I know that Master said that giving me these things would give me something else to do than stare out this window, but the light coming in from it was the perfect lighting to draw in.

So, yet again, I was sitting on the window sill, catching up on some long-awaited sketches.

A soft sigh escaped my lips as I sketched out the wing of a hummingbird.

I found myself actually missing Nico.

Well, not him exactly, but just his presence.

I never really noticed how exposed I felt when he wasn't around.

Or in other words, how safe I felt when he was.

Maybe safe wasn't the right word to describe it.

Comfortable perhaps?

Well, whatever it was, I missed it. Part of me even questioned how I could feel like that with a vampire around.

I perked up at the sound of the lock followed by the door opening.

That feeling was soon replaced with confusion as Doe walked into the room too, her head hanging low.

Why was she here?

Nico first looked at the bed, then looked to the window sill once he realized that I wasn't there. His eyes glanced at the sketchbook for a moment and then back at me

He didn't look like he was in a very pleasant mood.

"How was breakfast?" I asked quietly, wondering what went on with Xander.

He just looked at me for a moment, like he was debating what to say.

"Fine." is all he said, making his way towards me.

Doe rose a brow at him from behind him, questioning his answer.

I was questioning it myself, judging by the look on his face and the tension in his shoulders, 'fine' was not the honest answer.

Yet I doubted that I would get more of an answer.

I watched questingly as he brought Doe over to the couch.

Why does he have Xander's pet?

A knot formed in my stomach at the first thought that came into my mind.

What if he sent her as a spy to see if I told Nico what happened.

Nico apparently noticed the look on my face.

"She's here because Xander claimed that she's been having stomach problems," he said, looking down at her as she sat herself down onto the couch

He just tossed her leash beside her on the couch and turned towards the bathroom.

"My guess is that its just a common stomach ache, so ill keep you here for a couple hours so Xander will get some work done. If it gets worse then just tell me and ill do some further inspection." He finished, disappearing into the bathroom.

I noticed Doe visually relax with a quiet sigh.

I couldn't blame her.

Having a small break away from Xander must feel like a miracle her.

Especially on the day that he could start drinking from her again

Yet she still had this odd look on her face.

Despite everything, she looked uncomfortable.

Maybe Nico intimidated her as well?

That didn't make very much sense to me. As far as I've seen, he hasn't done anything to make her feel that way.

I instinctively looked away as she turned her head to meet my gaze, focusing my attention back on the bird I was drawing.

I don't know why, but interacting with another pet seemed wrong to me.

No other Masters that I've seen had let their pets interact.

I'm sure that Nico probably wouldn't mind one way or the other, but it still just felt weird.

Maybe its because I haven't interacted with another human in 5 years. Even back then I wasn't very social.

"Khloe?" she finally spoke.

I was actually surprised to actually hear her voice for the first time.

It was soft, whether naturally or not I wasn't quite sure.

I lifted my gaze to meet hers.

She looked nervous, her eyes full of remorse.

"I'm sorry," she said.

My eyes widened at her words.

Only then did I understand the look she had on her face.

It was guilt.

My head tilted a bit at this whole thing.

"What?" I responded.

Why on earth is she apologizing?

Her eyes went down to her leash, her guilt more evident than ever.

"I-if I had known what Xander was going to do to you, I never would have-"

She cut herself off as soon as Nico entered back into the room, his eyes wide in some sort of realization.

"You've been faking it?" He asked, his voice showing a bit of anger.

Fear immediately crossed over her features at the tone of his voice.

"I-I um-"

He cut her off this time, becoming a blur before he was holding her against the wall by her torn-up shirt, her leash dangling inches from the ground.

I flinched back as this whole thing unraveled in front of me.

Does breaths began to speed up as she grabbed at his wrists.

"I-I didn't know t-that Xander was going to-"

"Just answer the question," Nico commanded through clenched teeth, pushing her harder against the wall.

She hesitated for a moment, apparently searching for the right words.

"N-Not at first!" She admitted, "I felt fine the day after w-we visited you, but I kept a-acting like I didn't so he w-wouldn't drink from me!"

My lips parted in surprise.

How did she lie to her Master, let alone mine?

She didn't seem like the kind of person to try and trick her Master, but given her circumstances and living conditions, she probably takes every opportunity she can get to get away from him.

I couldn't even be mad at what she did.

But Nico sure could.

I heard a growl rumble low in his throat.

"So because you didn't want to do what your Master wanted, you ended up getting my pet hurt. Is that what you're telling me?"

I grew nervous as I began to wonder if he was going to hurt her for this.

I didn't want him too, but I couldn't stop him if he did.

Her entire body trembled as she tried in vain to turn herself away from him.

"I didn't want this to happen I-I just didn't want to be fed from!"

She turned her head away squeezing her eyes shut, like she was expecting to be hit.

Apparently, Nico wasn't having any of that.

He grabbed her jaw with his other hand, forcing her to look at him.

"You have a responsibility as a pet, Doe," He spoke lowly, "To give your Master what he needs so shit like this doesn't happen."

She let out a breathy whine as his grip tightened on her jaw.

"And don't ever drag my pet into something just because you're too selfish to deal with it yourself again." he hissed.

She hurriedly nodded.

"W-why was she even alone in the hallway i-in the first place?" She asked like she was trying to piece something together.

Nico's eyes went wide before they returned to how they were before, dropping Doe to the floor.

She fell against the wall, leaning against it for support.

She kept her eyes glued to the floor, obviously too terrified to look him in the eye. She even flinched when he grabbed her leash.

"That's none of your concern."

Nico's eyes looked over at me for a second.

I hadn't even noticed that I was hugging my sketchbook against my body like it would have protected me from any of that.

I'm sure the look on my face told him enough about how I was feeling.

He let out a sigh, looking back at Doe before he turned towards the door, dragging her along with him.

He was undoubtedly taking her back to Xander.

I mentally begged him not to tell Xander what he discovered. She already had so much to deal with.

Before I could even say anything, they were gone.