Shift. That single command was near potent upon the vampire's tongue. That word a demand. One that left no room for question and yet...how precarious a command it was. Darcy could not force that shift from those feline servants as Risque could. No amount of beating could force their bodies to change either. That shift had to be of their own decision. Their own obedience. For Harley to refuse his order now, in front of Ruben, would be....displeasing. How precariously the young Were balanced upon that final thread of his patience. Her response, in that moment, so likely to result either in some measure of mercy- or a punishment she would never forget. Her sharpened tongue, it seemed, had hardly lessened and yet beneath those sad little words that obedience persisted. Good. Harley's gaze shifted toward Ruben then. Darcy's own mismatched eyes moved to follow. The slender vampire was near fixated young the Were. The very notion of watching Harley strip those clothes from her body was near...tantalizing to that fucking freak show. Did Ruben truly derive...pleasure from that? Perhaps he did. Darcy had never yet seen the vampire seek out a woman- or even a man for his enjoyment. What else did he do with those Were's? Darcy's lip curled ever so slightly in disdain at the mere thought.

The Southern vampire's hand moved with lightning speed, the loud -crack- of that strike agianst Ruben echoed within that dark space as the other vampire cried out and yet- his focus had been broken. His eyes no longer leered at Harley. How little Darcy cared for that kitty-pets comfort and yet, to rob Ruben of the perverted joy of watching that change was, for now, a far sweeter prize. That single command to move readily saw Ruben obey. The vampiric pair retreated to the far side of the room before Ruben was forced to face the wall. Darcy himself took up a position between that spider-like caretaker and Harley herself. The vampire content to keep an eye on them both before he demanded Harley simply get on with it. Fucking Weres. Ruben continued to near whimper against the wall. His entire form folded in submission. One that did little to ease Darcy's own irritation before his attention shifted to harley. The vampire content to momentarily eye her figure as her clothing fell away. She was hardly...displeasing to look at in any sense and yet- she was not his Beloved Risque. There was no body on this earth, he was certain, that look as his Mistresses did. Everything about her was simple...perfection. Darcy, in that moment, was far more content to contemplate his one mate than afford Harley the depth of his attention. His head turned away in some vague and faint display of those...Southern manners that still existed in some faint, fractured fabir o himself.

That shift, fortunately, hardly seemed to take long. Harley's human figure was replaced with that blackened feline form. She was smaller than Tetradore and yet how very...displeasing she still was. Ruben had finally extricated himself from the wall. The sickly vampire appearing all the more fascinated as he shuffled forward like a moth to the flame. Harley's lips curled back from her fangs in near the same instant as Darcy's own. The vampire offered a single, potent, warning growl that readily stopped Ruben in his place. Darcy's own frame shifted forward then, his hand gesturing to that half-dead flea bag within its cage before offering that command once more. Harley had a single job, a single task. Her life would not be worth living if she dared lie to him now. That distinctly human role of the panther's eyes was met with an equally darkened glare from Darcy;s own before Harley settled in front of that other cat. Were they...talking? Was this it? The vampire's gaze shifted toward Ruben in search of some confirmation. The other vampire seemed to watch the pair with equal intensity.

Whatever was occurring between those two cats he hardly knew. Darcy content to watch the pair intently all the same and yet the Serval's breath was becoming all the more shallow with each rasping inhalation. That stench of death grew stronger and stronger until the cas lungs rattled with it. He was....minutes from death at best. Harley better not be wasting what remained of the creature's life with trivial talk. The Serval's breath seemed to rattle a final time. Harley's paw lifted to rattle at the cage in some effort to stir it as Darcy himself lent forward to assess how dead that other cat truly was. Fucking useless creature. Ruben had inched equally closer in turn. The other vampire near...salivating over that dead cat and yet it was hardly the Serval's scent alone he breathed in. Harley, in her living state, was far more....fascinating. The Vampire reached gamely out to run his fingers through her fur in twisted delight. Darcy's own hiss barely had time to claw free from his throat before Harley's roar of outrage echoed within that space, the panther spinning in place to bite at Rubens hand, clamping that dead limb between her teeth.

