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Vlad lays on the floor glaring at the ceiling, a decent-sized wound bleeding faintly, and a cat sitting in the crook of his neck. The fur against ectoplasmic flesh was oddly grounding but he welcomed it all the same. Daniel was becoming a far better shot and far stronger as well, normally he might feel a little proud of that -his ‘battles’ with the boy were surely part of the catalyst for his growth- but today he just felt genuinely beat down. He had gotten ‘his butt kicked’ as Daniel would say, and the boy hadn’t seemed like he was even trying really, seemed bored even.
Sighing dramatically towards the ceiling, “I think the boy has surpassed me. It seems as if he might truly be stronger than me at the most basic level even”, sighing loudly again, “what kind of father and mentor can I be if the child’s already the better of us?”.
“Meow”.
Vlad lifts up a clawed hand and gestures vaguely around, “it’s not even like it makes sense. I’m practiced, I’m studied, I’m older. He shouldn’t be close to beating me in genuine. I should have to be willingly letting him win just to keep his spirits and ego up”, screwing up his face and scowling slightly, “and he’s even got me making ghost puns now. I’m supposed to be influencing him, not the other way around”.
“Merrow”.
“Thank you. It absolutely is ridiculous... and insulting, might I add. His puns and jokes are truly terrible and I do not appreciate being the butt of them. Even worse is how quickly he dismisses me these days, as if he is unconcerned. The boy is one of my biggest concerns yet I hardly qualify as one to him. Am I simply doomed to be unwanted and uncared for by those I desire?”.
“WrrrrRAO!”.
Vlad’s ear twitches a bit from the pitch of that while Maddie The Cat proceeds to head butt the side of his face. “Okay okay I get it, my deepest apologies for forgetting about you”.
“Mrrr”.
“You care about two things, me and yourself”.
“Merrow”.
“... okay yourself first and foremost, I like it. Like master, like pet”, huffing, “now if only Daniel were the same way. I will never understand that boy's selflessness”.
“Meow. Prrt”.
“Of course you agree, you have a smart head on you; unlike that boy. I named you after a very smart woman after all”.
“Wrrao”.
Vlad pats her head, “yes yes, you did not need a smart name to be a smart kitty. I merely gave you a name deserving of you. Would you have preferred ‘Jack’?”.
She actually ducks away from his hand and bites his earlobe for that, “rrrrrr”. Making him laugh, “point taken”.
Maddie The Cat stands up and pads her way onto his chest, claws pulling at the white ghostly clothes before choosing to park herself down directly on his chest, more or less staring at his face. Vlad quirks an eyebrow at her before letting his head thunk back down onto the rug, “now if only dear Madeline would show me such affections”, sighing, “but alas, surrounding herself with bumbling idiots seems to be more to her tastes”.
“Prrrrrr”.
“I mean, not that I don’t occasionally surround myself with morons purely to make myself appear better and the obvious choice to anyone’s solutions, but I certainly wouldn’t marry one. One should only keep an idiot around while useful and then dispose of them”.
“Merrow-prrrrrr”.
“Well yes, eating them is certainly an option but that’s not one I think I’ll be entertaining. Humans, unfortunately, have laws against such things, you know”.
“Prrrr-meeewr-prrrr”.
“Yes I imagine that would be quite silly to you. Though I’ll leave eating all life’s problems to fools like Jack; Tucker also has quite the appetite I do believe, he eats better foods though. For the most part at least”.
“Prrrrrr”.
“What I really don’t get is how being dignified and a man of quality can be such an uninteresting put off to Madeline and Daniel; Daniel I can at least attribute it to naivety, teenage rebellion, and being rather oblivious to many things. But Madeline? It makes so little sense. Truly. She’s cultured and intelligent, she should want the same. Yet she prefers someone too stupid and oblivious to realise that I wish him dead every time I rest my head to go to sleep”.
“Meow-prrrrr”.
“Why I appreciate you helping the cause and wishing for his demise as well, little lady. You will absolutely get extra treaties for that”. Unfortunately that causes Maddie The Cat to jolt up, “prrrt?”, and spring off his stomach.
“Oof”, Vlad curls up some, sitting up a little in the process. Rubbing his stomach, “I didn’t mean right now”. Regardless she trots back with the treat baggy in her mouth, “AAAAAWR! AAAAAWR! AAAAAAAAAWR!”, drops it on the floor a bit away from him, and bats it around on the floor some.
Vlad watches the treat bag slide across the floor according to the whims of dainty white paws for a while, oddly he feels better just listening and watching it. Eventually pushing himself to stand up while transforming back human, holding his side with a faint grunt but otherwise showing no signs of pain.
It takes a bit of chasing the bag across the floor leisurely but eventually he nabs the thing up. Maddie The Cat trotting over and pawing his pants, “rrroooowe, brrring, brupppp, brupppp!”. Vlad chuckles but dutifully opens the bag, “yes yes, I’ll hurry up you greedy thing”; having her take the treats from his fingers.
“Hhharromnomow, rrowhhh”.
“No talking with your mouth full, that’s rude and frankly, quite undignified”.
“HhharnnomrRRROWW HOMNRW”.
Vlad rolls his eyes at that but moves to put away the treat bag, he’d tried putting it in many places but she, that smart little lady, always seemed to find it; and Vlad wasn’t about to follow Daniel’s example of storing pet treats inside the walls. Though Vlad’s not exactly sure how that keeps Cujo, a ghost dog, from getting them.
Vlad heads back in, ears twitching as much as they could in human form, hearing Maddie The Cat making that “e-e-e-e-e-e”, sound she always did when she wanted to hunt something but couldn’t. Stepping in to see the Dairy King sticking his ugly mug through the ceiling.
“Ah the laddie gotcha again I see!”.
Vlad scowls at the man before smirking and picking Maddie The Cat up, floating off the ground at the other ghost and effectively letting his cat chase the ghost around by holding her out, “get him! Get him! Get the ghost, Maddie!”.
“This is cruel and unusual!”.
Vlad grins evilly and really only flies a bit more aggressively, “when you find a fly or an ant in your house you don’t have a civil conversation with It, you hunt It down and smash It to bits“, grinning smugly, “cats are quite excellent at that, if I say so”.
“Meow!”.
Vlad chuckles, “see, even she agrees”, before promptly chasing the ghost back underground. Vlad stopping to hover above the floor, he’s not about to go down there -into the earth- and dirty himself or Maddie The Cat; they’re above such things.
Vlad puts his cat down on the floor instead and nods at her curtly, “an impressive little hunter is what you are”.
“Prrt”.
Vlad smirks and moves to walk back towards the main living room, hands in his pockets, “yes that was a lot of work, so let’s laze about”, and clicks his tongue to beckon her, “kuck kuck kuck, come on”. She trots after him, tail raised and the fur fanned out, eagerly hopping up on his lap after he sits down in one of his armchairs.
End.