The Vampire's Apprentice

He did not return to the park the next evening. Or the next. Let her stew. He was not a dog to be yanked around on a chain or ordered about. In truth, who was she to so so arrogant as to think she could prove he was a vampire? She would have much better luck on a silly little fledgling than a mature vampire like himself. He supposed he could just leave, but then she would find that to be proof that he was a vampire. No, he would go back. When he was ready.

The nights were long and dull once again. He found a couple more decent meals, but the rest of the time he worked at his computer screen in his little office. The numbers on the screens scrolled by, maps and charts lined up, and many, many games of solitair rolled by. Dull. Boring. Tedious.

It was night four since he had called her paranoid and stormed off like a drama queen. Now he was back. He wore the same attire as the first time they had met, and he walked with a soft hum.
 
There she was, laid across the entirety of the bench with a small flashlight and a good book in hand. She was a little over halfway through it by then, and since the cover had nothing at all to do with vampires or myth in general, perhaps she really had given up. Perhaps he was right, and she was just paranoid. One wouldn't know without asking.
 
Clancy stopped and down at her, still maintaining his distance. "Ah. You are still alive. And here," he said blandly. He sniffed in an exagerated fashion. "And I do not smell any garlic, at least not obviously."
 
"Of course I'm still here," Kitty flipped the page. "Don't see why I wouldn't be."
Her voice wasn't... cold, exactly. Although, one would be hard-pressed to say it was the same as the last time they had spoken. She wasn't the type to hold resentment, but some things hurt more than others. Specifically, his words had cut her deeply, wether she knew him that well or not. It was the downside to being a friendly, outgoing person. People's opinions would get to you rather quickly.

"Since I'm obviously not going to go looking for the vampires, I figured I'd wait until the vampires came to me. Unless you're finally planning to tell me outright you aren't one, I have yet to see proof to the contrary." Her eyes didn't lift once from the page, and she continued to read.
 
Clancy sniffed. "Other than being friendly, not trying to bite you, not outright killing you, not flinching at holy water, garlic, or any other ridiculous thing you throw at me? Oh, I am so very sorry that I cannot present a certificate of authenticity of my belonging to the human race. It is truly most inconvenient for you that I am not a blood-sucking lunatic."
 
Kitty closed her eyes for a half second and exhaled, sticking her finger in the book to mark her spot as she sat up. "You dodged it again. I've only seen you arrive after the sun is completely gone, you pointed out the flaw with the stones myth, I never did use the holy water, and I'm sure you were, as you stated, allergic to garlic. Besides that, you said plainly that you were a vampire and have not since refuted it. 'Blood-sucking lunatic' is not the same thing. So, are you a vampire or aren't you?"
 
Clancy snorted. "I am not answering that. Not dodging it, refusing point-blank to answer an insulting question. You can act all high and mighty about trying to prove what I am and how offended you were by my words, but have you ever considered how insulting you have been to me?" He paused for effect. "No, I thought not. I see no reason to keep wasting my time trying to convince you, either, since nothing I do is ever good enough, and perfectly legitimate reasons are highly suspect to your eyes."
 
"I'm asking you to say, 'no, I am not a vampire.' Or, 'yes, I am indeed, a vampire.' Say either, and I drop the subject. Permanently. We can be friends again, or strangers. Whichever." Kitty leaned back and watched him, letting her small light shine in his direction. She could see the glowing reflection of his eyes, but thought little of it at the time.
 
"Because mere words mean so much to someone who questions everything, not to mention, I could easily lie," Clancy stated. "But fine. If it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside like you accomplished something..." He put his hand over her light and leaned in close. "No. I am not a vampire," he growled. He moved back again. "But I am disgusted. I hope you have other friends to tell what a jerk I am." He started walking away.
 
"No," Kitty lay back down on the bench, picking up her book again. "I don't. It's just me.... Sorry to bother you, sir."
 
"No wonder when you go around accusing people of being vampires, including people who would happily be your friend if you weren't demanding they eat garlic or touch water to prove they are not some kind of evil villian," Clancy told her stiffly. "I hope you find your vampire. Perhaps then you can finally rest."
 
Kitty didn't reply immediately, flipping another page of her book. "I thought I had, but since you aren't one, I won't have the need to bother you anymore about it. I'll still be here if you ever want the company, Mr. Clancy. Don't be afraid to say hi now and again."
 
