops down, setting Reuben down on the floor and giving the chicken a little smile. "Hi there. You're very pretty, aren't you?"

The chicken clucks happily, giving Jesse's hand a friendly nip before butting up against their legs.

Isa smiles down at the chicken as well, reaching down and running a hand over the feathers. "Well, Jesse, it looks like Benedict quite likes you. And don't worry, she's harmless. Unless she's angry at you, but she very rarely is and trust me... you will be able to tell if she is angry."

"Ahh, okay..." Jesse rubs the chicken's head gently, which makes Benedict cluck happily. Reuben snuffles at the chicken, who also seems to like the vessel creature quite a bit.

Gill gives a nervous laugh, making Jesse look up at him. He seems to have been caught in the middle of an argument with Maya, because Maya looks taken aback by the lack and Lukas looks as though he's been physically interjecting in the argument. "Oh man. Uh, so, Isa's got, like... a really good knack with animals in Cosmos. I think some people have called her the Beast Tamer Lord."

Isa rolls her eyes at him, tsking slightly. "Gill, don't exaggerate," she chides, but there's a smile tugging at her lips.

Mevia speaks again, watching Benedict cluck happily. "The reason she's called that is twofold; one, she was able to tame a Cosmos horse in the shortest time known in Cosmos history, which was about three days."

"I think Jesse beat her out, they rode a horse for about half a day and then the horse branded them," Petra says, sounding vaguely amused.

Harper gives Isa a grin. "Competition," she hums, in a faintly sing-songy voice.

The look Isa gives Jesse now is one that is rather more impressed than before. If she'd been impressed at them not being dead, she was now very impressed with them taming a Cosmos horse. Jesse gets the feeling taming Bob is a bigger deal than staying alive. "Did they really..."

"The second reason," Mevia cuts back in, a vaguely amused expression on her face that has the hints of being somewhat exasperated at being interrupted, "is because she's the only demon who's managed to tame a hybrid creature as a familiar."

Jesse looks at Benedict.

Benedict clucks.

"Benedict's a hybrid?"

"Oh, yes." Isa nods and tickles the chicken under the chicken, making Benedict cluck quite happily. "Most other demons have a creature that can take on a more friendly form- like most demons themselves. However," she smiles down at Benedict, "Benedict's special in that their friendly form is one of their magical forms. You see, Benedict is a cockatrice-Eversource hybrid."

Jesse frowns slightly, pondering this. "... aren't cockatrices those... chicken-y animals where a rooster lays an egg and then a toad or snake incubates it and then it can kill someone by looking at them?"

A delighted smile spreads over her face, and she gives Aiden a mischievous grin that takes even more years off of her already youthful face. "I do believe you owe me a pastry now, Aiden."

Aiden groans loudly. "Look, most people don't know what a cockatrice is before you tell them..." he complains, but he doesn't seem too annoyed about having to buy Isa a pastry.

"Yes. Benedict's more real form is... well, imagine a small dragon, but with Benedict's head and red eyes, and you've got Benedict's real form. I'm not certain what Benedict looks like, in all certainty, she melted the camera when we tried to take a picture and we're not really wanting to look at her head-on in that form unless it's from behind her."

Harper crosses her arms. "I had to rebuild it. You're lucky I still had the blueprints and notes," she tells Isa, but there's a smile tugging at her face anyway.

"Thank you very much Harper, I deeply apologize for ruining the camera," Isa tells her in a tone that is slightly less than sincere but still amused, before glancing at Jesse. "The other half of Benedict is that she's an Eversource. Put simply... she lays eggs of other Cosmian creatures that we can then kill or shear to harvest items from and have an endless supply of whatever comes from creatures. Most of them are things we would want to kill anyway, so don't feel too badly," she adds quickly, upon seeing Jesse's dismayed face at the idea of killing animals.

Jesse looks down at Benedict, who clucks happily up at them. "... oh."

Lukas chuckles and goes over to pat them on the head, making the human blink up at him bemusedly. "Yeah, uh, maybe we could get the meeting started and discuss what we came here for? We're not trying to make Jesse's head explode."

