her prowess is in her sheer strength and her ruthless tenacity. violence is second nature when it comes to ripping and tearing, snarling and burning. but subterfuge?

the hair on the back of her neck rises and her eyes narrow. that cold pit in her belly writhes, reminding her she has overstayed her welcome here. so much of that mist has been drawn past her lips. what will happen if she succumbs? when she succumbs?

there is the sound of metal on metal. 

lyune snarls and bats freya away from him, out of harm's way. disoriented, but senses sharpening as her adrenaline spikes, she leaps back to her feet and spies their attacker. the doublade wouldn't have known, with lyune's wings folded as they were, the silver exoskeleton stretching from muscle to velvety membrane. 

he's already been clipped. that hasn't stopped him before. 

serpentine pupils narrow to thin slits as flames gather in his mouth. he does not wait for confirmation. he does not need it. freya knows he can handle the steel-type. her attention is diverted elsewhere, bow drawn and at the ready.

she scans the area for the attacker. 

Shred Zeppelin

+10 for paranoia

☉

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"Excellent work, but I'll be taking over." The directive isn't an insult by any stretch or means. As Fern sends the grunt off, it's with the intention that the other returns to support moving parts elsewhere. They are there so that those numbers can be strengthened. They'll deter Ms. freya morningstar.[break][break]

A gracious sacrifice in their own opinion. Out of the goodness of their little admin heart. Because Fern's a bit tired of running into combat and blockades. In fact, they'd very much prefer to go back to cargo running as they had earlier on in the day, where the work was easier and the communication was a bit more reliable.[break][break]

Never the less, they persist![break][break]

Fern drops down from hiding, perched on the back of their dragapult--arms folded on the flat expanse of Medb's head. Practically lounging as they drift downward to where she searches their surroundings. As her scanning shifts to the side, he clicks his tongue and Medb moves into action, firing off a round of DRAGON DARTS while she's distracted from the grunt's work with the SHADOW SNEAK.

lyune's clash with the doublade is a swift one, but too soon does the pokemon turn tail and run. lyune's frustrated growls shift her focus. she nocks an arrow and makes a thrumming sound in her own throat, silencing him. his tongue forks, tasting the air.

another of his kind nearby. his warning hiss is what saves freya. she tucks her right side and rolls neatly out of the way, springing back up as the dragapult's attack cleaves a hole in the earth. 

her gaze snaps up. she grins with her teeth, gums still red with blood. lyune lowers his belly down, baring his back, and she swings back into her saddle. 

if it's a sky fight this one wants, it's what they'll get.

the giant salamence's wings unfurl. she calls a command and green light flickers around them. lyune's pupils flex. claws pinch and shatter the earth under them as he suddenly launches straight upward in a dragon ascent towards their attacker.

fern delaney

salamence uses dragon ascent

☉

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An aerial fight isn't exactly what they intend, but it's not something that Fern will shy away from, either. As dragon and rider ascend, their dragapult tries to twist out of the way before impact. They spin and weave around the opposing pair in a DRAGON DANCE.[break][break]

Tucked close, Fern is comfortable like this, but perhaps not as natural to it as she seems to be on the back of the salamence, who by far overshadows the smaller dragapult. At least Medb is nimble and quick - evasive as she flits around the space with a reptilian shriek that borders on a spectral howl.[break][break]

Another pokeball rolls into their hand from their pocket. In a beam of light, Fern's froslass springs free to drift along after them from below. Stirring up the air around her, she channels an OMINOUS WIND in an upward current toward the salamence. Quick to make the game uneven for the time being.

as it stands now, lyune is at a disadvantage. his attacks can devastate targets if he can manage to land a hit, but dragapult are wily little things. if this one can maneuver them anything like angelo vestri , she and lyune have their work cut out for them. she bets on their odds until the froslass is released.

so she levels the playing field. 

a sharp whistle, carried on the ominous wind, rings out in the vicinity. the two dragalge on standby shed their camouflage amidst the ultra deep sea flora and train their sights on the ice-type. dragons she can handle, but that thing has to go. 

