[ --keep my head above water is a vivid image for Nina, and she blinks to shake it off and ends up shaking her head a little. A little wryly: ] That's a very important skill.

[ Nina finds herself liking Dorothea. She's intrigued by the world the other woman presents, but also by her seeming sincerity. It's interesting, too, to meet another soldier who is not using technology - everyone else she's met here seems to be from a world with nothing like Grisha; here, everyone had the ability to manipulate matter. Amazing. ]

You said that your war is over and that you won, though, right? That sounds like more than just keeping your head above water.