Rose from the River considers the god’s words carefully as she works the flock back through the gap in their pasture fence. So rapt in thought is she that the goat almost manages to sidle right past her to make a second run at that tether. Almost, but not quite; one hand takes the goat’s horn again and gently rotates him in a circle so that he once again faces the paddock that the herd is inexorably filling once more.

“One thing still amazes me every day,” she says, finally. “The hidden name of this world is Freedom. I am free, certainly, but not only that, [i]they[/i] are free.” She gestures to the technomancer and the Princess, still wiggling in the mint leaves. “The heavy yoke that lay on [i]everyone[/i] has been broken into pieces for all of us. It guided them down furrows of profit motive and market optimization, and we followed as the plow follows the ox. And now? The only question is not whether something is profitable to do, but whether something is [i]right[/i] to do.”

She lifts up a particularly troublesome little lamb in one arm; he bucks and squirms but is as helpless as Princess Chen, a comparison that would make the girl quite sheepish. “And yet how are we to decide what is right? We are set in our ways, things like us. If we think ourselves wise, we will either run in the furrows or play between them. I thought I was doing the latter when I was unearthed and rose to serve at the right hand of a Princess, but I could not escape the furrow. I went from serving one master to another, and it took a new breath for me to realize I was stuck on that same path.” She manages to get the lamb over the fence, even though he puts his hooves up on a slat and bleats indignantly at her upon reaching the ground.

Rose from the River meets the eyes of his mask. She no longer hides her nature, despite the risk she runs from being recognized by those who might seek Qiu’s favor. She has had enough of concealing herself through changing shape for one lifetime; now she does it to reveal herself. Her eyes are careful, and requires intent for her gaze to not be predatory by instinct, but she manages. See how she relaxes and does not tense for a strike. See how she patiently guides a ram’s head away from chewing at her belt. This is a creature that has learned how to change both inside and out, even if she is not always able to change completely.

“I require no payment, Watchman,” she says, simply. “Guiding the flock back to safety is worthy in and of itself, I think. The road is meant to be traveled, and these travelers... yes, allowing them passage feels right. This wood was not broken in the fulfillment of the Way.” She kneels and takes the broken fencing from where it lies. She could set it right, if she had the nails. She does not ask; she allows the Watchman to make his own choice as to whether he will offer.

[Rose from the River rolls an [b]8[/b] to Figure Out the figure that I have named the Watchman. Let me offer these questions, and take one in return: [i]what do you hope to get from your life? what are your feelings towards the driver of the car?[/i]]