"Yeh, sure."
Had she still considered herself a princess, Anise would have snapped at Peck for his lack of manners, but with her time in the forest that life seemed so far away. She watched Peck head into the brush and go to a tree with fruit. She hadn't noticed there were trees with fruit, everything in this forest seemed so barren. However, she realized that she never actually looked for food either. Not since the inn which had disappeared.
She heard the crack of lightning and saw a flash. Then she heard Peck curse at a blood rat before eventually returning to Anise with fruit.
"These taste like cabbage, but they're filling. At least until we get to the outpost." He dropped the fruits into her lap, then leaned against the chewing tree with his arms crossed. "You're really thinking of bringing back the Dragon, huh?"
Anise nodded completely self-assured. "I don't think the Dragon is the reason the darkness happened." She held the Spirit Egg close. "She was betrayed. Something else started this, and now the Forest is out of balance. So out of balance that she had to pull people from," she swallowed, somewhat terrified of the power that it must have taken to do this. "Another world, or worlds. Without her, we have no hope of bringing back the sun."
She paused as she took a bite out of the fruit. Peck was right, they tasted like cabbage and nearly had the same texture as well. This truly was the worst fruit she had ever eaten. "I must meet with all of the Spirits. I must find the Kith as well. I at least owe them for what Tyaelaem did for me. I would not have survived this place without him." She took another bite from the tasteless fruit. Regardless of its lack of flavor, Anise felt that it was delicious. Then again, she nearly had forgotten was food tasted like.
She glanced at the White Lantern which Peck held and swallowed her latest bite of fruit. "May I please have the Lantern of Flight back?" She preferred to ask nicely over using the Spirit Egg to make him do it. While she was now fully aware of what she was capable of through the Dragon's power, she suspected that the cost for using it would manifest into something serious. She doubted that the Dragon was giving this power to her freely, especially with the reluctance it had while trying to subdue the Witch. She hoped that her mercy would have a positive effect with the Witch and the Dragon.