In A Lonely Place

[Stefan]

"I know you're trying, and that's why I haven't yet punished you," he told her, and that was the truth.  He didn't want to scare her, and she WAS trying pretty hard, so he couldn't truly fault her.  She hadn't had the time to perfect herself, but she would.

"Yes, I can hear your thoughts.  If you are ever in dire need of me, that is the way to contact me, but it also means I know what you're thinking," he explained.  She needed to know so that she could begin to change her thinking.  If she knew she could be punished for thoughts, she would be more inclined to change it.  "I will help you learn what to think, though."

She had a LOT to learn to be a great pet, but he would start simple.  "As I said, I am your Master, and must be addressed as such.  I will treat you well so long as you behave, but you've already seen what punishment consists of, Desten.  I will not hesitate to hurt you.  Other vampires are to be respected because you are beneath them in station, but for you, no one's word is above mine.  Do not make the mistake of obeying another if I state otherwise, but if I haven't and you disrespect another vampire, they can punish you.  I can assure you that I will punish you worse when I take you back if that happens, though.  Do NOT embarrass me."

[Desten DuPont]

Shit, she was lost. She tried very hard to listen to him, but she had that sinking feeling in her chest that told her it was only a matter of time before she screwed this all up. Okay. Obey Master above all else. Then.. be polite and do as others say, but don't... DO as they say.. or.. No. No, that's not right. Okay, do what Master says, got it. Behave for other vampires, unless he tells you not to. Okay, I think I can do this...

She finally, after processing what he said, nodded. She was... pretty sure she understood. She wondered if her thinking was better? She didn't know there was a lot wrong with it, but he said there was, and so it must be corrected.

She wanted to do this right. She felt fortunate, suddenly. She couldn't find herself, so he had given her a new identity. Now she wouldn't have to worry, because he'd laid it all out there for her. She didn't have to think about humans or anything anymore, because all she had to really do was think about him.

It all sort of clicked right then, and she looked at him, eyes wide and moist. She didn't want to cry, but she wasn't sad! She was happy! He had given her a purpose! Could he be angry because she was greatful? She wiped her eyes anyways, just in case.

[Stefan]

He'd nearly done a mental facepalm as he listened to her thoughts, but she appeared to work it all out on her own, so he didn't mention it.  Fixing a pet's way of thinking was always the most difficult thing, but she was now willing and trying, which made it a bit easier.

A lot easier, actually.  Her sudden 'epiphany' wouldn't have worked better if he'd planned it, which he hadn't.  Not this soon.  She'd taken to all of this remarkably well, and he wasn't going to outright abuse her for crying.  He'd tell her not to, though.  

"It's very good that you're so happy, my beautiful hawk, but you shouldn't cry.  You must be strong and proud, as is your right as one of mine.  You will be a magnificent pet, if only you'll keep trying for me," he told her, letting a hint of pride into his tone to encourage her.  He even smiled, one of those charming smiles from before.  He was confident in her abilities, and he was determined to have her see that it was nice to behave.  That he was nice when she behaved.  She would learn, and she would be magnificent.

[Desten DuPont]

Desten felt like she might just fly away when he spoke to her with that tone. That... proud tone. Oh, he was so strong. And she was his, and he would protect her, and she was beautiful, and she would try so hard to keep him happy so that she could give him things to be proud of.

She lept forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly. She knew she wasn't supposed to, not without asking, but she just had to! Desten was rarely a physical person, so when she was so overwhelmed, she simply acted on it, because the chances of it happening again were so very rare, indeed.

"I'm sorry if this is unwanted, Master, but I just had to!" she squealed, nuzzling her face into his shoulder like a child. He had given her a reason to live. How could she not try her best to be perfect? His opinion was now the only one that mattered.

[Stefan]

This was proof that he could still be surprised.

She'd caught him slightly off-guard with the sudden hug, since he'd been monitoring her mind and the thought had moved so quickly across her consciousness that he hardly had a chance to see it before she was flinging herself at him.  He was mildly annoyed at that, as well as her admittance that she'd known she wasn't allowed to, but done it anyway.  She'd admitted it, though.  There was nothing sneaky or malicious about it, just...adoration.

