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"Get back!" Reya whispered harshly. Jack backed up with her into the tree cover and everyone else quickly followed.

"That's what I was about to say," Aris muttered.

"Well, say it faster next time! If one of those birds spots us, whoever that is out there will probably try to hunt us down."

"They're pretty far to the west, we'd probably make it to town before they caught up with us," Mephit pointed out.

"With Jack around?" Mydya retorted.

"Oh, right."

"I think we should go back down and walk along the river," Reya suggested, "It'll probably be better for me too. I'll be able to swim instead of having to demean Jack like this."

"I don't mind the slightest," Jack reassured her.

"I mean, it's kind of hard to hold on with my broken arm too..."

Aris nodded in agreement. "The river's probably the safest way to get down to Fenbury fast if we don't want to go back through Lenwick -"

"But damn if Spire Pass ain't gonna be terrifying," the deer finished for him.

"That goes without saying," Mydya glumly commented. She took the lead and began to walk back down the long winding path they had just climbed. Jack followed behind the skunk. Reya struggled for a moment to find a comfortable grip without hurting her broken arm, but she soon found a good position. She sighed and relaxed against the deer's smooth coat.

"You know, when my brother told me stories as a kid at least half of them would end with some heroic fight at Spire Pass." Reya nervously laughed. "If one of you guys has been getting prophetic dreams, we might want to take the long way around!" Laughter broke the tension that hung in the air around the group.

"Did you ever hear the story where the monkey hero climbed to the peak to kill the great bird?" Mephit asked. "Melly used to tell it to us all the time when we were kids."

"Yeah! Wasn't the hero an otter, though?"

"How's an otter supposed to climb a gigantic stone pillar?" Mydya incredulously butted in.

Reya blushed. "I guess I didn't consider that." She paused for a moment and then laughed. "Most of Gither's stories had otters as the heroes, now that I think about it. You'd think that otters were half the mammals in the kingdom if you believed him! How did that story go, Mephit? I've heard it before, but Gither didn't really tell it much."

Mephit skittishly glanced around at everyone else. Reya tried to see what he was looking for. No one seemed to be very focused on him. She didn't understand why he was so nervous about telling the story. He met her eyes after a moment and she stuck out her tongue at him. Torren, following behind the skunk, silently laughed at the otter girl's teasing.

"Well, um, there was a giant bird beast living at the top of spire peak hundreds of years ago. Every day it went out into the forest and took away kits that went too far away from their den without their mothers. All the good animals lived in fear for years and years as the misbehaving children were eaten by the evil bird. However, one day a really brave knight who was a monkey named Tarsi was passing through. He heard the villagers' troubles and went out to the huge stone spire in the center of spire pass to climb to the roost.

"He bravely climbed up the spire for two whole days, stopping only to eat the few rations he brought with him. Finally, exhausted, he made it to the peak. The roc's nest was really - really big, but the bird wasn't actually there. He hid under the straw and waited for it to come back.

"Soon Tarsi heard a big loud crash. Everything around him shook really hard. He pulled away some of the straw in front of his face so that he could see out. He didn't see the bird or anything, so he got up and carefully crawled over to the edge of the nest. The roc was slamming its giant body into the spire.

"He could see the cracks in the stone, so he wasted no time, drew his monkey blade, and leapt straight at the beast. Of course, the bird had already broken the rock enough that the next hit caused the peak of the spire to break off. Tarsi leapt off a falling boulder and managed to grab the roc's claw with his tail. In one motion he flipped himself onto the bird's back and stabbed his sword straight into its head.

"The beast's last caw was so loud it was heard all the way from the sea. Tarsi, leaving his sword stuck in the bird's head, jumped towards the pillar in a leap of faith. He hit the side and fell really hard onto a ledge right below.

