Jakob pulled the water off of the fire before it boiled too long. Holding it with the edges of his jacket, he placed it on the flat rock nearest his thigh. A dipper was produced from within the folds of his coat and this, he used with great aplomb in beginning to fill his and the other cup there.

For the most part, conversation went over his head, unnoticed. But when Casidey tried one of her ways, he often did take note. His eyes darted up and watched Laeris, waiting on the man's cup as well as taking careful notice of how the man responded to the girl. He was a great deal older than she, but they were elven. Such things as age did little in their times.

Why it would matter really? He wasn't sure if it would. He smirked and gave Laeris a look to indicate that time was awastin' before he turned back to finish filling Derek's cup.

The younger elf was impetuous, true. But Jakob almost enjoyed the younger male more than the others at times. Derek turned the camp about - upside down with his enthusiasm, in different ways than Casidey did. Granted, Casidey could do her own manner of damage. She had a sort of frightening hardness about her that insisted to all she was perfectly fine and they'd best be on their way.

He didn't really believe either of them. He made room for their moods and he made them tea. He watched them create and cool their havoc at different times and he might have, as time went on, even been drawn into cooling down fires. For now, however, he was content just watching.

"Tea, Casidey?" he asked, as he always did. His eyes slid from Laeris' expression to her busy, quick witted form as it settled next to his. He'd filled his cup, handed Derek his, and now there was enough for the rest. His regular portion.

There truly was something engendering peace in that moment. The sound of wakening birds intermingled with the crackling pops of the fire. They were surrounded by life, yet they were apart from it. It was a dichotomy which often intrigued Jakob. He might have discussed such a thing, had he been alone, to his attendant ghostly memories, but he was with the rest and not one of them had shown propensity to notice such things. Derek was too busy, Casidey couldn't be bothered with things she didn't understand, and Laeris had his armor to burnish.

One couldn't say Jakob was lonely. He was, instead, rather content but in a far different way than he might have been, had this journey and his companions been of his choice instead required of him.

__________________

‘What will my death be like?’ he thought- and knew at once
with abrupt certainty, that it would be just like his life:
... the same balance of bearables.
~Amis