There had never been a time when Livia had tolerated someone kissing her ass. It only ever happened on two kinds on occasion; when the other Styx was male and thought they could use it as a method to just slide by her, or when they were one of those... useless females, the frightened bunny kind that thought perhaps she might be kinder if they simply bent their neck to everything she said. None of them ever seemed to realise that doing either was tantamount to signing your own death warrant. She would skewer the idiot who tried to slide past her and the moment she saw a bent neck she would make damned sure it snapped. But Ladonna seemed to have the right idea, even if she was showing a devastating degree of pride. Livia found herself making note of the date and time so she could record how long it took until the little angel ran into something that proved to be too much for her -- or her progeny. Progeny; that was a word she hadn’t heard used for a while. “What happens when the one taking his toes is the intended mark?” Ladonna was a baby by her standards. Any fledgling vampire of hers was positively embryonic.
If she hadn’t already guessed that the girl had her feet soaking comfortably in the criminal end of the pool, Livia would have known the moment she said that more or less all of the above was her thing. Truth be told, the older Styx was quite comfortable with it too, but mostly because the illegal fuckwits of the world made life interesting. Yes, she was aware the term ‘illegal fuckwit’ may include Ladonna. “Good. We like busy.” Keeps you out of my hair. Oh, look at that. Shiny new business cards. At least, she was going to choose to assume that they were shiny and new and that the little bitch had not been here longer than she should have been without introducing herself, simply because it suited her. Flipping the thing over between her fingers -- Livia had never understood the need for business cards, but then she had developed a damn good memory for numbers and contacts over the years -- she almost mourned the fact she no longer had an excuse to pretend to forget the girl’s surname. She did have to admit that it was dangerous giving her your address. She had a tendency to try and catch them out. Or just criticise their decor. Whatever. Smirking a silent laugh at Ladonna’s finishing question, Livia tilted her head back a little. “Slam your hand on the bar-top and tell whoever is dumb enough to respond that Livia sent you. Tell them to come ask if they don’t believe you.” The world knew this Styx was no charity, but the girl might as well get a free drink while terrorising the bar staff.