The Vampire's Apprentice

"Well, you appear to have done a wonderful job," Clancy told her, patting her shoulder. "Now, up you get! You need to brush your hair and get straightened up."
 
Sam rolled to his feet, shook himself, and trotted after Kitty. Bedtime?

Clancy watched them go then carefully moved his large, antique table into the center of the living room. Then he brought everything from the kitchen and carefully arranged everything in an appealing layout. His was a house that had never seen children, as evidenced by the fine dishes he used and the perfect furniture. A part of him had the vague idea that children were destructive, but surely their mother would keep them corraled, yes? How bad could it possibly be?
 
If it wasn't 8:30 in the evening, Kitty might have considered making coffee. Since it was late, however, she didn't dare for fear of staying up half the night.

Coming down the steps again to find the table in the living room, she once more briefly forgot he was a vampire and spent a moment wondering how on earth he'd managed to move it there by himself.
 
Clancy looked up and saw her looking at him curiously. "Yes?" he asked, arranging the glasses carefully. They looked like crystal but were only glass.
 
"Very well." He straightened his tie, a blue so dark it was almost black, and pulled on his black jacket over his blood-red shirt that strangely matched his unusually red hair. He was adjusting his belt right as the doorbell rang. "Ah, two minutes late. Better time than I expected," he remarked. "Miss Kitty, will you get that, please?"

Mrs. Mooney and her four children stood on the porch. The twins looked scared and eager, EJ looked sulky, and Norville was watching the stars. All were clean and combed even through their clothing was a touch on the casual side when compared to Clancy's suit and tie.
 
"Sup, Kitty Cat?" Norville grinned.
"Hi!" the twins cheered.
"Thank you for inviting us to your home," Mrs. Mooney said guardedly as she stepped inside. Her eyes grew just a little wider at the site. There was not a lot to Clancy's house, but what he did have was elegant, refined, and often antique. Except for the sofa, which, while still nice, was fully contemporary. Clancy, himself, was not in sight at that second, having stepped out for a moment.
 
She closed the door behind them, saying respective hellos (even to EJ). "Don't be afraid to help yourselves," Kitty said. "Mr. McCleary should be around here somewhere. He'll be back."
 
"Food!" chirped the twins and Norville in unison.
Mrs. Mooney grabbed the twins and managed to block Norville before they ran to the table. "Thank you, uh, Kitty. We'll be happy to... oh..." Her eyes, again, widened as Clancy came sailing down from upstairs, dark red hair accenting his pale skin. He was a bit of an ancient, angelic vision... yet still very much a dark angel.
"Please forgive my late entrance," he purred. "My telephone rang and I needed to silence it. You must be Mrs. Mooney. It is a pleasure to meet you!"
She took the offered hand mechanically. "Dorothy, please," she said with a self-conscious smile, quickly pushing the hair behind her ears.
The twins hid behind their mother and stared up at Clancy in awe. Even EJ took note. Clancy was not a large man by any means, yet his presence dominated the room.
 
She watched this, a small amused smirk tugging at her lips. Kitty felt his aura only slightly, and then only because she was looking for a reason for the Mooney's reactions; she had spent much time around Clancy and was mostly desensitized to his intimidating demeanor. Trying to avoid letting her amusement show, she removed herself to an armchair in the living-room and observed from there.
 
"Dorothy, then," Clancy smiled. He let his eyes rove over the other four. "And I see this is Norville, EJ, JP, and JC." He shook each of their hands, getting them right on the first try. "Thank you so much for coming this evening!"
"Of course," Dorothy assured him, trying to discretely straighten herself even more. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize this was a formal event."
Clancy gave her a look of mild surprise. "It is not formal, no, just a casual get together, of course. Please, help yourself! Kitty worked really hard this afternoon to put it together."
Norville and EJ mumbled in agreement and edged their way over to the table. The twins stared at Clancy. "Are you really a ghost?"
 
Kitty gently bit her thumb knuckle at the question, her amused grin becoming harder to suppress.

There were a couple of empty plastic cups on the table as well, she knowing better than to trust younger kids with glass. It bewildered her that he might still think to avoid unpretentious things in exchange for higher-quality ones, especially in the presence of informal company. Homely items, such as a pitcher of lemonade, always ended up being more appealing to her. Even still, her opinions were her own, and she preferred to keep them that way.
 
Clancy smiled faintly. "A ghost? No, child, not a ghost. I suppose vampire might be a better analogy."
"Really?" JP asked, his eyes big as saucers as he stared at Clancy.
"Indeed. I have a rare sun allergy that means when I go out into the sunlight, I get very, very sick and could even die."
"You can be allergic to the sun?" EJ asked incredulously.
"Yes. An odd and highly inconvenient idiosyncrasy, don't you think?" Clancy asked, helping himself to a glass. He noted the plastics and had to remind himself not to frown. Instead, he crossed over and sat in the other armchair, crossing his legs.
Mrs. Mooney helped herself and helped the twins with their plates. "Oh, yes, I think I have heard of something like that," she said vaguely.
 
She released her tooth-dented finger and considered this for a moment. The way he explained things she found interesting. It was a very slight deviation from the truth, but the truth nonetheless. How had he survived so long by making such bold declarations?
 
Norville plopped down on the end of the couch nearest Kitty with his plate heaped with treats and grinned at Kitty. "Hiya, Kitty Cat. You make good food!"

"Is that why you don't go outside?" the twins asked, sitting on the floor at his feet.
Clancy looked down at them, amused. "I go out at night. It is far safer for me, then, and for things that must be done out during daylight hours, Miss Kitty helps me."
"Oh, I wondered why-" Mrs. Mooney bit her lip, blushing.
"Why a lovely young maid might be staying with a bachelor such as myself?" Clancy finished for her. "She is a relative, and as it happens, she was looking for employment at the same time I was looking for an employee. It worked out rather well."
 
"Thank you, Norville." She smiled back, though most of her attention was still directed to Clancy's conversation. Kitty stood to snatch herself a sandwich wedge and nibbled on it as she continued to listen.
 
"Yeah, that's exactly how it is," EJ snorted from the opposite end of the couch.
Mrs. Mooney's expression clouded, her lips drawing thin, but she didn't say anything just yet.
Clancy's gaze zeroed in on EJ. "Ah, yes..." he murmured with a pleasant little smile. "Miss Kitty told me about you. You are rather desperate for her affections, yourself, are you not?" He tutted softly. "It never looks good if a gentleman interested in a lady fights for her attention by lambasting another gentleman. It makes you look insecure."
EJ gaped at him, eyes popping. Mrs. Mooney chose that opportunity to turn away and sip her drink rather rapidly. The twins looked confused, and Norville was preoccupied with his plate.
 
Do not irritate the vampire. Do not irritate the vampire. Do not irritate- Kitty had to bite her tongue to avoid interrupting, hoping the subtle hint of her warning glare was evident enough. They were company, not there to be harassed, no matter what one's opinion of another present individual happened to be.
 
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