Master of Kittens?

Disclaimer: I don't own any material contained within this story. All copyrighted content remains the property of the person, people, or organization that holds the copyright. This story is solely for fun.

Alucard was sleeping peacefully- okay, not exactly peacefully, since his dead dreams were filled with war, conquest and blood... lots and lots of blood. But the No-Life King was certainly sleeping soundly. Until, that is, his wonderful dream world was suddenly invaded by a slight, but persistent feline whine.

The ancient vampire rose from his coffin and followed the whining sound over to his chamber door. Quickly he flung it open- upset that his resting had been disturbed by anything that didn't offer the promise of death, destruction and mayhem. And then, the vampire paused and stared quizzically down at what had awoken him.

There, in the basement of Hellsing manor, stood the most adorable, little, rosewood colored kitty-cat imaginable. Alucard continued to stare down at the creature for a moment- how ever had it gotten all the way in there? -and it stared back up at him with big, saucer eyes.

Finally the No-Life King shrugged. He reached down, grabbed the kitten by the back of its neck and lifted the small critter above him. Then Alucard's mouth opened up to an impossibly large size- like a snake with an unhinged jaw- and the kitten started to struggle violently as it realized that it was about to be eaten.

The vampire paid the creature little heed. Its life was void the moment it interrupted his slumber. Now, he'd swallow the thing and get back into his coffin for some peace and quiet... well, quiet anyway. However, in the kitten's struggling it accidentally cut itself with one of its own claws; and as the blood dripped down onto Alucard's waiting tongue, the monster recognized a familiar taste.

Alucard closed his mouth and moved the kitten to eye level. He stared into its big, blue eyes- focusing on the critter's aura. That too was familiar. And so, still rather surprised but fairly certain he knew how the kitten had reached him, the vampire made mental contact with it. 'Police Girl? Is… is that you?'

'Oh, Master, thank goodness! I was afraid you were going to eat me!'

Alucard let out a little chuckle as he cradled the kitten in his arm and walked over to set her down on the small end table beside his throne. 'Okay, Police Girl, mind explaining to me just why you're a little kitty-cat?' he thought to her- his inner voice cooing with the same smug trait that his real one almost always carried.

'Well… Well, you see, I was… um, practicing my shape shifting- like you told me I should. And I finally seemed to be getting somewhere with it too. I was able to hold this form for over a half-hour before my concentration wandered and I reverted to my true form,' Seras thought back; and a certain pride, at her improvement, resonated over their connection. 'But… ah, well, I kept on practicing and then… Well, I'm afraid I'm stuck.'

'Stuck?' Alucard questioned. How could she be stuck? Vampire shape shifting was based around their polymorphic forms altering to suit the image they held in their minds. As long as his fledgling didn't really believe herself to be a kitten, she should've shifted back automatically when she stopped concentrating on the image. How could she possibly get herself stuck?

Alucard pondered that for a moment, and then the edge of his lip curled as a thought struck him. 'Police Girl, what time is it?'

The kitten's head tilted to the side- as if the question confused her. 'Just after seven… why?'

And then Seras's master broke into a chorus of loud laughter- the abruptness of which briefly startled the little kitten. 'Ma-Master, this… this isn't funny… I-I don't want to be a cat for the rest of my life… unlife,' she thought back to him upon recovery.

'Oh no? Are you certain of that?' Alucard teased as he gently ran a gloved hand down his fledgling's back, causing her to release an instinctive purr and rub her face up against him. 'Don't worry,' he continued. 'You won't be stuck like that for very long. You should change back as soon as the sun reaches its apex.'

'Huh?'

'At night our kind are free to take whatever forms we wish, however during the day we can only shape shift at dawn, noon and dusk. If you're in another form between those times, you'll remain that way until the next interval.'

'Oh.' Well, that was just great. True it wasn't nearly as bad as Seras had feared, but still… What was she suppose to do until noon?

Alucard chuckled and began to walk away from his fledgling. 'Don't worry. I've got something here that should keep you busy,' he thought as he opened up a chest in the corner and began to comb through it.

Seras wondered what her master could be referring to. Then she saw him returning with a ball of red yarn, and her head tilted to the side again. That was suppose to keep her entertained for nearly five hours? 'Ah, Master, you do realize that I'm not really a kitten, right?'

Alucard chuckled once more. 'You've taken the form of a cat; you'll share the instincts of one until you turn back… Did you not notice how you were responding to being pet a moment ago?'

Well, yes- that was enjoyable enough. But then it was gentle tactile contact, pleasantly stimulating nerve endings. There was a big difference between that and… Seras lost her train of thought as her master dangled one, loose end of the yarn in front of her eyes. It was… it was mesmerizing. She batted at it with her paw and then leapt up at it.

Alucard grinned as he pulled the ball just out of reach. 'You want this, Police Girl?' he taunted, and the kitten quickly nodded her head. And then, with a short, fairly calm laugh, the vampire dropped the ball onto the floor; and the kitten immediately sprang after it.

Alucard continued grinning as he spent a moment just watching his fledgling energetically playing with the ball of yarn, and then he began to head back to his coffin. 'Master?' the kitten thought- over their still open mental connection -as she briefly stopped her frolicking. 'Why did you have a ball of yarn to begin with?'

'I see you're also exhibiting a cat's curiosity, Police Girl,' Alucard replied. He paused for a few seconds before continuing, 'Years before you came here, I briefly had a real cat for a fledgling.'

Seras's eyes grew wider. 'You… you had a pet vampire kitty-cat?'

'Well, it wasn't exactly my choice,' Alucard replied- causing his fledgling even more confusion.

'So… where is this cat now?' she questioned after a short pause.

'I finally managed to unload the thing on some unsuspecting geek,' Alucard replied, though the brief flashes of memory that came along with his statement caused Seras to believe that her master had cared more for both the pet and the geek than he was letting on. Apparently, there was a lot about him she still didn't know.

However, before Seras could pursue things any further, Alucard flung his hand; and a burst of telekinesis quickly jerked the ball of yarn. The fledgling's feline instincts took back over, and her master retired to his coffin.

Well, I'm not really sure what you'll think of this one... But I hope a few of you enjoyed it at least. Please drop me a review and let me know. Thanks :)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.