Kat stepped into the car, carrying both Sylvie and Lily in her arms. It was early Saturday morning and only Kat and Callisto could truly be called awake. Lily had showered, dressed perfectly for the day then transformed into her Memphis form and passed out. She was still asleep, and didn’t have any plans to wake up before arriving at the science fair. Sylvie on the other hand, was adamant she’d wake up early with everyone else… and it didn’t take long for her to fall back to sleep despite her promises.

Kat buckled herself into the middle seat in the back, then awkward strapped in Sylvie the best she could on her right side before letting Sylvie’s head rest in her lap and continue sleeping. Sylvie hadn’t woken, despite the movement, and she was currently drooling just a tiny bit. Kat thought it was cute, and wiped the spit away before turning to Lily and getting her situated.

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Lily was placed on Kat’s tail, and held against her leg. Lily seemed to snuggle deeper into Kat’s side but didn’t otherwise wake. Callisto had loaded up all the props for the science fair into the back of the car, and Vivian was planning to make the trip in later. That had been a bit of an argument, but it was pointed out that technically the fair didn’t open until nine, and Vivian had been up late working.

Granted, Callisto had been up late working as well, but for the maid that was simply a typical night. As the car pulled out, Kat let out a sigh, "Sylvie seemed so certain she was going to stay awake this early,"

"I was tempted to place some minor sleeping aids in the glass of water I handed to her just before we set off to ensure she got some more rest, but it was clearly unneeded. While I do understand Sylvie’s desire to have more time in the day, and appreciate the time my condition has given me, Sylvie should know better. I am sure I spoke to her many a time about the dangers of slip deprivation,"

It was a bit past 3am in the morning. They needed to head out to the city and set-up before nine, and because Kat needed to put on wings before anyone noticed they were not in fact, fake wings she was wearing, they’d decided to head out and catch the early opening time of 6am for setup. They likely wouldn’t make it in time for that, but the convention centre was outside of town, just off the highway they were about to be traveling on, so perhaps it was just close enough.

Still, Kat wasn’t too worried. If they just found a spot that was dark enough and abused Kat and Lily’s ability to see in the dark they could have the whole contraption setup before anyone had a chance to notice something weird was going on. "It probably doesn’t help that I barely need sleep either… but I still sleep at night so I can sleep with Lily and well… Lily obviously gets enough sleep," said Kat.

"Indeed. I had hoped with sufficient examples of taking sleep when needed and why it is useful and necessary to live a productive and healthy life Sylvie would take the hints. Alas, it appears that Sylvie is more interested in finding ways to avoid sleeping then properly recharging herself," said Callisto.

"Well, that’s because she’s found a great role model in you!" said Kat with a smile. "I was always worried Sylvie looked up to me a bit too much. I mean, I love her, and I’m glad I mean that much to her, but I’m really not someone I wanted her to emulate. I used to pick fights with bullies and lose so that Lily wouldn’t be bullied. I spent all of my time making sure that other kids were happy with their place at the orphanage, and I didn’t get much time for myself.

"Which sure, was fine for ME because I enjoy that kind of thing, but Sylvie is so smart… I can already imagine her trying not to get frustrated as she deals with idiot after idiot. It could only end in disaster,"

Callisto frowned, "While I appreciate the flatter through imitation, I disagree with your desire to have Sylvie follow after me instead. I have a horrendously small social life consisting mostly of you, your girlfriend, your sister, Vivian, and perhaps your girlfriend’s parents. I do not sleep due to a medical condition and Sylvie really should not be trying to copy that but she already is. I design things and sell patents, occasionally doing writing on the side and cleaning but that does not require me to leave the house ever. Finally, I have an atrocious relationship with my parents, and sadly, my grandparents are deceased so I cannot look to them for support. It would be best if Sylvie found a more appropriate role model," explained Callisto.

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"You phrased a lot of that in the worst way possible though," pointed out Kat. "Sure a lot of your friends are connected to me, but you’ve been way closer to Sylvie then I have recently mostly because I’ve just not been around, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s latched onto you, in a good way. Additionally, Lily’s parents are adults like you are, sure they might be a good deal older, but that’s fine. If they are really your friends then you have nearly as many as I do.

"I’ve only got Lily, who might not count? She’s my girlfriend so I’m not sure where you want to place her… but after Lily I have, Gramps, Minor and maybe Major, Nixilei and perhaps Green, and even more thinly, perhaps Gareth. Then there’s Sue and Kamiko of course, but that’s about it. Well, Bing and Lian were alright, but more Sue’s new friends then mine." said Kat.

"Yes but you recently made all of those friends didn’t you?" said Callisto, leaving it clear the question didn’t need to be answered. "Sure school was not a great place for you to make friends, but once you left you managed to find people you trust. I did not manage to find people I trust at school, or after it, unless you count Vivian,"𝑓𝚛𝚎𝗲𝙬ℯ𝘣𝚗𝘰ν𝐞l. co𝗺

"True, but I don’t think Sylvie would want the same type of friends that I have. No offence to any of them, but I take a fairly motherly role in a lot of them. Sue looks to me as a bit of a guidepost now that she’s trying to get away from just sex, Kamiko is a lonely mess, Minor is about the same and Major has so many issues that she doesn’t want to address I haven’t even been given permission to start. Then there’s Lily, I love her, and that hasn’t changed… but I’m not entirely sure we could ever class our relationship as entirely ’healthy’." Said Kat.

"I cannot see much wrong with your relationship with Lily…" said Callisto. *Yeah probably because you’re relationship with Vivian isn’t that different. If you kissed once or twice a week it’d be pretty much the same just without the magic. Hmm… I wonder if you’re both asexual? That could be the answer… but probably not… I feel like Callisto or Vivian would’ve mentioned it if they were, if only so they could prove they can relate to me.* "… though I can see why Sylvie might want a different kind of friendship then you share with a number of people.

"I cannot speak for Sylvie about what she would want though. Perhaps she would enjoy putting her mind towards solving the problems of others. Having a friend group that regularly needs assistance in fixing things might be enjoyable for her. Take me for example, while I spend most of my time cleaning, I spend plenty of time repairing and maintaining things around the house as well,"

"That proves my point though. If fixing things is really what Sylvie wants to do with her life then looking to your example is a good place to start," said Kat, still trying to argue that Callisto was the better role model.

Something Callisto didn’t really agree with, "Perhaps it makes me an acceptable role model, but it does not make me an optimal one. I still maintain that you possess a number of qualities that make you the far superior option, and I suspect that your time at the orphanage means you are also quite used to cleaning and making repairs. This would imply that you not only possess many of the same skills that I do, but you also have additional ones that Sylvie could benefit from,"

"Maybe, but you take things to the extreme, especially intellectually, that I just can’t keep up with. Sure I can overclock my brain now, and think faster… but what’s that one joke? I can now think twice as fast, so you’re better at math then, no, I’m now able to get the questions wrong at twice the speed," explained Kat, the bickering continuing.

Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.

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