"The forest animals found the bird at the bottom of the spire along with Tarsi's blade stuck in its head, but not the monkey himself. They waited for a long time, but he never came. The next day, they were putting together everything for the hero Tarsi's funeral when a little skunk spotted a dot on the spire. He pointed it out, and everyone cheered as it grew closer and closer. Tarsi stumbled off the spire really tired and stuff, and the forest animals all celebrated and helped the monkey to get better.

"And that's the end... I think. Did I do good? Was that ok?"

"That was great!" Reya exclaimed, "You should tell stories more often! They're a lot of fun!" Mephit's face lit up with a smile.

"So um... Reya," Aris said, "has your brother told you the story of his namesake?"

"What?!" She asked startled, "what do you mean?"

"The original Gither! I... I think it's a really good story!"

"There was another Gither?"

"Yeah! He was a really famous pirate hunter from Southbank that lived a long time ago. The seas used to be perilous and only the bravest merchants would make the trip to the west, but ever since Gither was around, there have been very few problems. He's the reason that Southbank is so prosperous today!"

"That's awesome!" Reya exclaimed, "how did he do it!? Did he have a fleet? No! He was on his own, right? Yeah, he sailed his own ship and took down all the pirate bosses with just his crew! I mean, you said you were from Southbank, right? I bet you know all sorts of things about ships and pirates!"

"I -"

"Did he fight with a claw like you? I bet he did! I mean, I guess we're good at using tools and stuff with these hands, but our arms are so short. It's hard to get a good swing with a blade or anything, right?"

"Actually he -"

"Gither's gonna be so surprised next time I see him! He never told me anything about this Gither! You've got to tell me more!"

"He's trying!" Jack laughed.

Reya slapped the deer's neck with her good paw. "Oh be quiet!"

"He - um - he didn't use claws," the beagle said sheepishly after a moment of silence, "he used a blade staff, and he -"

"Woah, he stood while he fought? That's crazy! I thought that only bears and monkeys and animals like them could do that! I mean, I guess it makes sense, doesn't it? You can use the staff to help keep yourself stable while you fight with it... but that's gotta be hard!"

"Yeah... and it was just his ship too. He didn't have a fleet or anything. There's a statue of him in the center of the city, actually."

"So can you tell -"

This time it was Aris that cut Reya off. "I'm s-sorry! I don't know any stories about Gither! I mean, I never studied him... I wasn't very interested in maritime history ..."

"Oh..." Reya said, disappointed. She caught Siv glaring at her out of the corner of her eye. She opened her mouth to ask what she did, but quickly thought better of it.

They didn't suffer the silence for long, however. Mephit had thought of another story from his childhood and seemed to be itching to tell it. Reya, however, let herself slowly drift out of the conversation. She felt uncomfortable trying to continue. Aris quickly perked back up to his usual self and piped in every once in a while with his perpetually nervous voice, but every time she said something, she could almost feel Siv's displeasure.

Reya's back was aching by the time they made it back to the river. Even with her sore paws, she wasted absolutely no time getting off of Jack. She stretched out her long body and all of the tension from the ride seemed to evaporate from her.

'Welcome back' Torren signed with a wink.

"Miss me?" she teased.

'My left half is all cold without you using me as a crutch!' Torren laughed. Reya stuck her tongue out at him.

"Can you help me get these off?" She asked. "Bandages will do more harm than good in the water."

Torren helped her peel the wrappings off of her three good paws and then put the worn fabric into his knapsack with the herbs he was carrying for her.

"Um, you know," said Mephit, "if you want to swim too I can carry that for you." The spotted necked otter's eyes lit up.

'Thank you!' Reya translated for Torren.

"No problem," he said with a soft smile.

Torren shuffled out of his knapsack and fitted it onto the skunk. He nodded in appreciation and Mephit looked away with a humble smile.

Reya, however, couldn't wait to get herself back in the water. She'd been itching to swim ever since they stopped at the crystal river. It isn't right for an otter to be out of water for so long! She thought before diving into the slowly flowing stream.

Torren followed close behind her. She turned around to meet him as felt the rush of water from the spotted necked otter breaking through to the surface.

