Drest couldn't keep the smile that spread across his face hidden, despite his best efforts to hide it. Cara seemed like a joy, and he was pleased that she had opened up to him. Puzzled, but pleased. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine." the young man replied, shooing Zurna away with a wave of his hand, "Sorry, we're fine." he corrected, glancing down at the girl in his lap and smiling at her.
Less than a minute later, he was trembling with the effort to contain his laughter. Yes, he was probably causing the girl on his lap to worry about him, but the conversation between Cara and 'Aunt Z' had been both adorable and hilarious. Zurna's own reaction wasn't helping him calm down. His conversations at home had never been like this, even when Mother was alive. So Drest was finding it hard to keep a straight face. "Now...now..." he gasped, coughing a few times to catch his breath and prevent himself from laughing. "There's plenty of pretty things that are brown!" he eventually managed to say, grinning down at Cara.
"That elk that your aunt killed is brown. The soil in the land where I come from is brown as well, and lots of different crops are grown in it. Also..." he paused, thinking. "I know there are some pretty gemstones that are brown. So if you don't like to compare your eyes to the colour of the swamps, why don't you compare it to something else in this land that is brown? There must be lots of things that are that colour, right?" he asked, looking over at Zurna for some clarification. She knew the area better than himself, after all.