The Vampire's Apprentice

"Highly annoying as he turned out to be one of those functioning paranoids, but in the end, it all went very well," Clancy said with a nod. "We have everything settled, and it is all going to be fine now."
 
Kitty pinched the bridge of her nose, giving another long pause while she thought about his answer. "That's good." She approved. The girl opened her eyes to keep from accidentally drifting off again. "Do you cause plagues, Clancy? Like rats? Or death?" It was the first question about the movie she remembered off the top of her head.
 
"What?" He frowned at her while he tried to figure out the question. "Oh. No, I most certainly do not." He paused for a second. "Well, sometimes death, but not often."
 
"Would you kill me if you had to?"

She didn't ever remember thinking this, but the words were out before it occurred she had said them. Kitty felt she wasn't completely awake, having asked such a strange thing out of the blue. Still, she didn't have words to correct it. Brief nighttime silence followed while her forehead furrowed in a confused yet earnest expression.

"Don't answer that. Don't. Let me ask something else...."
 
Clancy sighed and reached out to touch her shoulder. "If I absolutely had to... perhaps, although I fail to see a situation where I had to. I have killed a few people because I felt I had to, but they brought misery. You bring happiness. I am not certain it would ever be worth killing you except perhaps to save you from something worse."
 
His hand squeezed her shoulder involunarily before he let go and sat back. "That is not a discussion I hope to ever have with you," Clancy said simply. "Just know that they are and that I have seen them, and if it were myself... I would beg you to end me, and I would kill you to save you. That is all I wish to say on that subject."
 
She nodded a little before scooting to sit beside him on the edge of the bed, very close. Her feet swung gently back and forth as she thought. "Why did you choose me as your familiar, again?"
 
"Well, initially, it was that or kill you," Clancy said lightly. "To allow a mortal to run around free with knowledge of one of us is not exactly well looked upon. But what swayed me to the 'keep' side was your curiosity and your determination. Plus, you were so incredibly annoying, you brought interest into a very dull life."
 
"Mhm...." She blinked slowly, still trying to focus on the window. After a moment, Kitty gave up, resting her head against him and closing her eyes. "What do you see me as?"
 
Clancy carefully put his arm around her to keep her from tipping over backward. "Complicated," he said quietly. "Friend, someone I wish to trust, and Familiar."
 
"Nu-uh." Kitty snuggled closer, content where she was. "I wanna stay here forever. As long as forever is... that's too bad."
 
"Alright," Clancy agreed. "You can stay here."

Forever looked a lot different from his perspective than it would from hers, but that was a concept that no matter how good of a grasp you thought you had on it, you could never truly understand until you faced it and had been facing it for a long time. He kept his thoughts to himself, idly brushing his fingers through her hair while he waited for her to fall asleep.
 
It didn't take more than a minute before her breathing evened and expression relaxed. Oh, she had tried to stay awake, but something about being nearby him was enough to dissolve the fitful tenseness sleep usually carried; she succumbed far more easily to unconsciousness than she wished to, though Kitty couldn't care less every time it happened.
 
Clancy held her for a little longer then gently tucked her in. "Sleep tight, Kitten," he whispered and kissed the top of her head. He walked out, closing the door softly behind him. Time to spend another night prowling in the dark recesses of his house. At least he had work to distract him. And when he logged on, he could not help the audible groan at the sight of fifteen emails, fourteen of them from the same person. He needed to make a note to never take on lottery winners ever again.
 
Daylight was up long before she was, yet Kitty was surprised to see it was the light that had woken her as opposed to a dream. She lay there for a moment, contemplating silently, before getting up and beginning her daily routine. Get dressed, brush teeth and hair, let Sam outside during breakfast, and check to see what the day's tasks were. At the moment, she barely remembered the events of last night, nor did the thought of Norville immediately occur to her. Food first; thinking could wait until later.
 
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