[ Alan watches her, part of him wondering where she goes when her gaze seems to shift away to the side or simply away from him. He figures she's just thinking, pondering things over; he's been known to do the same, after all. ]

Confirmation, yeah. Proof that I was right to be afraid of the dark. Maybe monsters aren't lurking in the dark all the time, but there are monsters. [ He smiles at her statement about how he's learned the role light plays in banishing the darkness. For just a moment, he looks relaxed. Unbothered. Maybe even untroubled. But it won't last, because the story isn't finished. For now, though, it's a reprieve, and Alan's grateful for it. ]

Maybe we'll just do some traveling to both cities and small towns. We'll see a little bit of everything. Or if your friend tells you to go somewhere, I'll go with you. As long as you want me around, anyway.

[ He feels something begin to tug at him too now, something trying to pull him away from these idle moments and push him back towards the story. He stubbornly tries to resist. He's not ready yet. ]

Yeah, it is. [ He knows a little more now about what happens when it gets dark, but he wants to push back against that. ] What if we found a place to stay in for awhile? The car, or a cabin... [ It's not a foolproof plan. The story could find ways to reach them in any location. ] We could talk more, and try to figure out what we're going to do next. Or we don't even have to do that. We could just talk... about ourselves.

[ It's his way of saying he wants to learn more about her, if she's willing to share more with him. ]