The Vampire's Apprentice

"Is that not a part of your allowance?" Clancy asked with a smile. "Not to mention, there are books in the library and the bookstore. What is stopping you from going there?" He glanced out the window again.

Lights. Red and blue, but no siren. A police car? It stopped at the Mooney household. EJ again, likely.
 
"Oh, I know that." Kitty nodded. "You asked, so I answered. That was... all.... Is something the matter?" She asked, noticing his gaze this time and glancing towards the window as well.
 
"It appears someone has found themselves in trouble again with our neighbors," Clancy sighed. He deliberately moved away, not wanting to know more of the drama.
 
"So, my inquiring young Familiar, what questions do you have for me today?" Clancy asked, trying to ignore the sudden flurry of activity from next door.
 
"That is a deep question," Clancy said with a smile. "Hmm, I'd like to think about it more, but if I were to-" He stopped short at a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" He rose and went to the door.
EJ and the twins stood on the porch, all of them quiet, and EJ was rather pale. "Excuse me, Mr. McCleary," EJ said softly, "but our Mum has to... she has to go for a bit. We were wondering if we could wait here with you? She doesn't trust the twins alone with me,"
Clancy sighed. "No, I suppose you do not have much by way of track records, do you? Come in." He stepped aside and let them enter.
 
There was very little Kitty found she could glean from this situation, except that it wasn't EJ who was in trouble this time. Perhaps Mrs. Mooney was being called somewhere for another–

"Where's Norville?" She asked suddenly, counting heads.
 
EJ looked away, his jaw tightening.
"Men took him away," JP said softly.
Clancy looked over the three. What did people do to soothe the fears of the younger generation? Stories? Toys? His own mother always put the tea kettle on or... Oh! "I will fetch some cookies and milk," he said, walking toward the kitchen.
 
Whatever had been holding her stomach in place released it on a whim, letting it plummet mercilessly into a deep, icy pit of dread. Kitty sank back onto the couch—she barely noticed she'd stood—and made an effort not to fidget too much with her fingers. Her mind was abuzz with questions, but more than that, it was clouding with fears. She tried not to let it show, pushing the emotions somewhere they wouldn't seep through to her expression, but there was nothing to say her mannerisms were nearly as jovial as they had been moments before.
 
EJ dropped into a chair - Clancy's chair - and glared moodily at the wall, but his mannerisms could not hide the fear in his eyes no matter how he tried. The twins weren't trying to hide their worry as they huddled on the opposite end of the couch, pressed up tight to each other.
Clancy came in with a tray of cookies and set it on the coffee table. He glanced at EJ then let it pass as he handed out the milks, including one to Kitty. The clock ticked deafeningly in the silence.
 
She stared blankly at the white substance in her hands, her gaze unknowingly shifting to Clancy after a while. He looked so unfazed.... Calm, like he always did. Why was that? Were the events of mortals meaningless to him, having lived for such a dreadfully long time? Did he care even a little bit?
 
Clancy finished serving them and sat in the other chair. "Would you like to tell us what happened?" he invited.
Sam put his head on JC's lap, and the young girl eagerly accepted the invitation to pet him. She stroked his big, boulder of a head, calming as she did so.
"Mum said something bad happened to him," JP said quietly. "She wouldn't say anything else. Just we had to come be with you."
EJ shifted and put his fist up under his chin.
 
Kitty didn't know how to answer her questions. Maybe she was wrong. It hardly mattered.
Without a word, the girl slipped upstairs, wanting to be alone as opposed to with someone. It helped when she could sort out her thoughts in a less pressing silence; somewhere there wasn't such an apprehensive stress looming over the room.
 
Sam whined and followed her up into her room. He sat with her, licking her leg gently as he tried to calm her.

Several minutes later, Clancy came up and tapped her doorframe as he looked in on her.
 
Kitty lay on her back, sprawled across her bed. Her eyes were closed though she wasn't sleeping; they opened to look over at him when he tapped.
 
"Hey," he said gently. He came in and sat on the end of the bed. "I was able to get a few more details, if you'd like to hear them."
 
"Apparently some sort of tension happened, and I have my suspicions as to those causes, but we shall not go into that. He fell to the stress and took out the family car while under the influence. He got into a very bad wreck and is currently in the hospital," Clancy told her gently. "He was driving too fast then served to try to avoid hitting something and flipped."
 
The darkness behind her eyelids was stained red in a violent image. Kitty sat up, tried to say something, and end in a fit of coughing when saliva caught in her throat. She was fine after a moment, but did not say what she was going to.
 
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