Six Months Later (nel)

The fish had been the part that Trent liked the most. Cats loved fish. He'd eat a ton of fish. But he also liked to be brushed. His fur was sleek and smooth. Brushing made it shine even more. "I can allow that," he decided.

"I can brush everywhere right? Including your head? Some cats don't like it, but some do. Plus it makes your coat all glossy there too." Nel said, but she'd never do the face. Nope. They could do that. Too close to sensitive eyes. She started to scratch his neck as she waited for an answer.

"Yes," Trent said with a tired sigh. He didn't like giving in but at the same time, Companion care was a very important part of the Tamer/Companion relationship. That meant being properly groomed and fed. Each fiend had different needs. He needed brushing. So he wasn't going to fight it.

Nel didn't realised he'd allowed her to be his tamer. But that he was just allowing his princess to care for him. She used the brush on his head, going until it was nice and shiny and then moved down to his back and sides. She'd keep going until he fell asleep. "I actually bought you a Halloween costume, you don't have to wear it." she said, as she continued to brush him in hopes he'd stay relaxed and less bratty.

"As long as it's not ridiculous I might give it a go," Trent said. He sometimes allowed himself to be dressed as a fiend. He did not give in to that nearly as often as Gaius did with Sirius. But sometimes, when he wasn't feeling as bratty, he allowed such things. Eventually he fell asleep from the brushing.

"Tiny top hat, cane for your mouth and a monocle. I thought you'd look super suave." Nel said and continued to brush him out. Somehow, even the just bathed kitties and dogs ended up with dust in their fur.

Trent sighed but did not give his opinion on the accessories that she wanted to decorate him with. He gave nothing away at all. He might be convinced to wear them but it wouldn't be for very long. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep then rather than give her any sort of answer.

Nel was surprised he trusted her enough to sleep. But she put the brush down and then the little bits she had wanted him to wear. She even kissed his head and softly fussed it before she decided to look around.

He didn't often show her much of his apartment and it wasn't loudly telling her of Trent. Which meant she had curiosity for days. She wanted to know him.

He'd been nosy about her files. He'd probably even delved deeper than just that. Kitties were curious and that was the end of that. She wasn't mad. She understood his needs to know his princess.

She looked around, without really moving stuff or looking inside things. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

Until she started to open doors and drawers and came across a box. It was the only thing that appeared to be keeping something of value to him. She sat on the floor and opened it.

It was... Well, it was a keepsake box. Of things about a girl called Ansley. She could tell from pictures they were siblings. She could see it.

She could see they were very close and she was curious what happened. She pulled her phone from one of the pockets in her skirt and then Googled it.

Tragic death of purrloin, due to tamer giving her the wrong medicine to help her.

Trent Liepard hands himself into the police for the brutal murder of a human.

There was more. She knew there was more. Her logical part of her brain reminded her that this was Trent. Who she had spent six months getting to know. He didn't seem like that.

But the anxiety of having been just sat with a murderer, after only 7 months ago escaping being almost murdered herself kicked in.

The anxiety voice was always louder in her head. Right now it was screaming, as her chest tightened and she struggled to catch her breath.

What was Trent's end goal here? Why had he gained her trust but not brought that up knowing the situation? Why had he hidden it from her?

She couldn't breathe. The edges of her vision had started to go dark as her panic attack was threatening to take her consciousness away from her. She scrambled to put the things back in the box.

But her hands were not coordinated and she wasn't being quiet as tears slipped down her face and she gulped for air.

She tried to put it back where she found it, but her hands slipped and it fell onto the floor. The lid opened and all the stuff spewed back out of it and she immediately hurried to put it back.

"What are you doing?" Trent asked. He had heard the mess she was making and had woken up. He tail sloshed back and forth in an agitated fashion to see the contents of that box strewn all about the floor.

Nel didn't respond, she was already rushing to put the things back in the box. She wanted to apologise, she really did. The part of her that was close to Trent felt awful. But she couldn't even breathe enough to answer him.

Trent noticed how she was panicking. He didn't know what was causing it though. Not yet. "Calm down. Just be careful if you're going to snoop next time."

"Yes, because there's going to be one of those. Next times. I'm totally not afraid of the murderer who befriended me and pretended to want to help me." Nel rambled as she got everything back into the box and put the lid back on it. She didn't try and put it away. She left it right there on the floor. "Was you ever going to tell me? Or was it more fun to build me up and bring me back down?"

Trent raises his head up and gave her one of those long looks. "You shouldn't make such assumptions. You know that I cannot harm you. And the life I took years ago was justified for the murder of my little sister. I will not apologize to you for it but neither will I speak of it so easily."

Her anxiety screamed that he was lying. But she knew he wasn't. "You know my situation and you kept it from me anyway. You might think it's not my business, but did I not deserve to find out a better way than this?"

"You are not the only one who has a situation, Princess. I know yours, yes. You do not know mine. And while you may have been ready to learn of mine, which I doubted, I was not ready," Trent said.

"you didn't ask me. You took the knowledge without permission, but that's fine? So long as I'm patient with you?" Nel asked, feeling cross again. "that's hardly fair."

"I was given the knowledge because you are a student and my princess. I did not ask for it nor did I take it. And knowing your situation has only helped me to help you overcome it," Trent reminded her.

"Whatever. You should have said something and you know that. What if one of the bitches at school said it? I'd have avoided you. Gone backwards."

"Does it really change anything? You know that I cannot nor would hurt you," Trent said. He couldn't really frown as a cat. "Your wolf takes lives and yet you are not scared of him. I avenged a death. Nothing more. In the same way the man who hurt you was killed for what he did."

"you have hurt me." Nel said, not all wounds were physical after all. "You triggered me, then told me I'm not allowed to have feelings. I understand now, what you did. But I wish I'd heard it from you. It hurts me that you care so little that I had to find out like this. It hurts me more that you don't care. So don't lie and tell me you can't hurt me. Because you have. "

"I would have told you when I was ready to talk about it," Trent said. "You would have found out if you hadn't snooped through my things. Even then, if you wanted to know who she was, you could have asked me. I would have answered." But no. She'd gone online.

"You were sleeping." Nel said, but then she realised this entire thing was one sided. She started to leave to find her bag. "Forget it. Forget this whole thing. Forget you."

Trent changed into a man and blocked her path. He was not threatening. He just wasn't letting her run away. "You can't run away from things that upset you. Get am sorry you found out about the skeletons in my closet this way." He gestured to the couch for her to sit. "Let's talk."

"Why? What's the point? For you to give me another I hated that my princess is weak speech? Or pretend you suddenly care?" Nel said stubbornly not moving. But he had known she wouldn't push past him as a man.

Trent didn't rise to her anger. "Do you want to hear about my sister, from me, or not?" He asked.