Xmas dinner sort of ended on a very awkward conversation, but at least everyone had enough to eat and they seemed to enjoy my cooking. We still had dessert waiting, but mom suggested we take a break for an hour or so before we tried to tackle more food.
Nobody complained about that. I think we were all actually kind of eager to take a break from the awkwardness and everything.
I started to clear the table and my girlfriends helped. Then I got to work tidying up the kitchen and putting leftovers away and everything, and mom joined me and gave me a hand.
My girlfriends left so it was just mom and me in the kitchen, and I wondered if there'd been some sort of communication that I missed. Like maybe mom wanted some time alone with me or whatever.
We weren't entirely alone, we had the dog and both cats in here as well. All three of them wanted attention and maybe some of the leftovers. Farah kept getting in the way, and Pumpkin and Spice took turns jumping up on the counter to try getting at the turkey.
They were both tabby cats, Pumpkin was orange and Spice was sort of orangey-brown. They were both rescues like Farah, and we figured they were brothers.
After shooing them off the counter for the eleventeenth time, me and mom put some meat into dishes and set them out for the animals. So they got to have a bit of xmas dinner as well, and after that they all wandered away and left us alone.
At first neither mom or me really said anything, we were just sort of quietly focusing on the tasks in front of us. I was self-conscious again, even though we weren't talking about stuff I was positive mom was thinking things and probably staring at me and stuff.
While we were doing the dishes, Carol came up to the kitchen door and let us know, "Me and the girls are going to take Farah out for a walk. She's acting a little hyper so we'll get her to burn off some energy outside."
"Ok," mom replied. "Thanks Carol."
I hoped my girlfriends and Carol would find some safer topics to discuss, since the whole supernatural sex magic thing kind of got weird at the dinner table.
A few minutes later we heard the front door close, and I started feeling more anxious again. I didn't say anything though, I just focused on scrubbing the roasting pan.
Mom was quiet again too, and once the pan was done and dried off there wasn't much left to do but put the dishes away.
At that point mom finally spoke up, "Mara let's take a break. Let's have a seat so we can talk."
She poured herself a glass of wine and got me a cooler then the two of us sat across from each other at the kitchen table. It felt like I was in trouble and mom was getting ready to give me a big lecture, except this would be the first time she gave me a vodka drink before a lecture. And she didn't look angry, but she did look serious.
She had a sip of her wine then said, "Back in the summer when you explained that you and Lily were sharing your body, you told me Lily could take over. That sometimes it would be her there instead of you. Is that still the case? Does she sometimes take over?"
I picked up my drink and had a gulp, then nodded "Yeah. She doesn't actually do it too often. But like we were saying earlier, the whole thing where we defeated Verothilas, that was Lily doing it. I was just watching."
"Has Lily ever taken over while you were here?" mom asked. "Have I ever met her, without knowing it was her?"
I shook my head, "No. Like I said, she doesn't do it that often."
Mom had another sip of wine then asked, "Could she do it now? So I can speak with her?"
My eyes widened and I had another gulp of my cooler. "You want to meet Lily? Now?"
"Yes Mara," mom replied. "You and Lily have been together for half a year now, I think this meeting is long overdue."
"Ok," I gulped again. "Do you want to meet her in private? Like, normally I'm present and listening, but if you want privacy I can have a nap so you talk with her alone."
Mom didn't seem to know how to respond to that. She frowned and had another sip of her wine, then finally said "I don't think this needs to be a private conversation."
"Ok." I had one more gulp of my cooler then asked, "Lily? Are you around? Can you come out and meet my mom?"
A moment later I was in the 'back seat' as Lily took over. I felt our posture change and she put our drink down on the table.
"Hello Emma. Or would you rather I addressed you as Ms. Carter?"
Mom just sort of stared at us then had a gulp of her wine. I figured even if the differences were subtle, my mom could probably tell this wasn't just me acting or pretending or whatever. She'd know this really was someone else in control now.
After a moment she replied, "Emma is fine. And I gather you prefer to be addressed as Lily, rather than Lilith?"
I felt Lily smile. She nodded slightly "Yes please. What can I do for you, Emma?"
Mom frowned, "I want to know what your relationship is with my daughter. What do you plan to do with her? Is she going to continue changing? At some point will she end up being completely demonic?"
Before Lily could respond mom pointed out, "It's only been half a year, just over six months. First you made her into a girl. Now she's half demon. Same for her best friend, you turned her into a..."
I think mom was going to say 'bimbo' but she stopped herself and just said, "You made her look like that, and now she's half-succubus. And Susan as well. I'm sure you can understand why I'm concerned."
We were quiet for a few moments while Lily considered the questions.
