Broken Boulder It started off warm

feel free to skip me unless derg addresses keen <3 she won't go anywhere near or speak to anyone else!

She's still undeniably a little nervous about the whole traveling part of traveling with Derg — but it is what she'd agreed to, so she follows him without question. She finds it exciting, too, in a way; it is fun to explore, to really take her time to see things now that she doesn't have to worry so much about her safety. But she still worries. It is less intrusive than before, knowing Derg is always near, but the nagging anxiety always seems to be just enough to sour her enjoyment of the experience.
Still, there are moments she can lose herself in. Even from a distance, the sight of the massive boulder takes her breath away for a moment; the faint gold of sunlight reflected off the stony surface highlights each jagged crack, bringing her gaze down slowly to the darkness of its yawning entrance. Her gaze flicks briefly to Derg, who is some distance ahead of her, then back to the marvelous sight, eyes alight with curiosity and joy. But before she can approach him, another appears; a stranger, aged and nondescript. Nothing to fear, surely, but her heart seizes at the sight anyway, and she scrambles a few paces back with a sharp breath despite the distance already between them. She turns, ears flushing with heated shame, and starts to wander to a different part of the territory. She won't let Derg fully out of her sight, but she has no interest in his interaction with the stranger. The last thing she needs is another way to make herself look stupid.