Lyra had prepared to be met with resistance, but she wasn't sure she had anticipated that anyone would laugh at her. Was this better or worse than open hostility? She pursed her lips to keep any expression from crossing her face before he'd finished. She didn't enjoy the feeling of being so wholly dismissed, and she had never tolerated being condescended to — it had been quite the point of contention between her brothers and herself, when she had still been alive (how innocent and foolish all those little dramatics seemed now!) Still, she was determined not to let her temper get the better of her. First impressions could only be made once, after all, and anyone she met here at the vampire caverns was destined to become an acquaintance that spanned decades, or longer. She could not afford to make enemies so soon.

"You seem to have quite a decided opinion of the blood banks," she said, as evenly as she could. "Have you ever used them?"