The Vampire's Apprentice

"Ha ha," Kitty faked a laugh, then sighed.
"You know... this wasn't how I envisioned leaving. Why on earth did you decide to bring him with you?" Pause. Backtrack. "Not that I'm opposed, but I just don't see why you—of all people—would be willing to do something so... soft."
 
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"You make me sound like such a callous bastard," Clancy said dryly. "Is it really so hard to believe that as exasperating as I find him to be, I cannot help a certain fondness for young Norville?" He paused, shifting his weight. "And... he reminds me of something else."
 
"It is... especially since you decided on a whim." Kitty replied. "I have never seen you be spontaneous up until that point. There's always thinking and planning and considering," she'd started moving her hands but paused mid-gesture. "What do you mean, 'he reminds you of something else?'"
 
"Thinking, planning, and consideration are preferable, but there are times when you cannot have the luxury to take your time to plan, so..." he shrugged, "you have to try to make the best snap decision is as much forward thought as you can manage. It is quite a skill that I developed during the 1920's. Perhaps Norville would not spend jail time, but odds are good he'd spend at least a few weeks to a few months in jail. He is so... let's go with 'delicate,' that I foresee two outcomes: he kills himself, or he comes out of prison not at all the person who went in."

He did not answer her question as to what or whom Norville reminded him. It was a complicated question that he was not certain how to answer.
 
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She rubbed at her temples. "Then...." Kitty thought about it. "Then...." What was she trying to ask? She leaned back against the car and closed her eyes, releasing a breath. "I don't know. He was about ready to break in the store at the sight of red shirts."
 
"Understandable. Whatever the situation that drove him to it, he not only shed his first blood... it was the blood of his father," Clancy said. "Granted, his father was a miserable excuse of a humanoid being, but there is still that connection. He has to face that and learn to deal with it." He gave her a wry smile without much humor. "Perhaps we should see how he does in therapy, hmm?"
 
Kitty replied with a withering glare. "Don't start." She warned. "Just don't. That can wait until we've moved in somewhere. Until then, what is there to do?"
 
"It was a joke, Kitty," Clancy sighed. He should have known better in her current frame of mind, but he'd hoped to lighten the mood a bit. "As for right now... there is not much to do. He needs time to process, to come to grips with what happened. We should definitely keep an eye on him to ensure he does not do anything regrettable, but that should pass soon. If he wants to talk, listen, but do not pressure him. This road trip will be healthier for him than if he was sitting still with nothing to do but think and stare at a wall."
 
"Right...." She nodded slowly. "I guess that's all one can do, isn't it?" Kitty left a pause before she continued. "Are we moving again in the morning, or waiting for you?"
 
"Do you feel confident in driving? There were actually a few rather interesting attractions along the route. Just tourist traps, but they appeared to be of some interest, and you might learn about local legends along the way," Clancy suggested. "Most of them are closed at night, unfortunately, but there was one I marked on the map I would like to see. A night tour of a cave."
 
"You asked that before," Kitty mumbled. "I can drive, yes. It just no longer seems like the time for... for... I don't know. It's really, really late and I can't think straight anymore. I don't want to accidentally set off Norville... but maybe it will be a helpful distraction... maybe we'll go into it thinking it's gonna be great... and then something happens...." She was back to gesturing as her expression flipped between possibility and serious concern; finally she buried her face in her hands. Her head hurt, and so did the tip of her nose.
 
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Clancy gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, resting her head against his chest. "Use your best discretion. I trust your judgment. If I thought you couldn't handle this, I would not have brought him along."
 
For a while, she just stood there. In the silence; the darkness. Feeling the warm night air. Resting against a body devoid of heat. Listening to the sound of nothing within a rib cage. Smelling the scent of summer pollen, the tar of the parking lot, his scent.

Kitty pulled away first, wordlessly examining his expression. There were other things to do and Norville to take care of, but oh, how she wished she could stay. There was no place she would rather have been.
 
Clancy smiled at her, tenderness in his eyes. He patted her shoulder gently then turned back to the motel. "Come along, we should go see if Sam has gotten Norville into trouble."
 
"Yeah," she murmured, following along behind him. Whatever she was meant to have "gotten" was long lost in memory.
 
Clancy led the way back to the hotel and opened the door cautiously. At first, he didn't see Norville. Then he spotted legs sticking out between the bed and the wall. If his heart had been beating, it would have stopped. He was by the bed in a second.

Norville lay stretched out hugging Sam as the dog lay next to him, both of them fast asleep. They were fine. He smiled a little as he looked down at the pair.
 
Kitty crept in behind him and settled herself quietly on the bed, watching Clancy intently, though warily. It had been too long of a night to let anything go without second assurance.
 
"Well, I guess he found his bed," Clancy said with a chuckle. "I would suggest sleeping on the other bed. That way, if he gets up in the middle of the night-" he glanced at the clock, "in a few minutes, he will not accidentally crawl into you."
Sam just yawned, happy to have a human blanket. So warm!
 
Kitty nodded, glancing towards the sleeping Norville. Sam was a good dog. A very good dog.

"Where will you go?" She spoke quietly, looking to Clancy again.
 
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