AnnouncementPatrons originally got this chapter on December 25th, 2024content warning: this chapter gets kind of bsphemous=::= Cass's PoV =::=

  "Excuse me hon," mom said as she squeezed past with a tray of veggie sticks and some dip. Then she teased, "Perhaps you and Cassandra should consider renovating again? Or maybe even moving, to a pce with a bigger kitchen?"

  I pouted, "I like this house, and I like that it's small and cosy."

  "I understand the appeal Cass, but if you want to keep the pce small and cosy then maybe we need to find another venue for these big get-togethers," mum commented from where she was standing next to the fridge.

  Mom nodded, "Somepce with a bigger kitchen would be a good start. And the living-room is getting cramped too, with so many people here."

  "Your mom's got a point," mum agreed. Then she smirked, "It's just one of the burdens of being so popur hon. After all, everyone wants to celebrate Chaos-mas with the demon goddess of chaos herself!"

  Kaylee and her folks came up with that 'Chaos-mas' stuff two years earlier, and since then all my friends and family started using it too. My other self thought it was funny, but I couldn't help feeling embarrassed about it. Even after all this time I still sometimes had trouble accepting that people worshipped my headmate and I. And having everyone make a big deal about it just because today was the twenty-fifth of December made it feel even more awkward, at least to me.

  So I blushed and cringed as I mumbled, "I asked you not to call it that. It's just our generic winter holiday, same as always."

  "Sorry hon," mum apologized. "You're going to have to get used to it eventually though."

  "Your mum's right Cass," mom agreed as she moved closer to her wife.

  Then the two ended up in each other's arms for a prolonged hug while they exchanged some kisses, and I took that opportunity to make my escape from the kitchen with the snacks I was holding. I had a tray of cheese and crackers in one hand, and in my other hand I was awkwardly bancing a big bowl of chips and another bowl of pork rinds.

  "They have a point," my other half commented as we left the small crowded kitchen and entered the rger but even more crowded living-room. "This house was cosy when it was just four or five of us. I think when Nina moved in this past summer we should have bit the bullet and added a second floor."

  I pouted again as I set the pork rinds down on an end table next to where Menie and Cerys were cuddling in one of the big recliners, then I put the bowl of chips on the coffee table near where Nina Willow and Sasha were cuddling. The cheese and crackers went on the coffee table as well, but closer to the other sofa where mom and mum had been sitting earlier.

  Then I responded internally, "That'll draw too much attention, won't it? I mean, it's one thing to make the pce a couple meters longer, people can overlook that. But adding a whole second floor seems like the sort of thing people are going to notice."

  Cassandra shrugged in our headspace, "So? Let them notice, it'll be a fun little mystery for the neighbourhood to ponder. They won't see it happening, I'll use subtle magic for the actual process."

  "I still don't like the idea," I sighed. "I like our little bungalow. Isn't there some other way we can grow the house, without making it too big?"

  My other half didn't get a chance to respond, as our girlfriend suddenly wrapped her arms around us then stretched up and gave us a kiss.

  Her ears were folded back and all five tails slowly swayed back and forth behind her as she asked quietly, "Everything ok Cass? You looked distracted, and you were frowning."

  "Hey Kaylee," I smiled and returned the hug and kiss. "I'm fine. Me and Cassandra were talking, but it's not important."

  She watched me for a second then guessed, "Arguing about home renovations again? I heard your moms teasing you about making the pce bigger."

  I rolled my eyes, "Yeah. I don't know, maybe I should ask the others what they think? Like if everyone else feels like the pce is too small or crowded then I guess we should do it?"

  "Or maybe we should look at moving somewhere bigger?" I added with another little frown. "Like maybe a bigger house would be ok if there was more nd? I don't like the idea of a big house on a tiny lot. Especially in this part of town, I think it's nice with the little homes and all the trees and yards and everything."

  One drawback about living with a bunch of people who had tall fuzzy animal ears is they tended to hear everything you said, even when you're trying to keep your voice down. Even when there's like three other conversations going on, plus a timer beeping in the kitchen.

