[Here, a quirking eyebrow instead of a mouth twitching like it's not certain how wide to grin. He sips again from the cup, and the beat is something like assent.]

As to the rest, [another turn] if you're in need of a mage who isn't impossibly bullheaded - I've had luck with Fabria. And Averesch's bark is worse than his teeth. The mage; not his brother.