Chapter 25: Interest.
Day 38, part 2:
My second day of tutoring was not going very well. However, it was not because Veronica was ignoring me. Unlike yesterday, I had to deal with the imps while I tried to tutor. "So, these are the imps you were talking about yesterday? Still can't believe you actually said I was old and fat." It was hard to tell if she was angry behind her normal bored expression.

"Y-yeah." It was hard for me to concentrate, let alone get her to focus.

Nip and Tally excitedly flew around the room, happily making a nuisance of themselves. After hearing Veronica they flew in a circle above us chanting 'Old, fat, skanky! Old, fat, skanky!' over and over again. "Skanky?" Veronica said with a glare.

I casually averted my eyes. "I have no idea where they got that." I'm glad no one from this world seems to get sarcasm.

"Whatever." She paused as she watched them fly around for a moment. "You do realize they could be way older than me right?"

"Yeah, but no point wondering about something I'll never know." Getting TNA to give a straight answer is next to impossible.

"Hey, imps!" Veronica called out to Nip and Tally but they ignored her.

"They won't respond to that." I casually pointed out.

"What will they respond to?"

"TITS AND ASS!" I called out.

"…The hell kind of name is that?" Veronica asked as they flew up to me.

"Why'd you call us?" Nip asked.

"Are you already tired of this old, fat, skanky, lady?" Tally prattled.

"Tits and ass." As soon as the imps turned toward her, veronica's eyes flashed. "How old are you really?"

The imps gave each other a grin before replying in unison "We don't know."

There was a loud thud as Veronica's head hit the table. "Are you okay?" I asked.

Veronica angrily glared at the imps with another flash of her eyes. "You are annoying! Go away!"

Seeming more like they just decided to do so than have their minds controlled, they look at each other. "Hey, I bet this place has some kind of kinky love dungeon." Tally excitedly said. "Let's go find it!"

"Alright! Sounds interesting!" Nip shouted.

And like with that they were gone. I would kill for that ability. "How do you put up with those things?" Veronica asked.

"No way around it." I replied. "Let's just get back to work, shall we Veronica?"

She gave me another glare. "Again with my name? I never…"

"Bite me, I gave myself permission." While I don't exactly have much respect for her after yesterday, I should avoid such expressions in the presence of a vampire.

"Fine! I will!" Veronica quickly latches onto my neck and begins to suck. It didn't hurt but it scared the shit out of me, I will tell you that. Thankfully she didn't suck long. She apparently was not expecting the taste and let go. "Bleh! What the hell is in your blood?! It's like some strange cocktail of flavors."

I rub my neck where she bit me, it felt weird. "If you are asking about my ancestry, I am a quarter German with some Irish and Native American roots, outside that I don't know."

"Ugh, you really are a mutt. What the hell is a Native American anyway?" She quickly rubbed her mouth, but I noticed that her lips had a deep scarlet to them now. "But you got a good immune system, I'll give you that."

"Could you check my cholesterol and blood sugar while you are at it?" I chuckled, certainly was a good sense of taste she had.

Veronica had a puzzled look as the last traces of my blood slowly left her mouth. "I don't know about that. But there is something odd about the taste." She paused for a moment as she tried to figure out what it was. "Has someone been sharing energy with you?"

"Well…" Merry does cast the water breathing spell on me every day for our morning swim but I'm not sure I want to tell her that. "… there is a spell that is cast on me every day." I figured it would be safe enough if I was vague.

"No, it's not that." She said as she continued to think. "Spells don't really leave a taste. This is something a little more permanent." Her face suddenly lights up as she realizes what it is. "Like mermaid blood!" She got more excited than I have yet seen her as she proudly grins at me. "You've got a mermaid haven't you?! Admit it!"

If I tried to lie she would just use her eyes on me. I hesitantly nod. "Yes, I live with a mermaid. But I haven't had any of her blood in a while." Half a month now, I would not think there would be any traces of its effects left.

