Above is a little drawing I did of the boys as kids. From left to right: Seishin, Draka, Laion, Aytsa, Mitzu, Kori.

"Yes, yes, I'm awake," [Y/n] groaned in response to the standard crying of a child. She wondered how many of them could walk yet; she knew people who'd started walking at 18 months and others that started walking at 24, but some walked much, much later. As for talking, she wondered how many of them could construct and construe speech. Nyais had said they learned in their sleep. Was it like a simulation? Did they remember it? Was the information "downloaded" like a save file? It seemed so strange to her. Imagine being able to learn just by sleeping... if only she could do that.

Looking at the floor, [Y/n] spotted the book she'd been reading the night before. 'Animal Farm', it was called. It was the only book [Y/n] recognised on the bookshelves so she assumed it'd be an easy read. She had no idea why vampires would want to read Animal Farm of all books, however. It was about the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviets. She didn't see why a vampire would care for human history. Maybe it was just morbid curiosity? Or maybe they really did only see it as a psychedelic book about warmongering farmyard animals.

[Y/n] decided she'd check on the children first before getting their bottles as she wanted to see whether she could bring them through to the living room. She walked down the corridor and pushed the door to their room open. It suddenly became apparent that she'd need to change their cribs to beds as she looked at the young children. Seishin looked up immediately upon seeing [Y/n].

"Human," he mumbled. 'So they can speak,' [Y/n] thought to herself. "Mitzu's crying," he pouted. [Y/n] walked over to Seishin with a smile.

"I'll sort it out. My name is [Y/n], by the way," she said gently.

"[Y/n]?" Seishin echoed. [Y/n] nodded. "[Y/n]..." he repeated her name, before a smile crossed his countenance, though it was strangely smug. [Y/n] also smiled at him (unsurely, but a smile nonetheless) before walking over to Mitzu, who was currently throwing his fists in a toddler rage. She slowly began to rock to crib, however Mitzu's crying wouldn't cease.

"Are you hungry?" [Y/n] cooed softly. The crying continued. "You want some food?" she continued, hoping maybe the softness of her voice would calm him down. Still, the crying continued. [Y/n] let out an exasperated huff before resorting to her actions from the night before; humming a gentle tune. It was the same tune as the one she'd hummed last time as she supposed young children probably liked familiarity. And, as she had hoped, it worked. Mitzu's eyes grew big again and he began to giggle.

"Pretty," he giggled, grabbing a lock of [Y/n]'s hair. She very slowly took it from him as he began to pull on it.

"No," she scolded lightly, "that hurts." Even still, a small smile was on her face, mainly out of triumph from getting the wailing child to be quiet. Though she hadn't expected it as they weren't related to her in the slightest, she was already growing quite fond of the children she'd been placed with. Of course she remained cautious but she began wondering excitedly what sort of people— no, vampires— they'd become. Perhaps, if she did a good job raising them, her last days would be enjoyable. She looked forwards to them being a bit older in hopes that they could grow close and she'd have people to talk to, not just Nyais.

"I'll be back in just a second," [Y/n] said, subconsciously looking at Seishin when she spoke, who seemed the most intelligent of the six. He nodded in response and [Y/n] couldn't help but feel he was actually permitting her to leave. Did vampires instinctively see themselves superior to humans? It would make sense. Maybe this bond she sought for would be harder to obtain than she first thought.

[Y/n] walked off in the direction of the kitchen, opening the door and repeating the now standard routine of pulling the heavy handle of the metal box. Inside, instead of bottles, sat six blood packs. She assumed that this was how vampires usually drank blood (unless feeding off a live human). Inside the box also sat a note - [Y/n] immediately knew who it was from.

'Dear [Y/n],

I'll be coming around again later to make sure you're okay. I noticed you were reading Animal Farm last night. It's a good book - if you like books like that then I'd also recommend 1984. It's on the same row you got Animal Farm from. The children should be able to construct simple sentences today so you might feel a little less lonely. New beds will be brought in for them tomorrow, as well as anything they might request today. I'll see you soon.

- Nyais.'

Unlike last time when the letter had left her feeling reassured, [Y/n] couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved by the idea that Nyais knew exactly what she was doing at all times. Being watched hadn't bothered her before but it wasn't exactly normal... how often did he 'tune in' to what she was doing? She once again shook the thoughts away.

[Y/n] took the blood packs and headed off in the direction of the bedroom. They were much easier to carry than the bottles seeing as they were flat and lay easily on top of one another. She gave one to each child, hoping they'd know what to do with it. Some of them studied it curiously, others simply bit into it and drained it that way. Seishin was the first one to understand how they were supposed to be fed from, and those who hadn't already drained theirs followed his example.

[Y/n] then proceeded to go from crib to crib and open the sides (which were like a little fence that folded in to the side of the crib). She went back to Laion and picked him up, putting him softly down on the ground to allow him to stand, which he did so with confidence. Then she moved to Kori, who merely watched her with a blank stare, and she picked him up too. When she put him down she noticed he immediately began to blindly follow her as she proceeded to take Draka, Aytsa and Seishin out of their cribs. Then she picked up Mitzu, who looked like he was trying his hardest not to throw a tantrum, placing him down with the others. They could all stand confidently and, though a couple staggered a little as they walked, their gait was far advanced for their 'age'.

"Right, we're gonna go through to the living room so you guys have to follow me," [Y/n] smiled. It seemed that they weren't following her, however. Instead they all naturally followed Seishin. All except for Kori, who seemed quite intent on following [Y/n] wherever she went. The strangest thing was he was entirely silent as he moved. Seishin luckily decided to follow [Y/n], therefore leading all the others behind him as she made her way to the living room. "I'm gonna have to go for a second," she said softly, "Seishin, can I trust you to make sure no one makes a mess?" The child nodded firmly. "Thanks!" she grinned. She knew she couldn't leave them unsupervised for long so she simply intended to go and get her book.

