Mira said nothing as Paxton declared he'd be leaving, nor did she greet him when he returned.  As he sat silently on the bed, she sat silently on the floor, sitting on her knees with her eyes closed.  Silence, to her, was like an old acquaintance who, though she ever tried to be rid of, always seemed to come back.  And yet, ironically, she was now so akin to silence that its presence could, at times, even be comforting.

So when Paxton spoke again, her eyes opened, a spark of annoyance within them.  He offered her a place to sleep - even offering a portion of his own bed.  A part of Mirajane's chest suddenly felt very pained, and she sighed, closed her eyes, and stood up.

"Master."  She addressed him with a very cold, neutral expression, almost like a machine.  "I have a place to sleep in my home.  Unless you deem it unfit, I shall sleep there for the evening; so long as I am bound to a master, I may enter and leave it as I please."  She opened her eyes now, and fixed him with a harsh, emotionless stare.  "If you require me within the evening, simply rub the lamp again.  Such is how you may summon me at any time, regardless of where I am."  She gave a low bow as her legs again became a tail, steadily withdrawing into the lamp.  "Goodnight, Master."  With that, she slipped inside and disappeared.

Back in her home in the void, she appeared above her fluffy bed and fell down on top of it.  Her emotionless mask fell from her face then, revealing a very pained pair of eyes that spoke of brokenness and sorrow.  [i]Humans...[/i]  She truly wanted to appreciate the kind offer, truly wanted to give a youth like Paxton a chance... but the promises of kindness and freedom had been broken so many times before, she knew she wouldn't be able to bear it if they were broken again.  So she kept her distance, silencing her emotions and closing off her heart.  Besides, what would Paxton care if she never thought well of him?  He, like all other humans, would find someone to love, go on to live a wonderful life, and would eventually forget about Mira completely.  Mira sighed; she knew she shouldn't be this negative, knew that everyone was different.

Even so, a broken heart left terrible scars.