He smiles, lazy and amused. "Heaven forbid you tried. Even on first meeting, it's an intriguing nature." It's only partly idle flattery - that part's habit, an extension of the persona he's spent decades crafting for himself. The civilization overlaid like a veneer, decorating his brutality more than truly obscuring it.

"I'm Ivan," he adds, after a moment, because they've been talking long enough he feels like offering his name. As if it's a token she's earned by being interesting.