The Pecking Order

[BlackAkuma]

”Nineteen.” Dizzy happily chirped, pleased to get a good response from Millicent. She could’ve just been BSing her with the praise, but the German didn’t strike her as the type to throw out fake praise. At least not when there wasn’t any real benefit to it. ”Turning twenty in a couple of days, actually.”

Dizzy would’ve liked to talk more about her ‘baser interests’, but it seemed Millicent had a more critical direction to take the conversation, which she had seen coming for a while now. Millicent Kaiser was this towering titan of a woman, highly experienced, and devastating in the ring. What could Dizzy - undersized, inexperienced, skinny Dizzy - bring to the table that she couldn't?

A lot of things.

”Okay, elevator pitch.” She pointed a lazy finger at Millicent. ”Look at you. Nearly six feet tall. Redhead. You’ve got amazing breasts, smashable hips, and those legs…” She leaned to the side, getting a good look at them. Yeah, still awesome. ”My point is, you draw attention. You're the sexiest thing in every room. You're strong, imposing, experienced, you radiate authority and demand respect."

Dizzy leaned in and bit her lip, letting some of her carnal lust seep into her voice. "Don’t get me wrong, I find those qualities unspeakably attractive. But not everyone does. Some might be intimidated, or see you as a rival, or a threat. It makes you something of a blunt instrument. Not that you can’t be subtle about things, but who you are and the way you look are always going to make you stand out. I didn’t spot you in the gym because I was busy running around a ring, that’s the only reason. You’re more of a hammer.”

She tapped her chest. ”Now, look at me. I’m tiny. Unassuming. I can make noise when I want to, but if I don’t, I’m easy to miss. People don’t see me as a threat, if they see me at all. They let their guard down, they let me get close. All those numbers on my phone didn't accidentally get there. I’m sweet, I’m cute, I’m innocent, I'm helpless." She batted her eyes, pouted, put on her most saccharine face, the kind that worked on just about everyone except her mother. "I’m so many things you can't be. I'm your scalpel. Precise, quiet, light. The deft touch.”

Dizzy wiggled back into the seat, content with how she’d laid it out, then popped up as another thing occurred. ”And bonus? Don’t undersell my licking skills. I focus on hentai wrestling, and I’ll go out on a limb and say that’s not your thing.” She let out a wistful sigh at the thought, imagining what it would be like if that weren’t the case, but she managed to keep her fantasies in check. “If we’re together and I get good at it, it never has to be. That can be my area.”

[Crossedes]

Millicent believed as Dizzy began her explanation that she might have to redirect the conversation back to the question at hand. The incessant cub took every opportunity to point out the German's finer traits, and a tangent started to form from a litany of obvious points. Her eyes narrowed more at each word, but by the time she wanted to take the "leash" and pull Desdemona back on topic, the Italian started taking the conversation to a more relevant point. And she continued to show good self-awareness.

Millicent could have corrected her to mention that she, too, had learned plenty about the art of subtlety - that she could become the least suspected person in a room with merely a few words - but some things, the cub did not need to know. Considering her points were all valid, the empress did not seek to interrupt her, either, only commenting once she had finished. "That is precisely what I mean. You have a thorough understanding of your strengths." She did have one matter to correct, though. "But you might be surprised just what 'my things' are." A sly smile crept across her face.

But she shut the door on explaining herself with a quick advance of the subject. "You described exactly what I can see you providing for me in return for your training and better marketing. This business is-" Cutthroat. Filled with uppity hündinnen. Ready to eat even the most powerful alive should she slip up. "...a maze. To remain at the top, you must learn to navigate it."

How to say this tactfully? She switched her crossed legs and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Your mother might not know all the little intricacies anymore, or she might have tried to protect you from them. To succeed, you will need to know them. And in the process, you will be helping me. With problems. Annoyances. The type of people who would as quickly take a golf club to my knee or find a sex tape to leak as try to beat me legitimately." Nevermind that she had tried both tactics herself. "I am going to make the assumption that men are not to your taste. But with women... I can't see you having an issue with flirting, but I will be blunt - are you a willing and capable liar? Success in this business will ask you to be, even if you're primarily interested in fucking."

[BlackAkuma]

Dizzy kept a keen eye on Millicent, as she laid out her spiel, keenly aware that some of her words could have been taken negatively. The last thing she wanted to do was insult her potential ‘employer’, but she figured the best way to show what she could do was to highlight what the German couldn't do, or at least what she couldn't do as effectively. She was a hard-to-read person but Dizzy took the fact that she wasn't interrupted as a good sign and went on.

