Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any of AAR's characters or settings. Thank goodness, I don't own Buffy either. Sorry about the delay: muse problems. Oh, yes. Though I had something like this in mind before her suggestion, I should mention that Anubiana gave me most of the idea for this chapter.

Tiger, Tiger

The next day, Risika again met Buffy at the coffee shop, bearing with her a small package. She was greeted by with a grunt by Buffy, who was apparently trying to stave off exhaustion and a slight hangover with caffeine. Risika, however, had no such problems. She'd tasted the Slayer's blood before going to sleep, and as she'd suspected, it was nothing special. She detected a faint hint of Triste blood, but very much diluted, and not nearly enough to be dangerous for her to drink. There was also a bit of the demon's essence that was every Slayer's heritage, but even that was rather weak in Buffy.

With these thoughts, she cried a happy "Good morning!" knowing it would annoy the weary Slayer to no end. Another grunt greeted her statement. "I brought you something..." Risika continued in a teasing voice, pushing the package across the table.

Buffy picked it up listlessly and unwrapped it. To her surprise, she found a dead likeness of Risika staring up at her from the cover of a book. "Tiger, Tiger? What's this?" Her stupor was broken by her irrepressible curiosity.

"It's by Jess! I thought you might be interested."

Buffy stared at Risika, eyes blank. "No, it says it was written by 'Ash Night'."

Risika bit back a snicker. "That's her pseudonym. You know, a false name? Anyway, it's one of the books I'd told you about. She'd based it on some of the people here at Concord. Hey, you look like you need a vacation from your vacation. Why don't you rest and read that for the morning, and I'll pick you up at one?

Risika was sure that even the rather dull Buffy would be able to finish the fairly short book by one in the afternoon. Buffy smiled, grateful for the extra rest. Risika decided to spy on her mind a bit. Though she didn't normally approve on looking in on mortal's minds, she was aching with curiosity.

"Well, I don't particularly want to read anything by that slut, but I do want the rest, and how bad could it be? I can't prejudge because of ignorance. Well, here goes." Risika smirked. The girl actually thought that the 'vampires' in her town were all that there were! She exited the coffee house and, making sure no one was watching, disappeared.

When she reappeared, it was in her own house. No sooner had she arrived than she felt Aubrey and Jess on the outskirts of her territory. A small smile played on her lips as she disappeared once more to greet them.

"Welcome. Do you wish to come sit down?" Risika's greeting was the epitome of courtesy. United against the Slayer, all previous arguments had been set aside, an unspoken truce in place.

Aubrey especially knew what an effort it was for Risika to so cordially invite them into the heart of her territory. "Staying here is fine. I'm assuming you wanted to talk about Buffy?"

Risika nodded. "I did. I'm wondering how far you two are willing to go to teach her this lesson. I for one, get little enough entertainment these days."

As one, Jess and Aubrey nodded. "You're right. But if she tries to hard to get Aubrey, she's going to get a very different lesson, very quickly!" Jess' voice was fierce.

Aubrey hugged her around the shoulders and grinned. "Getting jealous, are we? Don't worry. I'm not one for the dumb blonde type. Dancing with her and things like that for a practical joke are one thing, but farther than that is quite another! Where is Barbie now, by the way?"

Risika smirked. "Sitting ensconced either in her hotel or my little coffee house, reading Tiger, Tiger! I decided she needed some more blatant hints."

Aubrey laughed. "I don't know if that's blatant enough for our beloved Slayer."

Jess chuckled as well. "Anyone up for a bet on how long it'll take her? Winner gets hunting rights on the losers' territories, no clean up necessary!"

The other two grinned predatorily at her. "You're on," they said as one, and gave each other disgusted looks at saying the same thing.

Jess grinned back. "I'll say she'll figure it out after couple of choice hints following reading my book. You guys?"

Risika and Aubrey looked at each other, neither wanting to slight or be slighted. Finally, Aubrey smiled mockingly and gave a mocking 'ladies first' gesture. Risika nodded politely. "I'm going to say we'll have to tell her strait out at the end of her vacation. She's much to oblivious to catch it otherwise. She was a cheerleader, you know."

Aubrey frowned. He'd been going to say that. "Well, I guess I can get her to figure it out after she's been 'seducing' me for a while. Maybe she'll get it when I bite her neck slightly."

At this, Jess turned to him, an annoyed look on her face. "Don't you think you're taking this a bit too far? You do have a girlfriend, you know."

Aubrey smirked. "I do!?" At Jess' glare, he became serious. "Don't worry. I'm not the type who likes blondes that much. And a brain does also help." He smiled, turning on all of his considerable charm. Jess leant closer, and they kissed passionately.

Risika rolled her eyes. She cleared her throat loudly. "If you two are done playing tonsil tennis?" Both other vampires straitened, and Jess blushed slightly. "Thank you for meeting me here. I'll see you tonight?"

Jess quickly recovered her composure. "Of course. This is definitely a fun new game to play. If only she'd move here. It would make life so much more interesting." The two women exchanged a fond handshake. Much as she couldn't stand Aubrey, Risika had grown to like Jess' razor sharp wit and morbid sense of humor.

"I'd best be off before the Slayer starts to miss me." With that, she transported herself back to the café, not giving Aubrey any parting words. She reappeared in a small alleyway a block or so away from the small coffee shop.

A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short. I kind of forgot where I was going with the little meeting when I was halfway through writing it! Thanks to all reviewers. My offer to use someone's suggestion in a chapter is still alive, though the next one will be a continuation of this one, basically. Now, to answer reviews:

Irishgirl: (I'm writing this one first because I'm sure she's not reading it anyway, and I need to rant.) First, I've always felt that proper flame etiquette was to read the whole story, so you can bash my style, not just my plot. Though I support venting at offensive plots, at least comment on the writing style, whether good or bad. Secondly, I am in total agreement that Anne Rice's vampires are cooler than AAR's: if I owned the world and Lestat asked for it, it would be his. However, Rice's work is banned from the fanfic community. As to Buffy's crew: they crumble into dust when a piece of wood is put into them. On top of that, they have no magic, and are quite stupid on top of that. Finally, it doesn't take much to make Buffy look like a ditz: as Athor commented, she was a cheerleader. I think we can all agree (no matter which vampires we like), that playing with fire just isn't nice.

Deadly Terrors: Thanks for your continued support and reviews.

Jade: My problem too. Thanks for the suggestions, though. Something similar will be coming in the not-too-distant future.

Athor: Thanks so much for both reviews. Glad you agree with my Buffy is clueless feeling. As to Fern Gully: "No, nobody listens to Batty!" A million thanks for your support in my time of burned pain!

Anubiana: Thanks for the review, and help on the plot of this chapter and the next. As to Buffy's cluelessness, the bashing will continue with renewed vigor in the next chapter!

Areanah Gherde: I'll try! Thanks for the review.

Ringo's Wildrose: Thanks for your support. I'm glad you can read past my pashing and appreciate my little jokes.

Shade: What? Risika's Hospital for Aged Women? I like that quite a bit too. And save for the hospital part, none of its even a lie!

Jullez: Thanks for the support and comfort.

Empath89: Thanks for the review. I agree, the show itself isn't bad (though I personally like Angel better) but Buffy's just an idiot. I'm glad you're enjoying my story so much.