Chapter Summary: Thatch and Casper head into town for some supplies, despite Clementine's fear. After getting the first thing off their list they're spotted by a young human, Angelina.

Casper woke up alone in the big bed, ever so alone. The ghost slowly sat up, his eyes scanning the room but he saw no sign of Thatch. The room was cold and empty, but the curtains were open letting in the sunlight. Seems Thatch woke up early and just didn't bother to awake the ghost or something. Casper slowly slid out of the bed, leaving the warm comfort of the sheets behind as he looked around the room, making sure to check the corners of the ceiling to see if Thatch was just hanging upside down in his bat form.

With no sign of Thatch in the room, the ghost sighed, running his fingers through his soft blue hair. It was only then Casper noticed on the foot of the large bed was an outfit laid out for him. With a smile the ghost boy went over, picking it up- oh what was this...?

Casper's brows furrowed and he laid it out on the bed, trying to see what it was exactly. It was utterly ancient. There was a white button-up shirt- but that was to be covered with a long, darkly colored vest with matching boy shorts. Then knee-high socks and even matching colored shoes- something a rich boy would have worn in olden times. Was Casper really suppose to wear this?!

It seemed to be his size as well- which they had discovered last night during their little raid of Thatch's closet. It seemed to be in good shape too, in fact, it looked almost new, handmade even? Was Thatch dressing like this all the way up until now? And if so, why did he change clothes to go to Scare School? That bat was an utter mystery at times. Plus, thinking Thatch would dress this way just didn't seem possible. Thatch... in shorts? No way.

Casper looked around the room desperately one more time, but there was no Thatch. Would it be considered rude not to wear the clothes given? Most likely... so Casper sucked it up and started to get dressed in the outdated attire, socks and all. Casper was only getting used to wearing basic items due to Thatch giving Casper a shirt and pants, but to be wearing a very stiff, outdated outfit was just beyond weird. But, he had wished to become closer to the vampire and this was the cost. Outdated clothes.

Once dressed the ghost boy walked out of the room, finding it odd his steps now made a sound. Wearing clothes was weird, he felt weighed down by them. But, he had to admit they didn't look too terrible now that he was actually wearing them. He could get used to this, maybe. For now, he could deal with it...

Casper started to walk down the eerie hallways. It was impossible to tell if it was night or day with all the curtains shut and none of the torches lit. There was one grandfather clock he could see, but it was partly covered by a white sheet haphazardly tossed over it. The ghost had the feeling he wasn't allowed to touch it, so he didn't. His presence wasn't welcomed in this castle. It was best not to overstep anymore than he already had.

As the ghost explored the castle he soon saw a soft glowing light. He followed it, and upon entering he was in the kitchen. It was large, with several stoves (now covered in dust). This place could be beautiful, if only it was taken care of. Now it was just old and forgotten despite the two vampires still living here. On the prepping table- where normally the food was prepared was a big, dead stag. Its stomach was cut and blood was freely flowing from its body. There was a groove in the table, collecting the blood and having it all drain off into a well-placed bucket. Thatch was sitting at the kitchen counter, waiting as his mother softly hummed and got him a glass of blood.

"Think this will do for now? I know you said you're getting awfully low on blood as of late..." She sweetly smiled, offering Thatch the glass. The vampire didn't look too happy with the drink but willingly took it.

"I hope so," Thatch knew deer blood was clean, but it wasn't the same as human blood, plus it didn't have as much nutrition in it. "I've actually eaten all my blood packets. Mom, they don't offer blood at the school!"

"No blood offered to a vampire? What an idiotic thing to do, do they wish my baby to starve!? I'll send some packets to the school right away." She hissed, turning her nose up at the very thought. "I swear that ghost Kibosh has no clue how real monsters have to survive! Ghosts are simply the worst."

"...Not all of them." Thatch softly muttered as he drinks his meal. "Casper is nice..."

"Oh well maybe he is my dear, but does he need to eat? No. Does he dress? No- he arrived here naked for stars sake! Honestly, ghosts have no clue what it's like to be alive anymore, hard to believe they were ever human..." She went on before her attention was drawn back to the real problem at hand. "My poor baby bat, I swear if they starve you I'll bring hell down upon them!" She turned her back to Thatch, her heeled shoes clicking lightly on the floor as she went back over to the poor dead stag to continue draining the once mighty creature.

"Mom you can't fight Kibosh, he rules the underworld." Thatch whined childishly from his seat.

