Ah, excellent! This was turning out to be a brilliant meeting with the exalt! Marianne freaking out to his right! Angry sisters busting in to his left! Rylan tried to resist the urge to throw his arms up in the air in exasperation.

Granted that Marianne's outburst unnerved him far more than he cared to admit, especially since she seemed to be in a particularly..._delicate_ state of mind right now. Rylan sank further back into the group, trying to distance himself from the dark mage who looked just about ready to burst from what Jerod had doubtlessly meant to be an innocent inquiry. Making a mental note to avoid ever asking about her eyepatch, he shot a quick, wary look over to see how the older man was faring. He'd step in to help, but uh...Jerod looked like he was doing okay, right? 

Right. He'd be fine. Probably. 

At least it seemed like she had settled down. That was a relief. Rylan felt his shoulders--which he hadn't even realized were tensed--sag slightly as his muscles relaxed, a small sigh escaping his lips. Gods, they'd definitely have to tread carefully around this girl.

All the craziness aside, Rylan was genuinely surprised by the revival of the Shepherds, especially so since Jacob had just taken a heavy burden on his shoulders by becoming the new captain. _For a kid, he's sure accepted quite the responsibility,_ He mused, ignoring the fact that he was a mere few years older than him, _Though he seems capable enough. I suppose only time will tell._