"Hm?" Ureck perked up when Vincent offered him a drink, finally falling out of his high-tension perch. "Oh, thank you," he replied with a light chuckle, taking the drink. "That's awfully kind of you. Oh! And my name's Ureck, by the way."<br/><br/>Raising his cup in a grateful gesture, Ureck rested his elbow on the bar and took a sip, wincing at the powerful taste that burned down his throat. Setting the glass on the table, he took a few deep breaths before the alcohol began to warm him from the belly out. Sighing, he wrapped his fingers around the glass before pausing and glancing around at the others, watching them taking their drinks hims. That drink really hit the spot, despite the initial jolt, and Ureck found himself growing more comfortable... that is, until he raised his glass to his lips and heard:<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Sillyness wrote:</cite>“What do you know of the Grangers?”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>He almost chokes on his drink, causing the alcohol's burn to intensify to insane levels for a moment, leaving him quietly gagging to himself as he cast Lilium a stunned glare.<span style="font-style: italic">How the hell does she know about them?! I KNOW she's not from around here, so how did she pick up on them?</span>It couldn't have been Sherani, she had been near him the whole time, and there was no one else in the alleyway to hear their conversation... wait a minute.<br/><br/>After a few minutes of surprised stares, his eyes switched from the kitsune to the fox, which had apparently slipped in imperceptibly and taken a seat beside her. It finally began to click for him.<span style="font-style: italic">Ohhh, damn it all! I should have known. She's obviously not just another traveler, why wouldn't her companion be out of the ordinary either? Still, it begs the question how they could have exchanged all that informa- Bah, that's not the problem! She called me out! Now what am I going to do?!</span><br/><br/>Outside of his mental storm, the silence that fell on the bar was beginning to grate on him. He made no attempt to hide his stare from Lilium, who seemed preoccupied with his fox. As he did, his actions began to seem more and more ridiculous. She was already tipped off about the Grangers apparently, and most likely she knew of his affiliations already. And if she didn't she'd probably find out soon, he mused as he fingered the cog-shaped earring bolted into his ear. Yet, given her previous inquiry, she probably didn't know the whole story, and it would come to little good to let her do something she might regret. Sherani was right. He should have just gotten it over with before letting it fray his nerves so.<br/><br/>Hopping to his feet, he took a few shaky steps around the bar towards Lilium, his apprehension written all over his face. Words ran frantically through his mind, trying to contemplate how best to say it. He was just barely aware of Vincent announcing that he didn't know by the time he found himself standing right beside her. His mouth open and tried to form words, but Ureck kept changing his words around before finally settling on (perhaps a bit too loudly) "I'll tell you something important if you promise not to eat me." He was oblivious to how idiotic he sounded, the look on his face easily showing how fear had been responsible for his odd behavior.