"No fury like a mother's scorn, my sweet bat. Nothing can beat a mother's anger." She almost cooed to her child with a smile. Thatch just looked down and continued to drink, trying not to smile. He really missed his mother's affection and protection. The vampire child raised his gaze to watched his mother once more, seeing how she used a knife to cut the stag in a different location, careful to drain it of all its blood. "Tsk, I'll have to get a hook so I can drain these things easier. I hate hunting, but this guy was an easy catch. He was old, near the end of his life anyway." She hummed, as if almost trying to comfort Thatch.

"... I'm still sad it had to die." Thatch sighed as he averted his gaze from the creature, uncomfortable with its dead eyes staring at him. He always loved it when the deer would graze in the forest nearby. He would hang out on the castle wall, watching the does and their sweet baby fawns drew near. He often planted strawberry bushes near the walls just to encourage the creatures to come closer.

"Oh, honey... I know you love these things but you must eat. I wouldn't dare go after a human, these things just must be done." She reminded him calmly. As the blood ran once more from the stag she returned back to Thatch, ruffling up his hair. The child hadn't bothered to brush his hair at all that morning, so he looked a bit unkempt. But he was at least dressed nicely.

He wore some nice black pants, matching black shoes and a white shirt with a red vest with a nice tailored black coat over top. He looked like a little mini adult from the Victorian times- it was rather cute if one was, to be honest.

" Everything fits you nicely, right? I didn't know if you grew any." His mother softly pondered, lightly straightening his tailored jacket once she came to his side, examining him with care..

"It fits fine ma'." Thatch smiled and set down his glass of blood. It was only then when the vampire saw Casper shyly standing by the doorway as if waiting for an invitation to enter. "Oh! You're awake." Thatch smiled and motioned for the ghost to come on in. "Sorry I didn't wake you, you just looked so tired." The vampire justified.

"Thatch... is he wearing your old clothes?" His mother asked, trying to suppress a smile as the ghost boy walked into the room, heading for Thatch's side. Maybe ghosts could dress nicely after all.

"Yeah. These ones are a bit too small for me now, but they fit Casper just fine. And since you didn't want him walking around naked I figured he could borrow them. I want to take Casper into town today- to the blind lady," He quickly spoke as his mother looked like she was about to protest. "The old, OLD lady near the edge of town. Has that small tailor shop? She's pretty blind mom, she won't notice anything weird like last time. I just want to get Casper some clothes so he won't be going around naked anywhere." Thatch weakly smiled. His mother still didn't seem so sure about the boys going into town.

"What if any of the others see you, Thatch? You can get into some trouble, oh what if they try to hurt you?"

"Mom I can fly now, I'll be fine." He reasoned. "I flew all the way here, I'll be fine I swear. It'll be an hour or two at the most, promise!"

"... Finish your breakfast." Was all Clementine said before she turned away. Thatch lightly pouted, but it was only brief. Now that Casper was here he had to act stronger. The vampire looked back to the ghost boy, looking him up and down carefully.

"Not bad," he approved. He then continued to drink his glass of blood, seeming rather calm about the situation. Casper could only smile, feeling heat rise to his face at the violet-eyed monster's approval. Maybe wearing clothes wasn't so bad...

"Casper do you need to eat?" Thatch tentatively asked. Casper found that question hard to explain...

Yes, ghosts could eat. Not just throw it in their mouths and it falls out the other side- like his uncles did to scare some fleshies. Ghosts could actually eat if they so pleased, but there was no need to eat. They didn't need to have any nutrients, but it was nice tasting food. If he lost his sense of taste Casper knew he would go crazy- he loved food way too much to ever want not want to eat.

"Um, yeah, sure?" Casper weakly replied. He just didn't know how to answer. Thatch nodded with a smile.

"We can go pick some strawberries." He offered before sliding off his seat, having finished his glass of blood.

"Wait, Thatch, can't you stay in the castle walls at least?" The vampiress gently questioned as she turned back to her son.

"The bushes are just outside mom, it'll be fine." He laughed lightly and headed to the kitchen door that leads out to the side of the house. Thatch knew it was okay to go there- he did it all the time. But even so, the vampire paused with his hand on the door, looking back to his mother. She wasn't saying anything, so Thatch flashed a smiled and pushed the door open, stepping outside.