she simpers at the trainer as blasts of water and draconic energy race towards the froslass.

fern delaney

neo uses dragon pulse
vectis uses hydro pump
both on froslass

☉

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Fortunately for Fern, they are well versed in working with dragapult. Given the fact that it is their preferred creature above most others. As quick as Medb is, however, they curse themself for not bringing their more practiced mount. But after Mt. Pyre and the near loss of his oldest companion, it isn’t a risk they were willing to hedge bets on.[break][break]

At least, not this time.[break][break]

The froslass, however, is no more than a means to an end. And so it isn’t paid much heed when the two dragalge emerge from hiding. Fern whistles their own command and the spectral pokemon twists to meet the pulse of hydro pump with a blast of POWDER SNOW – aiming to cut through the torrent and freeze one of the two dragalge before she’s knocked back and thrown like a rag doll as the dragon pulse lands.[break][break]

Freya’s saccharine grin is met with a shared look–their own smile sharp and leering as they click their tongue at Medb. The rocket admin lifts a hand to their opponent, and wiggle their fingers in kittenish taunt. The dragapult darts forward and then away, spreading an INFESTATION to take hold of dragon and rider alike.

the hydro pump's outer ring of water freezes all the way down, blitzing vectis in the face with surprising speed. shards of ice make lacerations along his snout and his cheeks; it arches aside his throat and down his back. his tail curls anxiously around a ring of kelp at the attack. 

neo leaves the confines of the kelp bed to surge upward with murderous intent toward the froslass, but freya's whistle makes him veer sideways. gnats and other irritants fester at the dragapult's call. otherworldly creatures with glowing thoraxes and savage stingers make a beeline towards lyune and freya.

pores breathe open on neo's body as he wriggles closer. the infestation burrows into lyune's legs, crawling down his tail. he roars in pain. another hydro pump from neo aims to cleanse the dragon of its parasites. 

the waggling fingers make her bark another order. fire stoked, draconic energy shudders away from lyune in a wave. the cavern above them shakes as pieces of rock are carved through and dislodged, lit on fire and turned into draco meteors. 

fern delaney

neo uses hydro pump on salamence
lyune uses draco meteor

☉

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With the froslass abandoned to assist with the infestation, she surges forward–weakened but not deterred from leveling another attack at the frozen dragalge. She knows the intention that Fern called her out with, the need to not back off of the attack. With sweeping arms, the froslass pulls from the drip of stalactites above to send a piercing ICICLE CRASH down on the inert dragon.[break][break]

“Feisty! Excellent!” At least for the sake of a spirited battle. Fern looks up at the cavern ceiling as fissures split stone and light the closed space with blustery heat of flame.[break][break]

As the meteors drop, though, they realize it’s time to recalculate the duration of their stay. One clips Medb on the flank, sending the pair spinning out through the dense air. They cling to her neck as they flip upside down in the twist–hanging on to avoid the drop. [break][break]

Their world twists and turns in a blur before they’re eventually righted again. Fern whirls, trying to ensure they keep their eyes on the other. Medb dizzily fires a beam of energy, the DRAGON PULSE poorly aimed at the other dragalge attempting to rinse away the infestation[break][break]

It’s not nearly so bad as the fate that meets their froslass. As it watches vectis for a reaction or sudden movement, one of the stray meteors shadows her. Weakened from the other dragalge’s dragon pulse, she’s not quick enough to dodge as the lump of burning rock crashes down and crushes the icy ghost underneath.

whatever has already managed to burrow into lyune is there to stay. the insects scuttle under his scales and dig mercilessly into the dragon's thick muscle. he roars in pain, lashing out wildly, and nearly clips neo's flank as the dragalge attempts to cleanse him. 

in order to dodge out of lyune's way, she ends up straight in the path of the enemy dragapult's dragon pulse. 

