"So this is all the same as when you were human." Leila looked at him.

"The exterior certainly is. As you can guess, I've added things in over the years." Vlad looked at her for a few moments, frowning a little at the pinprick marks on her neck. "Many of the paintings are original, as are many of the rugs and tapestries. Especially in this part of the castle."

"The bedrooms used by the family are all more modern, though, right?" Katherine asked. She knew hers was, certainly, but she was also only half Vlad's age. Anything she knew was 'modern' for him.

"Many of them are, to varying degrees." Vlad shrugged. "Some of them remain they way they were built. But many of them, yours included, have been changed."

"Speaking of family," Katherine said, "is Carlos still here?" She still wanted the chance to punch his face in, but for the moment she would settle on keeping tabs on him.

Vlad nodded. "He's in his room for the day," he said. "I suspect he'll be up shortly after dark, and then will likely be on his way again."

"Alright." Katherine knew Carlos wasn't a daywalker, but she hadn't been sure if he'd left already. He would likely join them for dinner before he left, though. She would see what happened then.

"Keep an eye on your friend, little night bird," Vlad said quietly, glancing at Leila. "I have some business to attend to. You know how to find me."

Katherine nodded.

"I will," she said. And she would definitely keep a better eye on Leila, this time. Nothing would get past her again.

Vlad nodded and made his way back down the stairs to go get some work done. He knew that Katherine would keep an eye on Leila, and she'd be the first to notice if there were any... side effects.

Once Vlad left, Katherine turned her attention back to Leila.

"Uncle didn't startle you too badly, did he?" she asked.

Leila shook her head. "No, no, I'm fine. Just a little tired again is all." She smiled faintly. "He's an interesting one, that's for sure."

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Katherine asked, concerned. "You can always go back and take a nap."

"Nah, that's okay." Leila waved her concern off. "Let's head back down the stairs and see what else we can find. And if I'm still tired in an hour, I'll take a nap. Deal?"

"Alright," Katherine said reluctantly. "But let me know if you start to feel worse, okay?"

Leila nodded and started exploring again, although she didn't spend too much time in any one room.

She never got a nap, but she perked up noticeably when the sun went down, stretching a bit and looking around again. She looked more alert than she had all day.

Katherine noticed that Leila perked up once the sun set, and that worried her a bit. Dread gnawed at her a bit as she pondered the reasons for it.

It took Carlos a few minutes to really wake up once the sun set. Once he was awake and dressed, the first thing he did was go searching for the kitchen. He was starving, especially since Katherine had interrupted his dinner the night before.

Leila unconsciously tracked where he was, avoiding the kitchen even though she was starting to get hungry. Steak sounded good right about now. But she avoided the kitchen, instead looking around on the second floor.

Once Carlos had managed to find the kitchen and get himself some AB-positive (because he had a favorite, even if nobody else did), he went to wander the castle a little. It had been a while since he'd been there, and he wanted to see if anything changed.

Leila managed to keep herself pretty well away from Carlos, heading down to the kitchen once he was gone to make her dinner. She almost wondered how long her luck would last though.

Katherine trailed along behind Leila, rummaging in the icebox while her friend worked at the stove. As soon as she managed to dig out what she wanted, she got a dark glass down from the cabinet and filled it. Then she settled back against the counter to drink her O-positive and continue thinking.

Leila paused in the middle of her dinner (and she had found a few steaks in the fridge so she'd snagged one for herself) when the little niggling tingling in the back of her brain grew more pronounced. Someone was heading down the hallway.

Katherine glanced over when Leila paused, but didn't get to do more than that before the kitchen doors swung open and Carlos walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw them.

"Evening, Kitty," he said cautiously. "And... Kitty's friend." He glanced at Leila. She seemed to be alright, in spite of being partially drained.

"Leila. My name is Leila." She wasn't quite looking at him though, instead pushing her food around her plate. It took her a few moments to realize that she'd known it was him coming, and that sent her mentally scrambling to figure out why.

"Leila," Carlos repeated, testing it out. It was a pretty name. "Anyways, just dropping off my cup." He held up an empty glass as proof, and edged around Katherine as she glared at him. Oh no, she wasn't pleased with him at the moment.

Leila watched him when his back was to her, her eyes narrowing a little. She felt odd with him in the room. Better, actually. Like the world was realigning just a little more.

Which it totally should not have been.