The gentle caresses of silk gloved hands running over my ears brought me out of my light sleep. A soft whine escaped my lips as I stirred awake, shifting my body to see a pleasant smile plastered on Sebastian's lips. In my groggy stupor, I reached out and cupped his face into my hands. His smile remained but now he stared at me with blank eyes as amusement twinkled in my own. Without thinking, I placed Sebastian's cheeks between two of my fingers and lightly pulled at them, stretching his cheeks out. I didn't hold back my entertained giggles as he grunted in mild annoyance. Pulling my hands away from his cheeks, Sebastian instead held out his own for me to take.
"It's dinner time, little one," he cooed, waiting for me to uncurl myself from the recliner and take his patient hand. I did so slowly, taking time to stretch my back and let out a silent yawn. Sebastian watched with amusement, a light smirk dusting his lips. Too tired from my nap to question him, I silently placed my hand in his and followed him out the library. I followed him down the hall and into the other wing of the house until I found myself seated at the humble table in the kitchen. The servants greeted me cheerfully, causing a smile of my own to grace my lips. A simple meal adorned the table with few leftovers of fancier foods. Shyly, I finally spoke up as Sebastian left to tend to the young master.
"I'm sorry for not helping," I spoke, looking down at my hands.
"Not a problem," Bard grinned, placing a glass of water in front of me before taking his own seat. "You repaid us by showing us your cute self as a disheveled mess." I found myself blushing in embarrassment as his towards, unconsciously running my fingers through my tail at his words.
"Bard! Don't be such a brute, she's still innocent, she is!" Mey-Rin scolded, seating herself after passing out a plate of food to all of us.
"But you are right about one thing," Finny smiled, passing out the napkins. "She is a cutie."
I found myself burning up as they showered me with compliments. In an attempt to escape my own embarrassment, I nipped at the food, finding the simple dish a pleasant meal. Having only been fed liquid-like gruel that burned my nose and churned my stomach, I found the simple piece of egg or salad more then enough to make me wolf down the plate. The servants went silent as I finished my plate before they could finish half of their own, surprise coating their expressions.
"Salad your favorite dish or something?" Bard asked, motioning towards my empty plate.
"N-no," I shook my head. "It's just that I never got to eat normal food before this." The uncomfortable silence returned, turning me into a fiddling mess. I stared down at my lap for moments before summoning the courage to look up at the others. Tears filled their eyes.
"It'll be fine now!" Finny choked out, trying his best to smile despite his tears. "The young master has helped us all from a dark point in our lives. You won't have to worry about it anymore."
"That's right and I'm sure Sebastian will make sure of that too! He's always taken such great care of us servants no matter how many times we mess up!" Mey-Rin agreed.
Bard opened his own mouth to speak but went silent as Sebastian himself entered the room. He smiled at me, noticing my empty plate. Nodding in satisfaction, he beckoned me towards him with a slender finger. Curiosity nagging my mind, I pawed my way up to him. His patient smile never left his face as he pulled me towards the cooler. After a moment of rustling his hands through the cold box, he pulled out a cold bottle of milk. Happiness lit up my face as I trained my eyes on the bottle. Apparently, Sebastian noticed because he then proceeded to jerk the bottle in every direction, chuckling as my eyes followed the bottle without hesitation. A pout captured my face as I let out a small mewl of defeat. Seemingly finished with teasing me, he lowered his hand. I took the chance to try to take the milk from him but it was pulled out of my reach once again.
"Not so fast, little one," Sebastian chuckled as I looked at him with pleading eyes. "What do you say when you want something from someone else?"
"Bully," I sullenly grumbled. Sebastian's lips slithered into a sly smirk as he wagged his finger in my face tisking. "Please?" I begged, still reaching for the bottle. Obviously entertained, he finally handed me my bottle of milk. I could feel my mouth water as the bottle of pure goodness reached my hands. In sheer happiness, I forgot all about his teasing and wrapped my arms around Sebastian's waist. "Thank you!" I squealed.
"Of course, little one," he nodded, turning his attention to the mass of dishes that had to be washed. I let him get back to his work as I seated myself back down and delicately drunk my milk, trying my best to savor it for as long as possible. As I drank, I could hear the cooing of the other servants, chattering abut how cat-like I really was. Holding back from a snarky comment, I whined at the last drop of milk.
"No more?" I asked, fluttering my eyes at the servants in hope of more. They swooned and franticly tried their best to comfort me.
"No more," Sebastian firmly stated as he plucked the empty bottle from my hand. I pouted and sunk into my chair with my arms crossed. The servants eyed me with sympathy but didn't say anything. "It's time for bed now, Lucille." And with that Sebastian held his hand for me to take again. Still pouting at the lack of milk, I turned away from his hand, pawing at the untouched glass of water on the table. I heard a sigh, not of weariness but of amusement, escape Sebastian as he simply scooped me into his arms. Opening my mouth to protest, purrs interrupted my string of complaints as Sebastian stroked my tail. Giving into the careful strokes, I let out an exasperated grunt and buried my face back into Sebastian's shoulder as I did so often. He started walking away from the kitchen and for a moment, I peaked out to wave goodnight to all the servants. The mirrored my gestured and I turned back to Sebastian.
"Do I sleep with Bard and Finny and Mey-Mey and Tata?" I asked, wondering if they did anything destructive in their sleep as well.
"I had arranged it so you would be sleeping in my room for now because of your wounds, but if you would like to sleep in the servants quarters," he trailed off, knowing I understood where he was going. I shook my head deciding it would be quietest and most comforting sleeping with Sebastian.
He continued to carry me into the room we had been earlier and set me onto the bed. Striding over to his closet, he pulled out one of the nightgowns we had bought. I started to fiddle with the buttons on the back of my dress but found myself painfully stretching my arm to reach some. Amused by my struggle, Sebastian watched for a few moments before coming over to help me. The oversized dress fell off my lithe body before the last button was unclasped. Sebastian slipped my nightgown over my head, surprising me as he gently guided my tail through a hole that allowed it to freely poke out of the dress. I shot him a grateful grin and curled my tail around his leg as I hugged him in thanks. He hummed in approval and fiddled with my ears, earning a low purr from me. Without breaking from my embrace, he guided us towards the bed. I allowed him to tuck me under the covers and curled up close to his body as he continued to stroke my ears.
"Se-Se, you're so warm," I murmured sleepily, lazily flicking my tail up and down Sebastian's leg. Darkness clasped it's vice grip around my mind before I could hear his reply.