Raven didn't necessarily look hurt, but instead seemed offended when Ivan slapped him. "Hey,  at least now we're moving kid. But here's a tip: if you're tired, lay on your back. Humans are naturally buoyant. And this water is fast enough to keep us afloat as long as we maximize our buoyancy... And maybe we'll end up somewhere else downstream where the mud creature is not... Okay, you're right. This was a stupid idea. Remaining up in a bloody tree that wasn't going anywhere was a much better plan. A tree which, as you saw, the demon could make fall over. Yep, we'd totally still be alive right now if we just stuck there."

Raven then noticed that without swimming, it was difficult to stay afloat with all the metal stuff he had on including his gauntlets and chain mail jacket. Since Raven knew there was no way he was going to swim all the way downstream, he took these things off and threw them to the side. They landed near the stream. This necessary action only irritated Raven more, as he lay on his back in the water and floated downstream, carried along by the current.