The samoyed finally stood up after sitting for what felt like at least a week. He took some steps closer to Vigenere, nuzzling the side of the feline's face and licking some of the dirt off to clean him. "I'm proud of you, Vigenere," the dog whispered, pulling some water around the back of his companion's head. "You held your own back in the swamp. I appreciate your help." Scrubbing behind the yellow cat's ears and giving his tail a playful smack, Morgan let the stream fall back into the spring. He breathed in deeply to take in some of the steam, his ears twitching in relaxation. Realizing his wagging tail was thumping against Vigenere's side, he apologized with a smile and stuck his face into the water to blow some bubbles.

Now sufficiently clean, Morgan got up out of the water and back onto the dirt shore. "If we stay any longer, we might not make it in time. I hope this helped you heal a little." He dried himself by pulling the water out of his fur, tossing it back into the pond before gathering some to refill his bracers. "Ready to go? We're not far from the Ascendants now." After asking his question, he bent down and pulled some flowers out of the ground, his breathing growing steady. He carefully controlled the water inside of the flowers to tie their stems together, keeping as much water trapped in them as possible.

Morgan smiled wide at the look of the healed Vigenere. His own condition had improved as well, the samoyed feeling well-rested and ready for action. "I just hope the rest of our trip will be quieter." As if to answer him, the walk through the flower field was both pretty and serene. He hummed a random tune as he took in the scent of the lilies he had kept.

...

As with before, there was little to note about the trip as it went on. Most feral animals and bugs were friendly enough, avoiding the pair for the most part. The trek sent them through more forests and plains; all of them were much more clean than Tanglewood's, which intrigued the samoyed. It just meant he would have to do even better when it came to improving the quality of their local areas. The Deputy could not afford to let anyone get in his way of that goal, no matter whether they were gators or fellow Tanglers.

Approaching what he remembered to be the entrance to the Ascendants' territory, Morgan turned to his yellow friend and winked. "Vigenere, this visit should be short. We'll ask if they know Atbash, and I'll give them their gifts. If there's anything you want to do while you're in there, let me know." His tail wagged; he could not help but feel excited for his ally's potential reunion.

Link to Ascendants thread here

Walking just ahead of Vigenere, Morgan stopped. The yellow cat made a good point, which only made the samoyed more worried. His usual reassurance did not come immediately, and he looked down at the grassy ground below. In truth, he was just as worried as his friend was, if not even more so. He had never traveled to Snowbound before, and had no idea what to expect. He pretended to fiddle with his water for a moment, streaming it out of his bracers to form a ring around the pair.

"Vigenere," he began, speaking slowly so as to gather his words. "Just know that I will protect you, whatever happens." He faced his comrade with a newly formed smile, and added, "We're friends, right? We'll just stay together." His tail swished back and forth, the dog having successfully calmed himself down enough to focus.

Next, he looked around the area for some water. His answer came in the form of a nearby pond, which he ran over to at top speed. He breathed in and out as the pond's water rose into the air, floating to him and forming an oversized set of armor and anklets. He returned to Vigenere next, and winked between slightly struggling breaths. "This is for later."

...

As they finally left the forest, Morgan stopped once more. They were atop a huge hill; the road ahead was littered with even more rolling hills for as far as the eye could see. The samoyed turned to Vigenere, his eyes shifting back and forth as he came up with what he needed to ask. "Vigenere, can you trust me with something?" he inquired, stepping close to bump his nose against the cat's forehead. "I have a way to get us to Snowbound faster. Past these hills and everything." He took some steps back until he reached the edge of the hill.

Closing his eyes, Morgan breathed deeply to pull all the water out of his bracers. He drew water from the flasks and waterskin in his pouch, and even removed his armor and anklets. In a moment his water was all gathered into a sphere, which he reshaped to be a bit thinner and wider. Lowering it to his level, the samoyed looked at Vigenere and asked, "Have you ever flown before?" He hopped into the water, swimming up to the surface so he could breathe again. Though he had never fully tested his idea before, he had confidence that it would work well.

Morgan smiled wide as his companion entered the makeshift vehicle with him. Once they were both above the surface, the samoyed froze most of the water into ice around them, leaving a moderately-sized pocket of water to sit in as the rest formed the shape of a boat. Finding the ice's surface too cold, he heated the water around him to make for a warm bath. "Let's go, Vigenere." With that, the floating ice shot into the air at a high speed.

...

Floating in the warm water, Morgan doggy-paddled over to Vigenere and gave him a lick on his forehead. "Vigenere... We'll reach Snowbound soon enough. For now, though, you should relax." He had a feeling that his yellow comrade was nervous to some degree seeing as they had gotten word that his sister was now the leader of Snowbound. He swam closer and tried curling up around Vigenere, keeping his breathing steady so that the flight would not falter. "Get some rest if you can. I'll protect you even up here in the sky."

The evening sky was dyed a bright pinkish orange, which faded to a deep blue in the east as the sun set in the west. Some stars could be seen, though the moon was still too low to be visible beyond the numerous tall hills. All kinds of red-orange clouds hung in the sky around the pair, almost appearing static compared to their high-velocity boat. Morgan snuggled closer as he stared into the red distance, enjoying the view and warmth. "We can't normally get to see such a beautiful sunset from the swamp, can we?" he asked in his smoothest, deepest voice, relaxed as could be. "I'm glad I could experience this with you." He smiled even wider, heating the water a bit more for comfort.