I understand. As I say, in my country these things were usually kept behind closed doors. But I was... familiar with being owned before I arrived, so in many respects it wasn't a difficult adjustment.

[some respects he is not going to mention. Another sip of his tea with his free hand - his other in Gokudera's as soon as he offered, almost without his realising or acknowledging. Naturally the boy would know his tendency to touch better than most, given their time living together.]

There were so many who had lead less constrained lives than I had - and there I was, not sure I knew necessarily what to do with freedom, it seemed almost unfair the brief time that I was an Elite. But it was important to me to protect my... charge from being forced into anything he was not ready for. [not using the word "Pet" again.] For better or worse my experience helped me with that. I was not prepared to be a master, but if I was to be one, I wanted to ensure I was better than those I had known.

[a smile at his familiar, perched contentedly on the edge of the plate, shimmering different colours with each small cake piece she draws into herself]

Of course there was so much new that that was quite difficult, in itself. But I am at least a little bit better with technology than when this all started...!