A single command rose within Darcy's throat and yet- the vampire swallowed those words in near the same moment. Perhaps....it would be more intriguing to allow this to play out. Darcy;s form so merely shifted ever so slightly. Ruben and Harley afforded a modicum more space as Darcy merely....watched onward. His own fascination momentarily ignited. Ruben moved to rip his hand free. Darcy having made that mistake with tetradore's jaws those months ago. Ruben's efforts only ripping more of that flesh before that vampiric strength saw Harley sent flying. Her form collided solidly with several cages. Ruben was after her near instantly. The aged vampire was fast- even despite his sickly appearance. Harley was ensnared quickly as Ruben so attempted to choke the life from her. The Panther flailed in desperation, her airways dramatically crushed as she gasped for breath. Darcy so merely content to watch in...apathy. The vampire's gaze so hardly left the pair as he reached for one of those guns at his belt, his long fingers fiddled briefly with that barrel. The faint swosh and click of those parts hardly heard above the racket of snarling, hissing growls. That gun, for now, held motionless within his hand. Ruben it seemed- was winning. The sudden sound of the metal stick flying across the room was...unanticipated. That sharpened point missed Darcy himself by mere inches before it flew with deadly procession, by Harley's will alone, to pierce through Ruben's very throat.

The near vile sound of Ruben's roar was cut short by the blood that bubbled into his stricken airway and poured from his mouth like geyser. Ruben's body crumbled as Harley was released, the Panther turning to slash her claws across her face before she dove between those cages. Harley disappeared for several moments only to reappear atop those cages to his left, the feline leaping down to hurry across the floor toward him like an obedient dog. Hmmm. perhaps she was stupid after all. How well she knew of her crime and yet how readily she attempted to....appeal to him. To use him as a shield agianst her attacker. Darcy's mismatched gaze shifted downward to eye her momentarily, the tip of his tongue toying contemplatively with one sharpened fang. For a feline to attack a vampire without Risque's express command was....a sin. Yet for a vampire to harm one of Risques pets was equally frowned upon and Ruben had murdered that Serval- and attacked Harley in turn. Such a precarious situation. Ruben had managed to stagger to his feet, the vampire lurching forward, that rod within his neck had been ripped out and yet blood continued to pour from the wound as he blundered forward like some disgusting...zombie.

"Enough."

That singular word was uttered with no emotion. Ruben so barely having taken another step forward before Darcy lifted that gun. The sound of that weapon firing was a final echo within that damp, darkened space. That bullet striking Ruben directly between the eyes and sending him tumbling backward into silence. He was hardly dead and yet....it would be hours before he recovered enough from those wounds to wake. Darcy lifted that gun silently, the smoke blown smoothly from the barrel, before it was returned silently to its holster.

"It's forbidden for a cat ta kill a vampire without Risque's word. It's forbidden for a vampire ta kill one o'her cats unless she says so."

Those words were uttered like a prayer, a reverent verse he had said far too many times before. An unbreakable rule. One that had been near...trained within him to say. One Darcy had learned well and yet- the faintest of simpers echoed briefly upon the corner of his lips

"But It ain't forbidden for me ta put dem below me in dare fucking place."

How quickly his features shifted into a look of disdain for Ruben's crippled frame. His free hand reached downward then, those fingers stroking through Harley's fur like a master to its pet. His very gaze near daring her to turn on him the way she had done Ruben. Darcy so attempting to force that obedience. To command her submission as he had done from Ruben with that singular bullet. Harley had been the more....pleasing one tonight. Her obedience so earning her that reprieve. For now.

"You bit Ruben, but he attacked yar and he killed dat fucking fleabag too. I evened dat score- but dun tink for a minute dat if yar displease me i wont put a bullet in yar too. Dat's a good kitty."

His fingers tapped agianst her head, as if daring her to bite. Her submissiveness, when she had turned on Ruben, was nothing short of pleasing. She was his after all. Her loyalty was...satisfying even if he knew well of the reasons behind it. Such pleasing behaviour however, should surely be rewarded.

"Shift back, tell me what dat cat said and yar can go 'ome for da night. I'm dun wit yar once yar tell me what 'e said."

We are rough men and used to rough ways.