Devyn paced in front of the stronghold, her boots clicking on the cobblestone just outside the structure. She flexed her hands open and closed, feeling the familiar pain of her nails pinching the inside of her palm. What's taking them so long? She should be here by now. She lifted a hand to her mouth, considering biting at her nails for the first time in a while, before forcing herself to drop it. She had just gotten out of that habit; she wasn't going to allow herself to dive back into it just because of a little stress.

She finally heard footsteps making their way around the building, and she glanced up to find Aneira approaching with a guard holding her upper arm on either side. The blonde offered her a sheepish smile, as if to apologize, as the group made their way over. Devyn pulled her shoulders back and kept her arms at her sides.

"Good, you've finally made it," she growled, eyeing the guards. They shrugged and chuckled to themselves as they shoved Aneira in Devyn's direction and walked off. The momentum of the shove sent the blonde stumbling into Devyn, and she reluctantly caught her before she ended up falling on her face.

"Thanks," Aneira told her brightly. How in the shadow god's name is she so perky? She's a prisoner, and the sun has literally just risen, and yet she's all full of energy. It's weird. Devyn rolled her eyes and gave her a light shove away.

"We've already lost a lot of time, thanks to whatever dallying you were up to all morning," Devyn muttered, beginning to walk in the direction of the dragon keep. "So you better keep your ass at my side and quit being all..." She trailed off and simply waved a hand in Aneira's direction, as if to say 'well, just look at you!' She thought she heard the girl laugh as she fell into step just behind Devyn.

They soon reached the dragon hold — not that there was an actual building that deserved that name. Large holes had been carved by hand down the side of a tall stone cliff near the stronghold, and all of the riders' dragons had claimed a rook of their own, which they had filled with bedding material themselves. Devyn scanned the cliff face for a moment before her gaze dropped to the two dragons already waiting for them. A few soldiers kept guard at their sides, swords at the ready. Devyn didn't know who they were there to protect: the dragons or the human passerby.

Devyn walked immediately up to Twyl, who rumbled a pleasant greeting as he stepped up to her. She ran a hand across his broad mahogany jaw, scratching him just beneath his wide chin, and glanced in Aneira's direction. She was hesitantly approaching the other dragon, who had scales of forest green, which Devyn recognized from when the two captains had fought while on dragon back.

I guess that must be her dragon, Devyn thought to herself as she studied the green dragon. We'll have to take extra precautions to ensure they don't just fly off on their own and escape.

"Are you sure it's smart to have her ride her own dragon?" She asked the soldiers standing guard. They shared a look before one of them shrugged and offered a wry smile.

"Ah, that dragon won't be able to do nothin', don't you worry. There's a device fixed to 'er wing, there is. Serves as a trackin' device o' sorts. With that on 'er, she won't go nowhere you don't want 'er goin'." The soldier pointed to the green dragon, and Devyn noticed a small metal object that had been tied — somewhat haphazardly — to the end of one of her wings. Devyn didn't know how the device worked, but she nodded her agreement to the soldier and murmured a thank you to him for telling her. He simply grinned and returned to his friend's side.

Devyn hoisted herself up onto Twyl's back, letting the dragon roll out his shoulders and shake out his neck. She wasn't sure how far they would be able to fly before they would have to dismount and go on foot; the mountain was too dangerous to risk flying straight up to the peak, and the altitude of the sky above it would likely prove hazardous.

She waited — rather impatiently — while Aneira clambered up onto her dragon's slender back. Then she rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue a few times; Twyl took a few loping strides and leapt into the air. For a moment they stalled there, only a few feet from the ground, before the dull red dragon spread his wings and caught himself on the wind, putting in a couple of strong flaps for good measure. They steadily rose through the air, turning in a lazy spiral to check that Aneira was behind them. The blonde captain and her dragon had just taken off from the ground and were quickly catching up. Devyn allowed herself to let out a breath and guided Twyl back around until they were flying in the direction of the tall black mountain to the north. The crook at the very peak seemed to glare at them from afar, as if daring them to come closer. Devyn never would have chosen to travel to the cursed mountain. But it's not like I have a choice, she thought to herself bitterly, hunching her shoulders and setting her focus solely on the peak ahead.

