Probably to Larea's great relief, Zel hadn't noticed her earlier blushing. His mind had gone off to far away places; wandering. The segmented group waited for quite a while, occasionally throwing in brief bits of conversation, but more often staying silent.<br/><br/>Soon, or so it felt with his thoughts being so distant, night was approaching. Zel took a look at the position of the setting sun and sighed, standing up. "There's no way to make it there before nightfall now. Perhaps we'll try for our guide again tomorrow. In the mean time, we should go back to town and rest, and possibly get something to eat."<br/><br/>He spoke that so all of them could hear, then he turned his head down toward Larea and said in a less audible tone, "I'm sorry we're going back," he said. "If anything happens, if anyone says anything, just ignore them and don't make eye contact." He held out a hand and helped a slightly hesitant Larea to her feet.<br/><br/>As they began their journey, Zel had become so used to having his mask down around them, that he forgot to pull it back up on the way to town.