Yes, but it takes a few minutes.

"...I can't say I ever imagined a demon holding me ransom," Taylor sighed, after it all sank in, "I don't suppose you know what she wants with you?"

"Not a clue," You answer, "She told me I 'had potential' because of our little scheme, and that I was the only one she'd found who did, but... I don't have a clue as to what she meant by that."

You flail ineffectively at that little flutter in your chest from Ms. Devlin's compliment. It was nice to be appreciated, but she was very literally an evil demoness who was threatening your friends.

Still, seeing Taylor's somber look... It was enough to help you start getting it together again. You could be in pieces if she was holding it together, and she could be in pieces if you were holding it together - but you couldn't both be in pieces at once. Not ever, but especially not when the two of you were in your first real crisis. And while Taylor didn't look like she was approaching that point, just the way her mood had flipped was significant enough that you didn't want to make this worse for her... Even if you knew you'd need a bit of proper self-care when this week was done.

"...Hm," Taylor says thoughtfully, studying the table closely, "I'm going to need some context here."

"After I had a minor breakdown babbling all sorts of excuses when she confronted me..." You begin, "She praised me for acting like a 'succubus's student'. She told me that I'd used sex to get what I want, that I was delightfully deceitful, and praised me for planning to **** her. She explained how I should have played to my strengths by writing the donors instead, but how I'd shown a good attitude in my approach. She then complained about how everyone else had tried to get her fired in stupid ways, and called a bunch of spoiled kids the s-word for relying on their parents."

"S-word? Come on, you're in college now," Taylor frowned, "You can swear."

"But I don't," You reply, smiling at your years-old argument.

"Come on, it's a direct quote," She rejoinders, rolling her eyes, "Shits. She called them shits. Come on, you can do it!"

"...Think she wants me to be a succubus-in-training or something?" You sidestep back to the main point, "Ms. Devlin was a human before, so it can be done."

"That sounds weak," Taylor disagreed, shaking her head, "Wouldn't she just be making more competition for herself? She's pretty new, too. If there was a good reason for her to do so, I think we'd be in the middle of a succubae plague right now. And if Ms. Devlin is enough to take the school on her own... No, this just sounds like the wrong track to me."

You nod your head, agreeing.

"Cultist, then?" You venture, "A bunch of other demons had cults of their own, or just benefited from a broader pool. Maybe she wants one of her own?"

"...That seems iffy too," Taylor disagreed, frowning, "It's not like most of those cults were very bright, right? They were mostly into blind devotion, and from what you said, she's getting a lot of that right now. Maybe she's looking for a high priestess to guide them or something, but..."

"...Yeah, that sounds weak," You agree, sighing.

"Why a student, though?" Taylor suddenly asks, "If it were skills she was after, she should be going after, like, a journalist or a private detective or something, right? And if she just wanted sin, well, she could find an ex-con. But if she's sticking to the school, there has to be a reason for it."

Suddenly, Taylor's eyes go wide as a plausible idea hits her.

"She's looking for a new TA!" She declares.

For your part, you feel your eyes dim a bit as you struggle to believe that the events of today could have been guided by something quite so venial.

But you can't deny Taylor's logic.

"Frick," You reply, burying your face in your hands, "I'll just ask her tomorrow."