Chapter 862

*Lily. Lily wake up!* Kat repeated as she worked on the ice boat. Kat felt she was making good progress. She didn’t need to spend much concentration on shaping it and with the sludge already semi-solid Kat didn’t foresee any issues with fragility. Finally, the message seemed to get through as Lily stirred in her arms. Lily was a bit groggy from being woken but managed to quickly sort her mind into working order.

[Kat? Is everything alright? What did you need me for?]

*Everything is... fine... ish. It turns out the poison is worse then we thought, or at least more pervasive. Xiang and Yang aren’t doing so well and it was determined the safest thing would be to make an ice raft and have me carry it. I’ll need both hands though, for stability if nothing else. So... you’ll probably need to either sit in someone else’s arms, or I can make a hollow for you... but with the bouncing that probably wouldn’t be comfortable.*

[Um... I think we can trust them enough to hold onto me for a while. I’m not made of glass and you’ll be right nearby. I probably won’t be able to sleep, or at least, not comfortably, but that’s something I can deal with. I... I don’t want to be the source of any major problems. We can work it out. Though... is there no way to stick with you?]

*No I’m afraid there isn’t. I’ll be running to fast for you to sit on my shoulder or against my chest. I’ll need both hands... and while my tail MIGHT be able to hold you somewhere against me... I naturally use it to balance when running and considering how unstable the mud here is the risk that everyone would go flying if I didn’t have my tail to help balance is too high for my liking.*

[Ugh. Understandable. I’ll... hmm... who would be better to hold me? I was going to say ‘I’ll stick with Xiang’ because he’s the more rational of the two... but at the same time... I wonder if Yang would get pissy about it. Hmm... hmm... guess I’ll start with Xiang and be willing to move if Yang complains.]

*Actually... you might be able to hold on yourself? You could transform?*

.....

[Not with your speed I don’t think. We haven’t really tested my new strength and this really doesn’t seem like a good time for it. I don’t know how poison resistant I am but if Xiang and Yang are having issues I wouldn’t be surprised if it affects me as well. Better just not to risk it. I’ll stick with the original plan.]

*Sounds good.* With that settled, Lily wriggled out of Kat’s hands and flew over to Xiang. He glanced awkwardly between Lily and Kat, hoping that somebody would fill him in on things. When that didn’t happen, he awkwardly held his arms out and Lily dropped down. She wriggled around a bit before yawning and settling back down to sleep.

*Lily?*

[Yes?]

*Are you really just trying to get back to sleep?*

[Eh... might as well get what sleep I can. Sure I trust him to hold me while he’s just sitting here but while we’re moving even if I trust him not to drop me I don’t want to bet that it’ll be comfortable.]

*You do realise I’m like... maybe a minute away from finishing?*

[Wait really?] That was when Lily cracked open an eye and looked at the ice chunk Kat was making. She hadn’t exactly been paying attention to Kat’s progress and had assumed she was woken up towards the start of the construction, not towards the end. That didn’t stop her attempting to nap though. [Huh. Well. I guess it is. Still going to try for some sleep.]

Kat just gave a small smile and made the finishing touches to the platform. It wasn’t anything particularly amazing. It was about two wide but she hadn’t bothered to smooth out the corners or anything so it was a rounded square-ish thing that wasn’t consistent in its dimensions. Still, there was enough space for two people easily and the handholds and footholds Kat had added should make the journey... if not pleasant... at least acceptable.

Kat blew one final gust of demonic fire over the whole thing, directing the demonic energy to really dig in deeply. Checking her reserves, she found she’d used a measly ten percent to complete the raft. Well, probably considering she was able to regenerate that energy quite quickly, but the high percentage meant she didn’t feel the need to wait for her energy to top out at all. “Ok. Raft is done. Do you want to hop on before I lift it?”

Yang scoffed, “We can make a two metre jump with our eyes closed,”

Which wasn’t really an answer of if they wanted to hop on before she lifted it or not. Sure it was a brag, and a statement that it was possible. But it was ICE they were trying to land on. Still, with a glance at Xiang who just sort of nodded carefully, Kat shrugged and started to lift the chunk up. Kat had to break two handholds in the ice due to the thickness, but it gave way easily under her strength. Kat was able to lift it and then shift her hold, digging into the underside.

Kat ignored the drips of bog muck that was dropping down around her and occasionally ON her. It wasn’t terribly pleasant but it was over quickly. Kat shifted her feet a little bit to find stable footing before turning to the group and nodding. Yang didn’t waste any time, hopping up in one quick leap. This turned out to be a mistake.

Now, Kat obviously couldn’t see through the ice. It was a blackish purple colour that didn’t let any light through. She did have working ears though, and the sound of someone landing and then slipping and falling to their ass wasn’t something Kat could mistake. Xiang, seeing this turned his gaze down to Lily. “Would like to fly up yourself in case I fall?”

Lily nodded, taking to the air at the same time Yang cursed out, “Why the fuck is this so slippery?” Now. There was an obvious answer to this question. That answer was that she was STANDING ON ICE. Even with Kat taking efforts to keep it frozen, ice didn’t exactly have a lot of friction. The fact that the top was oddly shaped and slightly bubbly, as it was frozen water in... slight motion... meant that landing on something completely flat was a pipe dream.

Despite this Xiang managed just fine. He hopped up, and either by superior luck or skill, landed on his two feet and was able to remain standing without any issues. Yang growled at his success but didn’t say anything as he bent down and grasped the hand and foot holds. Lily frowned at the lack of limbs to reside in and pondered. Xiang noticed this and shifted so that he had an arm free. Lily took this as the invitation it was. Yang huffed but got into position as well. “We’re ready!” shouted Xiang.

“Understood,” said Kat as she started to move. First, she freed her feet from the mud and tried to get up to speed. This was hindered by how deeply she sunk in as soon as she put another foot down. Kat frowned at this and started to pump demonic energy into her limbs in preparation.

Kat sucked in a deep breath. One, two, three, four. Four breaths. She was ready. Kat lifted her foot slightly, just enough to get it out of the mud and sent a large burst of demonic fire from the soles of her feet. Once she had solid purchase, Kat sent as much energy as she could into her legs, and then a bit more allowing it to blast out of her feet as she took off.

Kat’s blast off was significantly hampered by the terrain, but she managed to get to around a normal humans sprint in just two steps. The water churned around her and started to build up. Two more steps and the mud was already acting mostly like a solid. She was kicking down heavily on it and even though it compressed, she didn’t sink. She didn’t stay still long enough for that.

Five steps later and Kat was already getting into a bit of a rhythm. Kat’s speed was increasing rapidly and despite how hard it was, she continued. It felt like every step she broke through another layer of solid concrete. The water had so much drag. The fact it was so solid and thick with toxins didn’t help matters in the slightest. If it was just a little thicker Kat might have been able to run on top of it. Still. Kat had enough determination for this. One foot in front of the other.