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Lyfrocier was not a nervous man by any accounts. Even when Guarath had been going on the warpath on the Sands before she'd Impressed, he'd proven himself to be surprisingly unflappable, simply holding his ground or staying out of the way as was proven necessary by the little Green's fury. He'd noticed the first signs of such feelings as soon as Etansi had come into view, the sparse curls of orange flickering across Guarath's eyes in response to the other weyrling's emotions--really? She dared to presume such things in her presence? Interesting. Very, very interesting. How could Quinineth--while certainly a fine young dragon in his own right, to be sure--be perfect when she herself was right here, standing glorious before them all? Preposterous! She huffed, tossing her head a touch to better stare down this Etansi with all the fierceness of...well, a rather small Green hatchling. Just who did she think she was?

No, Lyf was not an anxious person. At this particular moment, however, he felt the first stirrings of concern in his chest, the prequel to an alarm bell yet to sound.

"Etansi." he rumbled, not a drop of malice in his tone. As always, he was cool and collected, arms folded behind his back and standing as straight as a board. He was waiting for any further signs of irritation from his darling Guarath, although she calmed quickly as soon as Quinineth addressed her directly. The only sign of relief he gave was the slightest exhale, soft and nigh imperceptible. "Good afternoon to you as well, Quinineth. I hope the two of you have been faring well today...?"

Guarath, however, was not paying much more attention to Etansi at the moment. Although His certainly had some work to do yet, Quinineth himself was never anything short of proper, and Guarath could always appreciate his social poise. The compliments he so quickly laid at her feet didn't hurt, either.
Quin, darling! Lovely to see you. And really, it was! He was so well-mannered. Now if only Etansi could learn something from him. Fret not, my dear brother. I can't hold that against you of all people, now can I? She gave a soft laugh, an equally quiet croon escaping her to match. There were still the faintest prickles of irritation radiating from her, unsurprisingly, but it at least seemed that her anger had been assuaged--for now.

Maybe someone else might have laughed at the way Etansi had to crane her neck just to get a better look at Lyf's face--truth be told, although he remained silent, he couldn't help but find it a bit amusing regardless. Quinineth's bow was returned with a short one of his own--let it never be said that Lyfrocier did not know his manners. He let her talk, waiting patiently and making quiet notes all the while; she sounded almost as if she hadn't talked much in a while, but that could be for a number of reasons. She claimed she wasn't very good at socializing, and cited her White as her motivation for seeking him out. That hardly surprised him, either--personal connections weren't always the easiest things to attain, and if you weren't already used to being sociable, things could get awkward quite fast.
However, fortunately for Etansi, Lyfrocier himself was already well acquainted with just what to do. They'd been in enough classes together by this point to where he thought he might have a half decent read on Etansi as a person, and he was already drafting something of a battle plan in preparation.
"If only we could all be born as adept as he is." He offered the smallest hint of a smile, genuine despite its subtlety. "Nobody's that lucky, though. It just takes getting used to, in my experience." And a few friends, but that much went unsaid. He hadn't exactly picked up many of those himself. "Is life here a big change for you? Compared to where you were before, at least. It's somewhat of a culture shock, in my own experience."

I can't imagine you'd have chosen poorly. All the same, she paused, looking Etansi over as the gears turned in her head. What did he see in her? Surely there was something--some hidden potential buried underneath that...exterior, just waiting to be chiseled out by his sensible efforts. She realized a few seconds later that she had been staring perhaps a touch too sharply, although not a hint of red was to be had in her eyes. Burning curiosity had overtaken her earlier frustration instead; now, she wanted to know what Quinineth's aim was with this girl.
My apologies for the distraction. Guarath was quick to fall back into conversation, however, and it became clear just as quickly that she likely had no plans to explain those long moments of consideration. Your attentions are hardly selfish, however! I would never decline your company. Not to mention that I'm quite sure Mine could do with the socialization as well. She stood up just a bit straighter at mention of Hers, practically glowing with pride. He tends to keep to himself, I'm afraid. But we're making progress on that, at least.

"You have an excellent teacher, then. I'm sure he'll take fine care of you." He could understand that draconic drive to better Theirs--Guarath wasn't immune to it, either, and he was currently still on the receiving end of it. Having a dragon to help push you toward being a better version of yourself did tend to be quite an effective spur for such things, as he'd come to realize. Since Impressing, he'd noticed a few small differences in himself, and he had no doubt as to where they'd come from.
She continued, and--ah, so he'd been...somewhat correct, he figured. Lyf gave a small nod of acknowledgment as Etansi finished explaining herself, watching as she did her best to work through getting the meaning right. She wasn't a bad one, as far as he could tell. Inexperienced and perhaps a bit out of her depth, but thus far, palatable enough.

