“Morning, chaps.” The [color=FF3333]voice[/color] from behind triggered a thousand volt jolt that blazed down her spine. Her body was so tense that she struggled to turn her head, but she managed to do so just in time to see Rook curtsey. Had she not been trying to calm the goosebumps along her arms, she would have rolled her eyes. This was definitely the Rook she’d met the night before—a tease whose intensity made it impossible to tell exactly what he was thinking at any given time.

And she [i]really[/i] would have liked to know what he was thinking because she was about to spend the entire day walking within speaking distance to him. Should she apologize as soon as possible? Pretend to be mad? Play aloof until she knew what his feelings were?  

[i]Crunch[/i]. A new wave of nervous sweat rolled over Adele as she felt the trinket in her hand snap. [i]Crap, crap, crap! It broke before I could even—noooooo![/i] Gods, why hadn’t she paid more attention to the tension in her hands? That was where she always put her tension and now she wanted to release that tension by punching something. 

[i]Don’t look at it. Just don’t.[/I] As subtly as possible, Adele snuck the broken trinket in her hand into one of the pouches of her belt. She forced a smile as she did so, dipping her head towards [color=FF3333]Rook[/color]. “Did you get enough beauty sleep? I was just telling these two about I need someone to show me the ropes of caravan guarding. Apparently, Fluffy here is in the same boat, too.”

At this, Adele finally did what she’d wanted to try since seeing [color=CCCC00]Hain’s[/color] bobbly ears: she poked them. Really, how did it feel to have ears like that? Was it bothersome when the wind was blowing really hard? Was his sense of hearing super sensitive, and if it was, how did he deal with loud sounds up close? Was she already talking too loud? And seriously, why didn’t he have more fur on his body? Science needed to know!

Even so, she softened her face to look as innocent as possible as she smiled down at [color=CCCC00]the Lessir[/color]. “Do you mind if I call you that? It just seems to suit you.”