The wind whipped Devyn's dark hair in her face and around her head; while it was still shorter than shoulder length, she wished she would have thought to give it a trim before their flight. Now her dark locks were battering all around her in a messy knot, and she knew she'd have difficulty getting all of the tangles brushed out when they returned. If they returned, a voice inside her head grimly corrected. Devyn shook away the thought, tightening her grip on one of Twyl's thick black neck spikes.

Aneira and her dragon were soon flying a short distance behind the pair, slightly to the left so as to avoid the wind the broad-shouldered dragon was leaving in his path. The blonde had smartly tied her long hair up in a messy bun on the top of her head; only a few strands were caught up in the rushing wind.

Devyn saw out of the corner of her eye that Aneira opened her mouth part of the way, as if to start up a pleasant conversation, before she abruptly shut it upon seeing the hard expression on the dark-haired captain's face. Good, Devyn thought. I don't want to talk to her right now. She didn't feel like talking to anyone, not after all that had happened in the throne room with Kemble. She needed to prove the chancellor wrong first, and then perhaps she would be free to share pleasantries.

As she turned her attention back to their flight, Devyn gazed down at the land they were crossing. They were flying at the edge of the forest now, tall pine trees waving to them as they passed. She spotted the edge of a wide river somewhere to their left, which weaved its way back and forth. Devyn couldn't recall the name of the river, but she knew that it eventually fed into a large lake called the Fidel. When they were no older than nine or ten, Devyn and Rhona had hiked to the lake to swim and splash around in the shallow water. Devyn would always pretend she was a princess who had been cursed and transformed into a mermaid, and Rhona would be forced to play the brave knight that rescued her on dragon back and turned her back into a human. Of course, they hadn't had dragons of their own back then, so Rhona would either ride one of their parents' mules or would use whatever piece of driftwood the pair could scrounge up. A hint of a smile darted across Devyn's lips at the fond memory. How simple life was back then, she thought wryly, a grimace quickly returning to her features. And how complicated it has become since.

Devyn watched as the landscape changed from a forested undergrowth to an open field swimming with rough grass. She noted the change in soil texture; from what she could see from above as they flew across, the soil became dryer and dryer the farther north they travelled. She almost wondered if it was a side effect of the dark magic that Mount Nyswell was soaked in, if it had somehow cursed the very ground it stood on. She studied the environment, silently making shapes out of the curved stones that were littered around, as the sun sank lower in the sky. Finally, she held up a hand and Twyl slowed to a hover.

"Let's land for the night," Devyn called back to Aneira. The girl perked up a little and nodded as the two dragons drifted down into the clearing. Twyl let out a low grumble as he accidentally brushed wing tips with the other dragon upon landing; Aneira's green dragon let out a sharp hiss and sidestepped away.

"The tents are in the bags on Twyl," Devyn continued as she carefully extricated herself from the dragon's back. He tucked his wings back to his sides and immediately sank down lower so that Devyn could reach the burlap bags that had been tied to his back. She murmured praise to the dragon, patting his side, as she undid the ties and set the bags down on the ground. "The food should be with your dragon."

"Her name is Claer." Aneira told her quietly as she slid down the green dragon's back and went around to one side to untie the bags. They were slightly smaller than the ones Twyl had been carrying, which Devyn decided made sense, considering the dragons' size difference.

"What difference does it make?" Devyn muttered, rolling her eyes as she opened up the bags that held the tent equipment. She glanced at the materials inside, about to take it all out and set up the tents herself, before she thought better of it.

"Here," she grunted, tossing the bags one by one to Aneira. The blonde's eyes went wide as she saw them hurtling towards her; she caught the first one by a hair, but the other two dropped to the ground on either side of her. Devyn narrowed her eyes, feeling frustration build up inside of her, and stalked around in search of kindling for a fire. She picked up as many sticks as she could find. Fortunately, while there weren't many trees in the area they had chosen, the wood she did see was old and dry, and Devyn found a plethora of suitable fuel to use. She sat down, clearing away all of the dead grass that poked limply out of the dirt, and began to craft the base of a fire. Four sticks were propped against each other to create the frame, before she added smaller sticks and pieces of dry grass above and below to fill the space, while still being careful to allow air to flow through. When the base was built, Devyn slipped a small dagger from its place in her pocket and collected a lopsided rock from the ground beside her. She struck the blade of the knife against the rock a few times, producing sparks that lit up the darkening surroundings, until at last a flame caught the small tinder at the bottom of the structure. Devyn watched the fire grow for a moment, ensuring that it wasn't going to die outright, before she stood back up.

