It was difficult to believe that Vano could be THIS adept at pulling information from archives that required constant translating and deciphering, seeing as she had little experience with the language or culture of the True Sith, but it was apparent that her naturally quick wit and sharp intellect was exactly where it belonged. After the brilliant Mirilian gave the duo their marching orders, Yerbol left Aria to deal with gathering any supplies for their journey while he went back to their ship in order to program the coordinates and figure out their best point of entry. During the walk to the ship and subsequent entrance, he was shadowed by Taral, who wouldn't let the Champion out of his sight no matter how times Yerbol told the hound that he would be fine and "wouldn't it be better to hang out with the women?" All of his protests were met with a shake of the head and a snort, the beast padding alongside in defiance. It wasn't until they got to the cockpit that Yerbol addressed the hound since his final protest a few hundred yards back:
"I don't need your help inputting coordinates, bud. I'll be fine, honest!" Another snort.
"Taral..." He collapsed into the pilot's chair, inputting coordinates that Vano had sent to their nav panel with his left hand while his right was nudged by Taral's snout onto his head, indicating that the ferocious monster wanted his head scratched.
"We spoil you far too much. You should be out hunting bad guys and tearing weaklings in half." A half-hearted chuckle came out of his tired throat as he complied with the beast's not so subtle directive, left hand returning to his lap with business finished. Taral snorted again. 
"You honestly can feel that?" A brief nod of the head. 
"I sorely underestimate how much you can sense." He blew out a sigh, looking into the watery eyes of his once feral companion before staring out the viewing glass. 
"I haven't told her anything because I'm bloody scared." Taral's head came forward to rest on Yerbol's right thigh. 
"I'm terrified that she'll think less of me. I mean, I'm supposed to be the strong idealist, right? That one that's unflappable, the one that can give HER strength and I...I feel like I've been ripped apart. Whatever Illesia did shook me so hard. Still does." 
"Bad?" Taral throatily grunted. 
"Yeah, bad. She made me doubt myself. Not that I haven't done that before, but this was different. She threatened my existence, the core of who I am." His left hand scrunched into a fist. 
"Her talons just DUG into my mind, manipulating memories, causing me to doubt who I was loyal to, who I could trust, who I couldn't and...for a while, even my feelings for Ari." The fist tightened.
"I didn't want to see her again. Ari, I mean. Illesia dominated not only my mind, but my heart and she almost..." He chuckled briefly. 
"Sucked the ability to feel out of my being? Does that make sense?" Taral stayed quiet.
"I guess not, but that's the only way I could describe it. There was only a hunger for her. It was primal. Disgusting. And I have no clue how I'm supposed to tell her about this." He looked down at Taral.
"And no, it's not what you're thinking. No matter what that she-devil did to me,  I would never betray Ari like that. Didn't seem like Illesia was too concerned about breaking my body, but breaking the very core of who I am." There was a familiar presence he felt unmask itself behind him, someone who he hadn't intended to have hear these declarations. Taral withdrew, allowing Yerbol to face her with chagrin. 
"I ah...Taral's a good listener." He laughed nervously, looking at the ground as he cleared his throat. 
"I know you haven't asked about what happened and I was going to tell you, but...well, I didn't want you to think less of me." Drawing a bit closer, he took one of her hands in his. 
"That I was somehow inferior or couldn't hold my own against the kind of power I know we're going to come across sometime in the future...well, near future with Illesia coming up." He approached her, slipping his arms around her waist. 
"But I can promise you this: that whatever she did to me, whatever scars I have...they're going to only motivate me to keep going. I'm not backing away from this fight or any of them for that matter. We fight together. Right?"