Chapter Text
Next time Dan gets summoned, the demon is just chilling on the couch watching a movie. Now that he knows Arin's aura, Dan's able to recognize him as the summoner before answering the pull. He wonders if something is wrong, maybe the ward against the pixies failed? They can be known to be nefarious little buggers. Dan pauses his movie before consenting to being summoned.
Dan looks around the room. He's not sure which part of Arin's house this is, he's never seen this room. He spots Arin across the room standing over a large cast iron cauldron, slowly stirring it's contents. "Hey, Arin. Is everything ok?"
Arin looks up. "Dan! Look, I actually performed an intentional summoning this time" Arin grins at him proudly.
"That's great Arin! I'm proud of you, buddy." He looks back at the- now intentionally created- summoning circle. It looks like Arin is a fast learner. "Although I wouldn't go around summoning other random demons, some of us aren't all that friendly. Is something up?"
"Oh, yeah. I need to keep stirring this counter clockwise for the next five minutes and then immediately add in a bit of Anise, but I just realized I ran out. Would you pleeease go get me some?"
Dan raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "You summoned me to go grocery shopping for you?"
"Please? I can't stop stirring this, or it'll mess it up."
The demon sighs. "Fine, but you better not expect me to become your demon errand boy."
Arin smiles. "Awesome, thank you!" Here, take some money."
Arin makes to grab his wallet off the table, but Dan waves him off. He disappears, teleporting himself to the alley alongside a little apothecary he visits whenever he needs ingredients for his own projects. Dan makes sure that all of his demon attributes are concealed before applying a heavy glamour to prevent other beings from sensing his true species. Dan doesn't have many enemies, but any magical creatures within the area would be capable of sensing his aura and recognizing him as a demon. Better to be safe than sorry. Once that's done, Dan casually strolls out of the alley and enters the shop.
He drops the Anise off to Arin, and only after he's back home, does Dan realize that he can't think of a single potion that requires the herb at that stage of the brewing and wouldn't survive if one were to stop stirring.
After that, Arin starts summoning Dan at least once a week, always claiming to have some problem that requires the demon's assistance. (Even though Dan's pretty sure 99% of them Arin could solve no problem on his own.) He's grateful that Arin's started using a watered down version of the summoning spell, one that can be refused without ill effects.
Dan appears in Arin's home for the third time in two weeks and puts his hands on his hips. "Alright, what is it now?"
Arin smiles sheepishly. "I don't have an excuse."
"So you admit that you've been summoning me with a hundred and one half-baked 'problems'?"
Arin rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Maybe?"
Dan snorts. "You know if you wanted to hang out, you could have just said."
Arin shrugs. "I figured you probably have better, demony things to do?"
Dan rolls his eyes. "Here, let me see your phone."
Arin hands it over. "Do they have cell service in hell?"
"Ok. One: I don't live in hell, you racist. Not every demon lives there."
Arin laughs.
"Two: Yes we have cell service. And Wifi. Our current king is pretty chill."
He blinks. "Alright, ignoring the fact that you guys apparently live in a monarchy- which I did not know."
Dan texts himself from Arin's phone, and then hands it back. "Here. Text me like a normal person sometime, and we can have a movie night and get takeout or something." Suddenly Dan's phone rings and he pulls it out of his pocket. Dan reads the text and sighs heavily. "Apparently there's a pissed off centaur tearing up our apartment, so I have to go kill my roommate now." He smiles at Arin apologetically and then teleports out.