Her question, however, gave him pause. Idly, he wondered if this was her first time speaking to anyone of status--although he couldn't say he had much of that anymore, since he'd ran off to become a dragonrider. Not only that, he'd lied in order to do that, hadn't he. Hm. That particular bombshell was one he had yet to attend to, and now was absolutely not the time to go prodding at it. For the moment, Lyfrocier decided to keep that card a bit close to his chest so as to not overwhelm her so quickly; talking to people in general seemed like it wasn't much her game, and throwing in the arcane social rules of 'polite' society wouldn't do her any favors on top of that.
"Yes. A minor one, a bit outside Western--the hold, that is. Hardly had much reason to come to the Weyr a few months ago." For once, there was clear amusement in his tone, although the rest of his body language stayed just as stoic as it always was--it hadn't dawned on him that he might be sending Etansi some mixed signals. "Now, it looks like I'll be needing a good reason to leave. That is, if the weyrlingmasters ever let us out."
Was that a joke, really? He had intended it to be humorous, particularly given the fact that he was in a decent mood, but he hadn't quite decided whether or not it really was. Etansi could probably figure it out, though--even rough around the edges as she may have been, surely she could tell by the...utter lack of expression on his face. Excellent work, Lyfrocier.

He really is something. Guarath herself was practically beaming, eyes whirling purple with near-reckless abandon. She had known exactly who she wanted, of course! There had just been some difficulties along the way, but it had all worked out in the end, hadn't it? Even so, she took a moment to speak directly to Quinineth, albeit somewhat gingerly-- Truly, I hope this will help the both of them. And perhaps if it does, everyone else can appreciate them as we do, hm? Maybe this level of privacy was a touch rude, but it felt necessary. She didn't want to unnerve Lyfrocier by implying he was anything less than Hers, but seeing as he was actually getting along with Etansi at the moment, interrupting seemed all the worse. Does...Yours have many friends? Though I suppose the weyrlings are all at least acquaintances with each other now that they've found our siblings.
She was doing her best to be tactful, desperately hoping to avoid stepping on her brother's toes with any wrong comments. Guarath had done what she could to bite down on her words, particularly in reference to Etansi, but the mixture of pride and love currently rolling through her hearts was heady enough to handle most of the work for her.

He certainly noticed that shift in her mannerisms, his attention briefly torn between trying to suss out the reason for it and trying to keep the conversation alive--Lyfrocier had to admit, he was rather glad of the relatively low stakes at work here. It allowed him more peace of mind to work through it all properly instead of racing toward the best possible answer before things soured, mental gears steadily turning toward some inevitable conclusion. There wasn't anything important riding on this conversation, like the favor of someone of high status, and it was--nice, honestly. Lyf didn't feel quite as pressured here and now, and Etansi likely wasn't expecting much from him, either. Judging by her reaction, though, he still couldn't help but wonder if he'd perhaps said something a little less than charming earlier; that joke, if he had to guess. Hm. Or--could it be something else...?

"He'll grow into a full-fledged gentleman before you know it. Just you watch." Lyfrocier briefly glanced over at Quinineth, mustering a small smile for him. As far as Guarath's siblings went, he had to admit, the White was ranking rather high on the list. "I've thought about visiting, although that was mostly before the Hatching. I do wonder how they'd feel about...recent developments, however." This time, he's willing to be a little more open in the interest of testing the waters, letting the resulting grimace show through his composure. It was hardly Etansi's fault, but Lyfrocier couldn't quite shake the soft sense of dread at the thought of returning home all the same. Guarath picked up on it nigh instantly, straightening up as her eyes begin to show flashes of orange--that topic was one she already knew she didn't like.

If they have a problem with us, I'll handle it.
There's...not much point getting agitated about it here and now. To his credit, Lyfrocier seemed just as focused on Etansi as he'd been a few moments ago. Guarath shifted in place, barely suppressing a sharp huff.
Well-- No, but--the thought of it is awful.
We'll make do.

It takes Guarath another few moments to fully calm back down, although it's clear that she's not quite as relaxed as she'd been before; there's a little more tension in her posture, and a slight reddish tint to her eyes that appears to be fairly persistent.
Well. That aside. She shakes her head, a vague look of distaste on her face. I--meant no disrespect by asking that, of course. I simply...would like a better understanding of what he needs, you know? And that requires a bit of comparison with others. She'd gathered her information bit by bit through their lessons, but it wasn't quite enough to give her a confident answer. Guarath herself wasn't of the opinion that they really needed many close confidants, but...ultimately, she'd let that one slide if it would prove worthwhile for Hers. She just--wanted to be sure first. Perhaps we'd do well to ask someone like Haitanth or Tianxiath. They're both knowledgeable about this sort of thing.
It wasn't quite admitting to a personal failing if you were careful with your wording, as Guarath firmly decided. She would afford no appearances of anything less than confidence, and she'd already come too close to veering off-course with that as it was.