There was a small cobble path that had a rickety bridge, unlike the front of the house that had the draw bridge. The cobblestone path leads deeper into the forest before it wrapped back around, taking a nice long turn before it connected back up with the main path out front. They never had the food brought in through the front, too messy. So they just had a backdoor for supplies to enter- most people forgot it even existed because only the servants ever used it.

Clementine looked concerned, wringing a blood-stained rag in her hands as she watched her dear Thatch leave the kitchen. She stepped back, flinching lightly as a few rays of light only entered the room. She stayed in the shadows, sadly watching the door hang open, letting in the sounds of the morning birds singing.

Casper felt awkward just standing there, so he weakly offered a smile. "I'll make sure Thatch doesn't go far Mrs. Manora."

"It's Madam Manora." She hissed, turning her back to the ghost as she returned back to the stag, picking up the large carving knife. Casper decided it was best if he hurried out of there right away. An angry vampire with a knife is something he did not want to be around.

As he left the kitchen he shut the door behind himself just to assure the light wasn't going to bother Thatch's mother. When he turned back he could see the vampire had already opened the back gate in the castle walls which gave him access to the old, nearly rotten bridge that was somehow still standing over the old moat.

"Come on!" Thatch yelled carelessly as he started to run across. With every step the vampire made the wood creaked and groaned, threatening to break. But the vampire made it across with no problems. Casper followed suit, the wood barely making any sound as he crossed it.

It was nice being a ghost with little to no weight.

Once Casper had crossed the bridge as well Thatch softly laughed, his voice being carried in the gentle breeze. Casper froze up, watching the vampire hurry over to the fruit bushes. They looked so old, their vines and branches sprawling out, trying to climb the old castle's walls.

Thatch removed his tailored coat, using it more as a makeshift bag by holding the edges, placing the strawberries he deemed good into the pouch. Something about this seemed all-natural and calm. Was this the real Thatch? Not the bully that liked to shove people around and laugh. But a calmer, happier vampire without the need to be popular or liked.

"Come help me," the vampire softly laughed, looking over at the frozen ghost. "These are your strawberries anyways." He reminded. "Get some of the ones on the higher branches."

Casper weakly nodded and walked over to Thatch before he floated up, carefully picking some of the big thick ripe berries before dropping them, letting the vampire catch them. It started to become a game after a bit, how many Casper could drop and how many Thatch could catch. So far Thatch wasn't missing any- until the ghost started to drop them in different directions.

The vampire rushed around below Casper, enjoying their little game of catch until his coat was weighed down by at least 5 pounds of strawberries. They had stripped many branches of the overgrown bush- but that was only one bush. There was at least two dozen more that Casper could see, all lining the back wall of this castle.

