Dale had felt Lyra getting increasingly tense throughout the refreshments, and he wished he could reach out to her. He already knew how much most of the ponies loved physical contact—something Kate was fully exploiting—but he wasn't exactly comfortable with it, especially in light of the important meeting they were having. Practically any motion could be misunderstood, and he'd been keeping his fidgeting to a minimum by virtue of his plate and teacup. Those had kept his hands occupied.