The distance from the railing to the hatch felt like ten miles rather than meters. Vanahara gritted her teeth, against the wind, against the harpy trying to claw its way to her arm, against the shield itself that wanted to drip out of shape with every break in her concentration. She just had to get the hydromancers and herself down the hatch, and then she could take on the rest. The bird-monster latched onto her shield drove its beak into her shield, and the metal buckled around it, a sharp dent punching through right at eye level; with a growl, Vanahara punched back, the strange Storm metal responding instantly and spiking right through the back of the harpy's throat. 

The heavy corpse dropped, and she moved backwards, her back to Eve and Nataly as she watched warily for more attackers. She moved as fast as she could, ushering the two ice mages behind her into a sprint for the hatch. Even at full speed, though, the drakes were faster. One came in low, and with the shield raised to protect the hydromancers from a stream of fire, Vanahara didn't see it until it was too late. Jaws fastened around her ankle, pulling upward, and she fell backward as she bit down on a sound of pain. The teeth piercing her leg were enough to break her concentration, and the metal shield dissolved around her arm, splashing to the ground as if molten hot even as frost crawled across its surface. Vana bared her teeth and lashed out with her other foot, kicking the other drake square on the nose and forcing it to release her. 

She landed hard, the breath huffing out of her, but she forced herself to keep moving. Her left hand had landed in the puddle that was all that remained of her shield, and on instinct, she lifted her hand and threw it out. A cluster of glass-sharp shards of metal flew out from her fingers and embedded themselves in the drake's eyes. Its scream ricocheted in her ears, but Vana didn't stick around to see it die—she scrambled to her feet, and in a few long strides she jumped down the hatch after the hydromancers, quickly slicing the rope tied at her waist with the blade of her gauntlet. 

With everyone inside, she turned, raising her hands and curling them into fists as she brought them down, slamming the hatch closed. She waited an extra moment, clenching her hands tighter, as a few points on the metal hatch spot-welded to the frame seemingly of their own accord—the extra reinforcement they sorely needed. Shaking her hands out from where they were starting to prickle with overuse, she reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a length of cotton. She stood on one foot and raised the other to quickly wrap the fabric tightly around the sluggishly bleeding punctures on her ankle. With a quick pass of her hand, she also stowed away the prize she'd managed to hold onto—she'd look at it later.

"I'll open it later," she said shortly, glancing up at the secured hatch, favoring her undamaged foot as she turned again. "Sir, I should get to the engine room. Much more of this stress and pipes could fracture—a leak will slow us down drastically." If she was still barred from the engine room, then she'd go where Commander Hayes ordered her, but there wasn't much more she could do for the hull if the hydromancers were safe.