[ she reaches for the cup warily. a peace offering, she supposes. ]

I was visiting the Memorial Wall. [ she doesn't expound on why. it hadn't proven fruitful, and more to the point, it was a stupid idea to begin with. alina knows that she shouldn't be looking for validation out of kirigan, but it doesn't stop her from wanting it. she wants to be clever and capable. she needs to present herself that way. so she elides that she'd been simply grasping at straws to learn more when there was no more to learn. ] The ground opened up. At first it sort of just ... sank. And then the steel plates of the floor split, and my leg got caught between them before the whole area collapsed. I fell.

[ she takes a sip of water, gaze flicking up towards him. she swallows in haste to tack on, firmly, ] Sir.

[ it feels like something more official in capacity, at least, the way he's interrogating her about how she'd dared to come to harm. like he wasn't just paying a visit to an injured loved one, but evaluating a strategic failing. ]