Only Liars, But We're The Best

The cat appeared in my life one Sunday morning, on my way to work. It just happened to be there. I was making my way to the mini cooper when I saw a brown tabby cat lazing near my car.

"Hey there, where did you come from?" I bent down and scratched behind its ears. It purred happily.

I'm fond of animals, especially cats. I've always wanted to keep a cat as a pet, but I never had the time to take care of it. And since my late dad was allergic to most domestic animals, keeping a pet at home was a no-no.

"Alright, I gotta go now. I'm running a bit late. If you're still around later, I'll bring you some food." I shooed it away and got inside my car.

Work was the same, mundane routine everyday. However, I've decided to resign from the job as I need my full concentration on finding a cure for Pete. And honestly speaking, work and spellcasting was taking a toll on me. I would bunk in really late at night and wake up early to get to work the next day.

As I was parking my car at the back of the hideout, I noticed the tabby cat was there. It seemed like it was waiting for me to get back home. Hmm, that's one obedient cat.

I got out of the car and at the same time, the cat made its way to me. It purred happily and frolicked at my feet, tail swishing about.

"Okay kitty, I'll see what I can get you." I picked up the cat and brought it inside the house. It was chaotic when I got inside. The guys were running about, yelling at each other.

"What in the-"

Pete appeared before me and grasped my arm. "Maiya, stay home and lock all entries. You are not allowed to go outside tonight and do not open the door to anyone. Vampires, no, Dandies are spotted in the neighbourhood. Motherfuckers are back." His eyes went wild at the last sentence.

I gaped at him. I wasn't sure whether Pete was outraged, or excited at the re-appearance of the Dandies.

I nodded numbly and saw each of the guys were geared up, except for Pete, since he's a killing machine himself. Andy was armed with his katana, Joe with his net-trapping gun and Patrick with his modified sniper. They passed by me and I wished them their safety. Patrick was the last person to be out. He paused at the doorway and looked at me.

"What's with the cat?" He gave me a quizzical look.

I had completely forgotten about the animal in my arms.

"Uh, I'll explain it to you when you get back." I hurriedly gave him a peck on the cheek. "And come back safely. All of you." A blush creeped onto Patrick's cheeks and he grinned at me.

"Trick! C'mon!" I heard Pete's voice calling.

"That's my cue. Take care." With that, he rushed out of the door and was gone.

I closed and bolted the doors; I went around the place and made sure everything was secured before proceeding in getting food for the cat.

"Come here, kitty," I called. The cat was curled up on the old sofa, snoozing. Its ears twitched when it heard my voice, but didn't budge from its position.

I went over to the sofa and sat beside it, a bowl of milk in my hand. "Sorry. I don't have anything else in the fridge."

The cat didn't move a muscle. Hmm, let's name it. "Okay kitty, I'm going to name you," I spoke out loud. "But first, let me see your gender."

The cat opened its eyes suddenly and hissed at me. I was taken aback by its hostility that I jumped out of my seat and gave out a tiny shriek. The creature glared furiously at me and settled itself again.

What's up with this thing, man? Then I realized, probably it didn't want its gender to be scrutinized.

"Fine, I'll run a few names and you pick one. Little prick!" I scolded.

The cat hissed at me. I think it understands me! Crap, I'm such a sad case. Fancy talking to a cat. I rolled my eyes.

"How about Rave?"

The cat hissed and bared its fangs at me.

"Tab? Shay? Stripe?" I rambled on.

It went on like this for about five minutes, the cat being hostile at me with every name I suggested until I couldn't think up of anymore names.

"What the fuck do you want then?!" I screamed out loud in the empty house.

I'm losing it. Like, seriously. Time to hit the showers and take a breather, Mai.

"You stay here. And I mean it." I glared at the cat while it simply gave me a nonchalant look.

As the warm water cascaded down my back, a name popped up in my mind. I quickly turned off the faucet and dried myself. Bouncing off the steps after putting on my PJ's, I found the creature snoozing on the sofa. "I found the perfect name for you."

Upon hearing my voice, it lifted its head and looked at me. "Your nonchalancy and irritativeness reminded me of my best friend, Ryan. Of course I'm not going to name you Ryan, but I'm definitely naming you Georgie. After his first name, George."

I distanced myself from the cat, in case it decided to hiss at me again for suggesting another ridiculous name. I have no idea how high its "cat standards" were.

The creature got off the sofa and landed lightly on its paws. It made its way to me and rubbed its head against my ankle.

"So Georgie it is." I smiled and picked him up to my bedroom.



Georgie wasn't around when I woke up the next morning. I was a little disappointed, but since it was a stray I learned to let it go. I read somewhere about cats being independent creatures. I wanted to stay up the previous night and wait for the guys to come back from their hunt. However, after snuggling with Georgie in my bed after my shower, I fell asleep immediately.

