It was late. Madoka should have been in bed by now. The High Noble had developed a habit of checking on her every night, especially when he noticed she had begun forgoing sleep. It might be hypocritical for him to admonish her for a behavior that she may have, as far as he knew, picked up from himself. But Jedah didn’t need to sleep as much as his daughter did. So when he found her once again missing from her bed, he set out to find her. It didn’t take long, simply seeking out the parts of the castle he knew she favored.
It wasn’t a surprise to find her asleep surrounded by scattered books. He considered carrying her to bed when she stirred. Red eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he folded his arms over his chest.
“This is becoming far too common an occurrence. I think by now I should not have to repeat myself.” He began to gather up the books, glancing at the titles to see where they should go. Ordinarily he would expect his daughter to pick up after herself, but in this case he decided she didn’t need the extra work. What is it you are working on so diligently? Surely nothing that cannot wait long enough for you to sleep.”
“Oh that...I had found this thing...upon your return from the human world. It followed you. I didn’t know what it was fully, so I kept it in a jar...I had been trying to study what this was for days but to no avail...” She yawns, lifting up the jar in question. Inside was a little black mass, wriggling and attempting to free itself.
“I named it Nightshade...it doesn’t do much but wriggle about, but I found out it detests loud screeching sounds. But...it does seem to like you, father.”