  So I shouldn't have been surprised when Cerys spoke up, "What was that about moving Cass? Are you thinking about getting another pce?"

  "What? No!" I grimaced. "It's just, my parents were compining about the kitchen being too small, and the living-room being crowded. And I was just saying to Kaylee that maybe we should all talk about that ter? Either more renovations or something here, or possibly looking at a bigger pce somewhere else? But not right now. I don't want to talk about it now, this is supposed to be a fun get-together to celebrate the holiday."

  Sasha smiled, "The demonic goddess of Chaos has spoken. Let's all try and have a happy Chaos-mas!"

  "Right on," Menie agreed. She raised her gss and said, "Happy Chaos-mas everyone!"

  Cerys raised her drink and joined in, "Happy Chaos-mas!"

  That led to everybody drinking a toast to Cassandra and I, which just made me blush even more. Then Willow gave the cute bunnygirl a friendly smack on the arm, since it was pretty obvious Sasha only said that to embarrass me. It was all in good fun though, a little friendly teasing as my whole big extended family celebrated the holiday together.

  We didn't bother with gifts or a tree, but Nina and Kaylee put up some eight-pointed chaos-stars around the house. And the wolfgirls strung up lots of little coloured fairy lights, which looked pretty and gave the pce a festive feel.

  Then my parents finally emerged from the kitchen with the st of the appetizers. Mom was holding a tray full of little sausage rolls while mum had a ptter of cheesy-onion pastry puffs. Those joined the other goodies on the coffee table, so people could all help themselves to whatever snacks or food they wanted. And with all the food taken care of for now my folks took their seats again on the other sofa.

  The drinks were all sorted out as well. Mom and mum had opened a bottle of wine for themselves, and Nina had a gss of that as well. Sasha and Willow were drinking vodka coolers, so was Kaylee. And the wolfgirls had some beer. I was sticking with water for now, but I'd probably try one of the coolers ter.

  "C'mon Cass," Kaylee said as she pulled me towards the other big recliner. "Sit down and rex."

  "Yeah ok," I nodded as I let her guide me to the chair. Except before I'd even got there we all heard someone knocking at our front door.

  Kaylee frowned as her tails twitched, "We're not expecting anyone else, are we?"

  A few people shrugged while others shook their heads. Then both Cassandra and Menie responded at the same time. My other self took control while the wolfgirl sniffed the air.

  And both of them spoke at once, "That's another goddess."

  "Everyone else stay here," my other self added as we moved for the door. "I'll get it."

  Behind us Kaylee asked, "Maybe it's Amethyst? Or Siggy? Except I don't know why they'd be dropping in unannounced."

  "It might be my mother," Sasha added with a grimace. "She told me she was going to spend the holidays back home in Kent, but perhaps she got lonely."

  Cassandra stated calmly, "We'll know in a moment."

  "Be careful hon," mom commented. Both she and mum looked like they were ready for trouble though.

  "We will," my other self told them.

  Then we opened the door and found a complete stranger standing on our front step.

  She appeared to be in her early to mid twenties, like a typical college senior maybe. She stood a little taller than us, at about five-foot-six or a hundred and sixty-eight centimetres. Her messy dark-blonde hair hung down to just above her shoulders, and her eyes were a dark hazel. She was bundled up in a thick maroon winter coat with fuzzy faux-fur around the colr and cuffs, and below that she wore some tight blue jeans and big bck winter boots.

  "Happy Chaos-mas!" she greeted us with a smile before my other self had a chance to say anything. "You must be Cassandra? Sorry for dropping in unannounced. I've been hearing some exciting things about you, and ironically today was the first chance I had to come and meet you."

  Cassandra opened her mouth to respond but the strange goddess spoke up again and asked, "Mind if I come in? I'd like to talk with you about your whole 'overthrowing the status-quo' thing. Maybe I could even join your team?"

  My other self hesitated as we stared at the stranger for another second or two. Then she finally asked, "Perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself first? Maybe tell us who you are, and how you heard about me?"

