The Bingtown woman obeyed her, letting out a small squeak as the log initially sank under her weight. She lowered her other foot and stood, arms outstretched like a bird trying to dry its wings after a storm. No sooner was her weight off the dragon than Sintara made a lunge to try to get her front leg over the log that Sylve was weighing down. The dragon’s abrupt movement sent the whole debris pack to rocking. Alise cried out but swayed with the motion, keeping her balance. Thymara, bereft of pride, crouched and then sat on the log. “Lower your weight!” she suggested to Alise. “We can crawl along the logs until we reach a place where things are a bit more stable.”

“I can balance,” the Bingtown woman replied, and although her voice shook a bit, she kept her upright stance.

“As you wish,” Thymara replied. “I’m crawling.” She suspected that her many years’ experience in the treetops had taught her not to take risks unless she had to. She scuttled along the log to its widest end, where its snaggled roots reared up out of the river. There she stood, catching hold of the roots. Tats had preceded her. He now gave her a sideways glance and offered, “I’ll show you the way I came out here. Parts of this mat are thicker than others.”

“Thank you,” she replied and waited for Alise to catch up with her, gathering up the slackened sash as she came. She glanced back at Sintara, feeling a bit guilty that she was letting Sylve do the work of caring for her dragon. The small girl moved confidently, instructing the dragon in what she wished her to do. Thymara sighed with relief. She could handle it.

“Sylve managed to recapture one of the boats,” Tats said over his shoulder. “She’s the one who pulled me out of the water.”

“I remember when I thought she was too young and childish for an expedition like this,” Thymara observed, and she was surprised when Tats laughed aloud.

“Adversity brings out the best in us, I suppose.” They’d reached the first of the large trees. Thymara paused by it, resting her hand on it. It felt so good. It shivered in the passing current, but even so, it felt more solid than anything she had touched in hours. She longed to sink her claws in the bark and climb, but she was still tethered to Alise.

“There’s one with some lower branches just over there,” Tats told her.