He rolled up his sleeve and pushed the boy's head gently in the direction of his wrist.
"Drink," he said, and the mesmerized fledgling obeyed, sinking his teeth into the warm flesh and drinking from the current that ran beneath it. Krad smiled at his glazed expression. "I was out hunting all night for you." Satoshi did not look up. He was too busy feeding, greedily lapping up the drops that his fangs drew from his master's veins. His sire winced as he tore up flesh in his fervor.
"Look at you. Two years now and I still have to make you feed. They all say I've gone soft with you. Spoiled beyond reason, you are." He pushed his other hand against Satoshi's forehead, forcing his head back. "Stop. That's enough."
His fledgling obeyed, licking his lips rather listlessly. Krad watched him for a moment.
"All right." He adjusted his sleeve and stood up. "I release you." He turned toward the door.
Satoshi gasped as his eyes suddenly cleared. He grimaced and snorted, turning away from his sire.
"You fascinate me," Krad remarked. "Still resisting your nature after so long. It may be unprecedented."
The other closed his eyes tightly, a habitual tic bred from long months of resisting madness.
"Anyhow, I'm going for a few hours. You have full reign of the house, as usual. Cannot leave, of course. I'll check on you when I get home—although I doubt you'll notice, since the sun is about to rise…now."
Satoshi's spiteful eyes suddenly lost their focus as he sighed and slumped against the wall. His master carefully moved him and tucked him in.
"Silly little fledgling." He took his coat and left for the morning.
The door closed with a cheerful bang, if such a thing were possible. Krad was all but whistling as he took off his coat and handed it to the hired help.
"That went swimmingly," he said.
"Time to feed the dog, then?" the butler remarked dryly.
"More of a cat, really," Krad replied cheerfully, hanging up his hat. "I haven't been able to teach him a trick yet."
"With all due respect, sir," the other man said seriously, "I do worry about your indulgence with that one, sir. People do talk."
Krad sighed. "I know. It's probably vain of me to allow myself this one indulgence. But," he continued resolutely, pausing at the top of the staircase with a dramatic gesture, "I will anyway. He is my star pupil, and I'm afraid he will be spoiled no matter what I do." He made a tragic pose and turned the corner. "Thank you for the warning!" he yelled unnecessarily across the house.
The butler rolled his eyes. "Very funny sir. I do hope they'll see it that way too."
He went to adjust the pictures on the mantelpiece. "The boy certainly doesn't."
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Notes: I think Krad could have been like this if he hadn't had the past he did. He was universally hated and used from birth, and as far as we know he's never been loved. He's more like Dark than either of them like to admit, and Dark deals with his problems by being flippant. This silly alternate Krad has his own issues, though. He is also a terrible parent by vampire standards because he never forces his fledgling into anything. Spoiling him rotten like that can be taken as a sign of weakness by other vampires, which is what the butler was referring to.