#gavin;

It looked like an ogre. Brightly colored skin, huge tusks protruding from its mouth, and horns sticking out a neatly combed tuft of hair. The figure looked terrifying, but was also very well-dressed. The suit was somehow tailored to fit the body of a being that no normal human would’ve fit in---Arthur would’ve appreciated the look if he weren’t petrified in place.

The tall being cringed, and tried to hush the puppet by bringing their finger to their lips. They held a large, crudely-made club---a piece that really didn’t match the whole sharp, formal get-up they were wearing.

Shockingly, Arthur listened and instantly shut himself up.

The being left him alone as soon as he shut up, turning their attention to something elsewhere in the room.

As the puppet struggled to keep himself calm, he took a quick scan of what he could see of the room. It was dark (great), lit by two small lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. One hovered over Arthur, and the other illuminated the area nearby the door in front of him.

---it turned out it wasn’t the only door in the room. There was a creak of hinges opening behind him, then the click of a door closing. Several footsteps filled the room, with one pair being considerably louder than the other. Arthur tensed right before a hair of hands reached out from the darkness, and---

---squished his cheeks.

Arthur blinked for a few moments, startled out of his skin and confused, before snarling, shaking his head, and trying to snap at the hands cupping his face in place. The hands immediately shot back, followed by a slightly high-pitched laugh.

The figure that held his face came into view---it looked like a human, but there was a strange feline-nature in the figure’s eyes. His hair was pink and choppy, and the grin on his face made him look like he was trying to imitate a cheshire cat.

“So, this is the pet for that Envy demon?” The pink-haired man asked to some people behind Arthur.

“Yes.” Arthur heard that icy voice and immediately grit down on his teeth.

That was Moon-Hae. He was sure of it.

“Please keep your hands off of it, Gavin. As much as humans disgust me, we need to keep this one relatively unharmed. We’ve already took great measures to get the demon’s attention---anything further, and we’ll just be angering them unnecessarily.”

The pink-haired one, Gavin, pouted and whined. “Awww---but I rarely get to be so close to humans like this. This one’s really cute---hey Moon-Hae, y’said it fetches other humans for its Master to eat, right? Can we get a human who could do that for us?”

Moon-Hae let out an indignant noise. “No! This group will not have any humans in it---even pathetic pets like that one.”

“I’m still in the room, y’know...” Arthur grumbled, scowling.

Moon-Hae, of course, ignored him.

Gavin beamed at Arthur’s utterance. “How many humans do you take to your master?”

The question caught him off-guard.

...no one’s... ever asked him that before. And the more he thought about it...

“...a...a-a lot...” He mumbled, averting his eyes. “O-over the past two years... a-a lot...”

Gavin, completely oblivious to the heavy laden guilt in Arthur’s voice, made an impressed sound. “Wow! Moon-Hae, are you sure we shouldn’t get a human pet?”

“I’m sure,” Came the short, biting reply.

The pink haired man clucked his tongue. “Shame, shame. Oh well! Hey, human---how did you get so many humans to your master?”

Arthur opened his mouth, ready to grit out, None of your business, but Moon-Hae cut him to the chase.

“He whores himself out and seduces them. Reminds me a lot of gumiho techniques, actually.”

Irritation snapped at Arthur, and he growled, “Shut up.”

Moon-Hae finally moved from behind Arthur to face him. There was a cruel sneer on his face, and he leered down at Arthur until they were nearly nose to nose.

“But isn’t that what you do? You were going to try and do it to me. We’ve seen how you work, Kingsmen...” He chuckled and pulled back when Arthur snarled. “Oh, but don’t worry. I can understand you––my own kind does similar things for the sake of food. Ah, but the thing is, I don’t like humans nor gumiho that much...”

Moon-Hae’s hand reached out to stroke Arthur’s hair, and the puppet froze, white hot rage welling up deep in his chest. “Don’t you feel bad? We’ve seen through your mask. You’re not happy, are you? It’s such a shame, really---using your body as a slutty bait for your Master’s---”

A door slammed behind Moon-Hae, and Arthur’s eyes widened.

His Master stood at the door in front of them, green eyes glaring underneath the messy purple pomp of hair. His jagged mouth was pulled back to a snarl, and Arthur felt himself recoiling just slightly.

After all, Arthur didn’t like it when his Master was mad.

“I would appreciate it,” His Master growled out slowly. “---if you kept your filthy hands off my puppet, mutt.”