The long trip to An-Teng gives the Alliance much time to focus on some of their own personal projects and goals, allowing them to take a breather from the difficult missions they have recently undertaken. For the newly christened Captain White-Fist, this is also an opportunity to work on the aspects of her skills she needs to work on, especially now that her new role forces her to be a bit more well-rounded.

This quest thus brings her back to the Spring Dryad II, as the ship moors during one of the Alliance's rest periods. As she was, until very recently, a member of the ship's crew herself, her presence on the Dryad is more than welcome. The crew members salute her happily as she passes along, and they affably direct her to Captain Lasuri when she asks, taking some time to ask about her new ship and how she acclimates to Captain duties.

When Kiana reaches him, Lasuri is busying himself with the reorganization of his crew's tasks, poring over papers in the Captain's cabin. The doors to the Cabin are wide open, however, giving the opportunity for Kiana to step right in.

Kiana smiled brightly as she was greeted by the crew.  She was quick to exchange pleasantries with those that stopped to talk to her, and even dole out a meek hug or two to her old 'honor guard', making sure to check up on them to make sure they were doing well, even making a promise or two to the men who pestered her about learning a thing or two about that martial art she used.

Kiana was dressed fairly plainly, with brown trousers and a white shirt with a patch or two on it--work cloths for the most part, and her clothing was somewhat smudged with earth, perhaps to further that image along--the worries of a Spirit Ship were surely different than those of a First Age craft like the Dryad.  Hardened knuckles rapped on his open door frame as Kiana stepped inside, meeting the Captain with a smile and a salute.  "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important Captain Lasuri, but I was hoping to have a word with you, if you would be so kind."  She said, making eye contact--a pretty big change from the little girl he had first met back at the inn so many months ago.

Interestingly enough, Lasuri would notice the white-feather charm that he had given him, hanging around her neck.

As Kiana enters the Captain's cabin, Lasuri nods and smiles, dropping the paper he was holding on his desk and gesturing for the Earth Aspect to come in. "There's always time when someone has something to ask." Lasuri says, actually standing up to greet Kiana. "Glad to see you on board, Captain. You've been busy recently it seems, so it's nice to see you here." The changes in the Earth Aspect's attitude are of course noted by Lasuri - as is the fact that she now wears the charm given to her when she received her new name. Inwardly, Lasuri is thankful for everything that somehow helped the shy, meek girl come out of her shell to become the woman she is turning into today... And if he could help with that a little, so much the better.

"Don't mind the mess, I've had to work a bit with Kareth to make a container for that damnable Chalice - it's incessant prattling gets tiring after a while. That, and I can't really leave it unsupervised at any given time. It's crafty, and it's only waiting for a lull in vigilance to spring forward."

Taking a seat, he motions for Kiana to sit as well, nodding towards her encouragingly. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Captain? I'm all ears."

Kiana smiled softly at Lasuri.  "Well, getting to know my crew has certainly taken a large amount of my time." Kiana said, a sort of apology and explanation thrown into the same phrase as she took the offered seat with grace.  After seeing her so fierce in combat, it was almost difficult to see her as she was now, so comfortable did she appear on the battlefield.  And in truth, Kiana would be quick to point out that she would much rather face a talon of highly trained guards than be forced in a strange social situation...but that was what made her a good Captain, eh?  She knew how to pick her battles.

"To be frank, Captain, I would like to study under you.  It is one thing to know the proper battle strategy in a given conflict--I studied under the very best in my Father.  However, it is something else entirely to lead them into that battle.  I've little experience in the matter, and not near what I should if I am to be a suitable representation of the Cobalt Alliance."

She paused, though she had already made known her request, she felt it was important to give the proper reasoning for her choosing him to emulate.  "You are everything a good leader should be, Captain Lasuri Leomaris.  The Cobalt Alliance follows you without question, and in return you endeavor to serve the Alliance, putting its ideals and needs before even your own."  She nodded toward the Chalice for a readily available example.  "And that, in short, is the type of leader I would like to be.  That my father would have wanted me to become."

At Kiana's inquiry, Lasuri smiles... And then starts chuckling heartily, shaking his head softly. Before Kiana starts feeling like something is wrong about what she said, however, the Headmaster raises a hand to ease her fears. "Oh, I'm so sorry Captain. That's not meant to make you feel bad about what you ask, I'm deeply touched about this and you're honoring me. But if you could take the little young Lasuri and tell him that one day, he would be asked to teach others how to be a good leader... Well, he'd have looked at you like you were crazy."

"You see... I always was a withdrawn, quiet little kid. I did my own things and never really bothered anyone. I was sneaky and underhanded, yeah, but I certainly wasn't assertive. I was a shy little boy trying to find his place, nothing more and nothing less." The Captain smiles, looking at the woman across him. Perhaps their are certain similarities between them, after all.

"I'm not sure I deserve all that praise, Captain. I just do what I do. But if you want me to teach you my approach, and tell you how I think about things when I step to the front and call the shots, then I will teach you everything I know. It's not much of a price to repay you for all you've done for the Alliance."

"Hope it doesn't make you feel like the lessons are lousy in the end, though!" The Captain adds, with wink.

Kiana smiled warmly as the Captain revealed a bit of his past.  Even a small snippet such as that showed a sign of trust, and of friendship that Kiana certainly appreciated.  It was certainly a sign that she grown fond of the Captain, given that she had went to him personally to ask for assistance.  As long as he had known her, Kiana went to great lengths to never be alone with a man for very long, if at all, usually having other crew members with her.  And though the door was wide open, it was certainly a brave move for her, given her past.  Not that she would ever think Lasuri capable of replicating the acts done to her, psychologically is showed tremendous growth and, more importantly, healing.

"I would learn everything you have to teach, Captain." She said with a nod of her head.  And he would find, as the days passed, that Kiana would indeed be a very attentive student, studying every move he made, every word he spoke, and the countless nuances in between in her quest to become a more fitting leader for the Cobalt Alliance.