Lorne couldn't help but snicker at her implication that they had to protect him. He supposed it was true enough; he wouldn't be a very good soldier of fortune if his employer got turned into a pin cushion on his watch. But it didn't mean he was going to throw his life on the line for the little shit if he didn't prove himself worth his salt. He didn't have the same sense of honor Thalia had, apparently. **"We can try, but the best soldiers can't save someone from bravado. I'd know, being someone with ample amounts of it."** He joked as they paced the corridors leading up to the mess hall. 

It was a relief of sorts to know Thalia thought well of the few comrades she had met. He did have to question how well he'd get along with them, seeing as though she was far more accepting than he in all likeliness, but he'd deal with them as they came. **"Good to know. With luck, I'll make it out this dinner without anybody reachin' for their swords."** A lighthearted remark, if anything. With the smell of food wafting down the stony path, he could only assume they were closing in on the dining hall. The sound of ambient conversation and cutlery only reinforced that assumption. Ever the detective, he soon found this correct as they reached the doorway to the hall.

He nearly made for the door when Thalia paused and blocked his way, apparently trying to reassure him on the princess and their 'fearless leader' as Lorne had heard him called. He shrugged his shoulders. **"I appreciate your optimism, but I don't think either of 'em are gonna wanna talk to me at any point in this lil' campaign. I'm just a lowlife from the north, not the type of guy that bumps elbows with the high class."** It was a grim way of thinking, but it was true. Southern lords certainly weren't as forgiving as the Khans. Seeing how nervous she seemed about it, he reached to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. **"Don't worry about it, though. I ain't gonna pull anything with your lord or lady if things go south. Even a low life has self preservation."** With that, he turned towards the mess hall door and opened it, gesturing for her to go in first with a playfully exaggerated bow. **"Ladies first, madam knight."**