“Hey, pipsqueak, how's it going?”Rough hands descended on to Lindsey's shoulders, gave her a quick shake, and then released her shoulders so as to give her ponytail a fairly hard tug. Scowling, Lindsey aimed a sharp elbow into her brother's side, eliciting a rather satisfactory grunt of pain. Turning to face her older brother, Lindsey offered him a smile full of teeth.
“Is there something you wanted, cretin?” Marcus laughed and shook his head. A few guys lingered nearby, waiting on him so that they could leave the great hall and get on with their day. Her brother was the opposite of Lindsey in many ways, having almost a foot of height on her as well as a more tanned, blonde look than she could ever manage. He was almost far more sociable than her, a fact which showed in his frequent entourage of fellows Lindsey found thoroughly average and forgettable. After 4 years she still couldn't remember who was who, not that she had ever really tried.
“You look tired. Again. Mother is going to kill me if you don't get sleep.” “I would, except after you had me help that fellow's owl... uhm, that Ford (@Lockerz) fellow - " Color seeped into Lindsey's cheeks as she attempted to convey a certain carelessness.
“Well, since then I've had people from every house plaguing me with some of the silliest concerns about their pets. Really, you'd think they had never heard of the library.” Although she was pale with fatigue and some frustration had crept into her voice, Lindsey wasn't overly irate – she liked helping animals, and a lot of people now owed her favors.
Her brother offered her a rather fierce scowl, muttered something about her being far too friendly, and patted her head in farewell before leaving the great hall. Grumbling about being treated like an infant, Lindsey reached across the table to snag another sausage.