"I think we're good." Thatch huffed, lifting up the bundle of strawberries. "Let's head inside and wash these off. Maybe we can make a cake or something?" He pondered lightly, following the floating ghost.

~~~

By the time they got the strawberries washed and all the leafs removed it was around lunchtime, though Thatch didn't seem too hungry because he kept sneaking bites of the strawberries. Course Casper couldn't say anything because he snuck one here and there too.

"Maybe we can make some shortcakes?" Thatch offered. He stood up on a stool, reaching up into one of the cabinets above the sink.

"Careful, let me help." Casper floated over, opening up the cabinet with one hand while the other rested on Thatch's shoulder to help keep him steady. Inside the cabinet was a huge, dusty recipe book.

"Crystal use to make the best shortcakes. I think we can mimic her old recipe." Thatch hummed as he stood on the tips of his toes, reaching in and pulling out the heavy book. Casper helped Thatch keep his balance, then helped him back down off the stool with the large book. Casper found it almost pleasing how well the two seemed to be getting along, trusting in each other and helping with very little words spoke between them. It was a nice sort of bond that had formed- and Casper didn't even know when it really started to happen. It just did.

As Thatch searched the pages of the book Casper closed the cabinet and finished washing and picking the stems off of the strawberries.

"Hmmn, We'll need... Oh, we don't have this." Thatch softly murmured. "We'll have to head into town Casper. We need some milk to make this." He muttered softly. "Set the strawberries out to dry and we'll head out."

"Are you sure that's ok? Your mother seemed upset by the idea."

"It's fine Casper." He assured the ghost, even if his eyes quickly scanned the room to see if she was nearby. "We'll be quick, in and out of town in no time."

"You love breaking the rules."

"Rules don't apply to me." The vampire smirked. "I'm the prince of this castle after all." He said cockily. Casper resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Thatch could be so arrogant, but it was rather amusing how Thatch carried himself. If he thought himself a prince then fine- whatever why not. He did live in a castle.

Thatch set his tailored jacket on the back of a chair to dry off- it had gotten a bit wet when the tail end of it fell into the sink. Totally Thatch's fault even if the vampire denied it.

The duo then left through the back gate again- not because Thatch was afraid of getting caught, as Casper claimed. Thatch claimed simply because it was better... obviously. Clearly, Thatch had no fears of breaking the rules- even if the violet-eyed monster kept looking behind them every few steps.

It wasn't until the castle was out of sight did the vampire stop looking around. As they passed through the magical barrier Casper floated, looking back to where the castle was almost perfectly hidden. "Thatch, can you explain that to me again?"

"Um, sure..." Thatch muttered, not looking back. He needed to focus on where they were going, it was easy to get lost. "My dad made that barrier before he died. It's powered by something in the castle- I don't know what. Dad had some sort of secret lab below the cellar but no matter where I look I can't find the entrance. But it's fine I guess. Mom is still confused to this day how the fleshies found our castle all those years ago... Maybe they had a map?" He softly murdered. "I don't know how though. The only people who knew the castle location were the servants. We always sent them out into town and they brought things back... But anyway, about the barrier." He corrected himself. "It'll last as long as the power source does."

Casper nodded in understanding, floating beside the vampire as he listened to him explain. "Maybe I can help you find this secret lab? I can float through the walls and floor." He offered.

"But you hate doing that..."

"... I'll do it for you." The ghost boy admitted, his blue eyes looking far ahead.

"Thanks," the vampire softly spoke after a moment. Those were words rarely uttered by Thatch, so it felt nice to hear them. The vampire always seemed to mean it when he said it too- it made Casper's nonexistent heart pound in his chest.

As they left the forest the town was right insight, really close in fact. Thatch straightened his clothes and chuckled. "Keep close ghost boy." He warned. He hurried along the paved path, heading to one of the buildings around the outside of the town. It was rickety, made out of wood. It looked terribly old, the wood creaking with the wind. The two walked up to the door but failed to notice they were being watched. The second they left the forest a pair of blue eyes had been watching their every move.

As they stepped inside a bell above the door wiggled and ringed, letting out a pleasant sound. The tailor shop was full of racks and racks of clothes. Some as old as the shop, and some as new as Thatch's chained pants he wore to school.

The feeble old lady who owned and ran the shop was sitting in a rocking chair near the cash register, fast asleep with some sort of rodent in her lap... a guinea pig? Her hair had gone white, though the roots seemed to be of a darker color. Her rounded glasses were terribly thick and falling down her button nose constantly, barely able to stay on as she dozed. She looked pale, but was covered in faded freckles everywhere- her face was nearly all freckles honestly. Despite being an old lady she wore bright orange. Her dress went down to her feet, and she had green slippers underneath. Thatch made no comment on her strange look. Instead, he went up to the counter and cleared his throat.

"Madam Krimzon?" The vampire spoke up.

"Ehhh..." Her tired voice came. She sat up in her rocking chair, pushing up her large glasses as she peered down at the child vampire. The guinea pig in her lap wheeked unhappily with the movement and seemed distressed by the vampire and ghost. The old lady just petted its white fur to sooth the creature. "Oh, young lad... It's you. You're home, I thought your private school went for a while longer..." She tiredly spoke.

"Yes, madam. But I came home to see my mom for the weekend, I also brought a friend. I was hoping to get him some new clothes." Thach smiled kindly.

"Oh right... yes yes, oh hon," She shifted, sliding out of the chair and held her dear pet in her arms. The guinea pig seemed displeased with being moved, wiggling its nose at the monsters in distaste.

Casper nervously watched, partly hidden behind Thatch. This was so foolishly dangerous. The ghost watched as the 'Krimzon' lady placed the pig in its cage behind the cash register, telling the creature named 'Gilbert' to calm down and go rest with 'Gupta', which was a black guinea pig in the cage as well. As the old lady started to hobble across the floor Thatch calmly followed suit, heading deeper into the cramped store.

Casper could only follow while trying to keep himself calm. Oh, if they ever got caught they would be in so much trouble!

"Let's see here... Would he like newer clothes, or perhaps your taste in style my dear?" she asked kindly.

"Oh, well..." Thatch glanced back at Casper, his eyes carefully trailing over the ghost and his clothes. "... Newer." Thatch in the end decided. "He's wearing some of my old clothes. I want to see him in a different style."

"Yes yes... Does he want that?" Krimzon chuckled airily. Casper personally thought she sounded like a tire deflating when she spoke. He was expecting to see dust fly out of her mouth any minute.

"Oh, uh, anything Thatch wants is ok," Casper muttered softly. Thatch seemed to know what looked good on the ghost, so Casper was more than eager to agree to what the vampire wished. The blue-eyed ghost reached out, gently grabbing onto Thatch's sleeve just to assure he didn't get lost in this mess of a shop.

"Thatch...?" Casper whispered. "I thought we were only getting milk."

"I said I would take you clothes shopping." He reminded the ghost. "It'll be quick. One or two outfits then we'll get the milk and head home." He promised easily.

Casper wasn't sure about this, but he could only nod and go along with what the vampire wanted. He didn't remember the way back to the DeedsTown, and even then Cappy wouldn't be there until Monday morning.

"I think I found something..." The old lady giggled.

