September 22
9:00 AM
Choices had been made. Daphne had chosen to support this decision even if it meant shutting out the entire world. Even if it meant blocking out the Blake family name from the public after she had sworn to walk between the forces of the night. But along with it, the light. The kind of light Daphne could only describe as a beautiful forgiving force of nature that rips through the darkness revealing the unknown.
A light that burned bright white heat.
Unfortunately it was also the same force of nature that forced Daphne to clench her eyes shut after Shaggy had opened the curtains after another morning arrived.
She wasn't only risking not only her family name but her own reputation. But it's not like Shaggy already admitted when he became a werewolf they were risking not only their established careers as freelance investigative journalists but their social lives. It wasn't the life ending kind of suicide but it would in fact change the face of their professional image.
"I'm awake, Shaggy." Daphne says, squinting.
"Sorry about that."
Shaggy hasn't lost much of his vitality even after the moon had overtaken him. There were no traces of sadness or his own lingering anger. His regrets. It must have boiled off during the first few months they spent inside of the castle.
He appeared happy.
Scooby trotted up to Daphne after she sat up and laid his head upon her lap. Dracula had soon followed close behind him and the great Dane had whimpered.
"Just what I need an anemic vampire." Dracula says, with the roll of his eyes.
"I guess you can call it reluctant." Shaggy says, he glares back at Scooby smirking. "Just like old times, right?"
"Ruh." Scooby replies,with a far away look in his eyes. Only it's more of a mournful sound the great Dane makes. His one worded response is only a half-hearted attempt to sound polite when he can sense Dracula's ominous aura hovering nearby.
"Come on Uncle Scooby chin up," Scrappy tells him. "Just like Shaggy once said, will do whatever it takes. No matter how long it takes us! Will beat it."
Daphne never asked for any of this. Since when has Daphne ever had to invite trouble in? Trouble came banging on her door. She may be a magnet for attracting trouble, but Scrappy was ready to pummel them. And when trouble comes knocking it had better come prepared for a walloping of a lifetime.
"Now, Scrappy, calm down." Shaggy says. He seats himself next to Daphne and rests a hand against her back in an effort to comfort.
The scent of blood nauseated Daphne. The smell of it, the copper, metallic bitter taste of it. She hated it. The first night Dracula had offered her a sip. She would spit it back up as though she were drinking poison. It was unfamiliar and difficult to swallow. Blood doping had its advantages providing Daphne with an exceptional performance. Only it wears off much too quickly and she becomes famished again. Fatigued. It pushed Daphne until her breaking point. She just broke down one day out of the blue begging Dracula to stop the treatments for good.
"The needle stings. I can't take it anymore. Please, stop." Daphne pleads. She's reduced to begging Dracula to stay away and somehow Shaggy senses the oncoming sadness and tries to reassure her the best way he knew. Dracula had already forewarned them this was a stall but it was one of the few options he knew that worked without getting his hands too dirty. As the monocled hunchbacked dwarf Brunch already explained behind closed doors vampires survivability drops the longer they refuse nourishment from rich red blood cells.
It was literally a day to day struggle.
Blood wasn't just some vampire's meal. The blood required to sustain Daphne meant she could live a relatively normal life again but not if it meant shortening someone else's own life span if it could be helped.