Whatever reason he laughed, and she smirked, eating it up. He had a nice kind of laugh. Real. Thank goodness she'd have someone else with a sense of humor, because without a doubt she knew she'd get along with Cottongrass just fine. She could put aside one anxiety, and it would make the rest easier.

Thankfully, he heard it too. But, instead of remaining beside her he went forward to see. For whatever unknown reason she had the urge to stop him. "Wait!" A terrible cry, she pushed through the brush in a cautious manner. Thank heavens! Cotton wasn't in the river. (She'd have a whole new list of anxieties if that had been his fate.) Tempting to grab at him, instead she nudged at his side, letting him know she was right here, and he was on solid ground. "You about went for a trip." She tried to hide the fear from her tone. Askan surely wouldn't have kicked her out if the poor guy had fallen in, but she wasn't so sure he'd need a good reason. Frantic heartbeat, she took a step to try to get her mind to relax. It was just a high river bank. But, what was this place?