[quote]"If I'm going to be on my own," she announced louder than necessary, interrupting her own thoughts, "I'm gonna need some more supplies." She looked over her shoulder back at Oseely. "Know anyone willing to lend me some?"[/quote]

A slow, white grin spread on Oseely's face. "Now you're speaking my language."

He crawled to his feet in his slow and nimble way, waved a hand to snuff the fire, and followed her out under the starry sky. No trace of the witch-made storm was now visible; all signs of battles were gone. He took a deep breath of ashen air, and he pointed over the ridge.

"That way you'll find the Brigroot Tribe -- they're a little sect of Kith that like burrowing and stockpiling shinies. Most of what they've got is old crap -- statues and coins and jewels -- a dragon's hoard of useless shit, but some of it might have some powerful runes. They stockpile most everything else, too: food, leather, clothes, weapons -- bone and wood mostly -- and masks. They harvest those damn masks from the trees every moon-cycle, there's one for every forest-power you can imagine. If it's survival yer lookin' for, personally I'd start there. But --"

He pointed in the opposite direction. "Obviously ya don't want to go back to Gryphon Roost -- they'll recognize your friend here and slaughter you quick for stealin' her. But this way, that's the pirate settlement of Oyagun Nai, down at the seaside. They're the fishers and boaters -- but they're also the source of all the gears and gadgets and newfangled pipes and boilers ya might have seen rusting in the woods. You seen those clockwork trees? The ones that held up the Lanterns. They were feeding the Lanterns' power into generators at Oyagun Nai, until the Sun Children severed them. I'd bet the whole settlement's in a state right now, with the power source gone." He grinned to himself, imagining the poor pirates running around like headless chickens in the dark, they'd got so used to having Lantern-powered streetlights. "So if it's tech you want, or luxuries for your new personal fortress, that's the way." He had a thought, and tapped his chin. "They'd probably pay well for a Lantern, if you had one to trade. They generally don't give a flyin' shit about the Dragon or the Lords and Ladies -- at least I've never heard a prayer or a peep from them."

[quote]Anise grabbed the Spirit Egg out of the air with her free hand and extended it out towards the Lady of the Pond. "Come, she missing parts of her, but even then you can still talk with her." She smiled warmly. "Don't be afraid, I promise that I won't let her go too far."[/quote]

The Dragon was vast and empty in response to Anise's plea -- for awhile it seemed it had not heard her, or simply did not care. For a moment, Anise would feel the Dragon's presence withdraw even further away from her, and she was shut out of the Dragon's thoughts.

A moment later, that wall was withdrawn, the vast emptiness returned, and a slow warmth enveloped Anise's heart. The Dragon was pleased.

The Lady of the Pond stared emotionlessly at Anise. Her expression never wavered -- but she occasionally glanced to the Spirit egg; her confidence was wavering. Finally, the egg was offered to her with a chance to speak personally -- safely -- with the Dragon that had been the subject of terror for so long.

For a long moment, the Lady did nothing. She set Anise with a stone-cold glare and a porcelain face, challenging this [i]girl[/i]'s audacity to step into matters that did not concern her. Her eyes drifted to the egg again -- and she stared at it, glared it down, threw all her hate at it. The egg did nothing; the Dragon did not react. The warmth remained around Anise's heart, and the Dragon merely waited.

The Lady of the Pond raised her thin hand -- paused -- then touched her fingers to the egg's shell. Her brows furrowed curiously; she had expected a bolt of lightning, a drain of her power, something evil and life-threatening -- but there was nothing. Only emptiness.

She pressed her hand completely against the shell, and she strained with her spirit to find the Dragon within the nothingness that expanded within the egg.

Warmth flowed through her. Anise could not hear nor sense what was being said between the Dragon and its child, but slowly color returned to the Lady's skin. Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears -- though what emotion caused those tears was yet unknown. She stared, transfixed, at the egg, while the lake glowed brightly and lapped at her feet.

"I am . . ." she whispered. A small, sad smile broke the smoothness of her warming face. "I will." She took a step back, removing her touch from the egg, and she breathed normally again. She seemed a very different person, now: her posture was not so rigid, her skin not so cold. Her eyes were bright when she looked to Anise -- yet she raised her chin in an attempt to resume her status. "I will believe, for now, that the Dragon may be prepared to return. The quickest way to do that will be to speak to my sister, the Lady of the Stone. She holds the sun hostage and gives the Lord of Shadow his power. If he were to fall, the Dragon could rise again."