[ Nina hesitates and then leans in a little. ] The only thing I know for sure about Baghra is that she's old. And strong. She touched me once and I got a sense of her heart and power, and it wasn't like anything I'd felt before. [ She leans back. ] I was sent out on a mission soon after that, and I haven't really been back to the Little Palace since.

[ And what an interesting line of questioning this is! Nina doesn't mind providing honest answers - she's not intending to go back, after helping Alina find her way home, the least she can do is arm her as best she can - but it's still strange to be asking about this when those concerns seem so very far away. Nina's tempted to redirect to what seems to her to be more important - Did she give you any training exercises to do? - but she's willing to let this go and see what she can learn from it. ]