Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ambre smiled at seeing Perry eat the treat which Ambre had previously thrown on the floor. He waited for Perry to arrive, when he heard Perry ask the question. "If I knew, I would have told you!" Ambre shouted, throwing a book that was on the table toward the kitchen wall, making a loud 'thud.' "Unless you're dumber than I thought, you should be able to figure it out!" Ambre took a sip of his tea to calm himself down.

Knowing he had tea, it would be a safe bet that he wasn't expecting any drink. He asked for something to wash away the taste of the truffle, so he didn't want anything sweet. The only real thing left in the kitchen were assorted meats, cheeses, vegetables and bread. There was also a steak that hadn't yet been cooked. It was no secret that Ambre was among the most carnivorous of men.

Ambre picked up another book from the table he sat at and began to read it. He could smell the steak being cooked and he relaxed more in his chair. Ah, one of his favorites. If only Perry wouldn't ruin it with his humming. Whatever, Ambre would let him get away with some simple pleasures. Even though Ambre used subtle ways to embarrass Perry in public, he has to be careful about the law. There was only so much he could pay off with his fortune. But in the privacy of his home, anything went. In private, Perry was his slave, and he liked it that way. In public, Perry had to be seen as 'equal,' and it disgusted him. Ambre caressed the unicorn emblem with his thumb. At least it was better than losing his slave entirely. He rather liked the convenience.

Ambre, having calmed down a good deal, set his foot down and cut a piece of the steak. After taking the first bite, he smiled. Ah, it was very convenient having Perry around. He cooked a perfect steak.

Ambre stood up from his chair after he finished the bite, and pushed Perry's back to a wall. "You did very well, slave." Ambre grabbed Perry's tail and tugged it. "Keep up the good work."

Ambre let him go, then turned to sit down at the table. "Go do whatever you were doing before. I want to enjoy my meal." Ambre took another bite, glad that sweet taste was gone, replaced with the savory taste of juicy red meat. The taste of dominance.

Ambre set down the silverware, leaning back with the satisfaction of the meal. "Ah, that was delicious." He hoped Perry didn't overhear that though; he did like to see Perry smile since it made embarrassing him and making him cry that much more pleasurable, but he didn't want the genie to get too big a head. That inhuman creature was a servant first and foremost. Whatever Ambre chose to do with him was his choice, and he didn't care about what others would say. Besides, this secret he held could never be found out...

'This apartment is so... small... And happy.' These were Caleb's thoughts as he prepared himself for bed. He'd sleep in his emblem, but Phoebe would have none of that. She always acted so upset when he did. There were walls upon walls of books; many of them were old and some were hard to read, but when Caleb tried to throw one away, Phoebe cried so hard it actually made him feel bad. Happy, but bad.

He hated this woman. She was never mean, never rude, and never angry. She helped people all the time and sympathized to every sob story there was. It was a good thing she was gullible and easy to scare, at least. He remembered when he first met her, having nearly drowned herself trying to save a book that some other human threw over the bridge. Caleb almost went with the male human, but a human like that would get in his way, and he preferred someone he could manipulate. His emblem fell on the shore of the river, and when she managed to save her book and herself from the water, there sat a black pearl earring. As he suspected, she took to it and carried it home with her.

When she was going to brush her teeth that night, Phoebe opened the medicine cabinet mirror, and once she closed it, there stood Caleb behind her. Her reaction was not only priceless, but it solidified that this was the appropriate human for his needs.

He had to get these genies out of this world.

There he stood, at the same place they first met, in that small, girlish bathroom in a small, girlish apartment lived in by a small, girlish woman. She was appropriate for his needs, but he hated her so much... He was sure he did. Though it was pleasant to watch her freak out at his tricks. Especially when she was reading.

Phoebe looked up at Caleb as she closed her book, having just finished it. At first she'd been startled to see him standing in the doorway, but he was always startling her from the moment they met.

It had been the shock of a lifetime to look up into her mirror as she slid the now priceless earring into her left ear. It was a beautiful piece of art; A black pearl encased by a tiny silver birdcage with gilt flowers and vines. Even though the pearl was contained it rolled and rattled freely in the setting, chiming like a bell.

Then she'd raised her head to admire the trinket, worrying that the silver would clash with her red hair. Thankfully it looked perfectly at home on her ear. She had smiled right up until she saw movement behind her in the reflection of the glass.

There stood a tall and handsome man that was watching her like a predator finding its prey. He looked dangerous and deadly. Phoebe was certain he meant to kill her, possibly rape her too, but he didn't.

Instead he stepped toward her paralyzed form until he stood close enough that she could feel the heat of his body without them actually touching. A wicked smile curved his lips as he brushed her hair behind her ear and then ran his fingertip down the side of her neck.

When he whispered "It looks good on you" into her ear with his lips too close she finally flinched then moved to protect herself by hitting his hand with her brush as he went to touch her again.

He'd only laughed at her feeble defense attempt and she would've too but there was no way she was going to use the dagger her uncle gave her, even if she kept it in a holster around her thigh where it was easy to access thanks to her habit of wearing skirts.

At last she'd screamed and he seemed to revel in the sound. She tried to run but he caught her by her upper arms. With a small shake from him she went silent and waited tearfully for whatever he had planned.

Then she'd found out he was just a genie, and he'd chosen her for a contract. It had been sweet the way he described seeing her and wanting her to teach him how to be kinder. He'd said she was his first friend and warmed her heart with a story about how everyone was afraid of him so he was always alone.

That had sent her reeling with guilt and she quickly promised her friendship along with a seemingly endless amount of apologies. When he said he wanted to try the Concours so they could have something fun to do she'd jumped at the opportunity.

Now they shared her small apartment, Caleb chivalrously taking the floor at night as his bed, and had developed a sort of bond that Phoebe treasured.

"Caleb, would you like me to read to you until you fall asleep?" she asked, eyes shining.

Phoebe blushed and gave a little cough to clear her throat. "Umm... t-tonight I h-hope you don't mind but I f-found a really sweet love story that I think you m-might like" she said shyly.

When she got no response she assumed he was fine with it and began to read. The story was about a demon that lived off of fear that fell in love with a sorceress of light. They both were too scared to tell the other how they felt until one day the sorceress nearly died when the demon went berserk. The people hated and hunted him for hurting the kind sorceress but before they could kill him she appealed to their kinder nature and vehemently denied any claim that the demon was a monster.

"And when the dust settled and the two of them were left in each other's arms the demon bent his head to kiss his true love and told her 'I will love you endlessly' while she cried tears of joy. Not only was her love reciprocated, but the people now saw the demon as she did: As a man, not a beast. 'And I shall love you longer' she told him before their lips met again"

Phoebe clutched the storybook to her chest while wiping a small tear from the corner of her eye. "And they lived happily ever after" she sighed.

Phoebe saw her roommate was fast asleep and smiled. He always fell asleep before the ending. In fact he usually fell asleep at the worst part (When the odds were stacked against the hero and the conflict had reached the climax) so he never got to hear the happy ending. She just hoped his dreams filled in the blanks with beautiful endings even better than the book's.

"Goodnight, Caleb... and thank you... for being my best friend" she said before snuggling in and falling asleep.