  The young woman didn't seem the least bit put off by Cassandra's questions. She continued smiling at us as she replied, "Sure! You can call me Jessie, and my pronouns are she and her. I know you can sense the divinity on me, but I'm not exactly a typical goddess. I don't like to make a big deal out of that though."

  "As for how I know about you," she continued, "You haven't exactly been keeping a low profile, you know? I first heard about you after that live interview you did with the two catgirls and the foxgirl a year and a half ago. Sorry I missed it, but my roomie caught it and she wouldn't stop talking about it for like a month afterwards. By the way she loved the plushie you sent her, it was an adorable little bck squirrel with an enormous fluffy tail. Very cute, but some of our profs weren't so happy when she sprouted that same huge tail."

  I slipped out front to ask, "Profs? Roommate? You go to college?"

  Jessie nodded, "Sure! I'm studying sociology, although my dad wanted me to go into the trades. Anyways like I was saying, I first heard of you through my roommate? I've been following those podcasters since then, and I even subscribed to their Praise the Chaos channel as soon as it unched."

  "That's um," I frowned as I tried to think of how to respond. I really wasn't sure what to say though, since I'd never really considered some other goddess might show up on our doorstep like an excited fan.

  "I know you're busy with friends and family," Jessie said as she gave us an apologetic look. "Like I said, this was my first opportunity to come and see you."

  Cassandra took over again at that point and responded, "Very well, you can come in. I hope you aren't expecting a private conversation though."

  The woman grinned, "Great!"

  After she was inside we finally closed the door, then Jessie took off her coat and stepped out of her boots. That left her in a loose taupe scoop-neck top and jeans, but without the boots she was barefoot. She followed us into the living-room where we started to do the introductions, except once again she spoke up before Cassandra even had a chance to begin.

  "Iulia?" our guest gasped in surprise as she stared at our mom. "Is that you? Wow, you look fantastic!"

  Mom stared back with a confused look on her face, like she wasn't sure who our guest was or how she knew her. Mum looked wary too, while everyone else just watched and listened.

  Our guest seemed to cringe slightly under all the scrutiny, although maybe it was just the two powerful fallen angels who were making her uncomfortable. She added quickly, "I'm sorry about my dad, ok? I'm gd you got out. Is that Tatiana with you? You two make a lovely couple."

  Just like that my mom went from looking confused to looking surprised. She started to ask, "Jes-"

  "It's Jessie now," the strange young woman interrupted. "I'm going by 'Jessica Kristensen' this time around, or Jessie for short. And my pronouns are she and her."

  By that point everyone else looked just as shocked as my parents. Then Cassandra cleared her throat and stated, "Let's continue with the introductions then, shall we? It seems you already know my parents, but they're Julie and Tanya now."

  My other self went on to introduce our girlfriend, then Nina Sasha and Willow, and Cerys and Menie. We also we got another chair so Jessie had somewhere to sit. Kaylee offered our guest a drink, and Jessie opted for a beer. Then we finally got to sit down, and as soon as we did so our girlfriend got comfortable in her usual spot cuddling on our p.

  "So how long have you been back?" mom asked Jessie.

  Mum added, "And what brings you here?"

  Our guest sighed, "It's been almost two and a half decades now? Dad sent me back for the millennium. You know, why-two-kay and all that crap? He was hoping for a repeat of the first time around, but the world's a very different pce nowadays. Same with me, I've grown and changed a lot too."

  "Dad's changed as well, but not for the better," she added with a frown. "Back then he had the whole underdog thing going on, plus he was a lot nicer. He used to be all about love and peace and turning the other cheek. Now him and his followers only care about power, and their go-to tools are greed and intolerance."

  Mom nodded slowly, "I've noticed."

  "I remember you talking about walking the feminine path when you came back Jessie," she added. "I'm surprised your father went along with that."

  Jessie scowled, "He didn't. He gave me the same kind of crap he gave you. So I forsook him and transitioned as soon as I could."

