<blockquote class="uncited"><div>"Oh, yeah... Yeah! C'mon over! I've got plenty a' room!"</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Sherani's words had barely left her lips before Ureck had scampered to her side, blanket and other possessions clutched tightly in his hands. The delight he felt was clear on both the smile that beamed on his face and the swift wagging of his tail, which continued to persist even after he set up his sleeping spot next to the shifter's. It was just about then he caught his own eagerness, and in the hopes it wouldn't be misinterpreted he attempted to play if off by sitting down on his bedding and reclining back coolly. Nonetheless, his eyes still beamed his geniality in the flicker of the fire as he turned his gaze to Sherani.<br/><br/>"Thank you very much miss Sherani," the collie spoke softly. "Some companionship makes me feel much better about traveling all the way out here."<br/><br/>A small sigh escaped his lips. "I wish I could have assisted you in setting up the site. It makes me feel a bit guilty having you do it all on your own. But alas, my skills in this environment are... lacking."<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Sillyness wrote:</cite>“Oh no thanks. I’ll sleep in my tent tonight with Rak. Though, in the act of us getting to know one another I should spend a bit more time with you two”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Something about the kitsune's words abruptly brought Ureck's happy gestures to a halt, replaced partly by a slight sideways glance and a pensive expression. Her idea of teamwork seemed so much different than his own. While he had dove headfirst into the prospect of getting closer to his companions, she almost felt as if she was pushing them away, like they were just as much obstacles as any enemy they would have to face. Even in offering to spent time with them, she did it like it was business, intended to fulfill some goal and get them out of the way. Alas, maybe HE was being the naive one, and perhaps he had been so deprived of comrades in his misguided schemes that he was too ready to accept those with similar aspirations.<br/><br/>But it just didn't feel right to him. They were a team, and if they were going to work together they would have to understand and internalize what make each other tick. But how could he get them to understand that? His mind drifted to Lilium and Sherani's incident earlier that day and immediately went to work on it. If they were going to be on two ends of the scale, would he have to be the one to link them together? If they were going to be a team, would he have to be the glue that held them together? Unless they patched things up soon, that role would become a very real possibility for him, but it was nothing short of a daunting task in his eyes...<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>“They say every action has an equal and opposing reaction. I can’t help but wonder if the worlds opposing reaction to Lesik is us or if us going after him with create some new opposing reaction.”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Lilium's question took him out of his thoughts only to plunge him back into them. Her question seemed like a natural one for them to ask, as he was sure they had felt such currents running amongst them since they embarked on their trip. For him, the question had been quite pervasive to say the least, one he had rolled through his mind during their long walk from Espen. On the surface, it seemed like they were working in response to the evil the wolf had rendered, out to repair his damages and pay him in kind. Yet what was to say he wasn't working to send them their fair share of strife in their direction?<br/><br/>His pensive mood was soon again broken, but this time from a rather unexpected source. Despite his admiration for the shifter, he had never thought of her to be one for philosophical thinking and metaphors, yet as she spoke about her experiences with her father the collie was nothing short of stunned. Her ideas showed a remarkable amount of insight, enough to send the clockwork in Ureck's mind turning in a completely different way. By the time she finished, his mind was already wrapping around all sorts of ideas that her words had brought on.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>"Geez, listen ta me sound like I know what I'm talkin' about. I probbly got half of that wrong."</div></blockquote><br/><br/>Ureck cast a tired smile at her. "To tell you the truth, Miss Sherani, I agree with you."<br/><br/>His fingers wove together as he folded his hands, his eyes drifting into the bright glow of the fire. "Every day we throw rocks and make ripples, and because we all live in this same world our ripples all flow across the same lake and make it swirl and bubble like a puddle on a rainy day. But a lot of times, other people's ripples can get into our little parts of the lake, changing it whether we want it to or not. A lot of us spend our times throwing our own little rocks and keeping everyone else's ripples at bay..."<br/><br/>His gaze seemed to intensify in the fire. "But now Lesik and the Grangers have thrown one mighty big rock and made one mighty big ripple. And only by joining our ripples together can we possibly make a wave big enough to block his. It's ironic, that we spend so much time keeping others' ripples away when our true strength lies in bringing them into one..."<br/><br/>After pausing for a few moments, Ureck finally snapped out of his pensive state and peered up at his companions. Although barely visible in the dim light, the insides of his ears flushed a faint red as he diverted his gaze into the ground. "I... I am sorry. I have a bad habit of letting my mind wander..."