_{he’s not obedient to someone who hasn’t earned that respect. the last one who owned him gave it and he had no problem being his errand boy. if he needed someone killed, it was Caleb’s finger on the trigger. if he needed to send a message, he was the emissary. and not for praise or recognition. he owed the other demon a debt that can’t be repaid and he’d accepted his place because of it. it was the fact that Ky isn’t the same that makes him so rebellious. Ky wanted to either break him or bend him to his will and Caleb’s too stubborn for that. if he gives in, it’s only because he didn’t have any fight left in him. doing what Ky asked was easier than arguing with him and he gets tired of the chains. tired of the war between them that all he has to sacrifice is his pride if he calls a ceasefire by submitting. attention from him is always hostile and he’ll never understand why Ky bothered. he’s not his father and even if being like him would have earned him his freedom, he’d rather be who he was than change. he’s survived Hell; he could survive whatever Ky throws at him too. “if you want me to stop fighting you then it doesn’t work that way; you can have one or the other but not both.“ attention he could give if it was on his terms but Ky wouldn’t grant him that. it’s simple: they weren’t equals and for as long as that remains the case he’s never going to be obedient.}

_{“perhaps.” in his mind, he could have both; the logic of one or another didn’t seem to suit him. ky wanted everything and that meant that he would need the other’s obedience. the other’s attention was wanted more; much more in-fact, but he could work with that as time passed. after-all, he was going to get everything… eventually, “however, i have a feeling that you’ll submit to me eventually.” if he didn’t, ky would do well to rip caleb apart until he submitted, but that would have took time. time… the demon wasn’t going to put forth on caleb or anyone if he was being truly honest with himself, “it’s only a matter of time.”}