"Hey, Vlad... Do you know where Maddie is?"
Vlad couldn't keep from glaring at the young girl who shuffled her feet and refused to make eye contact.
"And, why, exactly, do you wish to know, Danielle? Are you going to dye her again or some other such torture?" Vlad snorted as Dani shook her head emphatically.
"It's not that!" (Dani looked away for a moment and mumbled to herself, "Though I think she'd look really cute in green...") "It's just that I wanted to, well, you know..."
"When it comes to you, I can't ever be sure what I know." Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Cease your stuttering and be out with it."
"I wanted to apologize!" Dani blushed when the man's full attention was on her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a slim pink collar, handing it to Vlad. In place of a small bell, there was a heart-shaped tag with Maddie's name etched in flowing script.
"Her old one still had purple stains on it, so I wanted to make it up to her. Danny helped me earn the money to buy it, and he showed me how to work the tag machine in PetSmart."
"I doubt a collar will be the most suitable trinket to regain Maddie's affections," Vlad said, inspecting the gift. It was high-quality, made to stand up to even the most vigorous of scratching.
Dani bowed her head and pouted. She knew that already, but it still hurt to hear the words out loud. All she'd wanted to do was play with the cat the same way Danny did with Cujo. Suddenly, she felt Vlad's arms around her in a loose hug she hadn't felt since she was first created.
"But it's a start, don't you think?"