"I'm not amused, you bloody ponce."

His voice was almost a snarl, the inflection in his words nothing less than deadly. If I had been a different being, I would have feared that the poison in them would have seared a hole in my chest.

Luckily, the speaker wasn't looking at me. Bones was currently scowling down at his drink, the liquor the unlucky recipient of his anger this evening. I couldn't help but ask myself what I was doing here- what I was doing with the man who had something I wanted very badly?

"For once, this is not something you can blame me for."

"Right now, it's the fault of whoever's closest to me." Bones hissed. I only raised an eyebrow.

"Then why don't you leave? You're the one who sat yourself down. I'm sure you have something better to do." I responded calmly. The vampire next to me frowned, and then sighed. I stared at him in almost disbelief, not believing what I saw.

"Bones."

"Yeah? Going to kick a fellow while he's down, are you?" he muttered. As heartless as it seemed, a cold smirk curved my lips. This, at least, was something I knew how to deal with.

"Rest assured, if you'd like me to, I'll be more than happy to oblige. No, what I was going to say was that you're acting like an obsessive teenage girl." Picking up my glass, I circled the rim with my finger before knocking back the remainder of the liquid in the vessel. I had been completely taken off guard. My…I suppose you could call him my rival, had simply marched in here and plopped down next to me like we were in a blasted sewing circle. Bones' little redhead had taken off like a bird in flight, which was why I had the bounty hunter practically glued to my hip. Just when I had taken the time to find an establishment without annoyances, this. Bones snorted.

"Oh, who's a hypocrite now, Dracula? I've seen the look in your eyes when you look at Cat. I can't say I blame you- she's damn near perfect." His eyes narrowed with menace. "But mark my words, she'll never go to you."

"So protective. It's like you're growling over a slab of meat." was my only reply. I opened up my hand in a casual fashion, sparks dancing at my fingertips. "Perhaps Cat'd like a say in this."

"Cat isn't here." Instead of the biting arrogance Bones usually addressed me with, the only factor in his tone now was a sort of resignation. This was not anywhere near my comfort zone. I turned in my chair to face him.

"I do hope you won't take this the wrong way, but if you don't man up I'm going to roast you alive." As I'd hoped, he shot up almost immediately.

"Is that a challenge, show hound?" I grinned.

"Good, you're back, now I don't need to babysit anymore. If you'd still like it to be one, we can take this outside." The fire slowly faded from his eyes and he sat back down, snapping his fingers at the bartender. Not waiting for his drink to arrive, I turned and left without another word.

-Cat's POV-

I sat at a bar with my gin and tonic next to me, not at the table, but on it. My fingers tapped wildly on my thighs- from anxiety or adrenaline, I didn't know. I was dressed in a ridiculously slutty outfit, as per usual- a purple corset, cut so tightly that my cleavage was almost up to my chin, and a pair of tight leather leggings that left nothing to the imagination. The only difference was that this time, I wasn't here to brawl- at least not for Bones. However, what I held in my hands was a testament to my being there.

Making eye contact with all the attendants, I smirked and tossed the crimson-stained head from side to side, catching it with my gloved hands. "Any of you up for a catfight? Recognize me, maybe? Well, here it is. Here's your chance to kill the Red Reaper. Who thinks they can take me, huh?"

The music slowly resumed. This, I took to mean that some of the vampires in the bar meant me no harm, which was a nice change. However, a few women dressed even more cheaply than I was stuck around. Three were obviously groupies, human tagalongs, but the remaining two were just as obviously vampires. If I hadn't caught on by the almost finger-in-a-light-socket vibe, their slightly upscale clothes gave a loud hint. A stunning strawberry-blonde stepped forward, a soft pout on her cherry lips.

"Reaper, hm? Fine. We'll see if you're really all they say you are."