~~~

Casper swore to never go clothes shopping with Thatch again. They spent at least an hour trying on so many different outfits Casper could barely remember any of them! His brain was mush and he felt like a doll to the vampire.

Try this on. Nope, not that. Ok, try this. No, not THAT!

It was maddening! But by the end Thatch had settled on two outfits to get the ghost, just as promised. Thatch paid for the clothes with a few gold coins he had in his pocket. The old lady didn't even seem to notice what they were as she put them in the register and wished them a nice day as they left. What a strange fleshie.

Thatch carried the bag for Casper, seeming rather pleased with himself. "Now we can go get the milk from the town center. I know they have a nice little town market of sorts still."

"Thatch, this is a town full of fleshies!" Casper reminded. "Don't you think this is dangerous? Ok, so we tricked an old lady- whatever. There's going to be normal fleshies in there." Casper sighed.

"Yes yes, I know. So we wear cloaks!"

"...Cloaks?"

Thatch nodded and reached into the bag. "I went ahead and bought us some cloaks too. Hooded ones of course. Come put one on." He said as he pulled out a black cloak, offering it to Casper. The ghost sighed and took it even as he shook his head.

"Thatch, I don't know about this. No one wears cloaks anymore."

"No one wears cloaks? How dumb! How do they defend against the weather then?" Thatch laughed and put his new cloak on. "It's fine Casper. We'll fit right in. Not all towns are advanced as Deedstown."

"... Deedstown is rather average..." Casper sighed. Ugh, even in the time Casper was alive no one wore cloaks. Thatch was terribly out of touch. It was almost cute if their lives weren't on the line for some milk.

"You monsters aren't that smart." A voice cut through the air. "I thought vampires and ghosts were supposed to be old and wise. You two look like kids, and are dumber than a rock."

The vampire and ghost quickly moved closer to each other, looking around the empty area. No one could be seen until some strange human girl stepped out from behind a tree. She wore a long purple dress with a black belt around her hips along with some black boots to defend against the mud- which always seemed to form wherever there wasn't pavement in this pitiful place called a town. On her back, she carried a simple black backpack with tons of colored buttons clipped onto it.

Her black hair was neatly brushed back, away from her observant blue eyes. Her arms were crossed over her chest, watching the monsters. "I could scream and the whole town will hear..." She lightly pondered.

"Wait no!" Thatch quickly spoke up, moving so he was in front of Casper. "Don't scream, we're not here to hurt any fleshies...?" He weakly defended. Ugh, Thatch was terrible when dealing with humans. Casper decided to take over.

"We don't mean any harm, we just want some milk from the market to make some strawberry shortcake." He smiled kindly. "I'm Casper, what's your name?"

"Angelina." She bluntly said, rolling her eyes as she blew a bubble with her gum. So far she seemed to be taking to Casper more, of course. "You both have a death wish entering this town. Especially a vampire. Surely you know of the old tales?"

"Old tales?" Thatch raised a brow, causing the human to roll her eyes.

"Dumb as rocks... Come on you two, let's get out of the open. You're lucky I'm helping you. It's not cause I pity you, it's cause I find monsters interesting, even if they're dumb as rocks." She muttered and turned away. "Keep up." She ordered and hurried along. Thatch looked to the ghost nervously, but Casper was much more trusting in fleshies than the vampire so he only flashed a smile and followed Angelina, Thatch reluctantly in tow.