You must have dozed off in the chair because it's dark outside now. You remember hearing Jasper move about the quarters, but you were too scared to look at her. Jasper didn't say anything to you either, maybe to give you space to process the choice she gave you. You start to call out to Jasper, but the feel of the shocks is still fresh in your mind. You instead silently pad over to the bedroom to see Jasper reclining on the bed and reading from a screen. She occasionally swipes her finger across, her control ring glinting in the light of the screen.

Jasper flicks her eyes up and notices you hovering at the doorway, still messaging your neck. She puts the screen away and crooks her finger to beckon you. You oblige, keeping your eyes trained on the floor as you move to stand by the bed.

"Who do you belong to, pet?"

You open your mouth to answer, but think better of it. Jasper studies your face as you stand in awkward silence.

"Good, you can learn. Take off your tunic. Pets don't need clothes."

You hesitate to comply, but a glimpse of the control ring is all the warning you need. You pull the tunic over your head and hand it to Jasper. She gets up to put the tunic away and returns to you.

"You need a bath. Come along."

Like the shower on the ship, the water starts as soon as you enter the stall. Jasper phases off her clothes and cleans you up. You make a few attempts to clean yourself, but Jasper slaps your hand away, ordering you to stand still. When she finishes, you turn to start your usual task of bathing her, but she stops you. Pets don't bathe their owners. Jasper leads you out of the stall and combs your hair, being very ungentle about the knots and tangles that accumulated in quarantine.

Jasper snaps her fingers as she walks out of the bathroom, indicating she wants you to follow. You follow her to a set of cabinets set in the wall and Jasper retrieves an energy cake. She holds the cake in front of you and you reach for it. A light shock comes from the collar, just strong enough to get your attention.

"Pets don't feed themselves. You eat from my hand or not at all."

You close your eyes to keep from screaming at Jasper and wonder how long she plans to play this game. You start to bend forward and Jasper steadily lowers the cake until you have to kneel in order to eat it. You delicately eat the cake out of Jasper's hand as ordered. She rewards you with scritches on your scalp before returning to the bed and her screen.

You spend the rest of the night in the sitting room, staring out the window until you feel sleepy. When you check on Jasper, she's already turned in. You start to crawl into bed beside her, which causes her to stir.

"Ah-ah. Pets sleep on the floor."

You sigh and slide off the bed. You retrieve the blanket and the squishy pillow thing and set them on the floor. You lay on the blanket and rest your head on the pillow, trying to make yourself comfortable on the cold stone.

–

A leash leads you through Homeworld base camp. Gem and human alike watch you crawl naked through the camp as Jasper leads you to her tent. You can hear your fellow humans scream and wet, crunching noises as Jasper locks you in a cage. "I always wanted a pet..."

"Jasper...!" Your screams echo across the room and take a few seconds to cease.

The subject of your dream is already sitting up and looking frantically around. Your chest heaves as you fight down your panic. Jasper gets up and moves around the foot of the bed towards you. You look up expectantly, ready to tell her about the nightmare and enjoy her comforting you as she's done before.

Jasper starts to squat down and reaches toward you, but stops. Her concern hardens into resolve and she straightens back up. She stiffly returns to bed, leaving you to process your fear on your own.

You guess pets don't get comforted after a nightmare.

You try to go back to sleep on the hard floor. But every time you do, you return to that nightmare world and snap back awake. You get up and silently wander the quarters until Jasper wakes up and hand-feeds you breakfast. Jasper doesn't speak to you as she prepares to start her day. When she leaves the quarters, you don't know where she's going or how long she'll be gone.

You return to the bedroom and look longingly at the bed. You decide you're too exhausted to care if Jasper finds you there and shocks you brainless. You retrieve the blanket and squishy pillow and crawl onto the bed. You wrap the blanket around you and hug the squishy pillow like it's a security bear. It doesn't take you long to get a few hours of blissful, dreamless oblivion.

–

The next few days pass by in an awkward, silent dance. Only now you are usually up before Jasper because you can't sleep, either from the discomfort of sleeping on the floor or nightmares waking you up. Usually both. When Jasper leaves for the day, you sneak a nap on the bed. She comes back to give you your second meal and bathe you. She pets your hair when you are near her, but you spend most of the day in rueful silence, sulking in some corner or the other.

Jasper's commands devolve into clipped phrases or snaps of her fingers, which are punished with shocks if you don't obey immediately. The shocks are often the only reminder of the collar's presence. The metal is so light and thin that you barely feel it unless you touch it with your fingers or turn your head quickly. At some points, you truly feel like an animal. At others, you peek at Jasper and catch her staring at your curled-up body with a pained expression. Still, at others, you feel yourself pitching headlong into a deep depression. You wonder what's going to win out.

Lapis' arrival is a welcome break from Jasper's tense game. You jump up from the floor and run over to hug her, overjoyed at seeing her.

"LaaaAAAAAAAAAH!" Your embrace is interrupted with a sharp jolt from the collar. You shoot a glance over at Jasper, who gets up from the chair.

"Now, now, pet. Don't jump on my guest." A smile plays on her lips as she lowers her ring hand.

You step away from Lapis, chastened and rubbing your tingling neck. When you look up, Lapis is staring at you in horror.

"Pretty, are... are... you okay?"

You look at Jasper's placid expression first. You immediately feel sick that you are unable to answer without her approval. You nod and start to return to your spot beside Jasper's chair. But Lapis persists, squaring your shoulders and making you look at her.

"Is Jasper doing this to you? Do you want her to?"

You open your mouth to respond, but all that escapes is a squeak. Your eyes cut to Jasper, immediately expecting another shock. Jasper strolls over to lift Lapis' hand off your arm.

"Lapis, you should know better than to touch someone else's pet, especially when it's in the middle of obedience training."

Lapis' lips draw back into a snarl. She draws back and slaps Jasper in the face with her free hand. A series of clicks and whistles flows forth from her lips and Jasper responds in kind. You can't follow the conversation, but you can read body language well enough to know they are arguing. After a few minutes, Lapis stomps over to pick up your blanket and drapes it over your shoulders.

"This has gone too far, Jasper." She takes you by the hand and leads you to the door. "Come on, pretty. We're going to see Peridot. She should be able to get that thing off you."

You stop at the threshold of the door. Lapis tries to drag you through the door, but you brace yourself against the door jamb. Lapis crosses back through the door and combs her fingers through your hair.

"Don't you want that thing off, pretty?"

You point at the door, then the collar, and shake your head. Lapis seems to get the message.

"I'll bring Peridot here, then."

"Peridot can't remove it." Jasper traces the outline of the collar on your neck, causing you to shudder. "The only way this comes off is if I remove it myself... or I'm shattered. Even making me revert to my gem doesn't deactivate this thing."

"Then take it off. This is not how we treat hostages. If the Diamonds find out..."

"You think the Diamonds care?" Jasper barks out a laugh. "The Diamonds see humans as pets. Or have you forgotten about Pink Diamond's zoo?"

Lapis forms a rebuttal, but it catches in her throat. Instead, she moves over to you and wraps her arms around you in defeat.

"I'm sorry. I keep trying to help you and coming up short."

You return the hug, consequences be damned. After a few moments, Lapis breaks the hug and starts to leave the quarters. Jasper grips Lapis' arm to stop her retreat. Jasper's meaty fingers lift Lapis' hair away from her neck and trail down the ties of her halter top.

"Maybe you can help her, brat."