Finally lowered his head, looking down at the form that lays at his feet. If she was indeed one of the maidens that had gone missing, or perhaps merely their essence, it was unrecognizable now, if even considered human.  He slowly shook his head, chest quickly rising and falling as he caught his breath. "I do not hear them anymore.. I cannot feel their pain, that is all I know."  He'd take one last look at the creature, not wanting to stare at the mass that 'birthed' it. Both forms seemed to dry up quickly, with the bulbous 'mother' already turning to ash before them. "Rest would be good, let is go." He didn't seem to hold any sort of victory in his tone, isalisk's question now gnawing at the edges of his mind, even if the feeling of taking those souls in simply felt right to him.<br/><br/>The exit from the cavern was where the creature first stood, and with it gone, they were free to depart without trouble. Waiting for Isalisk to follow, he'd look back, giving a single, silent nod before he continued the small, upward climb. The path was without the strange mucus, though the darkness of the forest was still present. The cave had a few, short turns but within a few minutes they'd be free of it, instead finding themselves outside a rather large mountain. Aluren furrowed his brow, realizing there was no way they had made it to this point, the mountain that encircled the edge of the forest similar to a crescent moon. "This area was at least a days walk from where we were at the river, none of this makes sense."<br/><br/>He sighed lightly, finding himself too exhausted to question where they were at this point. They'd hike for about thirty more minutes before he felt content with their place of rest. A large tree had fallen over a small ravine, leaving a shelter of sorts that actually concealed them from anything above. "There.. it's at least dry." With a mix of trees and raised rock formations, it certainly shielded them from any hidden, ranged attacks from one side, though the front was rather exposed till one climbed a bit higher.<br/><br/>Carefully he'd descend, sword remaining in his hand as he peered within to find any sort of growths of who knows what within the shelter but seeing nothing at all. Relieved, he'd look back with a weak smile, gesturing for her to join him. "We can rest for a few hours... I am unsure if we should slee-.."He'd pause,suddenly exhaling until he was out of breath yet still remaining motionless. Several moments would pass before he'd snap too, sharply inhaling before stumbling back and quickly looking to the dragoness in a light panic. Blinking rapidly, he'd narrow his gaze at her as if tryign to figure out exactly who she was for a moment. Then, he'd look back to the shelter seemingly bewildered. "S-..sorry."