the dragon's own wounds, the worst of them, are reminiscent of lyune's. though this ranger has done a hell of a job patching her up, freya can see the twinging muscles on her shoulders, the intermittent flexing of claws when she shifts. she won't let any of her team close. she's still wild.

"you saved her life," she says, still watching the beast. "salamence value loyalty, even the wild ones."

they're in a secluded part of the draciary. other dragons that might have set her off are kept away. even lyune keeps his distance some yards off, large head on his paws and eyes trained on his mistress and the newcomers. 

freya's lips twitch. "don't you worry about her feeling domesticated. she's not going to turn into a mewling kitten. porter, was it? are you ready to tame her?"

porter holmes

☉

"that's because it is," she says bluntly, but there's a hint of amusement in her gaze. 

she doesn't dare take another step closer to t'neri, but she does move in a wide circle around her. no doubt she's been pent up since the injury. the easiest way to treat her would be after expending most of her energy, but freya doesn't want to risk more damage until she's taken a good look at her wing and ensured it's healed properly.

the dragon lowers her head and hisses lowly. lyune hisses back, but freya waves a hand towards him. 

"she's itching for a fight," freya says and then tilts her chin towards her. "you have another pokemon on you?"

a pokemon he can depend on. better that than one of her dragons. 

porter holmes

☉

she doesn't yet know if he has it in him to tame dragons. he's timid and easily flustered. not good signs to start off with, but not impossible. people like Gwendolyn Conway have flourished here, working among the dragons. still, maybe she's better off starting him with a goomy than the cross salamence and its anxious hissing. 

when the empoleon emerges, freya is satisfied and nods to him before stepping away to join lyune's side. his presence will keep the smaller female in check. 

"you can't hold back," she says. "salamence - they're ruthless. she won't respect you until you beat her. really beat her."

porter holmes

☉

cadet holmes, she recognizes, is her antithesis. he is a thinker where she is a doer. luckily for him, his empoleon accounts for his shortcomings. while his empoleon spars with the dragon, freya examines the trainer, and finds his willpower...lacking. his curiosity, however, reminds her remarkedly of eva's. 

some of us aren't meant for war and yet it finds them, over and over and over again. 

"most of them, yes," she says and looks back at the battle - both sides are bloodied. limbs shake. commands lose any power as primal instinct takes over in totality. it'll be good for her, in the long run, to know she will not be made docile. 

"a dragon is never wholly tamed. they're not yampers or furfrou. mutual respect and loyalty, earning their trust - that makes you partners." t'neri slashes outward and rake across a steel defense. "they won't settle for anything less."

porter holmes

☉

"you're proving your worth to her in her language," she says, still watching with continued curiosity as stress pinches porter's brow. ermenesande is as brilliant a knight as any; cold steel meets resistance against t'neri's frustrated flame. neither of them succumb to the exhaustion climbing through their skeletons and freya can sense the salamence's slowly growing frustration.

once its pride breaks, that hardened exterior will shatter and porter's reward will lie in wait. 

"do what you must. if thinking out loud helps, then who am i to say shut it? although, probably not the best strategy if you're going toe to toe with another trainer." or a megalopolan. or a member of the drk triad. 

blood spills scarlet on the ground and goosebumps rise along freya's arms. anticipation curdles in her belly and she tilts her chin sharply to porter. 

"finish it. you have to make the call. it can't come from your empoleon."

porter holmes

☉

satisfaction smooths away the creases on her face and she thinks, we may make a fighter out of you yet, but is it right? is it right to take every soul and mold them into soldiers for the coming war?

ermenesande reacts with the spirit needed to end the battle. t'neri gives ground for the very first time and brow bleeding, lungs heaving, she looks at her trainer and lowers her head. 

her wings flatten, and her tail lay flat against the earth, but freya smirks when the tip of it twitches. 

"good! she's got a lot of spirit and you're going to have to work hard to keep her in line, but this is a fantastic start."

porter holmes

☉

two cautious steps forward and freya holds her breath. several more and her shoulders relax, though she follows silently behind him in case things go south. when he shows apprehension, poses a question instead of tending to her wounds directly, she freezes, waiting and watching.

and, thankfully, t'neri seems exhausted enough to let him in. her poised tail falls flat on the ground and she lifts her wings to expose the wounds. 

"good job, ranger. we'll make a tamer of you yet."

porter holmes

☉