[OPEN]

[dracobin]

Characters: Temeraire and YOU!
Date: April 26
Location: Outside the Palace of Landed Sky
Situation: Following the attacks, Temeraire calls the nascent Keeliai Aerial Corps to investigate the palace.
Warnings/Rating: Probably injuries as a result of encountering the barrier? Other exciting developments? WE SHALL SEE.

It was at once obvious something was wrong with the palace; in hindsight, he ought to have looked to it sooner. It was only that there were so many other things to occupy one's attention, when one's friends had been injured, and one's apartment had been converted into a makeshift shelter for one's kedan neighbors, and one's console flickered alarmingly, at the edge of one's vision, so one was never entirely certain if one was seeing it or not--

But now he kept the monstrous, spiky form of the palace firmly in view as he flew, with as many of his crew as he could carry clipped onto his harness. If there was anything that could be done, he resolved to find it; it was the least he could do, after his lapse in attention.

Comments

[dracobin]

At the very least, the fact that the mist was more spread out made it easier to see: still the same barrier, rising ever higher, and it appeared to hold up to Zelgadis's probing.

Temeraire would have tried pushing himself further, and likely injured himself in the process, had it not been for Zelgadis. He turned his attention to the mage, eyes wide.

"You may clip on to my back for the descent, if you like," he offered. "As much as I dislike the thought, I do not think there is anything more to be gained from flying higher."

[gathersnomoss]

"Thanks," Zelgadis said, floating over to Temeraire and grabbing on to the harness, considering how best to secure himself to the dragon.

[dracobin]

The aviators' harnesses normally worn by his human passengers were currently in use, but there were plenty of loops and buckles on Temeraire's harness to provide sufficient handholds. Temeraire, for his part, focused on making a controlled descent, keeping his wings spread wide as he slowly deflated his internal air-sacs.

They moved in a careful half-circle away from the barrier, dropping quickly but steadily. The breezes around the palace were strange--a side effect of the barrier being in the way, perhaps?--and Temeraire found himself having to compensate for their erratic patterns more than once. Still, descending was easier than ascending, and he landed in short order.

"Well," he said, once he had got his breath back, "at least we know the barrier's perimeter for certain."

[gathersnomoss]

"Right, " Zelgadis said, recovering his own breath. "And no reason to think there's any way in if it extends that far up."