"S'ok," Leila muttered. "Not your fault. Definitely his fault." She shivered briefly and burrowed into the covers. "Trust me, when I'm feeling more normal, I'll probably be right behind you with pliers."

"I won't need pliers," Katherine replied. She snorted. "And if I have to hear him call me 'Kitty' one more time..." She shook her head. "Rest. I'll check on you in a bit."

"A'right." Leila settled down, getting comfortable, and drifted off. She figured sleeping was her best recourse now, at least until she felt better.

Katherine lingered for a few moments to make sure Leila was sleeping alright, and then slipped out of the room. She could hear the wolves outside, and wished (not for the first time) that she could join them. Unfortunately, she hadn't inherited that from Uncle.

Vlad didn't get back until late (or rather, early), and went to go check in on Katherine. He could tell she was still up, which was a little odd.

"Little night bird," he greeted. "Is all well?"

"Carlos is here," Katherine replied moodily. "I found him in town. After he found Leila."

"Ah. I see." Well, that could be bad. He'd probably have to separate the two. "And how is your... companion?" Because it was still odd for him to think of having a human as a friend. In his experience, it didn't work out very well.

"Resting," Katherine replied. "She lost quite a bit before I found her. I still want to pull out Carlos's teeth for that."

"I'm sure he didn't know," Vlad said soothingly. Things like this happened every once in a while, and while he agreed that Carlos would have to be reprimanded, it would be best to wait and let him start to squirm a little. He told Katherine as much.

Katherine sighed.

"I don't have to like it," she replied, crossing her arms and resettling resolutely in her chair. "It's not fair, Uncle, we had to leave Russia because of hunters and now I have to keep an eye out here for family?" She very nearly pouted. "This was supposed to be a vacation."

"I'm quite sure no one else will make that mistake," Vlad said smoothly. "It still is a vacation, little night bird. Your friend will recover, and you may stay as long as you like."

"They'd better not," Katherine muttered. "Or I'll pull a lot more than teeth." Although by no means as old as Vlad, Katherine was still older than quite a few of her 'relatives.' She was old enough that many were surprised she had no fledgelings of her own, yet, so she was more than capable of carrying out any threats she made.

"I'll make sure to pass the message along." Vlad smiled briefly. "Go rest, little night bird. You'll have your revenge soon enough."

Katherine was quiet for a moment, but nodded and got up.

"I'll see you at breakfast, Uncle," she said, leaning down to put a habitual, familial kiss on his cheek. Before she left the room, though, she turned around again. "How is the pack, by the way? I heard them singing."

Vlad smiled at that. "They hunt well," he said. "And often, recently. There will be pups soon, in case you want to see."

That caught Katherine's attention.

"Will they let me?" she asked uncertainly. "I'm not pack." She gave a wry sort of grin. "I wasn't that lucky."

"Perhaps not the first few days," Vlad allowed. "But after that, they will. Especially if I tell them beforehand." Because they listened to him, and they all knew it.

"That would be good," Katherine said, nodding. "I wouldn't mind visiting the pack." And she knew very well that the pack listened to Uncle. He was the one in charge; everyone knew it.

Vlad nodded. "Soon, then," he said, getting to his feet. He figured he could rest for a few hours before he had to get up again. "Go rest, little night bird. It won't be night for much longer now."

"I'm perfectly capable of sleeping through the day," Katherine replied, although she was grinning a bit. "I just choose not to most of the time, because I have the choice." That was one thing she had managed to inherit, and for that she was glad. She nodded, though. "Good night, Uncle."

"Good night," Vlad replied quietly, watching her go before he retired to his room as well.

Leila didn't wake up again until nearly midday the next day. And then she was still feeling weird and tired, but she was too pissed to stay in bed. So she got up and went to go find some food.

Katherine was already down in the kitchen, sipping from another dark glass. She'd 'slept' all morning, and had decided that a very late breakfast was in order. She glanced over when Leila came in.

"Hey," she greeted. "Feel a bit better?"

"A bit," Leila muttered. "I'm hungry, though. And I still feel odd." She plopped down in a chair with a sigh. "I could kill your cousin-person."

"So could I," Katherine replied dryly. "And I try not to make empty threats." She pouted slightly. "But Uncle said not to." She took a sip from her glass. "There should be food around here, if you look. I have no idea how to cook it, though."

"That's okay, I can cook." Leila started searching for food, making a face at the stove. "I wonder how old this thing is. Hopefully it actually works and doesn't blow up on me..."