Tabetha stared coldly at the proceedings as though she had never before seen anything quite so vapid and meaningless in her life.  If<em>these</em>were the sort of people London was inviting to his little party, she wasn't sure whether to feel honored or insulted.  The former if she was to be considered the<em>gem</em>of his guests, and the latter if his intention had been to make her feel on the same level as such riffraff.  Not that some of them were not intelligent in their own right, but they lacked the sort of focus one needed to reach the upper echelon of existence.  The sort of squabbles going on now seemed downright childish compared to the rivalry between her and Kevin.  There was something of true substance in that.<br/><br/>"Before this meaningless posturing devolves into some sort of grotesque ménage à trois, might I suggest returning to the reason why we have been gathered here in the Vampire's sanctum?" she requested in an innocent voice, her face looking at once irritated and mocking.  "It would be a terrible pity if our most esteemed host felt<em>ignored,</em>wouldn't you agree?  We are here, after all, to stroke his pulsating ego."<br/><br/>Tabetha's voice had become so syrupy that it skipped right on past sweet to bitterness.  She crooked her hat to one side and stretched her arm out over the table like a showman presenting the next stage performer.  "You're on, London," she whispered with a mischievous little smirk.  "I know you won't disappoint."