"You have not exactly made yourself the most inviting person to talk to," Clancy pointed out. He tipped his hat and walked off. Snobby little human expecting him to appologize. Nope. Not only was he above apologizing for such foolishness as letting her live, but even if he was human, he was well in his rights to be offended at her rather rude behavior. All she had to do was apologize for treating him like a test subject, then he might consider talking to her. Or maybe he'd just move to Swaziland again and go on a killing spree of warlords in the surrounding area. No one would care there.
 
Kitty couldn't focus. It had soon dawned on her that she'd been re-reading the same paragraph over and over again for quite a while. In the end, she let the book slip from her grasp to the ground beside the bench and stared up at the sky between the loose branches of a waving oak tree.

It had been a little over five weeks. That was how long she had been trying to find find something and coming up with nothing.

Well, not nothing, but pretty close to it. Her only lead had decided he didn't want to be her test subject, so she was back to square one again. Either go looking for the vampires, or let the vampires come looking for her. At this point, it didn't really matter, and she didn't really care. She was going to end up dead no matter what she did. Dead, and friendless. What a way to go.

Kitty closed her eyes and breathed, ignoring the chilly breeze that kept pushing her hair back in front of her face. It was nice out, during the night. Wouldn't be all that bad... to just... drift off into nothingness....
 
Clancy didn't go home right away. Instead, he went to his favorite all-night diner and sat in his usual corner with his usual cup of coffee that he would have to dump out before he left. He usually bought one or two of these and sat in the corner, thinking. The change of scenery helped him think better, and while the stench of food was nauseating, he'd learned to ignore it. Plus, keeping the coffee under his nose helped. Strangely enough, even though everything else smelled wretched, coffee smelled alright. Not great, but better than anything else.

Perhaps he had been too hard on the child. It appeared that her obsession, as most obsessions did, had left her alone in the world. Definately friendless, possibly without family, and possibly homeless. Maybe he kept running into her on the bench because that was where she lived. Hmm, unlikely. But possible if she wasted all her time looking for rare, supernatural creatures instead of working. How pathetic. She didn't eve have a pet as far as he could tell.

He sighed as he stared into his cup of brown liquid. Wonderful. He was growing soft in his middle-age. He was feeling sorry for his prime source of food. That was not going to complicate things at all. Still... it had been ages since he'd had anyone to talk to for anything other than business transactions. Perhaps he would give her one more try. If she'd bother to let him. He'd just have to lay down some ground rules.
 
Kitty was asleep. Until the daylight hit her face the next morning, she wouldn't realize it. When it did, however, and she was awake, the girl hardly felt like moving much at all. But of course, that would be counterproductive, since she still had places to be. Hopefully.

The library was first. She gently pushed the book from last night through the slot and sighed, letting her fingers rest on the cold metal dropbox for a moment before thrusting them back into the warmth of her jacket's pockets.The girl was rarely ever seen without the strange item of clothing, but it was chilly in the night and morning, so who could blame her?

Since the main building wasn't open for another hour or so, she wandered aimlessly, avoiding dark places and generally just meandering until the large, book-filled structure decided to welcome her with its heat, causing her to sigh in bliss. It wouldn't be right of me to reveal much more, so I'll leave it be for now. It suffices to say, she would, as always, be back on the bench come nightfall.
 
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Clancy had places to be the next night. When he finally reached the bench, it was a good three hours past his usual time. He walked calmly, a bag in one hand, a coffee cup in the other. He spotted the girl and moved once again to approach in her blind spot. He counted to three under his breath. "Have you finished the book yet?" he asked more loudly than necessary.
 
Her skin jumped, but she didn't move this time. Instead, turned to look up at him, giving a small smile. "No, I didn't. It was due, so I had to turn it in before I got the chance."
 
"You do realize one has the opportunity to renew books for just those sorts of instances?" Clancy pointed out in dry amusement. Then he held out the bag. "Sprinkles, round, creamer and sugar." The coffee he offer next.
 
Kitty took the items and held them on her lap. The coffee in particular was warm against her stiff fingers. She thanked him. "I thought about that, but I was afraid it'd get lost somewhere if I carried it around any longer than a week."
 
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