"Do not do that."

"… What why?"

"It is intrusively unpleasant and brings back memories she would prefer stay forgotten."

"Right. Sorry," he says. "… How much is this a 'you should not test with other ways to make it present'? Or is it okay so long as I don't– do that?"

"Just stay out of our head, you can keep experimenting otherwise."

"… I mean, I wasn't trying to go in your head and I don't think I did other than it apparently being– weird in some way, but okay. I'll just… test on Areil, then."

"I'm Aleir," says the keriol.

"Right, yeah, that," he says.

"...Do you want a name?"

"I'm not particularly feeling the lack of one."

"Mmm."

Onwards through the weird cave they go, then?

The bats seem to have settled at the edges, apart from one another and not doing anything of note.

Onwards through the weird cave.

"You should do some of your lumen stuff to make it brighter."

He does so. Then raises the brightness and makes sure to keep it moving along with them. It's currently amber.

"Any preference for color?" he asks, causing Aleir to sigh.

"This is fine."

Then they can walk along in the cave for a short while. He gestures a few things to Aleir, gets confirmation on what sorts of things they convey, finds out a few more things not to do and gets a bite for one of them, and then the cave opens to a sort of spring.

There's no obvious way for water to get into the spring, just for it to leave, and in rather large quantities too, but it doesn't seem to be lowering in water level at all.

Thario observes this with a bit of a flat look.

"Maybe it comes up from below?"

So he peers over the edge to look around at the spring.

It's not that deep – he can see to the bottom. There does not in fact seem to be any point where the water can come up from below.

"Yeah, maybe," he says doubtfully.

"Yet another inexplicable phenomenon. Wonderful."

"I feel like this place is going to make me curious about so many more things and provide me with no explanation."

"Sounds like fun," says the animal draped around his shoulders.

"I don't think any of it actually means anything."

"Inexplicability for inexplicability's sake."

Nod.

Would they like to go swimming in the weird spring thing? Or would they like to go around that rock at the other end of the cavern that's very neatly blocking their view of something?

… Is that an ominous glow?

...Should she be worried about the ominous glow?

It doesn't seem like it's doing anything dangerous, and her danger sense isn't tingling or whatever, so probably not?

Thario decides to walk that way.