[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/696701994790027387/861929953271349288/2DaZRZ0.png[/img]

Thomas grit his teeth, an appropriately piercing melody played with perfect accuracy and articulation within his own mind and soul, a melody that only he could hear. A melody that screamed danger and despair, with the dragon's own guttural howls acting almost like a distorted countermelody to it. Quite the stark contrast to what followed quite abruptly after, as Kanbaru approached both him and Riku. 

Now, instead of an outright burst of malice, the music instead told a far more subtle, but yet still sinister, story. It was much like Kanbaru's demeanour, her predatory smirk and the way it felt she was looking, staring at them... or was that even Kanbaru at all? Whoever and whatever didn't really matter though, what mattered was the way it came across, how off it felt. The recognisable quality of the melody didn't even rub off on the boy, not yet at this point. But it did give him the idea that something was up.

The realisation that this dark, menacing beast was Katie, however, was something that resonated loudly over the music in his already sound-filled mind. Not to mention the questions that came with it, but for now that was neither here nor there. Thomas' head snapped to Riku, his countenance creased with confusion and absolute bewilderment, and then back to the dragon. Or, well, Katie. 

[color=violet]"That... that can't be..."[/color]

Now all ideas of attack and retaliation became a lot less favourable to the boy, as it did for Riku as well, though at the same time the task of talking her down or out of this state, of which she seemed to have little or no control over, seemed close to fruitless. How could they reason with a dragon that large on the attack, no matter who it was below the scales? And attack it did, a deadly rush of air pressure slicing through the atmosphere at a breakneck speed towards the group. Materialising his glaive near instantly and bracing himself, Thomas began to perform quick and precise revolutions with the weapon, spinning it and building up momentum, before that built up force and energy met the impact of the blow, blocking and practically negating it save for the boy being forced back a few paces. 

But that was only the start of it. As the crumbling ceiling of the Abyss hurled debris down to the party, an onslaught of dark fireballs was launched their way as well, a lethal shower of obsidian flame. The boy weaved and dodged his way around them as best as he could, and with surprising elegance too, though a few small burns and singed hairs were certainly visible, even after using his glaive to ward away the last few that were sent towards him. 

And, if that wasn't enough, the dragon followed in its projectiles' footsteps, swooping down and hurtling towards the group like a machine, uncompromising in speed and power and about the most menacing image Thomas had seen so far during his time in the Tower. Was this really Katie? This bringer of absolute destruction, attacking with reckless abandon and a lack of compassion that made the regular Katie seem like an overbearing aunt in comparison. Perhaps a previous version of the boy would've dived out of the way at this point into safety, or gone to someone else to help him or tell him what to do. But at that moment, given the circumstances, the idea of that was inconceivable to Thomas. Maybe it was partially down to the fact that he felt he had little, if anything, to lose at this point. But if there was any chance that he could get through to Katie, then he was going to take it, whether it seemed hopeless or not. 

The melody in his head now played louder than ever, but Thomas didn't hear it at all. His violet eyes gleamed as he waited for the right moment, staring down a colossal jaw and a seemingly soulless pair of marble-like eyes while counting down the seconds. And then he closed his eyes, and leapt.

Palms clutching, fingers gripping for dear life, arms and legs wrapped tightly around that long and winding tail. When he opened his eyes, Thomas couldn't quite believe what he saw before him. A back. A gargantuan back. The dragon's back, just in front of him. He'd actually made it. Though the boy was hesitant to call it a success just yet though, in fact he was far from it, given that now came the equally difficult task of staying on the damn thing, as well as getting off of its tail and onto its back...