A loud ding was heard coming from the clock, and a paw hit it, stopping the sound. Groaning, Mitzi gets up, hair looking messy, and her makeup all... smeared... She shook her head and headed to the bathroom. Then, she gets out of her room and heads towards the kitchen only to find Althea sitting in the table with all the breakfast set up as she's reading a book. Mitzi was surprised at this as Althea sipped her tea. She looked up and smiled at her.

"Good morning." she greeted.

"You're up early." Mitzi said, approaching her.

"Well, since you brought me in and took care of me, I thought I'd return the favor as a way to thank you. I'm going to work. I already found the job."

"R-Really? How?" Mitzi was shocked.

"Don't worry. I'm keeping my identity a secret. No one's gonna know. I better get going." Althea said, getting up and closing the book.

"Oh, I made eggs and salad for you." she added.

"What?" Mitzi asked, slightly surprised.

"I already ate, so please help yourself. There is also English tea in the pot." she continued.

Mitzi was speechless as she went over to the table and reached over to the pot kettle. Althea stopped and turned to her.

"And about the tea..."

She stopped and looked at the human who smiled.

"That's my special blend. It's a bit different each time, so there is no guarantee about the flavor." she said, then winked before walking away.

"I see..."

Mitzi looked at the pot and uncapped it, causing it to bring out a delicious aroma as smoke comes out.

"Hey, smells good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At Charing Cross Road bookshop, Althea is wearing a black hat with a veil covering her entire face as she reads the story to the kittens who are sitting on the carpet in front of her.

"And in that moment, the ugly little frog looked up with his sad, round eyes and pleaded: 'Oh, please, dear princess, only a kiss from you can break this terrible spell, that was inflicted on me by a wicked witch.'"

The kittens watched with eager in their eyes as their parents could be seen smiling at them as they're standing behind them while listening to Althea's story. Althea turned the page, smiling at the kittens.

"And the beautiful princess was so moved by his desperate plea, that she stooped down, picked up the slippery creature..."

The kittens leaned forward, getting into the part.

"Leaned forward, raised him to her lips..."

Althea smiled mischievously at them as she said those words.

"And kissed that little frog!"

"Aww!!/Eugh!!/Ewww!!" Kittens chorused in unison.

Althea giggled at them and finished the story.

"Then the frog was transformed into a handsome prince! They were married and lived happily ever after. The end."

"Yay!!"

"Read it again! Read it again!"

Althea helped one of the kittens up that fell down on their back.

"Sorry, kids. One story is enough."

"There is no way in this whole wide world, I would ever ever ever, I mean never kiss the frog. Yuck!" One of the female kittens gagged, crossing her arms.

"You'll be surprised at how love works." Althea smirked.

"Really? How?"

"Maybe later. Now go back to your parents and go home."

"Aww..." kittens whined.

"Don't worry. Maybe when you guys come back, I might read you another story. Would you like that?"

The kittens nodded and got up.

"By, Ms. Spade!"

With that, they ran to their parents as they bid Althea goodbye before leaving as Althea closed the book and head towards the bookshelves to place it back where it belongs. As she was placing a book in the shelf, someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to see a black and white cat with green eyes, and glasses.

"Excuse me, miss. Can you perhaps help me find the book?" he asked.

"Sure. What title of the book is it?" Althea asked.

"The Great Gatsby."

Althea was surprised.

"You read that too?"

Now it's his turn to be surprised.

"I... Yes. I didn't think anyone would be interested."

"It's the best book! The ending was pretty sad, but it helped me learn that money can't buy happiness. Moral and ethical fitness is more important. We should chose to love people instead of money, things, and status. We should choose goodness. I still don't like that Daisy chose to be with Tom instead of Gatsby. She chooses money and fame in the end."

"Yeah, that woman surely had the audacity to just leave him over that Tom whom he won't treat her right. It will lead her to misery instead of happiness." he said.

"Right? Oh, I'm Althea."

"Mordecai."

"I'll show you where you can find it."

Althea leads him to a certain area where it's full of fiction and finds what he's looking for and hands it to him.

"Here you go."

"Thanks, Althea."

Mordecai glanced down at her hand as he takes the book from her. He stares at it for a moment, which Althea noticed.

"Um, something wrong?" she asked.

He quickly looked up to her.

"Sorry, it's just... forgive me for my judgement, but your paw is furless and you got five fingers."

"Oh, that. I was born with genetic disorder."

"Is that why you're wearing a hat and a veil? I thought it was odd for someone like you to be working here."

"Oh, just not comfortable with showing my face in front of everyone. Just shy and wouldn't want anyone judging me how I look." Althea said, sweatdropping at her own lie with a hint of truth.

