VD - Learning

You already knew that Tari works some part-time jobs, you just didn’t know how many. She does it because she’s bored and likes to keep busy. She acts disappointed, but she doesn’t mind hanging out with you. She takes you to a quiet reading room and unceremoniously kicks out the demon getting pegged by his girlfriend in there. They gather up their clothes and leave. Tari does some magic that makes the room smell good, conjures herself a glass of wine, and makes her clothes vanish only to conjure a robe. Looks like she doesn’t bother to cosplay around you. Now comfortable and with a drink in hand, she sits in an armchair. You sit across from her, ready to learn.

The short version is that there is a multiverse, and this is just one more world in it that happens to be close in proximity to the human world, thus the long relationship between demons and humans. But while demon culture looks superficially similar to human culture, it’s different in fundamental ways. In Demon World, everything is about status. In the human world, everything is about survival or money. So the motives of the populations of each are radically different.

“I still don’t get the money. Or energy,” you say.

“You don’t get it because you aren’t one of us. How can you understand a muscle that you don’t have? We need energy. We have that need. You don’t have it,” Tari explains patiently. “Just trust us.”

You’ve seen enough to know that they like your energy.

“Why doesn’t everyone bring someone like me here?” you ask. “If it’s that easy to get rich?”

“It’s not easy. Most humans are stupid enough to fuck a demon, but not very many are stupid enough to marry one. You’re special, sweetheart,” Tari says, giving you a look.

“Um, thanks. I think.”

“And you’re also special in terms of energy. You might be… literally, not figuratively, the horniest human ever. Most humans are a little candle of energy, but you’re like a forest fire. Demi got lucky. You’re perfect,” Tari says.

“Aww,” you say, blushing. “That’s sweet.”

“All dick, no brains.”

“Oh.” Maybe she’s not complimenting you. “Hmm,” you say.

“And it’s risky,” Tari adds. “If you try to score a human like Demi did and fuck it up, you’ll never hear the end of it. It’s a huge shame here, and shame is permanent. It takes balls to do what Demi did. That’s why she didn’t tell me what she was up to. She’d have known that I’d have stopped her.”

“You should have faith in her,” you say, offended. “Demi’s great. She’s super smart.”

Tari gazes at you for a moment, then sighs and looks away, taking a drink of wine.

“Sure, kid,” she says. “What else do you want to know?”