The Dragon was unmoved. Anise would feel the cold emptiness again -- the expanse of indifference that stretched on inside the egg -- but it took what she said into consideration. It still wanted the red Lantern, wanted that fire and destruction, because it belonged to the Dragon. There was no such thing as sadness or empathy -- not yet.

Reus struggled to push his head and forelegs onto the shore of the river, assisted by Anise, but laid down immediately. His face was a horrific mess of charred fur and burned-away flesh. One eye was fused shut, the other only squinted. He breathed, though, and every indication was that he would recover.

Morly beached the raft alongside Anise, and for the first time in years he stepped off onto solid ground. He shifted his weight a little, unsteadily standing on a surface that wasn't constantly moving, then dragged a jug off the raft and laid it down in the gravel beside Anise. [b]"Here's shiny water from the firefly grotto,"[/b] he explained, pointing at the jug. [b]"That'll heal him right up."[/b] The kith patted Reus gently on the head.  [b]"I'll go get the scaredy lady okay? Somebody already burneded the forest once."[/b]

The little boy wobbled unsteadily across the brush and into the forest, staring around him through the eyes of his white frog mask. [b]"Hey fire lady!"[/b] he hollered, his hands cupped over his mouth. [b]"Are you a Pirate? It's okay if you are, ya know, I'm a neutral party."[/b] He'd heard the witch call him that once before, and he wasn't sure what that meant but he assumed it was good. [b]"I'm Morlyenaim the Riverkeeper, but everybody calls me Morly, what's your name?"[/b]