Coffee And Conversation [Diana/Meninas]

Diana listened closely and learned that should Meninas ever give any training her career would not be put on the line to do so. The blonde was relieved to hear that because from what had been said earlier Meninas greatly valued her career in the Vandenreich and Diana did not want the pink-haired Quincy to risk losing everything she had built just to help her. When Meninas made it clear that what would be taught was teachings from her father and not lessons from the organization she worked for the blonde's apprehension was all but dispelled. The only nagging doubt was wondering if there was a hidden price tag for such a valuable service.

Diana shoved that thought out of her mind for the time being to try and avoid giving the impression that she believed that Meninas had an ulterior motive in offering her help. She took a drink of her coffee and made eye contact with the other Quincy. She held it for a few moments before finally saying what was on her mind.

"I might take you up on the offer of training one day, Meninas. I certainly have need of it." Diana voiced her willingness to accept the pink-haired Quincy's aid at some point. It might not be right away, but at some point in the future the blonde would call upon the other Quincy for some tutoring. However, Diana planned to use that help wisely because she did not want to seem like she was taking advantage of Meninas nor did she want to interfere with any important work she might be doing on behalf of her organization.

Diana listened patiently to Meninas give suggestions on which of the four Quincy arts the former would benefit most from investing training time into and found that the advice that had been given had aligned with her own thoughts on the matter. The blonde had considered focusing on Kruezen to boost her offensive capabilities, but specializing too much in offense was probably not the best idea because there was no guarantee that she would always get to fire the first shot of a battle. Building up defensive abilities was probably a better idea for a loner like herself because using a strong defense could buy her enough time to let an opponent make a mistake due to exhaustion or frustration and that mistake could give her the opening she needed to suddenly and dramatically turn the tables on them.

Meninas had set before Diana two options for defense, both of which would be useful to her. Blut was a good option in case an opponent got close and the blonde could not get away from them in time to avoid harm. Steigen gave her the possibility of keeping away from her adversaries by being able to relocate in a hurry. The blonde was not sure which art would be best to train first because both of them were viable, but as far as she knew she did not need to make a decision right away.

"Blut and Steigen would both be beneficial for me to improve upon. However, it is tough to decide which one takes priority." Diana agreed with Meninas' suggestions and revealed that she did not know which of the two arts to choose first. Perhaps the other Quincy could give her hints as to which one would have more immediate benefits.

Meninas' advice to consider focusing on Blut first was a solid idea because what she said to support that suggestion was true. Diana did not need to have a high level of skill to make use of its boost to defense and Blut was a blessing to a novice like her. The pink-haired Quincy's carefully phrased words of wisdom were enough to almost completely sway Diana to train that art first. However, the blonde did not have time to say something to that effect because Meninas asked her a question about what she could do besides Kreuzen

"I was tutored in all four Quincy arts when I was younger. I learned Kreuzen and Blut a lot easier than I did Steigen. And Gebet is easily my weakest art." Diana gave a brief rundown of what she could do and what she had trouble with. The last of the arts she had listed was easily her weakest area... no matter how hard she had tried and how long she had trained Gebet had been something she had immense difficulty learning. The blonde did not anticipate that changing any time soon even if she trained under Meninas around the clock and focused exclusively on that particular art.

"However, the training was not something that entire days were devoted to. My parents had day jobs and I had school, so we had to work around those obligations the best we could. That might have played a part in why I could not get very far." Diana admitted that the training might have been hampered by her parents' need to put food on the table and her need to get an education.

Diana could not help but to agree with the assessment that the everyday business of the Remingtons was more important than training in something that did not pay the bills. It would have done her no good to master all four Quincy arts if they did not lead to her getting a job. While that attitude might sound like Diana was dismissive of the traditions of her race, the Remingtons were faced with the reality that traditions did not keep the lights on and adjusted their lives accordingly. Despite that her parents had given her a decent foundation that allowed for future growth, something that Diana appreciated on a daily basis.

The blonde raised her coffee cup and a quick downward glance told her that it was nearly empty, but that did not deter her from taking a drink out of it nonetheless. When she was finished the cup was set on the table and green eyes met Meninas' before the latter's point was addressed.

"My parents played the hand they were dealt and I do not blame them for my deficiencies. They did the best they could with the time they had and I would say that all things considered they did a good job. The fact I am sitting here before you is a testament to that." Diana summed up her view of her the efforts of her parents to teach her the Quincy arts. Every once in awhile the blonde wondered what they could have done if the Hollow attack on the Remington property did not happen. Whenever she speculated on what could have been Diana frequently wondered if given enough time her father could have finally taught her enough about Gebet for her to have a basic grasp on it.

Diana had come close to telling Meninas about the true state of her family a few times now, but the blonde held off on actually telling it because that was a sensitive subject for the young woman. Besides, as friendly as the conversation had been, the two Quincys were not that close. Choosing to let the fact that she was still alive speak for the training her parents had given her, Diana addressed the assertion that her parents felt pride in her accomplishments in as polite a way as she could.

"Hopefully they are." Diana replied calmly but with a small hint of doubt that could be picked up on if Meninas were paying close enough attention. In the past she could not help but to pick up on the frustration her parents let seep through from time to time when she did not improve an art as fast as they wanted her to. Their frustration was most evident when she produced a bolt-action rifle instead of a bow during Kreuzen training and when she failed to advance her knowledge of Gebet despite having entire training days devoted to that art alone. On rare occasions they would grumble about how someone named "June" had been a lot more competent than Diana when they had trained her, something which both puzzled the blonde and made her slightly upset because it seemed like they were trying to compare her to someone else to motivate her to do better. That tactic failed to galvanize her to reach new heights of achievement because their daughter was already doing everything she could to learn what they were teaching her.

Besides, Diana did not even know who "June" was.

For all she knew that person could be someone her parents had made up to give her a "rival" to compete with.