"You're in no condition to help Kaden. Midnight is plenty capable to handle it as well. That, and Kaden has figured out how to swap souls with others in his current condition. The target needs to have a strong connection with some aspect of nature like you or Midnight," Ahnah said, looking to the dormant Lykos, "We've decided that he should go last so that we can be prepared to make a run for it."

"Yes, which means I'm next in line for the puzzle," Deniigi said, "Wish me luck. Given tht I used to have to go through this on a regular basis, it shouldn't take me too long."
 Giving a nod, he slipped Kaden off of his back and into Ahnah's grasp before heading into the next room."

"Right now, out of all of us, Midnight and Deniigi are the only ones who have yet to sustian an injury.  Since Deniigi is going in now, Midnight will have recovered enough stamina since her puzzle to manage," Ahnah said, wrapping a piece of thick cloth around the base of Kaden before setting him down, "I know you believe you can handle going through another puzzle so soon, but you will be risking you injuries getting worse. Nothing against you, we're just trying to minimize the amount of injuries we all aquire here. As we sit, I have a few days of rest ahead because of an overextended muscle."

"Do not take it personally Champion of the Moon. Like Ahnah said, we're just trying to mitigate the amount of damage done. Better to have a full team on injured warriors that can be healed, than to have a team of unharmed members, but have a few missing," Kaden said, keeping his voice between him and Goldenscale, "It is much harder to revive someone compared to healing one's wounds."

Goldenscale listened, lowering her head and looking miserable for being so hard to manage.  What they both said made sense to her, and she knew she should just do as they say.  It was all because of her stupidity and desires that they were on this journey in the first place, so it was her fault that Ahnah and herself were hurt.  "I know...  though I have fought and lived with worse injuries than this.  That and I was, not entirely sure now, unable to die before.  I have enough will to live through most things, and I know what does kill me..." she closed her mouth.  "Nevermind.  I'll just sit here quietly." she said.  Ooooh, she dug a pit for herself.  If Ahnah decided to think farther, she might grasp the hidden meaning and then things might not bode very well fo her.  She fluffed her feathers and sat curled into a feathery white ball, maintaining her body heat.

"It is in realizing our limits that we learn to better ourselves. Even the strongest of spirits have a point that they can't continue from, and none of us are exceptions to that. Remember, you are on this journey because you  wanted to give more time to those you love. Don't invalidate the entire jouney by getting yourself fataly wounded," Ahnah said, nuzzling into Goldenscale's side, "Don't take the whole injury thing personally though. Having lived in these lands at one point, I know how dangerouse it can be here. I just want you to be safe, for your sake and mine. This land is far harsher than most of the lands we will visit. This land sits on one of the most extreme aspects of ice. As such, none of us can risk overexerting ourselves."

"That's all I ask of you. Regardless of the result of this journey, Tieral and Mayumi will be waiting for you. You mean so much to them and me," Ahnah said, curling up around Goldenscale, "No matter what happens, they'll welcome you back with open arms."

As Ahnah spoke, cracks quickly formed and raced across the wall. The was was quickly shattered by a small green stone busting through and lading near the group. Brushing the frost from his fur, Deniigi made his way back to the group, picking the stone up along the way.

"Sorry for taking so long. The puzzle given to me was a bit more difficult to piece together than normal," he said before pausing at the sight of Ahnah and Goldenscale. "I would ask what I missed, but I feel thaat would only make the situation worse," he said, giving a nod to Midnight, "Regardless of what I missed, we should prepare ourselves to run should the need be. Regardless of the result of Kaden's puzzle, we will need to make a run for the exit. The more time we spend in this Fortress, the less time we have to get back to the barrier."

"If you thik you need more rest, I can carry you out, and Ahnah can take Kaden instead. There's no need in chancing making your injuries worse, but I wont force the idea if you don't wish it," Deniigi said, watching as Midnight went stiff for a moment before making her way to the next puzzle. Walking over to Goldenscale, he placed the green stone with her. "Since you aready have the other two, we might as well keep all three in one place for when we need them," he said, chuckling when Ahnah looke dup to him, "We still have plenty of time before Alignak closes the barrier, so there isn't any major hurry. You two should get as much rest as you can until we absolutley need to leave."

Giving a nod,  Ahnah nuzzled back into Goldenscale's side. "It's times like this that I wonder if it's a good thing I joined in on this jouney. I know I've been of assistance, but I feel like coming to these lands first was a bad idea. We've hardly been here three days, and we've already been injured, " she said, more talking to herself than anyone around her, "I guess we all can't avoid making mistakes. I'm only mortal."

"You have a point, but I can't help but feel this way right now. I've trained for years to protect, and it has instilled the idea that injury is a sign of weakness or failure depending onconext.It was a device they used to weed out the weak, and physically fragile," Ahnah said, looking up to Goldenscale, "It's something I'm just going to have to grow back out of."

"It's sad to hear that those you trained under fealt that way, but there's nothing we can do about tha right now," Dneiigi said with a  frown, "Just because someone gets injured, does mean they're weak or a failure. Injury is one of the unpredictable things of life, and as such, shouldn't be used to gauge someone's status outside of their current health."

"I know, I know, it's just something that has, unfortunatley, stuck with me. I'm glad I have people like you, Tieral, and everyone else," Ahnah said, closing her eyes, "I'm more myself than I would have been without you all."

Looking over to see the wall starting to crack, Deniigi gave nod. "Well, we should be expecting Midnight back soon.Kaden seems to be working through the puzzle rather quickly," he said, sitting down and placing a wing over Goldenscale and Ahnah, "Best get some rest now, I don't think we have much waiting time left."

Giving a slight nod, Ahnh rested her head over Goldenscale's neck before falling asleep herself. While she slept, it was a restless sleep, plagued by a worried mind.

"Aga would be proud of you, even if you've become more of a warrior than a shaman," Deniigi whispered, running a claw lightly over Ahnah's cheek, "You've grown so much since you left, but I can only wonder what brought to  back here." Looking up from the two, he watch the cracks steadily for across the wall's surface.