The confirmation that she was hitting more or less in the right ballpark was refreshing, and he didn't neglect to hear that last part. Millicent was quick to move on to the next subject, but Dizzy would remember that. They could help each other out in other ways, too. Maybe.

She filed that away for later review and focused as Millicent moved the conversation along, giving her rapt attention. She was dead on with the complexities of wrestling, politicking, backstabbing. Dizzy had grown up with it, and while her mother had tried to keep her head above water and play things straight, there was no avoiding the backstage drama. Friends setting up friends to get title opportunities, lying their way up the card, taking out enemies in the shadows, she’d been closer to it than most. She’d always been told that wasn’t the right way, that you could get by and better, but the more she saw, the less she believed that.

Dizzy gave an emphatic nod at the last part, glad they were on the same page without her having to spell it out. ”You assume right, yeah. I’m not bi. One more thing I don’t have in common with mamma.” She closed her eyes and enjoyed a dark chuckle at that, but she was content not to elaborate why for now. ”For the record, I don’t mind leading a guy on. I’ve done that a few times - a wink, the right words, a smile, I get the free drinks, and I’m gone by the time they realize it’s not going anywhere. I can play guys and gals, there are just a few extra steps I’ll take with one that I won’t with the other.”

She channeled Sharon Stone and switched her crossed legs around to change position. She was wearing panties, though, so it wasn’t quite as effective, but she still liked the image. ”I’m a good liar. Willing and capable. I’ve lied my way into a bedroom in almost every EU country. I think…” Her eyes scanned the ceiling as she did a quick fact check, marking the tally to see how correct that was. When it was over, she returned to Millicent with a wistful sigh. ”Never Germany, though. Shame.”

[Crossedes]

Pleased though her face remained unchanged, Millicent noted down Desdemona's approach to men... namely, how it clarified that she was willing to screw someone over with only meager incentives. She could take or leave her willingness to work with men - some people would have seen pretending as a betrayal of self - but knowing that Dizzy did not hold some pointless, lofty morals pleased her. In fact, there were scarcely better traits that Millicent could hope to find in a potential mentee, and she confirmed her understanding with a quiet "Mmhmm. Good." until Dizzy had finished. "And the path to a man's sensitivities is more direct," she held her pencil up as if to demonstrate. "Easier. I have had less trouble with men."

And a good liar, too. Millicent would never slip up and let a potential mentee know how excited she was to align her fortune with hers, but Desdemona was brushing aside every doubt in the empress' mind. Dizzy could prove her best help in years. But she would throw her another treat. "That may have to be rectified someday," she said at the mention of German beds. She doubted the truth of it given the reputation Desdemona boasted, but that did not take away from her willingness to make some small promises.

She paused as the waitress returned with Desdemona's order. With Dizzy volunteering so much already, she had all but covered all the topics she sought to cover. She did, however, still have tests. They could wait until Desdemona had finished her croissant. Again calling on her passable Japanese, she told the waitress to add Dizzy's bill to hers before she set aside the notebook and took a sip of increasingly cold coffee. Let the cub be at ease.

"We will hash out a meeting schedule and any other matters before we leave, but setting business aside... do you have any other hobbies?" Other than flirting with women and pretending to like her mother's style of wrestling, of course.

[BlackAkuma]

This was going well, wasn’t it? Dizzy had never had a job interview, but if this was a reflection of what it was like, she could nail it if the need ever arose. Millicent was certainly a charmer, but she seemed pleased enough by the responses she was giving, and the two seemed to be on the same page. Time would only tell where things led, but so far? Promising.

”Oh, I believe it.” She had a slight, humming laugh at the boy-talk. She didn’t know much about LAW’s mixed division, but if Gold Ace indicated what it was like, Millicent would cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

Dizzy was about to dig a little further into the prospect of completing her European tour, when the waitress came back with her order. She’d been thinking about paying for the order, sorting what money she would need to take the train back home, and maybe do a little shopping when Millicent went and made it a moot point. ”Danke, meine herrin.” She added a respectful nod to her attempt at German, then nibbled away at her brunch.

She gulped down a mouthful as she pondered Millicent’s question, waiting until it was down before she spoke. ”Hobbies?” She blinked a few times, processing. Simple question, but it wasn’t something she was used to being asked. ”There’s the typical teenager stuff. Instagram, TikTok, whatever’s left of Twitter these days.” She scratched her chin, then raised a finger. ”As an Italian, I am required by law to be good at cooking, if that counts. Traveling so much, you have to learn how to cook foods from all over the place unless you want to eat fast food all the time, which I definitely don’t.” She stuck out her tongue and gagged at the mere thought. ”I wouldn’t cook for you as a regular thing, but for special occasions, I don't mind whipping something up. If you need extra incentive for me to come by your place, well, there you go.”