He could rather easily tolerate affection such as this in private quarters, but it had to be stressed that she couldn't do such things in public settings.  He hadn't moved at first when she began to cling to him, but his arms slowly slid around her.  He didn't hold her nearly as tightly as she held onto him, but he made the movement known.  "The affection isn't unwanted, Desten.  You have to display better control than this in public, though.  Do you understand?" he asked mildly, though it was there in his voice.  She'd better not disobey.

[Desten DuPont]

She pulled back and looked into his eyes with her own, which were now more gold than green, by the looks of things. Demi-form did that. She nodded soundly. Oh, and she would. She would be perfect. She would do everything she could, just the way he wanted, so that she did not embarass him in front of colleagues. After all, she reflected greatly on him, and weren't they to know that he was simply the most exquisite?

"Oh, yes, Master. I will do my very best to make you proud," she said. With a final squeeze, she let go, because, well, she felt like she was supposed to. She smiled brightly at him.

"May I have a bath now, Master? My wings are very dirty, and I don't like for you to see them in this state. I do not enjoy being so soiled in your presence." She spoke serenly, with obvious effort. Desten was going to make him happy if it fucking killed her.

[Stefan]

Oh yes, she was doing well, indeed.  Very polite, and willing to do what it took to meet his demands.  She also had enough left in her that she wasn't completely useless.  Pets needed character, or why bother?  

He could read it in her mind that her reasons for wanting the bath were true, and that was pleasing.  If he'd found it in her thoughts that she wanted the bath for her own reasons, he would have had to punish her for it.  But she really did want to improve her appearance for him.  "Yes, you may.  Let's go run a bath for you," he told her, moving to get up.  She needed to learn the layout of his quarters anyway.

"Come this way."

[Desten DuPont]

Desten hopped up when he said to 'come', and folded her wings neatly behind her. By now her back had healed completely, though she was still a little sore. She held her hands behind her as she walked, trying to be as quiet and small as possible. For once, she stood up straight, despite the dirt all over her. She told herself that he would not like bad posture, not if she was to represent him.

She took note quickly of where everything was, though she was sure she would bother with very little of it right away. He had not given her permission to touch or meddle in anything, and so she was careful not to be too curious.

She listened intently to everything he said, nodding when he looked to her for confirmation, and otherwise doing nothing he did not instruct her to. Desten was trying to be very good.

[Stefan]

Her swift movements to obey were exactly what was required of her at the moment, and he led the way to a bathroom off of the bedroom.  Her quarters wouldn't require her to mingle with the rest of the pets in the Midnight complex, especially so early in her training.  He would introduce her to the appropriate company once he was certain she was ready for it.  She needed to bathe in the meantime, though.

Stefan immediately turned on the water in the tub and checked the temperature so that it could fill.  He glanced at her, and here was the problem with a female pet.  Unlike some of the other trainers, he didn't mind giving them a little privacy as a show of 'trust' on his part.  It wasn't as though she could go anywhere without him knowing, so it wasn't likely to hurt his efforts.

"Do you need help, or can I leave you to it?" he asked, not commenting on the way she had straightened as she walked and her rather pleasing thoughts.  He couldn't be TOO complimentary, or she may get used to it.

[Desten DuPont]

Because of her frigid upbringing, Desten did indeed relax a little when he said he'd not accompany her unless she wished it. She knew that he wouldn't harm her - he'd SAID so, and she believed him - but that was something that no amount of abuse would ever break her of. She was shy of her body, taught to conceal and hide it in the presence of others, especially men.

"I would be very greatful if I was left to my bathing, Master, but if you feel it in my best interest, I would be happy for you to stay." She chose her words carefully. She would not tell Stefan NO, because she was not supposed to. She felt it very gracious of him to allow her to herself, and very fortunate that he plucked her from the city and gave her a new life.