'Everything working?' He signed.

'Yeah, all good!' She signed back. When the burns were fresh, every movement of her fingers was agony; she couldn't even think of trying to speak with her paws. However, the pain had almost entirely vanished. As long as she didn't push against anything too hard or squeeze her fingers together too tight, she could barely feel the pain that had been constantly present for the past four weeks.

She dove back down again just to let herself float to the surface. The small clawed otter stretched her legs out, relishing the relaxing massage of the current. Torren's head once again popped out of the water after her.

"Gods above, this feels amazing!" She exclaimed. Torren opened his mouth for a silent laugh.

"What are you waiting for?" She called out to everyone left on shore, "Let's get going!"

Swimming wasn't as effortless as it should have been for the otter girl without the use of her broken arm, but she still easily kept up with everyone on shore as they slowly continued their journey to Fenbury. Everyone was able to move much faster now that she was able to match their pace.

Reya would have found herself dreadfully bored if Torren hadn't been there to keep her company. She bolted back and forth and around the bigger otter for a little while, but she slowed herself down to a leisurely pace at his recommendation. It wouldn't be good to wear herself out before nightfall.

"Do you know what I did to make Siv so mad at me?" Reya eventually whispered. Even though the other animals were all wrapped up in their own conversation on the river's shore, she still felt nervous gossiping about Siv. "He seemed so agitated whenever I tried to talk! I must have made him angry somehow, but I have no clue what I did!"

Torren shrugged. 'He didn't look too happy when Aris was apologizing about not knowing more. Maybe he was just upset that Aris was upset.'

"But that seemed normal for Aris, right? He does it all the time! I mean, if Siv knows Aris well at all, I don't know how that would make him angry." The small otter humphed. "Jeez that cat's a piece of work, isn't he? Maybe he just decided to hate me when we first met and now he's being as obnoxious as he can."

'Maybe.'

Soon afterwards, the sky darkened and the two otters drifted closer to the shore to meet up with the other animals. They all quickly dropped their conversation about Aris's short experience as a ranger in Lenwick - stories that Reya and Torren had already heard several times as they traveled with the beagle - and deliberated about how to spend the night.

They eventually decided that they had to search out a cave in the mountainside. None of them were able to think of anything better. Neither the rangers nor Jack knew of any caves themselves and no one wanted to risk asking to stay at someone's lodgings with the deer around.

Reya dragged herself out of the water, shutting down any attempt to help her, and started to limp off towards the mountain range. Jack offered to carry her once more, but she said that there wasn't any need. They were only going to walk for a short distance, and her injuries weren't that bad.

Although she was severely regretting her decision halfway through, she toughed it out until they finally found a small crevice broken into a rocky wall. It was only barely wide enough to fit Jack, but it was long enough that everyone was able to lie comfortably apart.

Reya groggily woke up halfway through the night to a paw nudging her side. She turned her head, expecting to see Torren, but instead it was Mephit looking over her.

"I'm sorry to wake you up," he whispered, "Can... Can I talk to you outside?"

Reya nodded curiously.

The two skunks had gone to sleep next to the otters, so Mephit didn't have to step over anyone to get to her. However, Reya had a large drooling male otter blocking her exit. She thought for a moment about how to get past him, but then decided it was pointless. She pulled herself up and over the big lump of fur and turned back for Mephit when she made it over.

Mephit followed her. He seemed to be even more nervous about waking him up, but Torren didn't even bat an eye.

The night breeze frazzled the otter's fur but she didn't mind. Her eyes drifted up to the vast oceanic expanse of the night sky. The star of the north shone brightly. The feather of the old widow heron forever guided lost travelers back to civilized lands.

The ancient spirits watched over her from the vast sea of souls. She wondered where her mother and father were. Gither said that they were brave and noble otters who kept evil from Laeta. Reya never liked to use the word Laeta to name the kingdom. She didn't know any other kingdom so it just felt silly. Yet, here it seemed romantic. Laeta. Her parents looked on in peace after dying for Laeta, their kingdom.