She started to bite down on the sandwich, only to stop at the last second and light up with wide eyes. ”Penguins!” She blurted it so loud that she startled someone at the nearby table. She turned it down a notch, but the excitement was still there. ”I love penguins. I watched Happy Feet when I was a kid and I’ve been crazy about them ever since. I’ve got penguin bedspreads, penguin pillows, this little penguin doll that dances when you smack it on the head. I even thought about being a penguinologist once, just didn't follow through.” Dizzy blushed a bit and turned her head to the side, trying to hide her goofy smile. “But yeah, love penguins. Love, love love.”

Eager to change the subject to something less embarrassing, she waved her hand to Millicent. ”What about you? What does Millicent Kaiser do when she’s not taking over the world?”

[Crossedes]

Millicent only nodded at Dizzy's thanks. She should inform her at some point that the occasional German could not impress her - everyone, including the men she so succinctly manhandled, tried it often - but it accomplished little. And money, to her, proved no object. She would have paid for everyone in the cafe if she cared to interact with them. Her family had money, she had a comfortable living, and she could buy the items she wanted. Prestige and legacy mattered far more than hoarding money that she could not take to her grave, and she had no plans whatsoever to have children. She would not have left them with too much convenience, anyway. Let her spend it while she was here.

Most of Desdemona's expressed hobbies bounced off the empress. Instagram had its value. Tiktok she had never bothered with. Twitter was a cesspool. And she did not know what to make of the penguins, though the note did have Millicent fetching her pencil again long enough to write "penguin-related gifts" on her notebook beside "cooking accessories and kits." And perhaps an endeared smile crossed her face.

The cooking intrigued her the most. Regardless of this (presumably) nonexistent rule that Italians be able to cook, it was both a valuable skill and the most mature interest in the pile. Millicent had enjoyed the luxury of a sports chef when her father had been active and had not grown into a capable cook until her mid-twenties. To save time, she still ordered from her trainer often. She was sure there was some way to put those skills to use.

"Interesting. I don't think that I can market a cooking penguin in the ring, but I will see what I can do," she joked before Desdemona returned the question. Frankly, she did little without the intention of growing her wrestling legacy, but what hobbies she did have were easy to recall. "I work with clothing designs, perfumes, and cosmetics. Most of what you see I designed myself, though I did not stitch all of it." She gestured at her attire, tugged on the jacket to reveal more of her shirt. When one had a particular vision of herself she wanted to project, having her eye on everything, even clothing, could help.

"I also spend time with the piano. Rock climbing. Wine and beer tasting. I am German, after all." The side of her mouth tilted into a smile. "And a few other things you might learn about if you are a good girl over the coming months."

She was sure sex itself would be all Dizzy could guess, but there was an entirely different thought brewing behind the knowing yellow eyes that looked back at the Italian.

[BlackAkuma]

Dizzy chomped away as Millicent spoke, happily gulping down her food and storing it in what little space her stomach could allow. Talking about penguins always put her in a good mood, and now that they weren’t talking about business, the conversation was taking a more pleasant, casual tone that she enjoyed. The longer this went on, the more she realized how much she’d missed just chatting casually with someone. She could try with her mother, but their interests so rarely aligned that it was tough to make it interesting, and she would eventually have to BS her way through several topics. She had made a few acquaintances since joining LAW, but the only ones who spoke fluent English was Alicia Soto and Gold Ace, and it had been a good while since she’d come across the Hollywood Siren.

This was nice. She could get used to it.

The mention of perfume perked her up, and she took a few good sniffs. It had been difficult to detect over the heavy scent of coffee and baked bread, but there was that same scent she’d had all over her when they wrestled, distinct and unique. Dizzy had enjoyed the smell for a few hours after they parted ways, and she’d almost hated losing it in the shower.

Dizzy leaned forward and inspected Millicent’s shirt thoroughly, eagerly accepting any excuse to feast her eyes on Millicent’s body. ”Woman of many talents, nice. I could’ve guessed the perfume thing, though. Still remember that from our spar. That heady, heavy scent…” She took a deep breath and enjoyed a sample. ”It’ll stick with me for a while. Yeah.”

The croissant was delicious but not the most significant meal, and Dizzy was on the verge of finishing it off with a few bites. She wiped her mouth clean first, though, not wanting to look too piggish. ”So, you’re musically inclined, skilled enough to make your own clothing and perfume, and you’ve got the kind of body that pops great on magazine covers. You could be doing all sorts of stuff. Some of it’d be easier and pay better.” She brought the last remnants of the croissant to her lips and held it there for a moment, wanting to get out the key question before she finished it off.

