Funnily enough, Sara was pretty close to being on the mark about Katherine's own guarded feelings.  The only significant difference was that it was actually a case of protecting the one she was inside from that which was outside.  There were things in the world that her psyche couldn't handle, so it had gone and locked up to kkeep from being harmed.  The Titans were, strangely enough, not the root of the cause.  They just didn't [i]help[/i].  Sara's attempts to figure Kate out would not fail to understand certain things.  If Kate were hiding her real self, then her outbursts had to be a definite [i]unsurpressed[/i] Kate that would be more outgoing and free, if not for [i]something[/i].  She didn't let herself 'out' as often because it wasn't [i]safe[/i].  She felt exposed in these circumstances, and that led her to 'burrow in' and wait out the danger.

The only times that she had outbursts were when she simply could not contain what was bothering her or making her happy, and of course during he more savage moments when attacking Titans.  Kate wasn't well-adjusted, but emotionally skewed and trying to push herself back into balance with her intellect.  More to the point, it wasn't as though she lacked emotional ties, but rather had trouble [i]forging[/i] them, so whatever ones she had were ultimately important to her.  Imagine the trouble that Eren had been in, and how that affected her.  She wasn't as seemingly close to him as Mikasa was, but like Armin, she was devoted and would probably take any news of something bad happening to any of the trio pretty badly.  Kate had invited Sara to that short list of people she felt secure around, although...when you think about it, it wouldn't be as hard as you might think.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but...in all the praise of her mother or Hange Zoe, or even her own abilities, did you notice that she never mentioned her father?  Well, in any case, it might be that they had things in common, or that Kate really wanted to get to know Sara because she'd decided that the Lieutenant was ultimately trustworthy to some capacity.  She smiled as Sara appeared to ease up, maybe even let down her own guard, as well.  Or perhaps...it had been down right when they had started talking.  Katherine made mention of her discomfort, yet she had apparently endured other people who referred to her professionally without comment.  That was a definite sign that she wanted Sara to not be her cold self around her, at least when she didn't [i]have to be[/i].  She was almost finished with her meal now, when the Brunette spoke up again.

[color=f7941d]"So, any plans before tomorrow?  Once I deliver the 'beans', I'll be all set."[/color]