"So, um, Reya..." Mephit's nervous voice snapped Reya back into focus. She couldn't help but think that his stutters made him sound a lot like Aris. "I... I wanted to apologize."

"What?" Reya asked, confused.

"For the other night, you know? When I told Aris you had a... a panic attack after you obviously weren't going to tell him! I mean, I - I just wanted to tell you that I understand. I mean, I get them too. I mean -"

"It's ok!" Reya interrupted, "Don't be so upset! I didn't mind, I was just uncomfortable telling Aris myself. That night was really... stressful. I just wanted it all to be over, you know?"

"Yeah." Mephit seemed to be calming down. "Do you... I mean, is it all okay if I ask something personal?"

"What is it?"

"Do you know what caused your panic attack?"

Reya nodded without thinking. "Yeah. It... it was everyone staring at me. Um, I normally don't mind. It's just that..." She held up her still un-bandaged paw. "Look at this. I hadn't changed my bandages since right after the fire, so even I didn't know what to expect when I unwrapped this stupid thing... and I've been living it weeks now. Everyone was just staring at me. Pitying me. I don't... I don't fucking want pity!"

Reya took a deep breath before continuing. "I... I guess I just couldn't take it. I've been so helpless lately and everyone staring at me like I was some freak with two tails just did me in and I panicked." Reya blinked tears out of her eyes. She didn't want to cry. The otter girl almost laughed at the irony. Even now she was doing everything she could to seem less pathetic. She didn't even know why she was confiding in the little skunk. He'd only known her for two days. Yet she saw the clear empathy in the Mephit's eyes.

"I... I have panic attacks about my mom," Mephit muttered after a minute of silence. "Th- they did things to her in front of me before... before they killed her. Mydya doesn't know I saw it. She'd never forgive herself for running away when mom told us to run... I told her that I ran a different way, so that's why she didn't see me, but I couldn't move! I - I had to watch and he... when it was all over he just laughed at me. He just laughed and walked away." Mephit was crying like a newborn, but Reya could only sit and listen in stunned silence.

She suddenly realized that Mephit had stopped talking. He didn't stop crying.

"W-Why are you telling me this?" Reya asked.

"I don't know," he sobbed, "You have panic attacks too... y-you understand, right?"

"Yeah..." Reya didn't know what to say. She didn't understand him. She didn't understand him at all. The sadness and fear in his eyes were so different from anything she had ever felt; so much more intense. Her heart ached in sympathy for the small skunk.

"I understand," she lied. She apprehensively placed her ugly scarred paw on his back. He turned his head and cried into her fur.

The otter girl didn't know how long she sat still in the moonlight, slowly stroking the skunk's back as she looked up into the stars. Her brother had never paid much heed to the gods or the spirits, so she hadn't either. However, as she lay next to the quivering skunk, she prayed a heartfelt prayer to the tiger Igri, the soother of wounds.

Reya didn't know how long it was before Mephit had exhausted his tears. With a whispered "thank you" he slipped out from under her paw and back into the darkness of the cave. Reya followed him after a moment of hesitation.

She pushed up against Torren who opened a half lidded eye. He nudged her back, asking to talk. She rolled over to see his paws.

'What were you two talking about?' She could barely make out his signs in the darkness.

Reya didn't quite know what to say. She knew that she was going to tell Torren, but she didn't know how to phrase it. And she was so tired too. 'He... he told me how he became an orphan,' she sloppily signed.

'Mydya listened from the mouth of the cave. Whatever you two said really affected her. She was trembling when she climbed back over me.'

'Tomorrow?'

'Okay.'

Reya knew that she should have cared more about what Torren said, but she was already starting to drift back to sleep. Everything was too much. All the sadness and fear pouring out into the night air left her overwhelmed. It would have to wait until morning. The spotted otter snuggled up against her and she, in turn, wrapped her tail around his.