"Slower... slower, go slower..."
High in the sky, Talulah sat on the back of a Wyvern, her face deathly pale as she watched the ground rapidly blur past below her. This was her first time flying, and she was still struggling to adapt to the sensation. Seeing her grit her teeth, wanting to look at the ground yet not daring to, Jeanne's heart was filled with amusement.
"Don't be nervous, you're not going to fall off. This is fun!"
As she spoke, Jeanne stood up and twirled in front of Talulah. However, she didn't command the Wyvern to perform any difficult maneuvers; she simply let it fly steadily along.
"Easy for you to say! Who has ever had an experience like this before? Isn't it normal to be afraid? Sit down! Stay still and stop swaying back and forth like that!!!"
Talulah sat there, her fingers digging hard into the scales. Watching Jeanne move around in front of her felt like a person with a fear of heights walking on a glass bridge while their friend jumped up and down right before them. The other person's movements forced your eyes to follow, but every time you looked at her, you saw the scenery around you, and the fear would return...
"Oh, come on~ You're a Draco! According to the legends of your race, if a female dragon like you couldn't fly, you'd have been tossed from a great height long ago to force you to learn."
Seeing the bristling Talulah, Jeanne continued to tease her with interest. One would get used to this after a few times, and if she didn't tease her now, there might not be another chance.
"What kind of Draco would throw their child from the sky? We aren't Liberi. Besides, even Liberi can't fly, so how could a Draco?"
Jeanne waved her hand, signaling that only fools worried about such things. But it was indeed strange; clearly, they possessed the racial traits of Dragons, Wyrms, and Angels—beings born to fly—yet they hadn't inherited the actual ability to fly?
For their original archetypes, flight was the most basic of powers. Especially for Wyrms, who could fly freely even without wings. Including Pegasi, all the races that could fly in original lore had lost that fundamental ability... Was it that they truly couldn't fly, or was it that they were forbidden from flying and thus abandoned the skill until it was completely forgotten?
Jeanne looked up at the sky. It was like a forbidden zone for life. Based on the information from the game, the nations of Terra knew almost nothing about the sky—it was a blank slate. What secrets were hidden up there?
"Hey, hey... wake up, sister. You're the one controlling the Wyverns, and you're the leader. Be careful not to fly in the wrong direction!"
Seeing Jeanne staring at the sky motionlessly, Talulah hurriedly called her back to her senses. In her stress, her hand clenched tight, and with a crack, she snapped off a piece of a scale.
Talulah stared blankly at the scale in her hand. She hadn't expected the thing to be so flimsy. How did she just pull it off? She immediately apologized to the Wyvern. Thinking empathically, if Jeanne pulled a scale off her own tail, she wouldn't speak to Jeanne for at least three days.
"It's okay, that's a scale that was naturally shedding. A dragon's scales are like your baby teeth; even if they aren't damaged, they get replaced from time to time. Some stubborn ones just get stuck between the new scales."
Jeanne examined the scale in Talulah's hand and noticed the root had already broken off. It was like dandruff stuck in hair; it didn't take much force to pull it out.
"Keep it. When we get back, I'll help you refine it. Maybe we can make a heart-protecting mirror out of it."
Hearing Jeanne's words, Talulah breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew Wyverns shed scales? At least, she had never shed anything like that.
"Alright, stop being afraid. Come, hold my hands and try to stand up."
As she spoke, Jeanne grasped Talulah's hands, which were tense with exertion. Like a child learning to walk, Talulah used Jeanne's soft and warm hands for support and slowly stood up. With Jeanne's encouragement, she began to try taking steps on the dragon's back. The dragon was massive; as long as one mastered the balance, it was possible to walk within a certain range.
Feeling the howling wind by her ears and watching the shifting landscape below, Talulah never imagined that one day she could stand in the sky, looking down at the tundra from such a height. The tundra, which seemed so cruel in her eyes, actually appeared quite beautiful from this vantage point. The pure, flawless white snow shone exceptionally bright under the sunlight.
Talulah slowly let go of Jeanne's hands and spread her arms to embrace the wind, the sky, and the earth. Jeanne felt she should go over and reenact a scene from Titanic, but remembering the ending involving a sinking ship, she suppressed her urge to cause trouble.
"Is this what the so-called 'Great Figures' see... Looking down from this height, those who suffer are merely tiny black dots in their eyes..."
Talulah felt a trace of dread. If she ever stood in such a high position, would she still be able to see the people below? If that day truly came, could she still stand on the side of the Infected and the oppressed to fight for them? Would her decisions then end up harming them instead?
Talulah didn't dwell on it for long, as the Wyverns reached the vicinity of the village. They landed in a large clearing within the forest nearby.
After landing, Jeanne and Talulah led the Guerrillas into the village. Not all members had come, however; a portion of the Shieldguards and Patriot remained to guard the landship. There were still captives from the command center on board who couldn't be allowed to escape.
Excluding the Shieldguards, whose expressions were unreadable, the Yetis—flying for the first time—were extremely excited and talked incessantly about the view, even though their legs felt like jelly and a few had vomited everywhere because they couldn't handle the flight.
As for Frostnova, she seemed quite adapted to the environment... well, if one ignored the fact that the rabbit ears on her head were almost tied in knots and her eyes looked a bit dazed.
Once they entered the village, the villagers—who had naturally heard of the legendary Infected Guerrillas—were thrilled to hear they would be joining the community. After all, the Guerrillas were a legend of the tundra! With their protection, even the Inspection Teams would have to think twice about whether they were a match for such a unit...
While the villagers were welcoming the Guerrillas and Talulah was busy introducing them, Jeanne, who was standing to the side in a daze, felt someone gently tugging at her sleeve. She looked back to see Alina, who signaled for her to talk elsewhere.
Once they reached a secluded corner, Alina asked:
"What exactly did you encounter? I can feel how exhausted Talulah is, and her face is frighteningly pale! You weren't injured, were you?"