"Oh!" Isa straightens up, a faint flush coming over her face as she realizes she's probably been rambling on about the pet.

Not that Jesse minds. Jesse likes animals.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry." The woman clears her throat, quickly gliding across the floor and seating herself in a high-backed chair. Mevia and Harper follow suit, Mevia seating herself to Isa's right and Harper sitting quietly on the left without much fuss. Isa clears her throat again and straightens, face losing a bit of the faint embarrassment from rambling on about Benedict. "What matters have you come to approach us about?"

Gill gives Reginald a look. Reginald rolls his eyes and mouths something about politics back.

"Yes... you've heard about the party to be held in Yurin, right?" Lukas asks, tilting his head at the three of them.

"Oh, the party..." Isa nods, thumbing the corner of her mouth rather thoughtfully. "Yes... I believe the popular rumor is that nobody from Narvid was invited."

"Stella was invited." Harper is frowning now at the other two lords. "And Binta."

"Binta's the baroness in Fred's Keep, to the north of the Underneath," Gill tells Jesse in a stage whisper at their vaguely blank expression.

"Oh."

Mevia gives Harper a vaguely amused look at her comment. "Well, we know that, but then the Warden and Romeo weren't, and they're more... infamous among the denizens of Cosmos, than Stella and Binta. It's easy to overlook Binta sometimes."

"Sexism," Isa mutters under her breath.

A moment later, Mevia frowns thoughtfully and glances at the October Children, Petra, and Jesse. "Ah... could it be that you want help entering the party?"

"It would be appreciated," Aiden says politely, inclining his head slightly at the seated lords.

Petra shrugs. "I did receive an invitation, so I'm fine... but yeah, I think those five need one if we're going to get in and poke around for the key. And we do have about a month."

"Yes... well, of course we can help you enter the party-" Isa is cut off by Harper, who's leaned across the table to tap her on the shoulder. "Harper?"

Harper jerks her head at the October Children. She doesn't say anything at all, and yet Jesse can tell that a look passes between the three that conveys a world of words and knowledge, the kind of knowledge that only exists in the same mind.

That is confirmed when Mevia pulls away and looks at the October Children. "Actually," she begins, in a faintly hesitant voice.

But only faintly.

"We can help you with entering the party. But it would be appreciated if you could do a favor for the three of us...?" The request trails off, and yet Jesse gets the strange feeling that coming from the three lords, the request is tantamount almost to a demand.

At least it's a rather politely phrased demand.

Lukas turns to look at the other October Children. "I have no trouble doing a favor. What about you guys?"

Maya shrugs, playing with the thread on her sleeve. "As long as the favor doesn't involve any murder of fellow half-demons or just demons, I'm good with it."

"I guess it's good practice," Gill agrees, stretching enough that Jesse can hear his spine pop a little bit as he does so.

Aiden sighs and gives Isa a slightly tired smile. "Well, you've done more than enough for us. One small favor won't be the end of the world. What is it?"

"There is a creature that holds immense power to the east of here. It's partway between the End and Sky City," Isa begins, almost mulling her words over after giving them a grateful smile.

"We desire that power," Mevia says simply.

"Bring it to us alive," Harper chimes in without skipping a beat.

"And we'll help you get into the party and beyond that," the three lords chorus in complete unison.

Jesse supposes it's easy to speak in total unison if the three of them are literally all the same person.

Aiden frowns slightly. "Sorry if this is a private matter," he begins, giving Isa a faintly apologetic smile that she waves off quickly, "but I've never known you three to desire power. Maybe Mevia sometimes-"

Mevia gives the other two lords a grin when they look at her.

"But not all three of you. What gives?"

The three lords glance at each other, before Isa looks back at Aiden. Her smile has faded to a look that is almost regally icy. "We believe that the creature has enough power to neutralize the radiation in Sky City."

Gill's eyes widen, jaw eking open. "Wha... that powerful? Are you serious?"

