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Somewhere deep in the unknown confines of the Nexus, a slam was heard. There might have been a groan sifted into the mix as well but to the perpetrator, it was little concern. After all, Harley was hardly in the mood to be playing nice. And she knew very well the likes of Ciel could handle a little abuse-nay, she [i]deserved[/i] it. Even now Harley's hand clutched deeper into the other girl's throat as all sorts of rushing ideas made itself reality in her mind. But she wasn't going to kill her; that would be counter-productive. Another slam then, Harley raising her arm back and pinning Ciel to the wall harder than before. [color=silver]"I'm going to ask you again pet. What do you think you're doing in my Nexus?"[/color] Harley asked.

[color=deepskyblue]"Gah!"[/color]

A groan was the first sound to escape Ciel's throat as she was so violently slammed against a wall by Harley. [color=deepskyblue]"Wha—what are you talking about?"[/color] The Stargazer didn't find this situation very entertaining at all. She had no idea of what Harley was thinking. The pressure in her throat made Ciel unconsciously fight against Harley's grip. The platinum-haired girl kicked weakly as she tried to used her meager strength to relieve Harley's grip on her, the expression in her face becoming paler and paler as Ciel's breath was reaching its limits.

Harley was tempted to keep going but unfortunately she had other matters to see to. And as much as she enjoyed putting Ciel in her place, this wasn't the point. Slowly her fingers released their individual hold, one by one, before she let the Stargazer drop to the ground like a dead weight. [color=silver]"I guess you should be used to choking on air, eh? But let's get to why we're here Ciel. There are certain Vassals that should not have appeared here. I can waste my time listing them all off for you but I think we both know what I'm talking about,"[/color] Harley said, leaning down and meeting Ciel eye for an eye. [color=silver]"Don't make me REPEAT myself."[/color]

The first thing that Ciel did was cough hard while trying to massage her sore throat. She certainly wasn't made for, or used to, this kind of manhandling. Then again, as long as she remained in her current 'job', it's not like Ciel can avoid abuse from the likes of Harley. That was part of her nature. As soon as Harley finished her explanation, Ciel looked up, [color=deepskyblue]"I—I know what you mean. But I could never imagine that... would happen,"[/color] she said while trying to calm her slightly teary eyes. [color=deepskyblue]"The last time I talked with Helena she said that she wanted my help with something. She was looking for a star chart so I didn't see why I couldn't help her. I—I had no idea of what she was going to do with it."[/color]

A swift kick into Ciel's would be Harley's answer, the monochrome girl digging her shoe in deeply into the Stargazer's gut to seal the pain in. A few seconds of silent observation and she finally said, [color=silver]"I see you've grown soft pet. Taking orders from others who aren't your owners. Well...I guess you'd like to have a little freedom once in a while. But what did I tell you about talking to strangers,"[/color] Harley said, frowning and scratching the back of her head. [color=silver]"Now look what you've done. You've made me annoyed again. I wonder how I should get rid of this itch of mine...."[/color]

[color=deepskyblue]"Ahh!"[/color] Ciel cried as Harley quite literally ground her against the ground. [color=deepskyblue]"Tha—that's not what I meant. Am I not the one who takes care of all of you?"[/color] Ciel said between coughs and tears. The Stargazer didn't raise her face to look at Harley's, partly to avoid triggering the other girl even more, mostly because her neck was hurting too much for her to strain it like that. [color=deepskyblue]"I—I was just trying to do my job. That and... hmm..."[/color] Ciel dragged on, unsure if she should even say what she just thought.

[color=silver]"Hmmmmm? Doing your job, eh."[/color] Harley removed her foot, mismatched eyes regarding Ciel beneath her. [color=silver]"Well, there's nothing to be gained if you can't learn. This is a learning experience for all of us,"[/color] she said, reaching over to rub her thumb against the side of Ciel's cheek in small circles. [color=silver]"You just need to learn not to talk to strangers and I'll learn how to overlook your heaping piles of failure and disappointment to us. Ok?"[/color] Harley's expression twisted into a smirk and she watched the other girl's reaction carefully. [color=silver]"By the way. What was that you were saying pet?"[/color]

Ciel recoiled unwittingly when Harley changed moods once more. The gentle touch made the Stargazer feel... uncertain. No matter how much she was mistreated by some of her 'children' , particularly Harley, Ciel couldn't really get herself to resent them. That was both in theirs and hers natures. To say the truth, she wondered more than once if this was really free-will but these thoughts were dismissed as fast as they came. After all, what's free-will for someone that is so intimate to the whims of Fate such as Ciel? That was the biggest burden of knowing the many roads through which the world can travel, but not having any power to choose which turn to take.

