Cloud raised his eyebrow slightly at the response of the individual sitting before him. 

Though her cloaked and hooded figure were enigmas at first, it was easy enough to figure out her gender from her voice, and her age from the graying hair sticking out of the hood; and to cap that, she looked rather frail. 

In spite of all that, something in the back of his mind told him not to mess with her; and after all these years, Cloud had learned that his senses were his best friend in every strange new land he traveled to. So he always made sure to pay heed to their warnings -- which was quite fine, since he wanted little to do with the woman besides asking for some directions, and perhaps occupy a side of the tree trunk for a bit and grab his forty winks.

But her looks and bearings aside, what interested him the most was the mention of...

"Undead...?" He muttered, a little louder this time, as a smirk found its way to his face.

Cloud closed his eyes momentarily.

The word brought back many memories. Memories of old times and new -- of encounters with undead, [i]born[/i] dead, and puppets -- lots and lots of [i]puppets[/i].

He sighed softly, and opened his eyes, and allowed them to focus on the part of the elderly lady's face which was visible.

"Ah yes... undead." He said.

Where he came from, undead were not objects of fear, but rather something to be eliminated as a mere hindrance, much like the rest of the monsters which infested the lands. Subduing undead was all in a days work, and one would barely get a chance to notice whether they were any different from the rest of the monsters. 

But this land was different -- there were undead hunters, witch hunters, heretic hunters -- the land fostered many different kind of hunters and organisations. Their customs were all strange and foreign to him. But they mattered little.

The mention of undead also brought back memories of blood, so much blood that the dark red was the only color prevalent in his mind's eye for a bit. Vampires, necrodragons, the land where he came from had them all, and it had a certain someone who simply, would, not, [i]die[/i].

But that was all in the past.

Looking away, Cloud balanced the unlatched sword against the tree, and let his weary body lean back against it as well, slightly further away from the lady, before eventually letting himself relax in a sitting position.

"Shouldn't [i]you[/i] be more worried about undead..." He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, but not exactly in the form of a question.

Though his mind remained slightly wary, his body and muscles had already rated the woman as harmless for the time being. So he leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes momentarily.

"My business is in the villages." He said. "Perhaps.... you know the way there.."