Evelyn stared at Az. Her mouth had dropped open slightly. He calmly and quietly looked back at her with his stunning white eyes, lowering his hand as he regarded her. He seemed to be waiting for her to speak, and was perhaps a bit confused that she hadn’t yet.

There was still more silence as she tried to think of the right words, couldn't, and instead, chose the first ones that came to mind.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” she finally shrieked.

A pet? A goddamn pet? This is even worse than a sex thing and probably almost as bad as being eaten!

Az took a fraction of a step back, seeming startled by her outburst. “I am not sure I understand your question.”

Evelyn shook her head violently, ignoring his comment. “I'm not some kind of animal! You can't just treat a person like that! And I absolutely did not agree to this!”

Az was now obviously bewildered, his brow furrowing under his horns. “You very much did agree to this, Eve. I asked if you wanted me to heal you, and you specifically said 'yes.' You did not ask for further details and I cannot be held responsible for any assumptions you have made.”

He peered down at her, staring as if he would find something on her face to explain what she meant. “Surely you were aware that there would be a price? I believe your area of Above’s commerce is based on that sort of equivalent exchange… was I mistaken?”

Evelyn slammed her hands down on the cushioned floor, electing to ignore his point. “What the hell is the point of my being healed if I'm stuck here?”

“Of course there is a point to your being healed. That was my half of our bargain, and I fulfilled it. Besides, there is insufficient human medical care in Below,” Az said with the slightly confused frown she could now clearly read. “You are now in near perfect health—you will need to do some exercises to get your strength up, however, it is likely far less than average.”

“I'm not going to be your little hamster running on a wheel! P-put me back! Put me back, right now!” Despite their obvious height disparity making any threatening display impossible, Evelyn tried to get to her feet. Her legs shook and promptly deposited her back into the cushions.

Oh... geez, I guess it has been a long time since I was able to stand. I kinda feel like I forgot how to.

“Why did you not listen to what I just said?” Az asked, crossing his arms in what was clearly now annoyance rather than just confusion. “Your personal limits are something you should be able to feel on your own. You must have been bedridden for a fairly long time, so of course things are going to be difficult to move easily.”

“Why didn't you anticipate that when you healed me, then?” Evelyn demanded, adjusting her position to sit a bit more elegantly. “That's something you can fix, right?”

Strangely, he gave an awkward cough, then another heavy sigh. He blinked slowly. “Perhaps. However, I would prefer to answer any other urgent questions you may have at this time...?”

Everything about his manner seemed to suggest he was ready for the conversation to be over, reminding Evelyn of the nurses who had just pulled double, or worse, triple shifts at work.

Demons get tired too? Well who cares! Even if he’s exhausted —and if I’m honest, so am I—I’m not letting him go take a nice nap without giving me answers!

“So I'm stuck here? Below, you call it?” Evelyn demanded.

He nodded. “You will be living here, yes.”

“I-I didn't agree to this!” she protested again. “You have no right—”

Az let out another sigh. She was certain now that he was not breathing regularly, but only when she seemed to particularly exasperate him. “Again, I must remind you, that is not true, Eve. You did agree to contract with me. You simply did not ask what my terms were before saying yes. That was a bit surprising, but I was unable to linger Above, so I did assume that you, as a human, would be familiar with your own folklore. I’m certain there are many stories about demonic contracts.”

“Well yeah but that's—those are fiction. Of course I didn't know that was what I was doing!” Evelyn glared up at him, trying to remain angry rather than the strange feeling of annoyance—much like Az’s—growing in her. She squeezed her arm tightly. “I didn’t think you were even real! You took advantage of me.”

“Perhaps,” he agreed, seeming like he did not take any offense to the accusation, rather, it was like he was considering it a valid complaint. He touched his chin thoughtfully again. “I suppose that upsets you.”

“Suppose—” She forced herself to let go of her arm, grinding her teeth. Something else suddenly caught her attention, and she lifted her arm, looking down at herself. “Wh-what on earth am I wearing?”