[Y/n] hastily walked through to her bedroom, grabbing the book before turning to return to the six toddlers who may or may not have been wrecking the living room. She was stopped in her tracks however when her door creaked open and a certain brunette male stood in her room, the hint of a smile on his face.

"Oh, Nyais!" [Y/n] smiled, "nice to see you again," she chuckled. The happy attitude was slightly fake, but she was glad to see him again. Company was greatly appreciated, and - as captors go - Nyais wasn't bad at all.

"Are you going back to the living room?" he asked casually. She didn't know how he knew she'd already been in the living room if he was here and not by a 'monitor' or whatever he was using to watch her with, however she nodded.

"Yeah. You coming?" she asked, to which he nodded. He shut the door fully before walking over to her.

"You're being watched," he chuckled. [Y/n] looked at him and raised a brow. 'Did he read my mind?' she thought to herself. He then chuckled. "Relax - look at the door." [Y/n] followed his gaze to the door where little Kori stood, coldly staring into the room and watching [Y/n]'s every movement. The [h/c] haired girl smiled nervously, waving at Kori who suddenly ran off upon being spotted.

"Should I be worried?" [Y/n] chuckled, to which Nyais shook his head with a smile. "Oh, and, quick question... are you— uh— are you able to see what I'm doing when you're not here?" Nyais seemed to fluster a little at those words, but he shook his head. "O-oh... it's just... well, how did you know I was reading Animal Farm last night? And you know whether I've eaten or not..."

"Your breathing pattern. I have the sharpest hearing of any vampire," he shrugged, "but I've learnt how to pinpoint it when I want to hear something and how to close it off when I don't - you know, to avoid every sound hitting me at once. When someone reads, they breathe in the rhythm of what they're thinking and therefore what they're reading. I've read every book in those bookshelves so I knew immediately. As for where you are and what you're doing, you can probably guess how I know that from what I just told you."

"S-So, you can always hear me?" He nodded. "Is that... is that why you said that if I ever need help I need only call you?" He nodded again. "Right... I see," [Y/n] hummed. "Do all vampires have really sharp hearing?" she continued. Nyais shrugged a little.

"Most vampires have hearing far above average, but very few have hearing like mine. You'll find that as the boys grow up they'll each have their own strengths. I can already tell that Kori has got his father's genes," he smiled.

"Their fathers are still alive?" [Y/n] said, her eyes widening a little at the revelation.

"Only the mothers die when the children are born - every female vampire knows her job is to find a mate and die with her child," he shrugged - [Y/n] couldn't quite believe how macabre and terribly misogynistic the whole thing was. "That is unless they prove to be stronger than a male vampire. Then they're allowed to live the same way we do - as hunters or fighters," he explained. "And as for the fathers, it's probably a surprise to you due to the absence in their sons' lives. This is mainly because most of the male vampires who take mates disagree with the system. It's difficult to love someone knowing you'll be the reason they die in the end." Nyais looked away, letting out a sigh. "It can be painful for them to know their children. Other fathers are simply too busy."

The pair had subconsciously made their way to the living room. Both sat on one of the sofas absentmindedly, looking over the toddlers. Mitzu was sat on his own, apparently having a silent tantrum. Laion, Draka and Seishin were playing with some fluff they'd found on the carpet as they currently didn't have any toys. Aytsa was harassing Kori, who'd gone into the living room shortly before [Y/n] and Nyais.

Nyais pulled out a notebook. 'Beds,' was scribbled on the top line. He took a pencil from his pocket and, on the line below, noted 'toys'. [Y/n] looked curiously at it.

"What's that?" [Y/n] asked, her head tilted slightly.

"A list of everything you and the kids need or want. Is there anything else you'd like?"

There was a pause for a while, before [Y/n] looked down. "I'd like to send a letter to my family... to tell them I'm okay." Nyais' gaze hardened at this and [Y/n] instinctively shrunk back into herself wishing she hadn't spoken. "S-sorry, pretend I didn't say anything," she quickly added.

"I'd have no issue with you sending a letter back, but if you do you could ruin my chances at letting you live." [Y/n]'s brow suddenly furrowed. What did that mean? Would he kill her if she sent a letter? Why? What was the problem?

"I'm currently fighting a battle with my superior. He claims that he's okay with me taking your kill on the 21st day, but I'm not satisfied with that." He paused. "You remind me a lot of someone who used to be close to me." [Y/n]'s eyes widened at this. "And... well, I want you to live longer than those 21 days. I'm currently trying to prove that you're already totally indoctrinated into our society - that you have no issue with our ways and that you're happy to live alongside us with no regard to your past life. Sending a letter home would be knocking on death's door." [Y/n] nodded slowly.

"You think... you think I might be able to live...?" she said quietly.

"I hope you're able to live. Right now I really don't know. I am, however, going to try for your survival."

A moment of silence lingered between them before [Y/n] wrapped her arms around Nyais, burying her face into his chest. "Thank you... thank you so much... you have no idea how much this means to me," she whispered. Her opinions of Nyais began to become clearer; no, this man wasn't evil. He wasn't a bad person.

"It's no problem," Nyais smiled softly, placing a hand on her back, "really," he added, slightly awkward thanks to the girl who clung to him like he was the last living being on Earth.

The pair of them stayed like that for a while, before continuing their evening and spending time chatting as they watched over the kids.