[center][h3][color=#b3ccff]Esben Mathiassen[/color][/h3][/center]
[hr]

Even without having a clear view of her face, it was remarkable just how expressive Ciradyl could manage to be; the voice was obvious enough, but her mood was remarkably easy to discern as it shifted back and forth from the body language that accompanied it. Squirming under the combined gaze of all the rest, shifting back and forth–locking up like she'd been struck as soon as Hien's entrance became obvious, and, slowly, relaxing as first Esben and the others all spoke in turn.

[color=#b3ccff]"You see?"[/color] he whispered as Rudolf began to speak, leaning back over her shoulder once more. [color=#b3ccff]"Most of us are too familiar with this way of doing things to hold too much of [i]that[/i] against you."[/color] He fell silent again as a flash of light caught his eye, reflected off of Rudolf's knife...as the swordsman observed his own reflection in it for a moment. [color=#b3ccff][i]Hmm...[/i][/color]

He turned back away from the rest, leaving Miina to give her comfort to Ciradyl, heedless of Eve having moved up next to him except to continue keeping any important information on the papers out of [i]her[/i] sight, and pulled his buckler back off of his belt. While the outside had long since lost its polish through use, the reverse, especially beneath his grip, still maintained its mirror finish. He set the papers face-down in his lap, held the buckler [i]just[/i] so...

Brought up a free hand, shaking soot and who-knew-what-else out of his hair as best he could. The dust and grime showed just as clearly in his blond locks as in Rudolf's stark white; he'd expected it on all his clothes, certainly, though despite his own relative lack of involvement in the fighting proper–and the amount of time he'd spent with his hood completely up to block the tell-tale shine of his hair–it seemed it had gotten all over.

Well, at least Ciradyl was well coated in Mizutani's blood, so he wasn't [i]terribly[/i] worried about that. Galahad was busy pointing out what none of the rest of them had, yet, as well, and with everything else he doubted that she'd even noticed; if anything, she was likely more concerned with how much any of the rest may speak up in regards to the astoundingly poor decision to try using them all as a distraction rather than actually trying to work alongside them.

Still, though...

[color=#b3ccff]"Eve?"[/color] He hung his head forward a bit, turning so that the girl could get a look at the back of his head. [color=#b3ccff]"Not too messy in the back, am I?"[/color]