of the three, kiana seemed the most mysterious——if only because the whole time, she had remained so focused on engaging the enemy and had hardly stopped moving from the moment she arrived. wielding gun and blade and everything in between, she made battle appear so effortless. it was not the first time furina had seen such fluent skill, but one of the first times so up close and unrestrained.
orchestrated duels were an entirely different occasion, after all, bounded and curtained by pomp and ceremony. even the ones to the death.
and kiana appeared anything but. the wild grace with which she'd spun and torn across the battlefield, even her mistakes seeming graceful in being recovered from so naturally, never skipping a beat or allowing the enemy an opening. there was only one thing furina could think to say:
"i truly wish to know: how do you do it?"
of course, she's certain there's some things she could simply never learn. those fire-powered movements, that strange and wondrous thing she did where the very air she struck fractured like glass, the sudden steps through space itself.
and perhaps someone like her is not meant to learn——and she agrees ; there is no joy for her in fighting or putting herself at risk. but for the sake of being even marginally less of a bumbling totem while everything was happening, at least enough to conserve herself even if she was no hope for helping others.⠀(⠀for what did it mean that she'd been thrown so abruptly into this place for no foreseeable reason but to fight for her life? the thought that it could happen——had happened——may very well happen again with no warning or preparation——would paralyze her each waking moment otherwise. she may only outrun that paralysis by doing something, anything no matter how foolish.⠀)
"we were introduced already, but in the midst of such chaos is no way to go about such things. so please allow me to do so properly: my name is furina. it's very good luck to have encountered you here, kiana."
Pale eyes flit to the source of the question, brows raised in surprise before they return to the stars. How does she do it? It's as good a question as any, it's only true answer a lifetime of memories, but she doesn't think Furina is asking for that.
"I didn't always," it's truthful, stated with a sheepish little shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, I've done it for as long as I can remember, but not always like that. I actually used to kind of suck, believe it or not."
A careful glance back to the girl. She certainly doesn't look the type for a place like this or fights like these-- she carries an elegance that Kiana's only ever really heard of, like something out of history or maybe even a fairytale, the type befitting of a princess rather than a soldier. But that's not it, not exactly. Kiana tilts her head.
"When I was younger I thought everything was easy, and when I realized it wasn't I told myself I had to act like it was anyway. I spent a lot of time smiling when things sucked the most, but I also decided that someone had to make it stop sucking." Her smile has turned fond. "And everything else came along the way. I was lucky, I had good friends to help me through it. They're why I can do what I do."
A sidelong glance to Fu Hua before her attention returns to center once more. "It's nice to meet you proper, Furina." She extends her hand in the air between them, an invitation. "I hope we have a chance to chat more once we're out of here." A pause, then an awkward little shake of her head. "If you want, I mean."
