❝ Lyra ? ❞ is pronounced with an hesitance that tells us that she still has to get used to referring to the woman seated opposite her with her first name. For she is a colleague, now, though Miss Reed does slip out of habit. Minerva places saucer then teacup there, on the table, near the biscuit tin. Such an action prompts a tin as bone china settles on wood, which stirs the silence in her office a moment, 'fore it settles between them anew. There are papers to grade, still; Those have been moved aside while Lyra was invited to come in, and the ink, she is sure, has since dried ( though she must check for any possible smudge ). To those, Minerva casts a distracted look. I'll have time to grade the rest later. Thus her attention returns to Lyra, a worried line appearing between brows. ❝ Is there something you want to tell me ? ❞