The Vampire's Apprentice

"Ah, that is marvelous," said Clancy dryly. "We are living next to a juvenile delinquent. His mother must be so proud." He watched the scene across the way for a few more moments before turning away. "Ah well, a little entertainment goes a long way. How was your day?"
 
She almost snickered at his implied sarcasm. "It was nice. Quiet." What more was she expected to say? It wasn't much different than any other day.
 
"Good." Clancy moved across the house to look at Mrs. Pugglesworth's house. "And... yes, there she is. She will be checking up on the neighbors and likely calling the station to check up on things."
 
"But of course." Kitty's eyes followed him, and she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. "It's only expected."
 
"Mmm." Clancy delicately closed the curtains as the flashing red and blue lights began to move away. "I will ask you to stay home during the day except for the standing appointments, just in case, for your safety."
 
She found a seat in one of the living room chairs. "I usually am, but you know I can't stay inside forever."
 
Kitty nodded thoughtfully. A few days hardly ever sounded like much, but it always felt like an eternity. At least this time, she had books. And he wasn't mad at her, that she knew of.
 
"About what is going on so I know whether or not to worry about you," Clancy said in slight amusement. "It was primarily a joke."
 
Kitty silently questioned where the humor was, since she didn't exactly see it, but pushed the thought someplace else. "Should you be worried about me, do you think?" She asked.
 
Clancy glanced at her, his surprise making it through faintly before vanishing. "Of course. All unknown elements concern me until they have been proven to be dangerous, safe, or otherwise. I am not here during the day to look out for you, and thus I am concerned. The odds are good that this will have no bearing on us, but one must always be alert."
 
"Then... are you afraid of me?" Her expression insisted on an honest answer; eyes wide and unblinking, staring earnestly up at him; lips pressed calmly together. She had leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees, entwining her fingers together. "Does my unknown make you nervous? Even a little?"
 
"That is a complicated answer," Clancy said after a moment of thought. "At first, yes, definitely. You were a great unknown and a possible threat. Now, I am worried for you far more than I am worried of you. I admit to the occasional niggle of concern, but that is more from two hundred years of habit than any true thought on my part."
 
"Why are you worried for me?" Kitty asked. "I'm not worried for me. I mean, thanks... for thinking of me, but I don't get it."
 
Clancy sighed softly. "that is part of why I worry for you. You have not yet learned the sense to be worried for yourself. I do not mean that as an insult, most youngsters have not the sense. That includes myself, though I did learn it a little earlier than most young ones."
 
Clancy touched her shoulder. His touch was brief, barely long enough to be classified as a touch and not a brush, but there was a clear sense of tenderness in the touch. "I think you will learn. Soon enough, you shall learn, but that is part of why I insisted you see a therapist. Because I will so what I can to care for you. Even if you hate me for it."
 
Kitty shifted in her seat, turning towards him. There was a slight pause before she replied. "I don't hate you. I never have, and I doubt I ever will. I just want some things to be left alone, and it bothers me that you keep bringing them back up again. I'd rather let my splinter work itself out than go digging around to find it and have it removed." Her forehead creased, as if having to state this (despite using an analogy) was uncomfortable. "Even if it stays under my skin forever, eventually I'll end up forgetting it's there and move on. Just stop... poking at it. I don't want or need it to get infected."
 
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