  "Unfortunately I can't escape him as easily as you did," she sighed. "So I kind of have to keep a low profile."

  My parents and Cassandra and I all exchanged a worried look, then my other half spoke up. She asked in a wary tone, "Are you putting our friends and family in danger by coming here?"

  "I wouldn't be here if that was the case. I promise!" Jessie replied. "That's why I had to come today. Remember I said this was my first chance to meet you? It's because today is the one day of the year my father's too busy to pay any attention to me. Him and all his flock are all celebrating my make-believe birthday."

  Mum still looked uneasy as she spoke up, "You never answered my earlier question. Why are you here, Jessie? Why risk your father's wrath, why risk putting us in danger too? What was so important that you had to come here and interrupt our family gathering?"

  Jessie shrugged, "Like I told Cassandra when she answered the door, I want to join Team Chaos. I want to help her fight the status quo."

  "And I want to stick it to my old man," she admitted after a slight pause.

  That left everyone quiet again, as it seemed like no-one was sure what to say or how to respond. That sted almost a whole minute until someone finally broke the silence. And this time it was Menie who spoke up.

  "Just so I'm clear on this," the ravenette wolfgirl asked, "Y'all are talking about uh, crud. I don't want to deadname anyone here, but this is her? The person half the pnet is celebrating today? With the churches and the wise men and the nativity scenes and all that? She's here, in our living-room, drinking beer and talking about overthrowing god with a capital G? Have I got that right?"

  Jessie smiled, "Why is that so surprising, Menie? You live in a house of gods and demons, werewolfs and sorcery, where you routinely break bread with fallen angels and witches. Why does another young upstart goddess make any difference?"

  "You'd be the first 'young upstart goddess' we've had in here who's name is known by literally half the entire human popution," Cerys pointed out.

  Our guest pouted, "You mean they all know my deadname. Trust me, that's not the boon you might think."

  "Sorry," the blonde wolfgirl apologized. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant... Well you know what I mean."

  Then Willow changed the subject, "So how do you figure you'll be able to help out with Team Chaos stuff, if you have to hide from your dad all the time?"

  "It's not like I'm living in a cave somewhere," Jessie expined. "I just have to avoid other gods and their angels. So I figured today I could come and introduce myself, then going forward we can stay in touch through other means. Texts and emails work great, my dad's a total luddite when it comes to tech stuff."

  She continued, "Or I could work through intermediaries? Your team's pretty diverse, and there's no problem with me meeting up with demons or witches or werewolfs. The only ones I have to avoid are the other divinities."

  "Why though?" I asked as I slipped out front again. "Why's it ok for you to meet with demons, but talking to another goddess would bring trouble?"

  Jessie rolled her eyes and scowled, "Because my dad's such a jealous bitch? You know, that whole 'no other gods before me' nonsense?"

  My mom nodded, "She's got a point. That's why that Florence business was such a big deal, that he was even considering a partnership with Tanya's boss."

  Our guest made a face, "My uncle's just as bad as my dad. I swear that whole side of the family's completely dysfunctional."

  "I'm confused again," Menie commented at that point. "I didn't know he had a brother."

  Tanya smiled, "Don't worry about it hon. Human family retionships don't really map well onto gods. It's just a convenient shorthand for a very complicated mess."

  "True enough," Jessie agreed. Then after a gulp of beer she added, "Anyways enough about me and my family drama. I'm here to join Team Chaos, if you'll have me?"

  At that point everyone turned to look at me, and I did my best not to cringe under all the attention. Luckily my other self took over again.

  She smoothly slipped out front and smiled, "Alright Jessie. In that case, welcome aboard. We'll talk more ter, and make sure to exchange contact information too of course. But for now, let's all focus on the real reason we're here."

  "Right on," our guest smiled. Then Jessie raised her bottle and added, "Happy Chaos-mas everybody!"

  Sure enough all our friends and family followed the gesture, and I cringed in our headspace as they all drank another toast to Cassandra and I.

  PurpleCatGirl