The Vampire's Apprentice

"Noted," She mumbled, even though there was no one to hear her but herself. "And I haven't forgotten."

Kitty scrutinized his handwriting for a moment. Cheques. She hadn't seen that before, though given the attached items and context of the sentence, it wasn't hard to guess what it meant. A question came to mind, and she mentally filed it for later.

Starting from the bottom of the list—actually, starting with some toothpaste and a hairbrush—and moving to the top, she spoke with the landscapers before pocketing the checks and stepping out onto the porch again. Sam and she needed to have a discussion, though it was implied that she would be doing most (if not all) the talking.
 
Sam lay on the porch licking a small wound on his leg obsessively. He stopped and looked up when he heard Kitty come out. The stubby little bit of a tail waggled happily as he stared up at her happily. Food? Pets? Chewy pieces of rubber?
 
Kitty knelt down beside him, her arms resting on her knees as she tried to balance on the balls of her feet. She reached out to scratch him behind the ear. "I'm going into town again," she told him, "and I want you to stay here so you don't hurt yourself. Got it?" The girl drew her hand back. "Stay."
 
Sam promptly licked her hand. Good human! Nice human! More ear scratches, please? He nudged her well-licked hand hopefully.
 
Kitty sighed amusedly and stood up. "Stay," she repeated, pointing back at him as she stepped off the porch.
 
Sam stared at her, trying to process the words. Nope, none of the weird human-noises made sense to him, so he got up and trotted after the human. Where to today? his cheerful look seemed to say.
 
Of course not.... Kitty decided not to mind his presence. She'd teach him what she could a little bit later. For now, it was the bank to drop off the checks, then to the pet-store to find some petlike things. That was to say, a collar and leash, another bowl, a couple sturdy toys he wouldn't destroy right off the bat, and another bag of dog food—a bigger one, though not too big that she couldn't carry it on her shoulder. When she returned, the girl filled his dish again. Beside it, she put some water in the other.
 
Sam patiently followed her from stop to stop, waiting outside at each building. He found a stick at the bank and carried it with him until home. When she filled his bowl, he again attacked it like he hadn't eaten in months.

A very deliberate clearing of the throat announced the presence of a certain neighbor standing at the fence and leaning on the last pole.
 
Kitty looked up, rather startled, and the sickly-sweet feeling of dread and loathing crept quietly over her. She tried not to let it show, smiling sweetly as though she were pleased.
 
"Hello, dear! What are you up to?" Mrs. Pugglesworth called cheerily in her slightly too-fast way of talking. Her shirt was white, again, and as she leaned over, it was... straining, to put it mildly.
 
"Nothing too exciting," She said, trying to avoid giving the question a valid answer.
Don't close your eyes, Kitty. The girl knew very well there wasn't going to be much escape from this conversation unless God had mercy and intervened.
 
"Good, good, that's good to hear," the woman said with a smile that exposed teeth like stumpy, slightly yellowed tombstones. "I see you have a dog now. That's nice, dogs are good, and it has a collar?"
 
She nodded. "For now, he does."

How in SaufHolm did she even get out into the yard? That was a question that mystified even Kitty's elaborate mind. She tried not to think too hard about it.
 
"MM-hmm, good, good. I'd hate to think it was a stray and call out some people for no good reason," she said, bopping her head. The second and third chin seemed to squelch slightly as she did so. "And you will keep him in your yard, right? I don't want a dog playing in my prize garden."
 
A tight-lipped smile played itself across her expression. "I will certainly try, but he's not exactly trained to commands, so I make no promises." Kitty was being honest, though she silently dreaded what might come about if Sam were to crawl among her plants. Why exactly she dreaded this was uncertain.
 
The thin, chapped lips went even thinner. "Hmm," said the suddenly dubious voice. "I see. Well, I certainly hope you get him trained. Soon." The heavy body lifted from the fence. "Well! Time to get back to work! You can't lie in, you know, when you have a large garden to take care of. No lazy days for me!" Mrs. Pugglesworth laughed and started away, rocking back and forth on creaking sneakers as she went back toward her fenced off backyard.
 
Clearly, Kitty thought, looking away the moment she was able to in effort to avoid gagging at the sight. It's like she's got a cake tree instead of a vegetable garden.

Don't be so harsh on people. It was that voice again; the one she dreaded hearing ring in her ears. You have your predicaments and they have theirs. Wether they brought it on themselves like you did, that's their problem.

"Lay off, blasted woman," She snapped under her breath to her own thoughts. Kitty scoffed, "Wish you could see me now. I've got a life, and a right good one, at that."

The girl tried not to think about it much and grabbed Watership Down from inside, plopping onto the porch steps and opening its slightly yellow pages again. She couldn't help but to press her nose within the book and inhale deeply, savoring the scent of aging paper.

It didn't take her very long to finish reading, having only a few chapters left. Kitty refilled Sam's dish again and went inside to find some lunch of her own. Afterward, she went looking for another book to explore, but decided instead to introduce the dog to a knotted rope and some tug-of-war. There weren't many plans for the rest of her day.
 
Sam slept on Kitty's feet when she let him, drooling happily in his sleep. When she moved, he took attention, watching her curiously and followed when she let him. He seemed quite happy to laze around.

Then the rope came out. Sam went down, his backend waving as his front legs dropped in an eager invitation to play. He leaped for the rope, trying to grab it. PLAY!!!!!
 
Kitty laughed, letting him snatch it before she ended up being tackled, but she held on tightly to one end, wiggling the rope viciously back and forth.
 
Sam planted his four paws and growled as he fought for the rope, shaking his head viciously. He probably could have pulled Kitty over, but he didn't even try. He let her pull him, though his jaws remained locked on the rope.
 
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