She crosses her arms as she proudly nods. "I knew it was familiar. We occasionally give our servants mermaid blood, so I have had the blood of humans who have had it before." She pauses as she thinks again. "But you said you haven't had any in a while? That does not seem right. For the taste to be so pronounced I made it out in that mess you call blood, you must be getting it regularly."

"Regularly?" I won't say it is impossible, but if that's true it would be without my knowledge. I will have to have a talk with Merry later. But it's not important now. "But may I ask where you get your mermaid blood? You're not kidnapping Mermaid's are you?"

"What? No!" She flatly denied. "My mother often buys and sells from Michiko's territory. Michiko would not have it if we had any affiliation with the mermaid trade. We buy our blood directly from the mermaids."

I laugh as I scratch my head. "Oh, well that's a relief." I really do worry too much."Merry has told me stories so I get a little on edge." I then try to shift the conversation back to the lesson Sebastian planned out. "So, getting back to business…"

"Yeah, about that..." Veronica promptly gets up and walks to her bed before laying back on it. "… I don't really feel like it. Why don't we take today off?"

Before she got too comfortable I walked to the window and opened the curtains, to which she buried her head in a pillow with a groan. "Are we really going to have to do this again?" I asked.

"I don't care," she said with her voice muffled by the pillow, "I don't want to." Since she did not want to come peacefully I had no choice but to pick her up and set her in her chair. She glared at me with a growl. "Mangy dog."

"Spoiled brat," I retorted.

Somehow or another I actually got Veronica to sit down and actually work for a little while. But it was not long until she started groaning and refused to continue. "That's it! I'm done! I've had enough!" Her head then falls to the table. "I have a headache."

"Are you serious?" I knew she did not want to learn but this was embarrassing. "It's just exponentials. It's fancy multiplication, it's not even that hard."

"So what? It still gives me a headache."

I gave a long sigh as I rubbed my temples. "You know. If you would just tell me about something you like I could relate it to math and get you interested."

"You said that last time." She laid her head on its side and looked at me. "How will that help, again?"

"Currently you are being forced to learn," I calmly explained, "if I can just find something, anything, you want to learn about then it won't be a chore. Doing it because you want to, makes everything easy."

I don't think what I said was particularly profound but it seemed like it at least had an effect on Veronica. She thought about it for a moment before quietly mumbling, "I like the moon. Does that help?"

"The moon?" I had to think about it for a moment. Something that uses math in regard to the moon, but not just anything. I probably only had one chance to catch her interest, I had to make it count. Then it hit me. I remembered a little trick I learned in optics. The original used the sun but I it should work the same with the moon. Yes, the more I thought about it the more I liked it. I energetically smile at Veronica as I asked, "Would you mind coming to my house tonight?"

Veronica raised up and glared at me. "You expect me to go to some peasant's house?"

"Well, unfortunately I can't really be out after dark." I explained. "So, if it involves the moon, there really won't be much choice."

"And what exactly do you plan to do?" Veronica asked.

"That's a secret." I winked with a chuckle. "But I promise it will be interesting."

She eyes me suspiciously for what feels like forever before finally answering. "Whatever." She gives a long sigh. "I can skip out on some of my other lessons by going, so I guess I do not really mind. Mother should allow it if it will help me learn math."

"Excellent!" I excitedly clasped her hands, my job security was looking better already. "You won't regret it!"

"Unhand me!" She struggled to free her hands. But with the curtains still open she was too weak to break my grip. "No one said you could get so familiar, you damn mutt!"

She was pulling so hard that when I finally released her hands she fell out of her chair with a shout. "Alright then, I have preparations to make!" Paying no mind to Veronica's fall, I quickly made my way to the door. "I'll be back about an hour before the sun sets. Please be ready by then!" I was excited, more so than I had been in a while. Just before leaving I saw Veronica's weak wave as she look up at me from the floor. It seems like for once there is someone who could not keep up with my energy.