Finally she replied, "Before I answer, let me first explain something about myself. I am a supernatural creature and I am very long-lived, but I am not immortal. While I do have magical powers and supernatural abilities, they are not without their limits. I am just a living being who wishes to survive, who wants to go on existing. I'm not all-powerful, nor am I all-seeing or all-knowing. In a word, I am fallible. Much like you humans."
Lily paused a moment, but mom didn't interrupt or question so she continued. "I did not plan for Mara to become part demon. I did not plan for Melissa or Susan to become more succubus. I had no idea that imprisoning Verothilas would unleash so much demonic energy, nor did I know what that energy would do to your child and her friends. And I do not plan or intend to make Mara or her partners any more demonic than they are now. But I cannot guarantee that won't happen, because I cannot see or control the future. I can only tell you that I do not intend for it to happen."
Mom frowned, "How could you not know what would happen when you imprisoned Vera? That's what happened to you isn't it? You should have known that was coming."
Lily sighed, "Being imprisoned in an inanimate object is like non-existence. There is no awareness, no thought, no passage of time. The energy release didn't occur until the moment Verothilas was sealed within the brooch. She would have no awareness of anything that happened beyond that moment. And a thousand years ago when I was similarly imprisoned, I had no awareness of anything beyond the instant I was confined."
Her voice sounded sad and a little apologetic as she added, "From my perspective, it was the year one thousand and seven, I was in the Duchy of Naples, and I was betrayed, surrounded, captured and entrapped. The next moment I found myself conscious but incorporeal. I was still bound to my prison, but temporarily awakened by the death of your daughter. I learned as much as I could from the people around me, and only then discovered how long I'd been sealed away, how many years I'd lost, and where I was."
Mom was quiet for a bit after that, she looked like she didn't know what to say. She had some more wine, then finally asked "What are your plans? You said you don't intend to make Mara more demonic, what do you plan for her?"
"I wish to be free," Lily replied. "I spent a millennium imprisoned within that amulet. Now I am imprisoned within Mara's body. As I explained to Mara back in June, I wish to live again and to be free. To do that I require time, and energy. I gain that on my own, and both Melissa and Susan help as well. Thanks to the three of them, I am slowly gaining strength and with luck I will eventually be free. And in return, I keep all of them safe and healthy, and I've provided for them and granted them what they desired."
It took mom a few more seconds to digest that. Finally she asked, "And what's your relationship with Mara? You didn't answer that question before."
I felt Lily smile again as she replied, "This may be a little awkward for both Mara and yourself, for different reasons. Mara would like to have a relationship with me not unlike she has with Melissa and Susan. However that is not how I see her, and until now I've never admitted this to her. I view my relationship with Mara like that of a parent, or perhaps of a protective older sibling. I love and admire her, I care for her, and I want her to be safe and happy and successful."
That revelation left me sort of reeling, and I had no idea what to think. My mom looked a little shocked and conflicted too. Like on the one hand maybe she was glad to know Lily felt that way and was looking out for me and stuff? But on the other hand she probably wasn't sure if she wanted to be like, co-mom with an ancient powerful demon.
Then another thought struck, and it was a good thing I was in the back seat otherwise I would have burst out giggling. Because I just realized that with a human mom and a demon mom, it was no wonder I turned out half demon.
Mom finally sighed, "Ok Lily, I think that's all the questions I have for now. I'll probably come up with more later. Thank you for meeting with me."
Lily bowed her head slightly, "You're welcome. And it was nice to finally meet you Emma."
Before she left she added, "Mara has been listening to our conversation, she knows what we've discussed. She may have comments or questions of her own. I'm going to take my leave, so she will be back in a moment."
Mom nodded, then she just watched quietly. Lily slipped back inside to her apartment, and I found myself back out in the body again.
I had a bunch of mixed emotions now, and no idea what to say or how to react. I sighed then picked up my drink and had a couple gulps of that to buy some more time.
Then I looked at mom and asked, "Are you ok mom? It's me, Mara here again. How are you doing, after all that?"
"I'm ok Mara. Thank you for asking," she replied.
She finished her wine, then added "It's going to take me a while to get used to all of this. I'll need some time to process everything."
I just sighed, but I didn't know what else to say.
Mom got to her feet and suggested, "Let's start getting dessert ready, ok? The others will probably be back any minute."
"Ok mom," I said as I got up to help her.
We got out more plates and dessert forks, then as mom got the pie out of the fridge she commented "And Mara? I don't want to hear any jokes about being half-demon because you've got a human mom and a demon mom."
I froze and stared at her as I protested, "I didn't say a word!"
She gave me a mock-stern look as she replied, "Not yet. But I know you, and I know how you think hon. Now here, you take this out to the dining room while I put on the coffee machine."