Kijani leaned forward in the chair, pushing a hand through her hair. "I thought it would benefit me." She shrugged a bit. "I had just come from my performance when things went wrong. I was unarmed, and wearing nothing that I could fight in. Things went to chaos quickly, and I... I hate..." Her mouth pressed in a thin line. "I hate being powerless at any time, and I was in that moment. I figured if I went willingly, then I could figure out a way to return." 

Some of it was true. Some of it was so true that it was uncomfortable. At no time had she told a blatant lie... it was all about the spin. Even though her grandmother considered her useless, Kijani had learned well.

--

By the time Kalinda started to lock away the emotion, Devika was starting to recover. She managed to bring herself to a sitting position, before Kalinda started dropping. Without having the space to think, Devika moved, catching the other girl and preventing her from getting a concussion or breaking something on the ground. "...I'm sorry." She murmured, smoothing Kalinda's hair and checking her pulse. It was rare that she ever willingly touched someone, but right now she felt numb. Even her voice sounded wrong, inhuman. "Someone help, please! We need a medic and two stretchers."