"I see." Mordecai said, staring at her a little suspiciously.

"A-Anything else you want to find?"

This made him look away a bit and she could've sworn she saw his cheeks turn pink a little.

"...and pre...ce..." he mumbled out.

"Hm? What was that?"

"... Pride and Prejudice book... please..."

Mordecai slowly looked up, expecting her to laugh when he never expect to see her sparkling as he could see her eyes full of sparkles with a hint of big smile through the veil.

"You like that book, too?! Sweet!"

She took his paw and guided him to another shelf, surprising him.

"We are so gonna be good friends!"

As she start mumbling about books, Mordecai couldn't help but smile a little that someone doesn't find him funny nor trying to make a move on him, and she's talking to him like a normal person. They talk for a while and laughing a bit until they're by the cashier register as she help pay the two books.

"Thanks again for the books. Maybe we'll meet again." Mordecai said.

"Sure. You're always welcome to come by. I've got plenty of recommendations for you to read." Althea smiled.

"I look forward to it." he smiled and then remembered something and dug into his pocket. "Oh, if you're not busy, I could use some company."

He pulled out what appears to be an invitation as he handed it to her.

"There's going to be a party at the Hotel Maribel. I thought you might come. So I won't be dealing with some... troublemakers..."

Althea looked at the invitation in shock and back at Mordecai.

"I'll think about it. Thanks, Mordecai. See you."

"You too, Althea."

With that, he left, leaving her to watch him. She look down at the invitation and smiled. The female cat coworker see that and smirked teasingly.

"Who's that? Your boyfriend?"

Althea's face turned pink and she immediately shooed her away.

"No way! We just met! Shouldn't you get back to work?"

"I'm just asking." she shrugged, still smirking.

Althea huffed and focused on the next customer that bought a whole pack of books, which made her make a note that this is going to take a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Althea glanced over the clock on the wall to see that her shift is done as she bid her coworkers goodbye when she noticed someone is outside of the door. She noticed that certain cat people were glancing at the person warily and scared. She opened the door to realize it was Viktor, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Oh, hi, Viktor." Althea greeted. "You here to see me?"

"Here to pick you up. Mitzi told me to, even though I'm not the babysitter..." Viktor grumbled with a glare. "Let's go."

Althea nodded as the two started walking. It was awkward between them as Althea glanced at him.

"So, you the bartender?" she asked.

"Yeah." he replied.

"Wow! That's cool! My dad was a bartender and he still does at home. He taught me everything I need to know about mixing and making drinks." she explained. "Heck, I know how to cook. I used to be a barista. Maybe I can teach you some things that I know."

Viktor glanced at her with surprise and looked back ahead.

"You can't teach me. I know exactly what I'm doing."

"You'll be surprised what I can do. How long have you been working for Lackadaisy?"

"...For az long az I have been. Atlas used to own the underground lounge until he was murdered."

"Oh..." Althea frowned upon hearing that. "Is that why? Ms. May told me it used to be beautiful."

"It was. Now we're in debt and looking for scraps with barely anyone coming down."

"...So, do you have a nickname? You wanna know mine?" Althea asked, changing the subject.

"...I'd rather not say." he said, glaring at her. "No more questions."

"Okay..."

Althea shut her mouth for a moment until she couldn't hold in.

"Are you a morning person? What's your favorite fruit?"

Viktor growled at her face, causing her to flinch.

"That was two questions!"

She raised her hands up in surrender.

"I just wanna get to know you. If I'm going to live here, I might as well get along with you and others."

He stared at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. She's more annoying than Ivy as he thought.

"I'm more of a night person. And I don't eat fruits."

Althea smiled and kept asking questions as the two talk along the way. Viktor slowly warm up to her, seeing she's not as bad as he thought. Suddenly, they heard laughter and yelping. Alarmed, they run over to see a group of cat thugs cornering what appears to be a young kitten boy. One of them gives him a push while the other punches him, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Give us your money, little runt! We know you have it!"

"N-No... I-I earned it...!"

"Tch!! Perhaps I should teach you a lesson."

Before they could throw another punch, a hand caught their paw. They looked up to see Althea as she glare daggers at them. Viktor glanced to the side to see Althea was not by his side and gets concerned. Althea squeezed his paw and twisted it, making him grunt in pain. She then pushed his arm to his chest before pushing him away as he fall back against the men as they caught him.

"Leave the boy alone. Go home." she ordered before turning back to the kitten boy. "You okay?"

