[hr]
Irina returned her attention to her tablet the moment Jannick left, entirely engrossed in its contents until the sound of the door opening alerted her to Sara’s presence. Mild surprise turned to irritated disappointment when she saw who it was. She listened quietly as Sara said her piece, her eyebrow raising when Sara held out her hands. 

She was quiet for a moment, looking the other Templar up and down as if waiting for a punchline that never came. 

[color=lightskyblue]“Wow,”[/color] Irina finally commented, her former intensity somewhat dimmed behind genuine surprise. [color=lightskyblue]“Who needs persecutors when you do their work for free?”[/color] 

Before Sara would get the chance to wonder if she’d just been party to Dame Irina’s first-ever joke, Irina grew serious again, if not a touch exasperated. [color=lightskyblue]“You think too highly of yourself, Dame Sara,”[/color] she droned, stowing her tablet under her arm. [color=lightskyblue]“Half the Church’s Knights and the entire Ordo Templi are combing the wreckage of Giles’ ballroom for evidence as we speak; if we thought it was that simple, I would already be home and [i]you[/i] would already be executed.”[/color]

What little levity Irina had left fled from her as she approached Sara, folding her hands behind her back. [color=lightskyblue]“I am not interested in questioning you. In my opinion, your abandonment of your Scion was incompetence and cowardice, but nothing more. But you're right: we are in a crisis. Right now, I need you standing guard over your Scion. These are some of the most dangerous times you’ll likely face in your career; you can’t get out of it that easy.”[/color]

Irina came to a stop just steps before Sara, looking down at her. [color=lightskyblue]“Whether you think you’re capable of protecting Scion Theobald is irrelevant; right now, [i]you[/i] are his only option. [i]You[/i] hold the Blessing of Fire, no one else. Now,”[/color] she pointed to the door, almost overtaking the other woman, [color=lightskyblue]“reclaim your crystal, and [i]go do your duty.[/i]”[/color]

[hr][right][@Stern Algorithm][/right]