Tony waited silently as his eyes stared fixated on the old wreck of a house he was watching, his eyes widening as he suddenly spotted the man he had been watching for. The house itself was large and obviously once was a very attractive property, even if those days were long gone. In the blink of an eye he had leapt from the small ledge he’d been sat on and was racing through the unkempt garden with inhuman speed. He stopped to the side of the man and leant causally against what was left of an old stone wall, waiting as if he’d been there for some time. 

“Isn’t it a bit late to be visiting the old Dimont house isn’t it?” Tony asked from the shadows.

The man screamed and swung around, dropping the bag he had been carrying as he did. It clattered to the ground and all manner of silverware and other valuables came spilling out onto the path. Obviously he had been looting the place of its remaining valuables. He stared from the bag on the ground up to Tony and hesitated, obviously fearing the repercussions of theft from his previous employers. 

He reached into his tatty jacket quickly and pulled out a wooden stake before pointing it at Tony and stuttering “S..stay back you…  I know what you are!”

Tony continued to smirk as he retorted “and I know what you are Christopher, a weasely little [i]human[/i]… and a thieving one by the looks of it too. How about we just talk like more civilized people?”

But before he had even finished speaking the man lunged forwards with the stake in hand. He was quick, quicker than Tony had expected him to be, but certainly not faster than he was.  In one swift motion he aggressively slapped the stake away sending it flying into the undergrowth as he pinned the man against the rotting wall of the house, lifting him into the air slightly as he did so. 

Tony’s smooth smirk had vanished and a look of anger and rage had now dominated his features. 

“Tell me what happened to the Dimonts!” he growled, his teeth rapidly growing into sharp points as he slammed the now quivering man into the wall. 

“Please no!” begged the man “They’re dead!” 

“I know they are dead, [i]who killed them!?[/i] 

The man hesitated a few moments before he said “I don’t know… some hunter. Someone called The Cat… a girl!”

“The Cat?” Tony asked raising his eyebrows. 

“You haven’t heard of her?” the man asked still trembling “she’s gotten rid of anyone around here with links to the royals. Word is she is looking for the Redferns…” 

Tony frowned as he thought. It was true he had been away for quite some time, tracking down leads elsewhere. He’d heard that Hunter Redfern was abroad, but his searches had all come up empty, but he hadn’t thought anyone else would be hunting him – especially a human at that. 

“Thank you friend” Tony said his face quickly resuming a smirk before he sank his teeth into the man’s neck. He tried to struggle away, but it was no use. Tony savoured the taste for a few moments before he pulled himself away. It would be so tempting and easy to drain him to the point of death, to quench his thirst in its entirety. But he had no interest in killing anyone unnecessarily, even a insignificant worm like this man. 

“You will leave now and never return to this place” commanded Tony as he stared into the man’s eyes hypnotically “You will not remember this conversation”. 

With that the man blinked and Tony was gone. 

Christopher stood there for a moment rubbing his neck, wondering why it was suddenly a little sore. Shrugging he turned and walked pulling his jacket about himself tighter. It was a cold night and he had no idea why he wasn’t at home huddled before his fire, safe and sound.