Before Rook could get very far, a timid hand grabbed hold of his sleeve and stopped him in his tracks. He turned to look at Adele over his shoulder, eyebrows raised in surprise. It seemed that his words had finally pierced the veil of indignation. She refused to meet his eyes and her mood had turned faster than a hurricane's gale. As she explained, Rook felt a pang of pity for her. [i]First mission out in the wild? Of course she's afraid,[/i] he thought to himself. 

"That's... quite alright," he said, looking ahead at the caravan again. He'd always thought of himself as having a way with words, but this kind of emotional response was pretty far removed from his comfort zone. He opened his mouth to say something but shut it again after a few seconds as he drew a blank. "Let's return to the caravan for now. I think master Hemming needs some placating."

He returned just in time to hear Djonn praise Marcel's virtues as a stalwart and reliable defender to Hemming. Gaivus' eyes skimmed over Rook briefly, and the blade-strapped duelist nodded in affirmation. [i]Oh, yeah, totally,[/i] he thought to himself. [i]Not that I've ever seen Marcel fight, but he doesn't need to know that.[/i] "Sure as sure," Rook added. 

Rook risked a quick peek at Adele when Hemming's attention moved away from him and gave her a reassuring smile.