- River Creatures

"Shouldn't we wait for the others to wake up?" Marcus asked, snapping out of his shock.

"Don't tell me you're scared of a couple of fish?" Roxy said in a teasing tone as she left the house and walked upstream. "Anyway, I thought you were obsessed with strength. Don't tell me you're too weak for this?"

"I'm not, I just think we should wait for the others," Marcus answered, following her.

"Look at it this way, it's stronger for the two of us to do this than for four of us to do it. Isn't strength all you care about?"

"I was thinking, in the carriage after the mountain. The things Caleveh said, it made a lot of sense. And I know I'm not that strong yet, but I have to be." He paused for a moment, stopping and looking at the water as it flowed past. "You're right. If I want strength, I have to take it wherever I can, without thoughts of others."

"That's not what I was getting at, but whatever gets you to help me," Roxy muttered under her breath.