Aneira had finished setting up the two tents and was fishing around in the other set of bags in search of their food. She pulled out the carefully wrapped meat and dried fruit, handing the former over to Devyn for her to cook over the fire. As Devyn prepared a stake to put the meat on, Aneira began to divide up the fruit.

"How many days are we planning for?" Aneira asked quietly after a moment. Devyn's eyes flitted up from her work to glance at her. "I just want to make sure we don't use all of this up in one night if we need to plan for more camping."

Devyn turned her gaze back to the makeshift stake she had created, propping it up over the growing flame and spearing the meat with it until it hung just above the fire. "This will hopefully be the only night we have to camp. But I'd leave some aside just in case we need it tomorrow night, if we don't get back before dark."

Aneira nodded and, keeping some of the fruit still in its bag, held out the rest of it to Devyn. She glanced warily up at it, her instincts keeping her from reaching out. It would be so easy for her to poison it, to take me out quickly and quietly. There are no witnesses, either. When she still didn't grab any of the offered fruit, Aneira let out a soft sigh and pulled her hand away, nibbling on one of the pieces herself.

After several long and quiet moments, Aneira plopped herself down across the fire from Devyn. Her grey eyes rested on the meat, which was sizzling slightly. Devyn rotated the spit so it continued to cook evenly. Her gaze darted up to Aneira as she heard the girl let out a soft hum.

"Is it almost ready?" Aneira asked, a small smile on her lips. "It smells like it is."

"Be patient, will you?" Devyn grumbled, her attention returning to the cooking meat. It was already browning on the outside; she only needed it to remain above the fire long enough for the inside to be cooked fully.

Devyn rotated the meat again, examining its surface before deeming that it was about done on the outside. She brought her knife back out and poked a delicate slit into the thickest part of the chunk. When she slid the blade back out and studied its surface, she didn't find anything suspicious. "It's done," she murmured, taking the spit off of the fire. She cut the meat in two, handing part of it to Aneira and keeping the other half for herself. The blonde girl couldn't seem to hold back a smile as she accepted the food.

Juice dribbled down Aneira's chin when she first bit into it, and she visibly vibrated with happiness as the taste of the food sank in. She tore off a chunk and popped it into her mouth.

"This is really good," the blonde told her, a smile on her lips. Devyn simply shrugged and focused on eating. She could hear the similar sounds of eating coming from the two dragons, who had found their own bloody chops in the bags of food and were munching on them contently — for once too distracted to care about each other.

The pair lapsed into silence as they ate, and Devyn couldn't stop thinking about all that had happened that had led them here. She felt an immense dread for what was to come, for what they were likely to witness once they reached the mountain, and that feeling was combined with intense rage towards Kemble for even forcing her to go on this journey in the first place. And yet, another part of her altogether argued that it was her own fault, that she had deserved all of this for everything she had done and the ways she had treated people.

Aneira suddenly shifted across the fire, and she felt the blonde's eyes on her. "So, Devyn, did you—"

"Shut up! Damn it! Will you please just shut up?" Devyn snapped, jumping suddenly to her feet. Aneira shrank away, her eyes going wide. Her breath came in huffs, and she felt every part of her quivering with a strange burst of adrenaline. "I don't understand why you're so perky and happy all the time. Can't you see that none of this is going the way we wanted it to go? There is nothing good about any of this. So can you please just... Can you please stop trying to make it into something it's not?"

Her chest heaved, and Devyn stood with her arms spread out to her sides, her whole body rising and falling along with her breath. She noticed Aneira's frightened expression and forced herself to take a step back, something inside her crumpling as she took in the girl's fear. She stole one last glance at the girl before biting the inside of her cheek and retreating to her tent.