[quote=@Regitnui]
The surface of the river solidified into icy scales, the elemental revealing more of its true nature. No longer quiet in its bed, the river encircled Lyra. "Have you any skills of which to boast?"
[/quote]

"Ah, err, maybe?" Lyra replied nervously. It didn't sound like she knew what she was going to do, and she didn't really, but her eyes were already darting around looking for a solution. The water serpent seemed to be swelling, looking less like a snake out of the water and more a giant rising from the river. The water surface was freezing, holding ShiZhen in place. Lyra's mind raced through that. If the law of physics still hold, the heat that used to be there must go somewhere. And the water that was encircling her, they were definitely water, though she had a feeling that if she was just going to stand there, they'd turn to ice with her inside of it. 

She felt some part of her panicking. There's no time to think! Stay here and you'll be popsicle!

"Yaaargh!!" Lyra shouted and ran, throwing herself against the incoming wave. And as she yelled she felt a gust of wind carrying her and banging against the water. [i]Banging[/i], that was the word the popped into her head. Like someone beating the drum, the energy carried and rippled through the water, disrupting its course. But her meager power was still no match for the entire river, and she could feel the water righting itself and catching up to her. So she ran, right onto the frozen surface of the bridge, and slid to where her friend was with the tailwind guiding her.

"Hey! ShiZhen!" Meeting up to her friend, Lyra held her hand and started to kick at the ice that was pinning her leg. "We gotta move! Can you get the ice off?"  

[@Stern Algorithm]