While Ariel had convinced herself to hold off on speaking to Rukeewei, he was a bit more impatient. He had skipped his breakfast entirely and persuaded his brother to watch the inn for a short time while he sought out Ariel. He entered her shop before she opened for the day, unlocking the door with his copy of her key, and made his way nervously upstairs. He was quiet as he stopped just outside her door, and paused to collect his thoughts. 

Rukeewei had been almost as sleepless as Ariel the previous night, as he had spent most of it thinking on every angle of this situation that had been suddenly dropped on them. He thought about it at every angle he could. At some points, he went back to feeling fear at the thought of lycans in his inn, while at others, he felt nothing but sympathy for Ariel about everything that had happened to her sister. The thoughts of what he would do for his brother if he were in similar trouble kept him from being too angry at Ariel for lying to him for so long. After a few moments, he opened the door slowly to Ariel having her breakfast withing. "Ariel...dear, I...think I'm ready to talk."