"Deadly," Mevia replies quietly, her own smirk having faded to a serious expression that is almost at odds with the glare or smirk that is perpetually on her face.

Even though everyone is exchanging looks that show they clearly understand, Jesse feels as though they've missed something vital.

So they clear their throat and raise their hand slightly. "Um... radiation?"

Every eye in the room snaps to them. There is a moment of pause.

And then the moment passes.

Harper gestures vaguely around them. "Smoke?"

Jesse blinks, scratching their cheek. "Well, I don't smoke, but I've seen all that smoke and steam and stuff rising from under the platforms, and I assume that's what you're talking about."

"Yes, if you smoked I'd have to slap you," Lukas said, giving them a look that Jesse can only assume is scolding.

Harper covers her mouth. She looks like she might be coughing.

But Jesse can still see her smile when she lowers her hand.

Isa decides to pick up on the topic. "Right. That smoke? It's an effect of... radiation, I guess you could say, that keeps Cosmo's magic and matter together. It's the reason Cosmos is easily habitable for demons. The problem is, the demons who first built Sky City didn't realize that heavy exposure to the radiation could result in... well..."

She ponders this for a moment longer, before shifting out of the throne again.

Lukas, without warning, picks Jesse up. Jesse yelps as he does so, bouncing as he backs up several feet, away from the throne. He doesn't seem to be the only one with that reaction; Aiden has also backed away a few paces while Maya sidles behind Gill. Harper and Mevia also have pressed their backs into their own thrones. Reginald, who has been near the door, is now pressing his back into the wall.

Jesse only has a moment to wonder why before Isa's form shifts into an indistinct glow. Her form begins to change, quickly but steadily. Indistinct blobs of form sharpen and shape themselves, snapping into focus quite quickly, shaping and shaping and carving itself, the glow growing larger and larger-

Two hands slam into the ground, inches from Jesse and Lukas.

Not to mention, they're about the size of Jesse and Lukas combined as well.

Four eyes the size of a television blink open, unevenly and opening and closing until they're all staring right at Jesse. The pupils are all a uniform red, except for the patches around the pupils which are very awkward sizes. One is the size of a donut, and the other almost fills the red.

The shape of Isa's head has changed. The jaw has unhinged to reveal dozens and dozens of rows of sharp, gleaming white teeth, practically needlepoints guarding a sharp, snakelike tongue. The back has cracked into a spiny, monstrous thing, scaly and leathery and gleaming gold in the light, and the hands are only vaguely human (with claws set in them, except for nails), with gnarled, overly large knuckles and joints.

The legs bend wrong, looking more like a cat's than a human's in terms of the way they bend, and yet they are distinctly reptilian and human all at once, with long feet that almost feel like a rabbit's. Six tails twist and turn in the air behind her, barely able to move without brushing against Mevia and Harper, who are simply watching with mild, if not emotionless, expressions.

Jesse can't really think of anything to say to this except:

"Oh."


A/N: Did you think demons in Cosmos just looked like humans with red eyes?

Most of them choose that form because it's more convenient.

But demons are not the same level as humans. They are not the same species.

And they are not the same in their appearance, either.

Also I watched the newest Steven Universe episode and damn, they pulled out all the stops xD

Responses to reviews!

A-Problematic-Writer: Hehe, neither am I. xD / Heheeeee, yeah, that'd be cute. / Ahhh, thank you!

TheAmberShadow: It went xD / Hm... perhaps x3 / Partially because of that, but also because, let's face it, she thought Jesse was an evil thief in the actual episodes xD / :P

ThinMintE06: Cosmian flowers are less plants... and more along the lines of living animals. Imagine a plant with an animal's brain, and you've got Cosmos plants. / You think? / Hehe, so would I, except I have no dog xD

Darkbeast Dend: Thank you!

Toni42: That IS my favorite line. I liked that line. / xD / Indeed, indeed it is xD / (shrugs) / It's nothing too serious, but he should get it checked out soon. / Harper is a lovely xD / Perhaps xD

That's all! See ya, so long, and g'bye!

x.X. A.L. X.x