Unexpectedly, Az seemed pleased at the question, which he began to answer confidently. “The brand is Soul Circle. The piece is called Midnight Rain, in the silver-grey colorway, from the—”

“Th-that's not what I'm asking! Did you dress me?” She blinked rapidly at the cutsew dress, tugging at the soft sleeve. It felt like it could be both casual daywear or even a nightgown, but was certainly the most comfortable and beautiful one she’d ever worn. She ground her teeth.

I am really, really annoyed that I'm not actually mad about this part! I guess enough people have changed my clothing without my permission that I'm not really bothered by that, but... I feel like I should be! I mean, he doesn’t know that I wouldn’t care!

“Of course. The hospital gown did not suit you.” He paused, seeming to examine the expression on her face. “I believe you may be misunderstanding how—”

Evelyn interrupted him with a new horrified thought as she stared at his outfit, and then her own. The grey of his shirt perfectly matched the grey of the dress. “Did you seriously color-coordinate this to your own clothing on purpose?”

“I thought it was appropriate,” Az replied, without shame, yet sounding slightly confused again. “Your hair already matches without further styling. Ah, I did not need to touch you, if that was a concern—”

Once again, Evelyn only heard half of what he said. She immediately felt her head, her eyes widening at the realization. “Hair?! Ah—”

It's back. It's really back!

She pulled a large piece over her shoulder and ran her fingers through it, delighted at the silky texture. It was exactly how she remembered it—the way she had it in her dreams—long, thick and black, with large, soft waves.

It’s been so long! I had forgotten I had so much… that it was so smooth…

She blinked, surprised that her vision was getting watery.

Really, this is what's going to make me cry? Not dying—well, almost dying, not being kidnapped to some fantastical place, not this terrifying weirdo saying I'm his pet, but just having my hair again?

She pressed it against her face, closing her eyes.

I didn't realize how much I'd missed it… this part of me.

She swallowed, taking a breath to compose herself.

“Than...” she began, but Az had already started talking, not realizing that she had as well.

“You should rest a bit more, Eve. You are likely exhausted. Moving between realms is hard on human bodies, and even healed, yours is not particularly strong.” His shoe clacked on the fine marble as he stepped back and moved to close the curtain.

She blinked away the happy tears, anxiety settling back into her bones. She tried to mask it with anger again. “Wait. What exactly are you planning on doing with me?”

He looked confused again. “I believe I already have explained that.”

She slapped the cushioned floor again; once again it only indented slightly. “You explained nothing! You wanted a pet? What did you want that pet to do?”

“To do?” Az paused, dropping the curtain and turning back towards her. He put a hand under his elbow as his other hand touched his chin. “I... do not believe I have thought too much on that aspect.”

“You wanted something, so you just took it, without even knowing what you wanted to do with it?” Evelyn said, bringing her own hand up to rub at her creased forehead.

God, I’m too annoyed to be actually angry anymore!

“You seem as if you are judging me for this. But is that not similar to how you ended up here as well, Eve?” He lowered his hand from his face. He seemed genuinely perplexed, as if he was curious what step in her logic he'd missed.

“Well—I am judging you! I was hopped up out of my mind on morphine or whatever, preparing to die, and you were doing—I don’t know, whatever the hell you were doing before appearing to me. You're the one who knew what a contract was, not me, so you're clearly in charge of this whole venture!” Her eyes narrowed over her unexpected pout. “Planning this—whatever ‘this’ is—was your responsibility and you totally failed at that!”

Surprisingly, that did seem to unsettle him a little. Az took another slight step back, lifting his hand back up. He rubbed the area below his horn again, then pinched the spot between his eyes. He let out another heavy sigh.

“... perhaps you are correct. I should have done more research.” He lowered his hand to his chin as he seemed to think more. “I was unable to linger Above, but that is not an excuse to do things poorly.”