[quote]"I'm okay," Morly huffed grumpily, puffing his cheeks. "I have a thick head."[/quote]

Anise smiled at that comment although Morly wouldn't be able to see it thanks to the hawk mask. The fire didn't seem to be growing any larger which was good; this forest didn't need another fire to burn it down. The condition that Reus was in concerned her, but he seemed to be moving fine. Anise hoped that he didn't stress himself out too hard. She noticed that the raft was moving faster than it should, which left her a bit impressed and quite happy as she wanted to quickly journey to the lake.

[quote]"Why are girls stupid?" he said finally, unable to contain his complaints. "They just ruin everything!"[/quote]

This caused Anise to frown. Things went well despite the dangers and she had successfully saved his life. Whatever caused him to say this made her feel unappreciated. However, she decided to say nothing as to not agitate the Kith further.

[quote]"They steal stuff and go running off and they say they're gonna come back with glowfruits and they never do!"[/quote]

Now she felt simply uncomfortable around the frustrated Kith. This one incident really had an impact. It was understandable, she guessed as he did just go through a life threatening situation, but he was alright now and it wouldn't happen again. She hoped that this ride would be done sooner than later. Just as she finished that thought, the raft came to a stop.

On either side of the river there were runes carved into the cliffs and the water in front of her opened up wide. She clasped her hands together in an expression of joy. They were at the lake! She could see in the distance was a shipwreck and a gryphon. It was armored and saddled, which told her that it must be a tamed creature. Although hunger wouldn't stop it from attacking her if it really wanted to. She then listened to Morly's explanation.

[quote]"If we cross this barrier the witch will get us," Morly whined loudly. Whatever pep talk Anise had given him before had been completely erased by his more recent experiences. "I don't get why we're even doing this. This is stupid. I'm not doing it. I'm not. You can borrow my raft if you have to but I'm not gonna be gryphon food, okay?"

A part of him just wanted to show off, but mostly the sight of the expanse of water had scared him. Morly put down the pole and immediately stepped off the edge of the raft, onto the water. He stood easily on the water's surface, his arms folded in refusal. "I'm the river master and peacekeeper," he informed her. "That barrier is war."[/quote]

She nodded as she listened to him. "I understand, Morly, thank you. I won't force you into danger. I don't want you to get hurt on my behalf anyways." She then realized that Reus wouldn't be able to follow her much further as he couldn't fit on the raft and she imagined swimming in the lake was a dangerous action. "I will be borrowing your raft, thank you." By now she had accepted the fact that each mask had its own unique powers and was mostly unfazed by Morly stepping onto the water.

She grabbed the pole and began to awkwardly push the raft along. She didn't want to waste anymore time accomplishing her task. Morly made this look easier than it actually was, since it actually took a fair amount of effort to get the raft going, but once it started it only took the occasional push after that. Even then, it didn't go nearly as fast as when Morly was in control.

Once Anise got further into the lake she stopped the raft slowly. She kept the pole sturdy and pulled free the chain and stone that held the Lady of the Pond. "We're home." She took great effort into snapping the chain and then tossed the broken item into the lake just as Wendetae requested. This would be her first step into helping the Forest recover balance. She rubbed her hands to sooth them as they now ached from the metal of the chain pressing into her hands. She waited to see what happened next, all the while hoping that nothing came at her from the sky or the water.