Lhurriel paused as she looked down at Rowhik, even though she was a good head and a half shorter than he was. She glared, a bit suspicious, but when she couldn't hear any other noise, she gave the knight a bright, cheerful smile.<br/><br/>Corsair bowed slightly, an amused smile on his face. "No. No need to apologize. I took no offense."<br/><br/>"That IS sweet of you..." Lhurriel jumped in, "But you needn't have done that. We did not take slight from it. Only the topic is still slightly awkward, is all," she said by way of explanation. Even if they had not heard her and Corsair conversing earlier, that simple sentence would have told the others that it had, indeed, once been a possibility, but now was no longer one for some reason or another. She grinned brightly, then tugged at Rowhike's sleeve (since she wasn't nearly tall enough to sling her arm around his shoulders).<br/><br/>"Well, we'll be leaving in one or two hours, so we'd best get our magicycles checked. The crystal mage, Alasdair, promised me he'd help me check over your 'cycles, but I need you to come with me and show me which ones belong to who. We'll do a little tune-up while we're at it... customize the 'cycles slightly for each rider, so they'll respond better to all of you," Lhurriel began blithely, walking down the hall and expecting Rowhik to follow her. Though she was a rather small young woman, her confidence and strong will made her presence known.<br/><br/>Corsair watched the two, an expression of longing flitting through his eyes as he watched her disappear down the hall, still chattering animatedly to the older knight.<em>So trusting, she is...</em>He thought to himself, striding silently in the opposite direction.<br/><br/>He leaned against the wall just around the corner, and watched rather blandly as the remaining members of Kae's squad whispered and sighed in relief at having escaped Lhurriel's wrath.<em>Interesting. I wonder how long they managed to listen to us without either mage nor lord noticing...</em>Corsair thought offhandedly, his left eyebrow winging up slightly.<br/><br/>"So."<br/><br/>The simple word startled all the soldiers into attention, though their faces clearly proclaimed their guilt. Corsair snorted, but smiled, waving at them to indicate that they need not be so formal with him. A self-deprecating grimace crossed over his features as he made eye contact with each of them, at once amused friend and stern lord.<br/><br/>"How much did you hear, anyway? I would explain some of it to you, but I believe that is now Lhurriel's place, and not my own. I am simply... curious," Corsair remarked drily.