The rest of the ride was silent. Lotor cursed the silence. It only seemed to fill his already anxious mind with more disquiet. As he stood behind the princess and watched the expanding horizon of the planet they were heading towards, he could hardly contain his racing mind. Guilt continued to gnaw on him as Lotor ran the previous incident through his mind over and over. It would do nothing to change the situation they were in, he vainly reminded himself.

He ran his sharp gaze over the bleeping interior of the lion… "Blue" …. The novelty of riding as passenger in the lion was not lost on him. He felt a hint of excitement rush through him and it nearly chased away his personal regrets of the earlier happening. The space was larger than he had initially estimated. It was a sparse cockpit with several displays and some controls but otherwise filled only with clean lines. The pilot's chair, now occupied with a nervous Allura, was large, seemingly engulfing her form but not dwarfing it. Absently, Lotor wondered if the lions could evolve their controls… even such mundane things as the seats… to their present Paladin.

Lotor slid his gaze over her. He did not… If he were honest with himself could not… watch her as she deftly piloted the lion into the grey atmosphere. The clouds concealed high, snow-peaked mountains with jagged faces of black stone. The sky was a crisp blue and the feet of the majestic highlands were swathed in dark fog. It was almost breath-taking in its rugged beauty, but his eyes darted to the main display when a small ping echoed through the cockpit. Allura did not seem troubled, however, and answered the hailing with a string of codes typed into a holographic keyboard.

She hoped she was doing decently in hiding the tenseness she still felt. Indeed, the princess could feel his heavy presence standing behind her. She hadn't felt him staring anymore but he seemed to be somewhat off… She shook the thoughts away from her as a strong voice crackled over the comms. She almost sighed in relief when she recognised it was Shiro.

"Allura"— A ripple of static filled the air for a second followed by clarity once more. "We are tracking you as best we can, but the interference from the mountains is giving our sensors a rough time. Please, use caution and if you need back up for any reason, go above the peaks," he ordered.

Allura nodded. "Understood. Thank you, Shiro." She decidedly added, "We should not be too long. It seems there is nothing here."

"That may be. I trust your judgement princess. It is a strange planet, I am sure there is something." Shiro took a deep breath before continuing… but another voice broke in before he could speak.

It was Lance. "I trust you too. The universe probably didn't send us here for nothing."

Allura felt a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth. "How very comforting, Lance," she replied dryly. Her smile communicated how much of the sarcasm was a lie.

Shiro's baritone took over once again. "Lance may have a point. In any case, stay safe as you search."

"I will," she promised before closing the line.

"There is a ridge where we can land to the north…" He stopped himself. "That is, if you wish to land, princess." A massive feeling of unease was blossoming deep in his chest. Watching the way they changed her… It was… He set his jaw, pushing the feelings into the abyss. He had had enough for today.

Allura glanced up at him. His tone had changed significantly but when she met his eyes the golden globes were soulless. Confused, but not wishing to question his erratic feelings right now, she merely replied. "Oh, yes." She turned her eyes outside and immediately noticed the landing space he had pointed out. Skilfully, she set Blue down.

She leaned back into the chair and quietly blew out a breath. The apprehension in the air was going to make her sick. Tentatively, she wondered if bringing Lotor with her had been a good idea. She twisted in her seat when she heard his boots click away. She only caught a glimpse of his white hair as he left her all alone.

A glimmer of anger at his moodiness shot through her, but she stifled the feelings. He is just feeling guilty for earlier. At least he felt something from it, she reasoned. Still… It was not what she wished to be dealing with during this mission. Taking another deep breath, she stood to go after him.