For the next several days, Alexis is busy. Kita is needed for all the paperwork that comes with authenticating the marriage, but after that, Alexis is back to preparing to take over. Kita is supposed to be taught some things as well, but he hasn't been called anywhere. He's pretty sure Alexis is just going to show him what is required of him and how to do it, when the time comes.

Anyway, this leaves Kita with nothing to do. He basically just reads and writes letters to his mom. He sees Alexis a handful of times during this, but they hardly have time to even speak.

The only positive thing that comes out of this is that he gets to do more research on vampires. He's also still changing, still going through new developments. So, having Alexis around would not help in the secrecy aspect of things, despite how much Kita is beginning to miss him. He hopes they give him some training soon, so he can spend more time with Alexis.

One morning, Kita wakes up and is met with an... unforeseen situation.

Kita opens his eyes for a start, squinting as he's immediately met with the sun shining directly in them. He takes note of a light weight on his chest, blinking rapidly in hopes of getting his eyes to adjust. Once they do, he's confused.

It's a bird.

Kita freezes, staring at what looks like a crow, or maybe a raven. The bird just stares back at him, and its black eyes would be beady in any other setting. However, for some reason, there actually appears to be something behind them. Something that's rare for animals, the bird looks to have a purpose. To have thoughts.

"Can I help you?" Kita asks it in confusion, looking around his room to figure out how it got in. It doesn't take him long, spotting his open window. He does not remember opening his window.

The bird tilts its head, and Kita notices something in its mouth. It looks to be a letter, and the bird drops it on his chest.

Kita blinks, watching the bird stay put, and reluctantly reaches out to take hold of the envelope. He looks at the bird one last time, before examining the envelope. It looks fancy, golden accents on the black paper and a wax stamp sealing it. He rips it open without much more hesitation, and begins reading it.

Nikita, the letter starts out, and Kita rolls his eyes. He already knows who sent this, just by the use of his full name. When is Evander going to finally get it right?

I'm writing you from Vanhallam, in hopes of organizing a time for you to visit. I believe the best option would be for you to travel now, during the winter, though it will be more dangerous. This is due to the time constraint of the reveal. Please write me back and send it with Cordelia at your convenience.

Evander.

Kita simply blinks down at the writing, processing it for a moment. The packaging is so fancy, Kita can't help but to question Evander's identity even more. There's no way he's just some random guy.

Kita glances back up at the bird—Cordelia, he's assuming. She's either a crow or a raven, Kita can't really tell the difference. She's staring at him in expectation, and he frowns at her. "I'm not writing back."

Cordelia tilts her head, not breaking eye contact. After a couple moments go by of the two looking at each other, she hops off of Kita. She then flies to his open window and sits on the sill, before resuming her uncomfortable staring.

Kita just shakes his head, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. He begins following his normal routine. He hasn't eaten in days now, so he's hungry. His research has shown him that human blood is enough to sate him for a few weeks, but animal blood usually only lasts a couple days. Clearly that's what Evander has been giving him.

Kita's out now, though. Feeding himself is now completely in Kita's hands, and he has no idea what to do. He's not about to hurt someone, and it's not like he could access human blood without giving away what he is, anyway. He's not human anymore, and absolutely nobody can know. So, he needs to find a way to get himself some animal blood. That's the part where he's stuck.

Kita takes a shower and does everything he needs in order to get ready for the day. Alexis will be sworn in as emperor within the next couple weeks, and from that point on Kita will be much more busy. So, while he still has time, Kita will be spending the day with his mom.

Kita planned on going over there as soon as he woke up, so once he's done with all his hygiene stuff he begins getting ready to head over. As he does so, he takes note of the bird still sitting there. Is she actually going to wait and follow him around until he writes back?

Kita stares at the bird a moment longer, before catching sight of something on its leg. It looks strange, like a bracelet, and it's gold so it stands out. Kita frowns, walking towards it, surprised when the bird doesn't fly away. Instead she just stands there, and it doesn't take long to recognize the tag on her leg. Vanhallam.

"Go back home," Kita instructs the bird, who stares at him blankly. Kita is no longer taking this lightly, though. He knows exactly what will happen to her if she flies around Amarath with the notorious V symbol on her leg. "Don't fly around Amarath with that, you'll get hurt."

Cordelia tilts her head as her only response. She doesn't move, and Kita just sighs. He begins reaching for her, planning on trying to take it off himself. However, instead he watches the bird turn and fly off, hopefully back to Vanhallam. Kita just stares at the now empty sill for a moment, then goes back to getting ready, and that's his morning.

The day with his mother is spent mostly cleaning and talking, helping her cook and even helping in the kitchen of The Remedy for awhile. Eventually his father takes that over, and then it's just he and his mother, together in their house kitchen, making dinner. Once they finish that, they sit at their small dinner table.

This is when things start to take a turn. Honestly, Kita shouldn't even be surprised at the topic his mother is immediately bringing up. She didn't talk about it the whole day, of course she'd choose the first break they've gotten all day.

"So, how have things been with Alexis?"

Oh, god. It honestly kills Kita that he can't tell her the truth. It really bothers him that she genuinely believes he kept such a serious relationship from her for years, and there's nothing he can do about it.

"...fine," Kita says, and his mom frowns in response. Yeah, that wasn't very convincing. He doesn't want her to think that Alexis mistreats him or anything, but he also doesn't want to lie. Things haven't exactly been fantastic. Kita is a vampire who just married into a vampire hunting family.

"That's good," Liz replies, tone unsure. Kita doesn't make eye contact, staring at the table and forcing himself to eat her cooking, which he once loved. He can keep human food down a bit better now, growing more used to the sensation and social etiquette making it easier to tolerate, due to the pressure. This still doesn't keep it from tasting absolutely grotesque.

Liz looks like she wants to say something else, and Kita thinks he may know what. She probably has so many questions about he and Alexis, probably wants to ask them right now more than anything. She's probably trying to figure out a way to phrase it without scaring Kita off.

Kita sighs. Might as well get this over with, so they can move on and he hopefully won't be questioned any more. "Ask whatever you want."