Stone Circle the away mission

He watches Tulimaq leave through brighter eyes, unable to pull his attention away even as the rogue retracts himself from the Stones. There is a subtle excitement in the skyward lift of his head, and he feels his thoughts turn from the cover of darkness to something vibrant and alive. Everything feels surreal - like the earth itself is hardly enough to ground him. 

Even when Merrit turns away, he keeps glancing back - almost expecting the man to disappear, and all his hopes with him. But every time, Tulimaq is there, if only a little smaller, and a little further away than before - but he is there, and eventually, Merrit sets his sights on the Standing Stones, and his heart on finding Valette.

That's when he sees @Greyback, perched with the rocks like some kind of a gargoyle, and Merrit practically feels his skeleton jump right out of his skin. His breath catches along with his feet, and he stumbles forward for the better half of a second before he finds his footing again. "Greyback!" he blurts. Yeesh! How long had he been watching?

His heart hammers, his chest, and he tries to regain some kind of dignity or composure, but yeah... that's pretty much gone.