battle has her veins on fire. she's still meant to evac, but her latest victory beckons her back to the crossfire. there will be time to rest and recover when it's over. until then, she's fit to fight (a lie). she leans heavily into lyune's back, earpiece crackling to life.

hydreigon and rider. the rest of the message is riddled with static, but she gets enough to lead lyune deeper into the ultra deep sea. the world around them darkens; bioluminescent flora lights their way, but it also elongates shadows, puts things there that aren't. 

lyune growls lowly, suddenly, and a dark shape passes underneath them. without another word, he draws his wings in tighter and dives with claws outstretched.

ana fell

☉

the salamence has seen centuries of battle and yet these last few have been his most trying. it's only made him more lethal. he snarls at the fire blast approaches and when his rider does not call for a maneuver, he dives through it with mouth agape. 

the flame licks ineffectively at his armored belly, glittering wisps glancing off of him and lighting up the starlit hair of his tamer. embers dance before her drawn face, reddened from the heat. 

his lack of maneuverability doesn't matter if they don't attempt to dodge their target's attacks. purple fire rips its way down four sets of claws as he nears. he snarls as he and freya brace for impact, intent on taking them down with sheer bulk and savagery.

ana fell

lyune attempts to latch on with dragon claw

☉

hydreigon are nasty pieces of work and this one is no different. lyune's claws sink into its feathered hide, puncturing the scales that glitter underneath it. devilish heads attack from all sides. they come together chaotically. its neck swings into lyune's own and his large head jerks to the side. his neck ripples and twists; he rears back with fangs bared.

draconic energy gathers in the roof of his mouth, expelling as he lunges for the hydreigon's throat.

ana fell

lyune is hit by throat chop
lyune goes for the THROAT while burping a dragon pulse

☉

blood pours hot and salty into the dragon's mouth as one of the hydreigon's heads goes limp in his jaws. a hunger slakes his throat as gore drips from the corners of his maw, but before he can crunch down in earnest and tear the head from its body, their adversary retaliates. 

the blow rattles his bones; freya shifts reflexively, wrist flicking to grasp his reins so she isn't thrown off. his claws squeeze tighter, wings thump-thump-thumping awkwardly as they stay locked in this violent tussle. 

in the midst of flailing limbs and draconic teeth, freya catches a glimpse of the rider struggling to scramble back up. her lips snake into a smile and she cries out a guttural command, still with fury but made clear for the woman to hear: "dragon ascent."

green light burns brightly around lyune's sides. renewed energy surges under his wings and with one final fwip, he tightens his grip and rips them upward.

ana fell

lyune hit by superpower
lyune uses dragon ascent

☉

tw; excessive gore & violence

chunks of the hydreigon's flesh fall from lyune's grasping claws. thick red arcs down silver, spattering the luminescent ferns below them. the green light around lyune fades. rayquaza's primordial spirit remains in the salamence's glittering, ancient eyes. freya wipes sweat and blood from her brow and licks her lips. 

their opponent turns over in the air and she anticipates the chase, but it does not come. instead they right themselves and charge. 

spittle flies from lyune's maw; the z-crystal in freya's hair sparks to life, sending purple fire lancing down her side and over lyune's scales. his muscles bulge; his claws burst from his knuckles, thicker and deadlier than before. armor skitters over him as he bulks and he does not waver as the hydreigon nears. 

when they come together, their combined energies pulse away from them in a ripple. scales ripple; skin tears. lyune's roar is of pain and hunger and rage as he punctures the shoulder of the hydreigon with one paw and brings down the other across its belly. 

its innards spill out wetly and an iron tang hits the back of freya's tongue. lyune, incensed, draws his neck back and then strikes, fangs burrowing into the base of the hydreigon's remaining throat. his jaws snap around the girth of its neck and with a sickening tearing sound, he rips muscle and sinew and bone clean from the rest of its body. 

one head of the hydra hangs limply in his jaws, its rider exposed behind the mangled tangle of gore and fur. freya, pale eyes glittering, her skin likewise smattered with blood and stray pieces of the hydreigon's flesh, readies an arrow.

ana fell

lyune uses z-move 'dragon's fury' - boosting him to his max potential
lyune kills hydreigon
freya prepares to shoot

☉

over the corpse comes vengeance. freya does not waver. her legs straighten, breath hitching as she slows her rapidly-beating pulse to steady her arms. she blinks blood from her eyes and meets this woman's own, and in the whites she sees herself. she sees her silhouette standing unmoving and unmoved, readying an arrow at her own heart.

a deft tilt of her shoulder and the arrow flies free, but it does not find purchase among her ribs. instead of punctures clean through her calf. a crippling blow, but clean and not fatal.

"you've lost enough," she says flatly.

the hydreigon is a macabre ruin of this rider's failings. approval, and understanding, flickers in freya's pale eyes as she looks down on the beaten woman. yes, this is enough.

freya does not have more words for her. lyune's tongue rasps at his red-rimmed jaw. the salamence swallows the rest of the marrow caught between his teeth and unfurls his wings once again, taking off without a second glance from he and freya alike. 

ana fell

☉