The kitten boy nodded as Althea helped him up. The thug cat leader rubbed his paw, glaring at her. The thugs were about to attack her when he stopped them. He marched up behind her and Viktor was about to act when he didn't expect for Althea to catch the leader's leg that attempt to kick her. She turned to him and stood up, lifting his leg up and then pushed him away as he falls to the ground. One of the thugs ran up to her and threw a kick when Althea blocked it by pushing it down, ducked from the punch, and punched him in the face. Another one ran up to her and threw a punch when she easily blocked it and grabbed their arm. Two of them try to throw a punch together when she leans her head back to avoid them. Viktor was shocked at how well handled Althea is as she took the two men down by hitting them against each other and then pushing towards the other as the three hit the ground. The boy ran past the fight and hid behind Viktor, seeing that he's not a threat as they watch.

Althea crossed her arms in front of her as the three men readied their fighting stance. The two hesitate for a moment until one tried to kick her when she ducked from it and grabbed his arm before he could swing and grabbed his face. The other tried to kick her to the other side when she used the guy she was holding as shield as it hits him instead. Althea blocked both of his arms  and grabbed them and twisted him behind her back as the thug accidentally kicked him before flipping him over her head and tossed him into the trash can. The leader charged her and goes to kick her when she backed away from him and twisted the other guy's arm that attempt to hit her from behind and threw him towards the leader as they crash into each other and fall to the ground again. She dodged another kick from other more thugs and punched him in the chest, making him fall. She then turned and blocked another punch from the other thug. The thug tried to knee her when she smacked it down and grabbed him by the waist of his pants and easily carried him and started swinging him around, causing him to scream.

"Wow!" Viktor and the boy said in unison.

The thug tried to attack her but with her swinging the guy, he gets kicked in the face. Althea then placed him down and make him backhanded the other guy in the face as he held it in pain. She made him cross his arms and then punched him in the face again, sending him flying. Two more thugs and the leader tried to take her down together when she dodged all of their attacks while kicking one away. She held the thug there and grabbed the sleeves of his jacket before dodging another punch and kick from the leader and wrapped the sleeve around the leader and the other thug she's hiding. She turned and dodged and blocked the kick and quickly wrapped other sleeve around his leg, holding all three of them as they struggled to get out of it. She sees another thug charging her when she ducked and hit him back with the thug's leg. Althea then lets go of them as they fall back, looking all bruised up and in pain. She gives them a dark glare to which they shiver in fear.

"Leave. I will not ask again."

They nodded and Althea turned back to Viktor and the boy, who're still shocked at what just happened. As she approaches them, the leader angrily brings out his gun and aims it at her. Viktor sees that and was about to warn her when Althea's instinct kicked in. In slow motion, Althea turned and jumped and kicked the gun away before he could pull the trigger. She landed and gives the leader a hard kick that literally send him flying as he hits each wall a couple of times before landing roughly on the ground near his scared men. Viktor and the boy gapped at this as Althea wiped off the dust from her shoulder, fixing her hat and veil, and then walked away. She sees their expression and smiled shyly.

"Um... Shall we?"

"...Hold the phone." Viktor said, walking after her along with the boy.

He searches for her and finds her still walking away and rushes after her.

"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on now! Vhat was that?"

Althea turned to him.

"What?"

He gestured to where the thugs were beaten.

"That! Back there! That was amazing! Where did you learn that?" he asked slightly shouting.

"Well, my dad thought I needed learn to protect myself and fight back when something like this were to happen, so he took me to defensive class and kung fu, and other more like martial arts."

"Wow..."

"Hey, miss!!"

They turned to see the boy Althea saved earlier.

"That was totally epic! Thank you so much for saving me."

Althea smiled and kneeled down to his level.

"You're welcome. Are you alright? You took the punch real bad."

"I'll be alright." he said.

"Where are your parents?" she asked, looking around.

The boy was about to explain when they heard voices calling out.

"Where's my boy?!"

"He should be here!"

They looked over to see the boy's parents searching.

"Looks like you found them. Go along."

"Right! Thank you again, miss..."

"Althea."

The boy nodded and ran off to his parents, waving her goodbye. Althea smiled softly as the parents happily hug the boy before leaving. Viktor smiled, seeing that Althea is...

"You know, you're not what I expected." he said out loud.

She turned around and faced him.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't judge people before getting to know them." she said. "So, shall we head back?"

"Actually, I know some places we should go before we head back." Viktor said, surprising himself for saying that. "You're new to this place, so how about I give you a tour?"

She was surprised at this and nodded, feeling like this is a good start of their friendship. He took her to the Soulard Market, which she was surprised at how lively it is as she remember reading about it for her history class. She was amazed and bought some foods and candies she thought she might need with Viktor helping with carrying the bags. After that, he took her to other more places that he knows like Hecht's Store. Before she knew it, they're heading back to Lackadaisy as they head into the cafe to the secret underground lounge as she placed the grocery bags on the table. Viktor heads into the bar as he brings out cups and other stuff.

