lyune's muscles roll beneath her as he drags his weight back into the cavern. his bulk is managed well, despite the cramped quarters of the cave, and he's intimidating enough to ward away the more practical groups that spill their way towards the rift. even friendly pokemon cower as she passes by, warning shots sending the enemy scattering.

her chin jerks; the shout comes from above them and pale eyes zero in on the friendly. she banks immediately and hisses something under her breath, palms kneading lyune's shoulder blade. he responds with a spurt of oily flame upon the ground, consuming an enemy ninetales that had also turned at the dragon rider's request. 

and then he dives, claws outstretched as he collides with the still-smoking ground. if the rider above them can keep the pressure on, lyune will be more than happy to take care of whatever slips through. 

teeth bare and a hungry roar bellows from the beast. 

angelo vestri

☉

better safe than sorry. the tamer above them gives cover in return. or, she assumes as much. its ghostly tail flits away and freya loses sight of it in the heat of battle, but in her peripherals she sees pokemon go down before they can even look their way. 

lyune's claws are red with blood, dripping with sulfur. they catch on the ground from sparking embers and he looms with swinging tail, eyeing the opponents that have slowed in front of him. 

their ranks are exposed and their companion's dragapult starts making quick work of their vulnerabilities. a drednaw explodes to their right and, as though all simultaneously realize the direness of the situation, they charge. freya howls, ripping two pokeballs out to either side of her. a charizard and baxcalibur flank her. 

at her command, lyune's snout snakes down low to the ground, throat swelling once again with another flamethrower before the enemy can clash against them. 

angelo vestri

☉

they take care of the ground and slowly, the tide changes. with the rocket forces' attention divided, weaknesses exposed, lyune is able to carve a bloody path through them. freya calls orders to her baxcalibur; the dragon is too new not to need them. once, it nearly stumbles into lyune and the salamence gives it a warning bite to its hide. 

but the battle takes precedence. 

a dragon pulse sparks over their head and freya whips around in the saddle. lyune crunches bones between his teeth. "howl, go!" the charizard disengages from its enemy, receiving a nasty tear in his right wing, but halfway through his struggling climb, dragon and rider simply disappear. 

more familiar with dragapult, freya's gaze sweeps over the ground, searching for the shadow. it emerges and she whistles. howl dives down to provide cover.

to freya's right, her baxcalibur roars in pain. her attention snaps back, a guttural snarl ripping from her throat. lyune becomes an extension, head swinging, maw cracking and sparking as he comes down hard on the clefable that had struck him.

in this moment, she misses the rhydon. its thick, golem arms snap into the air, catching howl by the neck. his hind legs slam into the rocky outcropping above angelo's head, choked snarls cut short as his windpipe is crushed. 

the rhydon's horn opens him from belly to throat; gore showers over the rocket's beast and onto those below. 

freya wipes blood from her brow and tosses a haphazard look behind her. her blood boils; lyune's reins pull taut. he whirls, knocking foe and ally aside. the z-crystal in her hair sparks to life as both tamer and mount's rage coalesces. energy floods into his muscles and the meteors he dislodges from above them devastate the stragglers still fighting towards them.

angelo vestri

howl dies
freya uses z-move: dragon's fury, maxing lyune's potential
lyune uses draco meteor

☉

together they are vengeance personified, retribution amplified. the earth around them shakes and before them bursts carnage. there are daggers at her back, but she trusts the other rider to handle them. eyes shining, face streaked with dirt and grime and blood, she roars alongside lyune. that purple light spills over the both of them until the draconic rocks stop falling. 

lyune whirls, but there are no more enemies left to fight. shadowy arrows cling to fainted forms (or corpses; everything's too red to tell). several bodies are completely iced over, her baxcalibur's breath still curling as he gasps in recovery. 

her muscles are still taut. pale eyes dart to the mouth of the cave when lyune grumbles, but the figures ahead are giving orders for retreat. it doesn't feel like they've won. not really. but it allows her, for the moment, to close her eyes and exhale. 

"it's rare i see a dragapult fly like that," she says, lashes fluttering before exhaustion can take her. "thank you. for having my back."

angelo vestri

☉

oh, what she wouldn't give to be back under the open sky. lyune too. as much as battle stokes the heat in his belly, he can barely stand to be underground. the gravity of the ultra deep sea is worse. 

when he says salamence, lyune turns his head. his large head is scarred and weathered, left eye clouded, the scales surrounding it turned white. his tattered sail wings, he furls against his back with freya's help. the mechanical arms wrapping around his leftmost wing fold neatly, pressing them in place. 

he is an ugly brute of a dragon. centuries old with the scars to show for it. his rider, once ethereal, has slowly begun to match him with his disfigurement. 

she wipes her forehead, picking up sweat but leaving dirt and blood behind. her lips thin at his condolences. 

"we knew the consequences," she says, "but thank you."

they don't have much time to enjoy respite. every minute that passes is another where their enemies may gain ground. with this part of the tunnel secured, they'll need to move on. another dizzy spell hits her and she swallows the bile in the back of her throat with a grimace.

"it's freya, by the way. and lyune. do you need a lift out of here? i saw your dragapult go down."

angelo vestri

☉

angelo. he'll be a hard one to forget, even amidst everything that's happened. even against everything that is yet to come. lyune's tongue forks out at his name, reptilian pupil flexing as he scents his companion's blood. he shifts onto his side. metal groans as he goes to stretch his wing. 

freya steadies him.

"i'd better. you owe my howl that much," she says, gaze sweeping over angelo's reddened skin and, more fleeting, the brutally torn carcass of her charizard.

there's nothing more to be said. so she urges lyune forward. he clambers over broken rock, using his powerful back legs to launch him up to a particularly tall boulder. and from there his wings unfurl with freya's help and he noses off, surging up into the air. 

still lightheaded, she leans against him and only once does she look back.

angelo vestri

☉