[ His gaze follows it, not completely by choice, and he takes a beat to just absorb the full picture; the size of the furradile, the number of them she's already dispatched, the fact that she doesn't seem particularly winded from the effort.......

But it's a quick analysis, and then his attention is back fully on her face again, and her questions. ]

Reconnaissance. [ Said easily, and he removes a small, tightly-rolled sheet of paper from one sleeve. Unfurled, it appears to be a hand-written copy of several tasks in the general vicinity. ] I wanted to make a personal assessment of each of the tasks available, before I decided where to expend my resources. [ Nodding slightly at the lake. ] I have [ oh so many words he could use, shouldn't use ] ...an associate who would have handled this particular task, had it made the 'cut', so to speak.

[ A fluid gesture taking in Mipha and her catch, ] Skilled direct competition aside, I don't think this task would have been my first choice.