The Vampire's Apprentice

Kitty opened her eyes and looked over at him, then at the window. She yawned, sitting up from her position against the door.
 
"Good evening," Clancy greeted. "We are at the Wal-Mart." He turned slightly. "Norville? Are you awake?"
"Yes, sir. I never fell asleep," he said, opening bloodshot eyes.
"Alright. Are you ready to go in?" He looked between Kitty and Norville.
 
Clancy studied her a moment. "Why don't you take Sam for a walk on the grass first and bring him back? That will help you wake up." He didn't really want her wandering around a strange store half asleep without him to look after her.
 
Kitty nodded again, doing as he had suggested. It did help her to wake up, which was good. Cleared the muddled thoughts... to an extent.
 
Sam yawned and whined and took his time stretching. Once he'd given himself a good shake, he trotted around on the grass.

Norville got out of the car and stretched, as well, waiting for her to come back.
 
Sam was happy to hop back into the car now that he'd taken care of business and stretched out. He licked this mobile bed! It rocked, and all his favorite people were nearby.

"Hey," Norville said quietly. "Ready to, um, go in?"
"Do you have your card and identification and phone?" Clancy asked through the open window, his own phone in hand as he'd been pulling up the map to various hotels. He looked at her with a faint frown of concern.
 
"Always," Kitty replied, closing the trunk and moving to the window. "You don't have to worry so much, you know. Even if worrying years off of forever is a little impossible," she smiled lightly, in a better mood than previous conversations, "it's still not worth trying to do."
 
Clancy's expression lightened a little and he smiled. "Very well. I shall do my best not to worry. I'm off to find beds for you two, seeing as I will be spending my time in a trunk. Make sure Norville gets everything he needs."
"Yes, sir," Norville said quietly.
 
She kept his gaze for a moment longer before turning away, glancing over her shoulder to see if Norville followed. "Come, dear Norville," Kitty said. "We have things to get!"
 
"And please, for the sake of my never-aging body, be careful!" Clancy called after them. He started the car and slowly pulled away.

"Um. Yeah," Norville agreed, following her like a lost sheep. "I don't even know where to start."
 
"Did you know Sherlock never said that in the original stories?" Norville mumbled, sticking close as the harsh glare of the florescent lights seered into his eyes. He felt naked and exposed.
 
"'Course I know that." Kitty glanced at him. "Makes me wonder why people say it all the time, but I guess you can't blame them for not knowing. Or not caring."

She walked a bit slowly for his sake. Since most Walmarts were arranged in similar manners, it wasn't hard to find where the clothes search began.
 
Norville barely looked, listlessly touching the occasional shirt or short, seeming to use the connection to hold himself to reality. His shoulders were stopped, his entire air fragile and dejected.
 
Kitty didn't do anything too spontaneous, mostly just gently nudged him now and again as she sensed he was not quite... himself. What's worse... she knew why he wasn't himself, and there wasn't anything she felt she could do about it.
 
Norville came to a stop in front of a display of red shirts. He swallowed hard and started shaking. Tears sprang to his eyes, and he whimpered.
 
"Norville," Kitty whispered, stepping between him and the rack. She stood on her toes, as she was slightly smaller than he was. "Look at me. At me."
 
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