"So, you said you have experience in mixing and making drinks. Show me."

Althea smiled and grabbed some stuff she thought she might need as she head into the bar next to Viktor. She looks at the shelf full of bottles.

"Is this all you guys have when you serve drinks?"

"They're the only things that people would like." he replied.

Althea shook her head as she look at the names of the drinks.

"If you're going to get the people to buy drinks, you need to do something new that will definitely get their attention. I know just a thing. Watch and learn, Viktor."

He watches her as she takes out her ingredients that she remembers. She placed one sugar cube in old fashioned glass she asked him to take out and cover it with two dashes of Angostura bitters. Then she add a teaspoon of water, muddle until sugar cube is dissolved. Filled the glass with ice then add whiskey. Finally, she garnishes with orange slice. Viktor was amazed at the work she did.

"This kind of drink you're seeing is Old Fashioned. The original cocktail."

Viktor takes the glass and sniffs it for a moment before taking a sip. His eyes widened at the taste and finished his drink in one go.

"This is... where did you learn this?"

"If I know a thing or two about drinks, this was defined in 1806 as a potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar. If anyone ask for a cocktail, they'll ask for one of those old fashioned ones." Althea happily explained with pride.

"You're a pretty talented one." Viktor said.

"Thanks." she said.

She then thought of something.

"Hey, forgive me for asking, but what's your story? How did a big strong guy like you work for Lackadaisy?"

Viktor had a thoughtful look for a moment with a hint of distance.

"Well, I wasn't just a bartender. I used to live in Austria-Hungary where I was born and worked on a farm with my brothers and cousins."

"Whoa! That explains the accent of yours." Althea said, starting another drink.

"Heh... I later moved to the United States and joined the armed forces during World War I. Then worked as a dockworker."

"That sounds pretty cool." she said as she add ice to old-fashioned glass. "Though I'm curious of what happened to your eye. I noticed an eye patch and thought they're used to make you look scary."

"I was actually getting there. I... got into the fight with those strikebreakers during a striker's rally, vhich caused me to lose my right eye due to a pry bar injury from the police and got arrested for multiple counts of assaults." he continued. "That's when Atlas came along and helped me get a lawyer and got my sentence reduced because of him. That's when I worked for him as a triggerman to return the favor of freeing me from jail and know of this place."

"Sounds like Atlas guy is a good man."

Althea poured in Aperol, then Prosecco into the glass cup

"He vas. Until he vas murdered as I mentioned earlier. No one knows who did it and I don't believe Mitzi is the cause of his death as everyone believes."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that and for Ms. May." Althea frowned, recalling Mitzi talking to herself in the office at one time when she was living with her.

"It's fine. Though I should warn you, I got a bad knee." Viktor said.

"Whoa, seriously? What caused that?"

He glanced away, looking angry for the moment.

"Let's just say... a partner of mine turned out not be my partner. We got into the fight about me retiring when I refused to, that's when he kneecapped me before leaving. That traitor used to work for Lackadaisy."

"That's just terrible! The nerve of that guy!" Althea growled, clenching her fist.

"Yeah... And that's where I stayed here in Lackadaisy as a bartender. Since I have... no where else to go."

"Oh... It must be hard."

"It is..."

Althea then topped with club soda and garnished it with orange slice. Viktor noticed another drink he didn't recognize.

"What's that?"

"Aperol Spritz. This was made in Padua, Italy since 1919. The precocious Barbieri brothers together to pull off their greatest stunt yet: creating a fun, refreshing alternative to the Venetian combination of white wine and soda." Althea explained, taking a small sip and shivering in joy at the taste. "Try it. It's really good."

Viktor didn't hesitate to try another drink and was more amazed.

"Hmm... Taste good."

"Right? It's good for your digestion. It's a perfect light afternoon drink for a summer lunch."

"You sure do know when it comes to drinks."

"Only the best! Oh, do you have a hobby?"

Viktor smiled a little and explained of him being a bit of gearhead as he fixes things for his neighbors as the two talk. Althea explained about herself and her parents on how she got into those things and her career goal of being an artist. She even asked him about his favorite food which he has love for meats while she has love for meatloaf and pizza. Althea then showed him some recipes of the drinks she showed him earlier and other more as she teaches him. Little did they know, Mitzi was there to see their interaction and smiled in success to get the two to get along. Ivy came down and was shocked to see the two bonding before smiling proudly at the big guy.

https://youtu.be/LXxhZtdIp5g