Once he'd left, she took her wings down, but only because she'd clean them after she was done with everything else. She submerged herself in the tub, and was surprised to find a variety of soaps and whatnot that suited her perfectly, though she knew they were chosen because her Master liked them. It was fine; what he liked, -she- liked. Once she had done with the basics, it was time to clean the wings. That took a good twenty or thirty minutes alone, but she didn't want to hurry because she wanted them to be perfect.

She emerged finally, dressed in the clothes that had been selected, wings all fluffy and dry.

"I am finished, Master." She held out the feather to him. "Here, this is for you. It fell out while I was cleaning and I made sure to hang onto it, because I thought you might like it."

That was a thing, for her. Giving him part of her. It was a larger feather, too, and it had all the bright golden hue sewn into its fine features. She smiled again. She hoped this pleased him.

[Stefan]

"Take your time," he told her when she'd answered him, and he took his leave of the room so that she could clean up.  He didn't care how long she took, especially given her determination to get clean for him, and waiting was hardly a problem for him after already living 86 years.  One learned enough patience by that point to be able to wait less than an hour.  

When she returned from her bath, he was lounging rather comfortably on her freshly made bed, simply waiting.  He didn't immediately rise when she walked out, but by the time she'd reached the center of the floor and had announced that she was finished, he was on his feet and accepting the offered feather.  That was thoughtful of her, and was actually a good move on her part.  It still would have been if the emotion behind it wasn't entirely pure, but it was.  Very nice.  

"Thank you, Desten.  That was very thoughtful of you," he told her, and he reached up with his free right hand, but stopped just short of her face.  "I'm going to touch you."

He gave her the warning so that it didn't startle her, since he didn't want to hurt her, and to make it known that he wasn't going to do anything she needed to fear.  He hadn't said 'hurt', he'd said 'touch'.  All he did when his hand closed that little distance was brush some golden hair away from her face.

[Desten DuPont]

Desten nodded as he told her he was about to touch her; she noticed the difference between 'touch', 'punish', 'hurt', and other words that she did not have good associations with. Well, she supposed she wouldn't be able to protest anyways, but she didn't really mind to begin with. When he cleared away the stray golden locks that she hadn't fixed back properly, she smiled.

"Thank you. I tried to hurry, so I didn't keep you waiting, but I guess I still missed a few things," she said, referring to her hair not being perfect or completely dry at that. She could only take so much of a blow-dryer before she got fed up with how bloody loud the contraption was. Her feathers at the base of her neck were still slightly damp.

"Is there anything else you should have me do, Master?" she asked. She was prettied up with nowhere to go, that was certain. However, if he'd told her she was to just sit and stare, she could do that, too. Desten was indifferent - she wanted only what Stefan wanted.

[Stefan]

He nodded at her explanation, not excusing it, but not telling her otherwise.  He had other plans, and even if he enjoyed administering a good beating, there wasn't time at the moment.  He wouldn't be rude to the ladies who were waiting for him to show Desten to them.  

How could he resist showing her off?

"You've been so good that I'm going to take you to meet some friends of mine.  Do not embarrass me, and if you're in doubt about anything, I will tell you what to do mentally.  Your behavior reflects upon me, and so you must be perfect," he explained, and oh, did he mean it.  "Do you have any questions?"

[Desten DuPont]

Desten was stunned. He wanted to take her out? Already? She looked at the ground, wondering if she did have any questions. She was afraid she would disappoint him, but...

"I can always ask you in thought, right? I mean, you can answer me? That way I don't have to ask in front of your friends and make myself appear stupid?" she asked hesitantly. Desten did not think it would be a very good impression if she had to ask about everything she was unsure of aloud - especially considering she'd be unsure of a lot.

While she spoke, she turned to a mirror to straighten herself out. She wasn't trying to be rude, but there was no way she'd leave this room unless every stitch, every feather, every lash, was in perfect position. She'd already been fairly thorough however and was pleased to find nothing glaringly obvious. She turned back to Stefan for a final inspection which she would no doubt receicve.