I woke up later than usual since today's my day off and went about doing the normal routine during my off days: cook, laundry, a bit of housekeeping and research.

It was around five in the afternoon when I heard footsteps trudging down the stairs. I was curled up with gramps' journal and a cup of hot cocoa. Without looking up at what I was reading, I greeted whoever it was.

"Afternoon, sunshine! Food's in the microwave. You know the drill."

I didn't get any reply, so I put aside the journal and made my way to the kitchen. I saw Joe, but his back was facing me. I went over to him and tapped his shoulder.

"How was the hunt yesterday?" I asked.

He turned around and I gasped. "What happened?!"

His right eye was swollen to the size of a golf ball and his whole face was badly bruised. He looked like a rotten tomato.

"As you can see, it wasn't our night," he sighed. "We were outnumbered, but we did put up a good fight." He took out the spaghetti from the oven and started scooping out his portion.

Patrick came into the kitchen at that moment and I was actually relieved he wasn't bruised as badly as Joe. Just some scratches on his left cheek and his bottom lip was split. I mentally scolded myself as I should be concerned about everyone and not only Patrick alone.

"Err, you guys have some food first. I'll come and join you all later. And whatever it is, please do not disturb me unless it's really important." I excused myself and ran upstairs to my humble bedroom.

Time for a protection spell.



"Guys, can I have a quick word with all of you before going on your hunt?" I asked.

It was nearly eight at night and after leaving Patrick and Joe to get a protection spell done, I was dead beat. The guys were finishing up with their packing when I made my way downstairs.

"Sure, but you have to make it short. We're running late," Pete replied.

I took a good look at each of them. Out of the four, Joe was the most injured. Andy had his left bicep wrapped in a bandage, with few other scrapes and cuts along his other arm. Pete seemed normal, but I did see a faint bruise near his right eye. And his upper lip seems to be healing from a split. Vampires have fast regenerating skills indeed.

"I'm going to make this snappy." I headed over to Joe first and handed him a small drawstring pouch into his palm. "Joe, this is for you. Keep it with you at all times."

"Wha-"

I waved my hand to silence him. "I'll explain once I'm done with everyone, okay?"

I went over to Andy and handed him the same drawstring pouch as Joe's, but his was that of a different color.

Patrick was next and I pulled out a black string necklace with a tiny vial for a locket from my jeans pocket. I placed it around his neck and noticed a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. Always the shy one. I smiled to myself.

Pete was last. I looked at him and took out the same necklace as Patrick's, except his vial was transparent and you could see the red liquid swirling inside.

"As you all know, I'm a witch and a witch is pretty nifty with spells," I grinned. "I've given each of you a talisman with a protection charm against vampires inside the pouch. Trick, yours is inside the vial."

"Pete, I'm sorry to tell you this, but yours is not a protection charm. I mean, you're a vamp and all..." I trailed off as I couldn't find the right words to continue.

"Hey, I understand. You don't have to apologize. But I wanna know what's inside this." He brought up his vial locket.

"You're not going to be happy about this, but that's my blood. Witches' blood are sacred and posess special magick. I gave a bit to you for emergency purposes. It's known to quench your thirst as well," I apologized, cringing. Pete's going to blow his top for this.

He remained silent for what felt like an eternity. Patrick cleared his throat.

"Pete, we have to go now. We're really late and-" Pete brought up his hand to silence Patrick.

"Thank you, Mai. All of us appreciate what you've done for us," Pete said, smiling at me.

"Group hug!" Joe yelled suddenly and all of them huddled around me. After their thank you's and smothering me with their hugs, they finally left.

I was about to unwind myself by playing some games when I heard a loud mewing of a cat. The sound suspiciously came from outside of the hideout. I stopped in my tracks and traced the sound right to the front door where I took a peek through the peep-hole, but couldn't see anyone there.

The mewing was getting louder by now. I decided to take the risk and open the door. Furthermore, vampires couldn't come in without an invitation and I'll be safe as long as I stayed inside the hideout.

I found Georgie sitting on his hind legs, looking up at me. "Georgie! Where have you been, boy?" I picked up the cat and brought him inside. The cat purred happily and rubbed his head against my arm.

As I was about to close the door behind me, the hairs on my neck suddenly stood on end and I felt like I was being watched. There was a presence nearby in which I could not figure out where it was exactly, and that scares the shit out of me.

Georgie must have felt it too, as he started hissing and baring his fangs into the dark night outside. Without hesitation, I slammed the door shut and dead bolted it. I ran up to my room and shut myself in there with the cat, praying that daytime would come soon.