Venipuncture

Chapter 6: Mornings Greeting

The night passed without incident, and sure enough, when morning came, Willow had found no trace or hint that Lilith was ever there to begin with. Which, granted, was what Willow wanted. But even so, it made her a fair bit concerned, for before she went to bed, she had made sure to place a long-lasting camera.

And yet, she never saw trace or hair of Lilith. This was odd, and made Willow all the more wary, given that she had placed it right above the front door.

With a grumble, Willow slowly rose out of bed at 6:30am on the dot as her alarm rang once again. She didn't care too much about waking up early, but the early bird got the worm, and avoided being robbed by vampires once again.

'Vampires,' Willow thought as she smacked her clock's alarm. “Honest to god vampires, kitsune, goblins, gorgons, and…what was that part about the Grim Reaper?" she muttered to herself out loud. “What's next, is War going to stop by for poker? How about Famine?"

“No, they don't talk much these days."

Something in her brain told her something was wrong, but her morning haze was working overtime today. “Ah, that's sad," Willow agreed, and with a grumble, fell out of bed and onto the floor.

It was time for her morning exercise. She wasn't dressed properly, only a shirt and boxers, but that was okay. It's not like anyone else was here. Besides, she was around six feet tall, with muscles that came from proper exercise and dieting.

No one would ever make fun of her figure ever again, Willow had promised herself, and it was the same promise she would repeat as she began her daily routine of push-ups, sit ups, and going for a morning run.

She kicked the coves off her, and worried about making her bed later. Her mother would scold her for not making it properly, but Willow had more pressing matters, like the vampire lady with the fetching black hair and clear red eyes that pierced the night…

Willow shook her head, and dismissed the errant thought, and so, she began her push-ups, the sheet of her bed still tangled around her left leg.

“One....two…" she counted, her muscles awakening from a familiar burn once more. It was good, this was good. She needed to remind herself that she was still alive, that she was not some vampire's toy.

“Do you do this every morning?"

“Three…every....four…morning," Willow answered. An itch formed on the inside of her brain. Like she was forgetting something, or perhaps…missing something?

“And do you not make your bed?"

“Five…when I…six…have the time…seven," Willow replied, and frowned. Something was wrong. What was it?

“And…I um…I'll just help you out…"

“Cool, thanks, Lilith…eight…"

“No problem."

Willow continued to push herself up and down, her large biceps breathing with each motion. The goal was as it always was, 50 push-ups, then came the sit ups, then the run. It was a simple workout, but effective.

What was really distracting her though was the way Lilith studiously started to make her bed. The sheet that was entangling her leg had become undone, slipping past her ankle like water as Lilith pulled it up.

'Well…maybe she is good for something,' Willow thought as she performed another push up. Still, that 'something' was bugging her. Like she had answered a question wrong on her test, but still hadn't handed it in. 'Though....wait, hold on—'

“Lilith?!"

“Yes?" Lilith the Vampire Princess asked, her arms wrapped around a bundle of Willow's bed sheets.

With a hop to her feet, Willow turned to face Lilith, who paused, looking Willow up and down before turning to bury her head in said sheets.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?!" Willow demanded.

“I'm a vampire, and I'm a vampire," Lilith replied, “And uh…could you…put some clothes on?"

Willow furrowed her brow and shook her head. “As long as you keep your face out of my sheets. That's where I sleep, ya know."

Willow turned, only hearing the slight yelp from Lilith as she turned towards her cabinet drawers. Her room was fairly small, consisting mostly of her bed, a desk, a bathroom, and a small kitchen next to the door. Everything Willow personally owned was little more than two steps away.

“And, again," Willow said loudly. “Why do you keep breaking and entering? Don't vampires need to be invited in or something?"

“Only if we want to be polite," Lilith replied. “And I just wanted to make sure you weren't…uh…gods you're tall. I mean, I knew it before but…still."

Well, Willow was somewhere around six feet, but that wasn't the point. “Make sure what?"

“Make sure…" Lilith paused, her voice slightly shaken. “Make sure no one tried to put a curse on you, or steal your name, I guess."

“Feeling guilty?" Willow asked.

“I do have a conscience, you know," Lilith muttered. “And believe me, I'm not any happier with this than you are. I just came to check up on you, make sure that you weren't, uh, cursed or something."

Willow didn't believe her, not for one moment. But at least this vampire princess understood the concept of responsibility. With nothing more to really say, Willow focused on dressing herself.

Her cabinet full of clothes was big enough, despite only mostly consisting of her day-to-day wear, while her pristine white lab coat hung on the wall via a hook. Most of what she had was simple shirts, combined with simple pants. Nothing she owned had any fancy emblems or in-your-face images of movie stars or bands, mostly because Willow didn't need or want more people looking at her chest.

Willow sorted through them, and threw on a much more comfortable shirt, and a pair of sweat jeans that she pulled her legs into. As she did, however, a cold wind blew by her and her skin became riddled with goosebumps.

Willow's breathing slowed as fear crept up spine. It was as if a predator had discovered her when she was at her most vulnerable. With a hesitant, shaking head, she turned, and Lilith stared at her with wide, scarlet eyes and bright crimson covering her face.

Their eyes met, and Willow's shoulders slumped as realization set in. “Lilith! I don't know how to tell you this, oh wait, I do, but checking out your recent kidnapping victim is not cool!"

Her apparently shot through Lilith, as she stopped, and in a blur of motion, made Willow's bed faster than the speeding wind. “OkayI'msorryIjustwantedtomakesureyouwerealrightokaybye!"

And with that, Lilith was gone, leaving Willow alone with a freshly made bed. Willow rolled her eyes and pulled on her pants. Women.