"Oh Souma, you're just [i]too[/i] good to me... " Galina's winsome smile was simply luminous in the confines of the halted carriage. Her fingertips danced lightly over the array of deadly toys that Souma offered, and she hummed softly in the back of her throat as she thoughtfully considered her options. Leaving the rifle was... Well it was a little disappointing actually, being a weapon she could just as easily hike over her shoulder and use only [i]in extremis[/i]. But this was Souma's world, and she was merely a willing participant and co-conspirator in 'liberating' mislaid supplies - Galina trusted him without question.

She hadn't the least idea who these people were to Souma or the Takahiro clan, and would not have cared even if she did. More [i]yakuza[/i], she knew as much, and not a clan allied with the Takahiro clan, or even one that enjoyed the similar patronage of the nobility. 

Galina shrugged to herself, almost imperceptibly. She was simply here for the adventure, for the chance to forget – if only for a short while – the weight of the grief they carried, and to know the feeling of doing something, anything at all, to get them one step closer to the Americans who’d eviscerated their families and homes. Heaven be merciful, but Galina couldn’t imagine having to sit on her hands for the next four days, waiting idly before the start of a trans-Pacific trip where they would - in all likelihood - have little else to do but wait some more (even if the scenery was vastly improved. Hawaii would, undoubtedly, be a spectacular layover). 

 And so in the spirit of devil-may-care that had seized her at the moment, Galina’s fingers traipsed lightly over a set of three [i]kunai,[/i] and grinned. “And you [i]flatter[/i] me too, and my small, near insignificant skill with throwing… “ She batted her eyes to Souma “innocently,” and then laughed. 

Galina took a sip of the tea Souma suggested be brought with them against the cool night, and was instantly grateful for the warmth. “Hmm… “ Her thoughts hummed silently in the back of her throat as she considered the choice Souma had originally offered, the levity fading from her face as she eyed the spikes and the eggs. “Well I’ll be honest Souma, and say I’ve never used your ‘spice to blind,’ so it would be wiser for me to simply stick with what I [i]do[/i] know… “ Galina took the spikes, tucking then into the bindings of her belt wrap. 

“Injury I can certainly do, and… Oh!” The young woman took up the roll of the razor-thin wire, and then two of the smaller stakes, her eyes wide with a sudden excitement. Cutting off about a foot and a half of the thin wire was easy enough doubled over her [i]kindjal[/i] blade, setting it aside as she quickly notched the smaller wooden stakes with that same knife’s edge. Nimble fingers swiftly and easily knotted one end of the wire over and around each notch. Galina sheathed her [i]kindjal[/i] once more, and then took up one of the small stake dowels in each hand. She held up her newly made “toy” proudly before Souma, a tiny shaft of light glinting wickedly off the garrote’s wire. The delight and almost childlike pride in Galina’s smile was absolutely unmistakable. She was truly enjoying herself, this moment, and this incomparable company sitting across from her now.

“Yours if you like, a little something from me to you Souma,” she laughed softly with a mischievous lift of her eyebrows. “And yes, you can consider this a small bribe so I may at least bring my [i]shashka[/i]? It’s a quiet blade… Mostly… And will certainly help the crushing disappointment, with Daisuke holding my rifle for me.“ Galina sighed loudly, deeply, and with absolutely no true conviction whatsoever.