Carmilla waited until she heard Laura's breathing slow to a sleepy rhythm, to morph back into human form. She looked down at the tiny girl and frowned. "Trust me to get stuck with the damn Brady bunch." The raven haired girl sighed. "Sprinkles." She wretched. "Couldn't have been Shadow or Ebony, jeez. Well never fret, as soon as you pick up your strength you can get out of this Hell."
She moved slowly toward the kitchen, holding onto the door frame and side table which was cluttered with pictures of Laura and her father smiling as though they were saying cheese with a big goofy grin in each one. Carmilla looked down at them and felt a slight twinge at her heart. "I wonder what mother would do if she found me here? Lock me away again or maybe worse." She dwelled on the memories of how her mother dealt with her disloyalty. "Not like I can even use the time as beauty sleep." She said catching her pasty features in the hall mirror.
"Please don't be vegetarians, please don't be vegetarians." Carmilla chanted as she opened the tall fridge, squinting against the bright yellow light that flooded out. "Steaks, score!" She pulled off the Tupperware lid and discarding the steaks on the worktop; hungrily lifted the container to her lips to drink the cool crimson liquid. Colour filtered back into her cheeks just as it disappeared into her mouth, her back straightened and she let out a relieved sigh. "Back on the road to recovery Sprinkles." She said raising her eyebrows in a despondent manner.
Sauntering back into the bedroom she noticed Laura toss and turn, making low audible grumbles as she slept. "Hell with that, I need my rest." Turning on her heel she headed back to the living room. Curling up and making herself comfortable on the soft taupe couch she let out a wide jawed yawn, morphing back to Catmilla as she did.
"Sprinkles, that's where you got to, I was worried." Laura cooed, picking her up and nuzzling their noses together. The kitty raised a paw and pressed it to Laura's cheek, pushing them apart. "Aww look at your wittle paw. We're gonna feed you up and make you nice and fat." She said smiling and set Catmilla back onto the couch. "Let me see if I can find you a saucer of milk."
The jolly girl headed into the kitchen, quickly stopping short. "Umm. Why are the steaks on the counter?" She asked mostly to herself with furrowed eyebrows. "Dad, ugh." She sighed. Thinking who else could it have been. Picking up the container she placed the steaks back inside and set them into the fridge. She then pulled a bottle of disinfectant out from under the sink, spraying the whole affected area and wiping it down with kitchen roll. "That's better." She smiled contentedly.
The youngest Hollis placed a saucer of milk, a bowl of chicken pieces and a few sheets of newspaper by the door while instructing Sprinkles on the proper procedures for all three. Sprinkles of course, was already fast asleep again with her head buried in a hand crocheted cushion. "I'll be home at one o'clock, miss you already." She whispered sweetly, scratching Catmilla behind the ear.
The front door shut and Carmilla pulled herself into a sitting position. Her first order of business was to dump the milk saucer onto the newspaper and the chicken pieces into the bin. "Ok, one o'clock, that gives me…" She looks up at the not hard to miss, wooden cuckoo clock above the fireplace. "Three hours to find a meal."
A few lucky moments later, the doorbell rings. Carmilla strides down the hall. Opening the door forcefully, she can see a twenty something boy standing there with a letter in his hand. "You'll do." She supposes, grabbing him inside.