Except, as it happened, his initial estimate of being alone was wrong. Not a minute had passed since he sighed in relief before a cheery voice could be heard: "Oh, hey, awake now are we?" Akala was forced to startle again, this time making a louder exclamation.
"Wh-Who's there?" he asked, looking around furtively.
Thankfully, the stranger had no desire to be cryptic, and revealed himself readily. He slunk a little out of the shadows and grinned, looking slightly sheepish. Akala looked him over with a cautious eye, but the stranger was no cause for alarm after all. He was a rangy boy, dressed in scruffy clothes, and looked to be in his late teens at the oldest. A guitar was slung over one shoulder, and a box of some sort was hooked to his belt at the opposite hip. What he was doing in the caverns was anyone's guess.