This is an outstanding detail, the kind that tells you everything you need to know about a person. She’s sweet, loving, and compassionate. We already know she’s smart and strong from the prior paragraph. Well done.
My mind flashed between her two faces: waving at me from behind the glass, smiling and excited; sitting at arrivals, biting her lip like she did before she cried
Surviving abuse leaves no soul unscathed, and this is especially true of Ptielieren, an elite elvish bodyguard involuntarily integrated into an aversive-heavy culture. Strength can exist absent a ringing victory and weakness does not signify defeat.
