True to her word, following shortly after the last, I knew not the feel of a vampire's touch.

I knew she thinks that I was all the better for it, but really, without a shoulder to lean on, rest of the routine felt more like a struggle than usual.

Maybe Adalia wouldn't haven't been as apprehensive had the cut she gave me only been but skin deep.

"Tis but a scratch," said I with a bluff.

Would have worked too probably, if only my entire hand didn't look I just submerged it in a bucket of ketchup.

She just nicked me, how could her claws cut me so deep and easy? I still wanted to think that it was no big deal... that it only looks worse than it actually was.

The pain and the bleeding only got worse.

Couldn't think that no more.

It was the worst thing ever having to re-roll a new set of bandages for the fifth time, especially since Adalia quietly stared away each time.

Got a calendar in my head that helps me keep track of the major things. Each day that passssd, I'd highlight it.

Blue for ordinary days, red for not-so ordinary days. For a week in a half, I got a blue streak going strong.

Today, I think, will end with red... didn't even need a red marker to do highlight it.

Rest of the afternoon passed with incident, the bleeding had settled, rest of the regiment had been done, lunch too, so following routine, I am to plop myself into bed and keep myself there till next morning.

I didn't really want to today. Can only take so much of the same four walls before you start losing it in your head.

"You should... be resting..." Adalia whispered, watching me limp over to the living room sofa.

"Technically" I grunted, plopping myself onto the soft, springy cushion, "I am."

Adalia was standing over at the other end of the couch, her hands tucked behind her back, looking rather clueless for a response.

Then from also from behind her back, she took out a folded wrinkly piece of paper and unfurled it once more.

"Four... o'clock... Make sure Master... goes to sleep... in time..." She read aloud.

I titled my head, utterly amused. "Just how long is that note Ash gave you?"

Judging by how long it took her to fold it back up again, I'd say its probably a one-page college thesis.

"Your hand..." She said, her distant stare falling to thick wrappings of bandages. "Please rest... please?"

Double please, double pleads. A Matriarch guilt-ridden face was one that was hard to face.

"I can rest easy here too," I assured her. "Haven't seen much of the living room in so long, I feel like a hermit."

"But..."

"You should be asleep too, shouldn't you?" I said, nudging at her figure bathing in the rays of the afternoon sun. "You told me sunlight hurts your head terribly."

"I... slept... for long enough... already..." Adalia said, dropping her gaze. "Now it is... my turn... to help you..."

"Alright, then help me out here," I said, slumping my aching spine back. "A bit of television won't kill me, right? Just a bit? A tincy bit?"

I stared at her like how she stares at me, complete with the puppy-dog eyes and everything.

Figured a little taste of her medicine is what she needed to get what I needed, and sure enough, after a quick moment's silence, she inched herself over and sat herself right across from me, putting her feet up and wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Just... a bit..." She muttered, pushing her lips into her thighs. "Only a bit... okay?"

I reached for the remote on the table, smiling as I did, "Thanks, Mom~"

The vamprie just closed her eyes and softly sighed.

Yeah, doesn't feel to good when you're on the other end of that face now, does it Adalia?

Didn't take long before I was back to my old ways of channel surfing, flicking through the what's what and what's not, trying to find something interesting that'll peak the interest of my half-opened eyes.

Must have flip-flops between the same dozen few news anchor before I came to the conclusion they all had nothing of value to say. Guess today was a slow news day.

Apparently scientists from all fields were still befuddled and lacking for a proper explanation as to what the Sludge could possibly be.

We got some climatologists speaking on a round table on Channel 12, a couple of meteorologist being interviewed on channel 9.

Decided to give listening a go to these panel of certified experts and only made it five minutes in before I started fazing out. Adalia made it three minutes before she actually nodded off.

So much for 'sleeping long enough'.

I hear a jingle in the kitchen, and when I turned to look, there pattered the fluffy paws of Mr. Black, shaking both his head and his new collar-bell, ringing it aloud like a fire siren.

A soft meow my way - didn't expect to see me downstairs. Another meow - a surprise indeed. Then he hopped onto my lap, and curled himself into a ball - but evidently a welcomed one.

Great, now I can't get back up upstairs even if I wanted to… I'm like morally bound to not move a muscle. Guess, I'll just live the rest of my life on this couch.

I left the TV on in the background for some ambiance. Science talk too boring, phone better. Thought maybe some funny videos would be a good way to pass the time… so there you have it, ten minutes in and I'm already back browsing on my feed for the latest news update.

Seriously, I just can't help myself. It's worse than paranoia. Every waking moment, I just gotta know what's happening out there - cause if I don't, if I decided to miss out on the what's what or even a second, that might just be that one instance where something was really amiss.

Because Jay was still out there somewhere, plotting, scheming… doing whatever it is bad guys do in their spare time. He already made it explicitly clear that the Blightfall was not the end of things, that there were still plenty more to come.

I missed the warning signs before… I didn't take the constant rainstorms as anything else but just rain. Now I wasn't going to take that chance anymore, because nothing was just rain to me anymore.

So I don't really mind if all the news site and all the news channels just kept throwing each other's words back at each other, because that simply meant that nothing peculiar has happened yet.

The calendar in my head… didn't mention before, but I also got a third highlighter that I hope to never use. That one's colored black… take a guess what that meant.

Been a solid week and a half since our last global catastrophe, I rather that number keep rising ever higher… because the day I have to reset that count back to a zero will be the day I officially lose my shit.

Still nothing on Irene's end either, my last message to her still retained those bright blue double ticks. I consider asking again, but if she wasn't replying to the first, she didn't seem like the type to be replying to the second either. If anything, it might just annoy her further.

Then there was the case with Ash… if only there was some way she can give me a heads up on things while she goes out into the world all on her lonesome. If only there was a device that could allows to communicate to each other despite distances so far apart. If only such a thing existed in this world… if only…

I should really get her a smartphone one of these days. She's been here long enough… I'm sure she can handle the complexity no problem.

One day… but for now…

"EY YO!"

A thud. A knock. My phone slipped out my hands, landed on poor Mr. Black, he yelped, he scrambled, and in a flash he was gone.

But the knocking persisted.

"ANYBODY HOME?!"

Who in the fucking fuck knocks on the door like their trying to break into the goddamn property?! My heart… man. My cat, man! Aww… broken trust… I'm sorry for bonking you, Black. Please forgive.

"IT'S CHILL, BRO. JUST WANNA TALK."

You over there at the door knocking your knuckles out, I won't fucking forgive! Jesus, who do you think you - ?

"Uh…" I blinked a few times. "Adalia… it's okay. I'll get it."

Couldn't stop staring at it. Her claws springing out long and sharp, the harsh gurgling growl… like a feral animal… the pointed fangs that potrouded out the corners of her lips. Surprise showed wide in her misty white eyes, how they quickly darted across every square inch of the room.

It took a few seconds for her to settle again, for those claws to retract, for those fangs to keep hidden - never give a vampire a rude awakening, duly noted.

"Who's…" Adalia turned to the sound of the constant knocking. "The door…?"

I stoop up, shrugging. "I have no idea."

"YOU GOT A DOORBELL I CAN RING INSTEAD?"

The voice sounded vaguely familiar though.

I started to move.

"But I'm going to go find out…"