below them, vectis still struggles to free himself from the shell of ice that's encased the better part of his kelp-like body. he struggles, eyes wide with fear, as sharpened-point icicles rain down above him. his last moments are of his flesh ripping free from his frozen prison, blood spurting in a last-ditch attempt to escape. 

one spears him through his spine, another through his brain. 

its cries are lost in the battle and in the chaos around them. freya sees the froslass plummet down under a shelf of rock and, with a new opening, orders neo away. 

lyune twists in the air, diving to arc back up with a lunging speed. his claws flex with blue flame as he summons more draconic energy, jaw open and searching in his blood-tinged frenzy.

fern delaney

neo hit by dragon pulse
vectis dead af
lyune attempts a dragon claw

☉

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Well, there’s certainly no salvaging that dragalge, is there? Any taunt that Fern had planned to level at the other dragon rider is wiped from their mind as the salamence surges toward them in a swiping fury.[break][break]

Medb rears upward to shield Fern from the blow, and catches the brunt of Lyune’s claws as they rake down her softer underbelly. Blood blooms and blossoms around her in the dense air as she lets out a shrill cry.

In close quarters, Freya might catch sight of Fern’s irritated grimace as the dragapult BITES back at a sturdy foreleg in her panic before peering away.[break][break]

Another quick look downward is all they need to confirm the fact that there’s no need to even attempt collecting the froslass. They suck in a short breath. Yikes. They can endure the loss, however.[break][break]

Medb’s well-being is far more pressing to Fern. She trills low, the sound pained in the back of her throat. They won’t lose her the way they nearly lost Ceci at Mt. Pyre.[break][break]

So as much as they would like to stay and continue to pick off the other seaweed dragon, Fern yields. Swerving away from the fight, the pair turn tail to dart away.[break][break]

A hand on their gengar’s pokeball in their pocket, Fern looks back over their shoulder to see if she might continue to pursue.

lyune finds purchase on the dragpult's belly and loses it just as easily as he rips into its ghostly tail. air rushes through his claws and he growls in frustration, snapping and missing the wiry pokemon. it takes advantage of his frustrations and lands a solid bite on his foreleg. 

pedals twist to keep them righted as lyune lashes out angrily. the dragapult is far nimbler though and escapes his outstretched claws. freya snaps him back under command and waits for retaliation, but there is none. her tongue swipes her teeth. she is about to spur him to pursue when neo cries out beneath them. 

her attention shifts from fleeing rider and to the ground, where her other dragalge lay in pieces. a chill goes up her spine. lyune dives. 

"watch our backs," she snaps as boots crunch on gravel.

with neo's help, they manage to remove the icicles that speared him through. her others had been lost in the fray, their bodies unrecoverable. and none of them had been vectis. her mother's dragon.

she lays a hand on his snout. and then she stands, withdrawing neo into his ball. her lips press to the worn capsule and she promises to him, and to her mother, that she won't let the same harm befall her others.

how wrong she is, though she does not know it yet.

fern delaney

freya does not pursue :sadge:

☉

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The sharp bite finds its home as Medb’s teeth sink into the salamence’s leg. That’s all the dragapult is capable of as the wounds on her belly continue to weep.[break][break]

Another keening cry shoots through Fern, dousing their bloodstream with icy dread. And as they wheel away, they can only hope she won’t follow, that the shredded dragalge is enough to stay her hand. Had they known Vectis’ origin, perhaps they might feel a morsel of guilt, but for their sake it’s better they don’t.[break][break]

Still, Fern supposed it was a shame. The dragon was a pretty little thing.[break][break]

They let out a held breath when she does not follow. With no further threat of retaliation, they free Morty. The gengar casts an eerie smile through the shadows back toward Freya that likely goes unseen. Red eyes glow with a flare of light as she rips open a portal ahead of Fern and Medb, and they shoot through the tear to be spit out a short distance away.[break][break]

Out of sight, but not out of mind, perhaps.[break][break]

Morty’s taunting grin fills the empty air that Fern normally would have obliged. Then she closes up the PHANTOM FORCE behind her, and they are gone.