Aeris stared up at the red sky as Dren contemplated how they would defeat this new foe. "That... is a very good question. One that I..." she paused, correcting herself, "we will figure out. But for the moment, we have more pressing issues." she reminded him, watching as he stood, telling her, with the conviction she had come to expect from him, that they had to stop him. She smiled weakly, but fondly, at him. "We will." she replied, returning her  gaze to the sky, reminding herself of all the worlds that lie beyond the horizon, out of sight. "We can't let him leave this planet. If he does, who knows what kind of havoc he will wreak on the galaxy." she said in a significantly more serious tone. "I won't let that happen." she added, this time in a much softer, but equally serious voice.<br/><br/>Her gaze flit his way to meet his brown eyes, still colored with a hint of gold, which she swore was more visible than it had been the last time she'd seen him. Why did he have to look at her with those eyes? It made things even more confusing than they already were. She could see, and feel what he did, including the fact that he wanted to, but didn't yet trust her. Not fully, anyways. She supposed she still couldn't blame her. She hadn't given him any reason not to trust her, but he still had no reason to believe he could, aside from the fact that she had made no effort to kill or harm him, and every effort to protect him. Perhaps he thought she had some ulterior motive, or that she was trying to manipulate him somehow, although she wasn't sure what he thought she would gain from doing so.<br/><br/>He spoke once more, breaking her from her thoughts. She inwardly winced a little at his particular word choice, which made it seem as though he still doubted that she was, in fact, grey, although she didn't really know what she had expected. But he brought up a good point, one that she had considered and one that she didn't have a good answer for. "They are Sith, yes. As for whether or not they would join him if given the chance, I don't honestly know. I doubt Jax would, but perhaps if the motivation is right. Titus would probably join. Rixar is hard to predict, and the other two would probably depend of the motivation." she explained, shrugging a little. "Who knows. They might surprise me. But I don't have it in me to hope for that."<br/><br/>She stood when he put her arm around his shoulder and helped her up. "Thanks." she thanked him before falling silent as he helped her walked. She did as much as she could, but sometimes her body simply wouldn't cooperate the way she wanted and he had to help her out even more. She hated feeling this weak. She hated to be in such a state to begin with, but being so weak in front of him was even more frustrating. She knew it couldn't be helped and he understood why, so he wouldn't think less of her for it, but it was still frustrating for someone who was so used to showing no weakness and doing things all on her own, by her own strength.<br/><br/>She was thankful for a moment of rest when he placed her down against a statue. The temple had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble. It was sad to imagine how much knowledge had likely been lost beneath all of that rubble. Still, what was worse was the fact that it effectively blocked the typical entry points. Never mind that the fate of their companions was presently unknown. They found a little hope, however, when the rat-like creature showed itself and, subsequently, revealed a hole, which Dren managed to enlarge at least a little. It was large enough for her to fit through without a problem, although it wouldn't be spacious by any means, but it would be a tight fit for him.<br/><br/>She looked from the hole to him and nodded when he told her it would be a tight fit. She inhaled sharply when he unexpectedly touched her cheek with his hand. It was a welcomed surprise, although it left her with more conflicting feelings, but a surprise nonetheless. She gently placed her hand over his, enjoying the warmth and comfort the simple contact brought. "You shouldn't touch me like this..." she spoke in a soft voice, barely above a whisper. There was a hint of a sad smile of her face, which wore a pained expression, and her eyes gave away how hard it was for her to say those words, and how conflicted she felt about them. "You might get my hopes up." she added the words in explanation for the previous comment.<br/><br/>She knew this was probably not the best time for these feelings. In fact, it was quite possibly the worst time for them. Still, she couldn't help the feelings that had bubbled to the surface since she'd first seen him again, nor the feelings that were reawakened by such a simple touch. She wished she could. It would be easier if she could put them aside, at least for the time being. It wasn't like she was opposed to feeling that way toward him, regardless of whether or not it was a good idea in general. She just wished it didn't hurt so much. It just made things so incredibly confusing. She didn't know how it was possible to feel so happy, yet so sad all at once. She wondered... was it hard for him, too?<br/><br/>She snapped from her thoughts when he spoke again, saying he wanted to go in and check for survivors, asking if she was able to join him or if she needed to rest. 'I should stay here and rest,' was what she should have said. Instead, the words that came out were, "I'll join you. I think I'll be okay for a little longer." She didn't really know why, but she didn't want to be left behind. Or, perhaps more accurately, she wanted to stay by his side. She would need to rest soon, but she would keep going for as long as she could. It occurred to her that pushing herself too much right now would only hurt her later on, but she ignored that thought. They had things that had to be done, and she didn't want to be the one to slow things down. She could rest once they found the others, assuming that they were still alive and not in the mood to fight.