”So…why wrestling? What brought you in? What keeps you in?”

[Crossedes]

The individualistic pride that ruled Millicent's actions had her back straightening at the compliment about her perfume. "The others I sell or give away if you have any interest. But that one is for me and me alone." Her smile turned wry. She knew it was the best - that was why she kept it. Scents had a way of addicting people, and inspiring addiction had many, many perks. She only did not wear it when visiting bars. She preferred for drunk men's noses to stay away from her cleavage.

As if cued by Desdemona's finishing her sandwich, the empress sipped away the last drops of her coffee and dabbed the stain off of her lip with a napkin. All the while, she followed Dizzy through to the question she knew was coming. It was a question that Millicent had asked herself a number of times, and at times, her answers varied. She hated many aspects of wrestling. It took a toll on the body. But would any of the rest give her the same rush as winning in this grand game? Crushing another body with hers until the mind submitted? Outmaneuvering a shrewd opponent? Embarrassing some snide fool? The fashion world might, yes, but the fashion world was not looking for Millicents among them.

She would not give such a grand answer to Millicent. Her shrewd expression would tell the cub about the cogs working in her mind, but she finally slung her arm over the top of her seat and tapped her finger on her empty cup. "I have become addicted to it," she began. "I don't have to struggle with a piano. My clothes do not try to outmaneuver me. And I would likely kick any photographer telling me to pose in a certain way. Money has never mattered, and being pretty to look at gets boring if that is all you do. I want the challenge."

[BlackAkuma]

Dizzy had been tempted to ask if Millicent would share some of her secret scent, but she hadn't bothered, figuring she would get a hard denial on that. When the German confirmed as much, she wasn’t the least bit surprised - something that good, you didn’t want to spread around. Smell and taste held more sway in people’s memories than most realized. If she was given a lineup over every girl she’d ever dated, she couldn't give half of them the right name…but their scents, the unique way their body odor mixed with their shampoo and their perfume and their lotion? Oh, she could recall all of that with perfect clarity, and it made the experiences that came along with them fresh and enduring.

A little disappointing, but she knew not to press the matter. Millicent wasn’t the type of woman you could badger into changing her mind, and Dizzy wasn’t about to try. Besides, it looked like her next question had sparked some real thought in the woman, making her think for a few moments. She was curious to see what came out, and she wasn’t disappointed with the results.

She chomped down the last bit of her food and licked up a few crumbs around her lip. ”An addiction?” Dizzy pouted, a little confused at first to hear it described that way, but that expression softened as she thought about it more, and understanding set in. ”I guess I can see that. Wrestling’s special, nothing like it. What happens in the ring isn’t even that important, sometimes. People make alliances, do favors, make friends, make enemies. It’s less like a sport and more like…”

Dizzy rolled her wrist about, processing, trying to think of the best analogy, before she settled for the simplest, most obvious one. ”...it’s like Chess. Which makes me one of your pieces.” She didn’t say that like it was a bad thing. The opposite, in fact - there was a tinge of danger, excitement, thrill to the idea. ”I think I might get addicted to it, too. We’ll see.”

[Crossedes]

The empress pondered if she might have found a cub with exceptional insight. She needed almost nothing spelled out to her, even her role in this chess game. Millicent narrowed her eyes at her and pieced together where Dizzy's shrewdness had been born. Angela Belti was no fool by the German's best assumptions, but based on the stories, she did not strike Millicent as a shrewd strategist. In her search for independence, Desdemona must have grown world-wise. That could be both a boon or a complication to Millicent's goals. Some people could be too smart.

"Whether you will have the taste for it, I couldn't say, but you do possess the mind for it," she said, skimming the surface of her own thoughts. "That is why you should be able to wrestle in whatever matches interest you most." While she had no plans to broach that issue at length during this meeting - she still wanted to be gentle with mentions of Angela - she liked to keep the seed planted. The more Desdemona could seek what she wanted in Millie's company, the more loyal she would become.

With Desdemona done eating, Millie took up her pencil again. "But, true, we will see. What days can you meet? My schedule is flexible, but you shouldn't be surprised if I give you a late notice that I must cancel plans." When one sought opportunities as readily as the empress, she could find herself occupied at any time. "Some days we will spar and some days we will sit and make conversation, like this. Make plans."

And that other thing she wanted to cover... The empress glanced up, studying the room to see if any eyes had been drawn their way. Short of a few glances, no one seemed to be too focused on either of them except for their waitress, who glanced away when she realized that Millie wasn't trying to get her attention. A spirit of mischief crossed her face as she looked back at Dizzy, but she awaited her answer, only shifting to face the Italian more directly in the meantime.