[color=deepskyblue]"I—I'm sorry,"[/color] Ciel replied, before looking up at Harley once the other girl asked her about what she meant to say a moment before. Ciel hesitated again, looking apprehensively at Harley, looking every bit like a frightened pet, torn apart between feelings of dependency and fear, just like the way she was being addressed as. In the end, Ciel's sense of self preservation won over her apprehension. [color=deepskyblue]"I was... hmm.... I was feeling kind of lonely. I didn't stop to think that much when she came asking for my help. I just... miss you all coming to me the whole time,"[/color] the Stargazer finally admitted. After all, Ciel knew well that denying that reply to Harley would likely earn her some more mistreatment.

Following this confession, silence was created between the two girls. Harley stared at the downed Ciel until it was fairly certain her eyes were boring into her skin. [color=silver]"All people have a role to play. If your role doesn't have "loneliness" in the description then you're not allowed to feel it,"[/color] Harley said in a matter-of-fact tone. [color=silver]"To display abnormalities is to go against one's personal fate. But you really should know that better than anyone else."[/color] As she said this, Harley leaned forward, her intent probably to engage in more physical contact with Ciel. 

What should have resulted in more pain and abuse instead became a gripping hug from the monochrome Vassal. [color=silver]"I want you to get rid of every Vassal in the Nexus. The only ones who will remain will be a SELECT few I deem worthy,"[/color] she said next to the Stargazer's ear. [color=silver]"You don't have to feel lonely anymore Ciel. Because only the RIGHT Vassals will be here to give you comfort and warmth,"[/color] she continued; by her tone it was easy to see the twisted smirk in Harley's features. It all culminated into a clamp as Harley tightened her hug like a needy child, near-suffocating Ciel anew. 

[color=deepskyblue]"..."[/color]

[color=silver]"If I see that bloodsucker in my Nexus again...well, we can find out together just how big of a MESS I can make."[/color]

Ciel listened to Harley's soft spoken words silently. It wasn't because she agreed to them. In fact, a mere look at the shock expression in Ciel's face made it obvious that she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yet, even Ciel knew that such a threat shouldn't be unanswered. Otherwise, she didn't knew what Harley had in mind for the other Vassals, or even for Ciel herself. Even if the Stargazer was used to being mistreated by now, she couldn't tolerate the idea of allowing her precious Vassals... her 'children' to be hurt like this. Not after all of this time. Naturally, her only option was to ask [color=deepskyblue]"What do you mean by getting rid? You don't want me to hurt them, do you?"[/color] and hope that Harley's answer wasn't what she was thinking.

A slight pause before Harley said, [color=silver]"No. We already have enough civil war between us. I want you to make sure they can never enter my Nexus again. You get one more chance caretaker; if I find out you failed to do even that, and I assure you, I always find out, then maybe you won't have any use for us anymore."[/color] Harley's grip loosened a little and this time the hug was much more casual. [color=silver]"I'm sure it would just break your heart to find out you no longer have a purpose to us, right? What good is a pet who can't perform tricks."[/color]

Ciel's answer was nothing but lowering her head and staring at the ground aimlessly. What Harley was asking for was something terrible from the Stargazer's point of view but there was no way for her to deny. The confirmation that she understood it would come in the form of a sob as Ciel said a weak [color=deepskyblue]"I get it... I just don't want to be thrown away,"[/color] admitting her weakness. Harley probably wouldn't be pleased until the Stargazer did so, anyway.

[color=silver]"Of course you do,"[/color] Harley said more gently, going back to wiping away Ciel's tears with her fingers. [color=silver]"Personally, I think you're my favorite little pet. It breaks my heart to see you go against our wishes. But no, no, no more tears now. We see much bigger and better things in your future, caretaker,"[/color] Harley said, all smiles and grins.