Nightly Lessons Book I: The Book of Beginnings

[Peeker]

Aleksandr nodded. "Which means that Kapad must have opened the door... damned imp..." He turned a little in his chair. "I know it was an accident - I can't be mad at you anymore than I can be at the pup... the imp, I may evicerate a few times until I feel better, but... Well..." Alek blinked, gently touching her mind. "Your dog is safe, Alice. You're allowed to make mistakes - you just need to be responsible from now on..."

The vampire knit his fingers together again, thoughtfully. "You fell asleep, dear? Why? Didn't you get enough sleep last night? Or are the histories really that boring for you?"

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice sighed in relief before looking sheepishly at Aleks. It had been a mixture of both. Late last night, when she was suppose to have gone to bed, she had stayed up to play a bit more with Klonoa. The pup was really getting a lot of her attention.

"Well, you see... Klo had trouble sleeping last night..." She lied a little. A white lie to be exact. She had tried to get the puppy to sleep on the floor in a basket, which only lead to it crying, but that was only a little bit of it. "And in history I got to Count Galextroze. I'm sorry Aleks, but the guy is more boring then rereading and the pilgrims of the US. Why do I have to know a about a guy whose laws don't even apply anymore?"

[Peeker]

"Well, mainly because his laws were... barbaric. But only by our standards. I wanted you to read up on him because its important to know how far we've come. We are not Vlad the Impalers, nor are we Marquis deSades. We are Vampyr... and that is all." Aleksandr shrugged. "It is important, albeit dry. ...you've had a free week, Alice.. I haven't pushed you hard... You do need to catch up, after all."

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"I'm trying," Alice whined and gathered up one book that wasn't completely damaged. She winced with the cover tore right off, and picked it up the rest of it. "But the guys is 30 pages of boring... hey! Doesn't look like he got this one completely... 'study of human lore'? Aleks why do you have this thing? You could just go to the library or watch the TV. I'm pretty sure a vampire movie week is coming up. Usually does this time of year. And who's Marque de Sadie?"

She looked at him confused, saying the name horribly wrong. Like Aleks, she still didn't know about the damage that Klo had done to his shoe.

"I need to get a book of dog training... do you think we can go to the town sometime soon?" she looked hopeful. there were a couple of things she wanted to get, some different clothings, music CDs, and a collar for Klonoa. Even though he was a hell hound, Klo could walk in sun light so she wanted to be able to find him if he ran off. "We could even say hi to Lucy."

[Peeker]

"Not tonight, dear. I want you to catch up in your studies before we go out again... but maybe next week. ....and its the Marquis de Sade... he was a human... he... enjoyed hurting people. Its where the word 'sadistic' comes from."

Aleksandr turned the book over, and put it on his desk. "As for this, well, there are some things about humans one cannot learn on your discovery channel. ....less.. friendly things." The man shrugged. "I don't want what happened with Klo to happen again, dear. Keep your eye on him, is that understood?"

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

"Please Aleks," She pleaded once more hoping maybe he would change his mind. "I'll study even hard when we get back. I'm sure Lucy would love to see you again, and we can get the dress fixed too."

She looked at his unwavering face.

"I'll dress up nice for it too. Blouse, vest, long skirt and matching shoes," She offered. "I could get Klo outside for a walk and maybe he'll calm down even more. And I promise, this won't happen again."

She neared him, kneeling next to his chair, do her best to seem adorable, even if it looked absolutely preposterous.

"Pretty please Aleks."

[Peeker]

Aleksandr smiled evilly. "If you dress properly for the next few days... maybe I'll take you before the week is over." Victory! The man's grin was genuine. Finally! No more sweatpants. He silently prayed that the next thing Klo would shred would be the girl's awful, mismatched clothing.

He put a finger under her chin. "You're too honest to be manipulative, dear. Go for the straight-forward approach. It suits you far better..." He smiled gently at her. "In the meantime, whlie you clean this up, I'll write Lucy a letter. We'll see when would be a good time for her to have visitors, hm?"

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

'Damn...' Alice thought but gave a half hearted sigh. "Okay, you win. This round. i'll dress nicely for the rest of the week, but not tonight. It's too stuff for skirts and blouses."

She looked at Aleks and shook her own head at his clothing and laughed in wonder. "How can you even breath in that outfit. I'm sweating in mine."

She smiled however happily to herself and set about gathering all the tiny scraps of paper that Klonoa had made, humming under her breath, her mood a little better.

[Peeker]

"I'm cool-blooded. I have a slow heartbeat, dear. Its why I'm still sane." He winked, and picked up the semi-chewed book again. "...I'll just have to get another copy while we're in town. ...I suppose we'll have to make a trip to the bookstore while we're there. It'll be good to see them again." Aleksandr smiled, and tossed the book gently next to Alice's pile. "Maybe that book will entertain you, hm?"

Aleksandr took out a piece of paper, and started his letter, enjoying the sound of rain against the glass, and the strange half-calm of the room now that the crisis was averted.

[Kira_Wolf_Cub]

Alice gathered the last bits of the ruined before heading towards the door and back to her room where Klo was still whining in his pen. She quickly tossed the mess in with him and unleashed him, cradling him in her arms lovingly.

"You're too damn cute you know that?" she smiled and nuzzled the puppy a bit before walking out of the room with him. "Good thing too. Otherwise Aleks may have skinned both of us. No chewing, remember that."

The puppy licked her nose apologetically and wagged it's tail, happy that his mistress was no longer angry. the two returned to the sitting room where Alice made sure to close the door so that Klo wouldn't run of and sat down once more to read her lessons. Somehow, she kind of wished Klo had eaten these books instead.

"They're so boring!" She groaned dramatically only to hear a loud yip from her dog. Laughing she looked at the clock, remembering that she had two hours of history before Aleks would want to continue her music lessons. "Better get some of this memories... if he gives me a pop quiz on this and I don't answer I'm screwed..."


She continued to read slowly, but she did remember small bits as she chewed her way through.