If Utena had time to stop and wince, she would have. She didn't know what had happened, but she could tell it was abysmal without Taura having to say the word, even.

"There's a ruined town out here somewhere," she answered, glancing back over her shoulder at the sound of a bird's scream in the distance. "And a river. The river leads to the town, I think. That's where he was hiding out a few days back."