Welcome to Gaia! ::

Malodore's attention snapped back sharply when Riley leaned against it; it immediately lowered its arms to wrap around her waist, though it did not put any of its own weight on her. "Steady," it murmured as the dragon descended.

It couldn't help a small pang of regret at the loss of the cloudscape, though. Still, Riley's welfare was infinitely more important. "Are you well, mia cara?" it asked after their altitude had stabilized once more.

Silently, Jericho just continued to gently glide on through the air, trying to keep as steady as possible for Riley. He was wondering if he should go ahead and land to help her get her bearings back, but he wasn't too sure about that. Instead he just waited while trying to listen to his passengers for any tips on what he should do.

Riley made a noise of discontent, and opened her eyes to look up at the beak that protruded in front of her. I didn't want this to end for you so soon. I think I can make it. I just need to be strong.

And she was good at strong. She knew she could handle this, if she was able to handle some of the other obstacles she'd overcome in her life. She tried sitting up straight, and felt lighter than usual. Her head was still dizzy, but it wasn't her main concern. Why couldn't she feel Jericho as firmly under her-

Oh.

Jericho. Her voice had taken on an alarming tone. Slowly. Really slowly, start landing. My legs aren't responding as well anymore - I don't have a firm hold on you. Her arms reached out and wrapped around the big dragon neck in front of her.

Malodore leaned forward as Riley did, trying to brace her between itself and the dragon's back; its tail flipped up around her waist like a seatbelt of sorts.

It would not let her fall. Nor would Jericho, it knew. It wasn't worried... just slightly on edge.

Though it took awhile, Jericho was still on his way and touching down was very immanent. He would try to make that part as smooth as possible, but as with take off, there was bound to be some lurching and bumps in the process. The dragon extended his claws out towards the ground as he came lower and lower. He could even feel the tips of the taller grasses and flowers brushing against his scales.

Then he came in contact with the ground. There were several bumps as he had to essentially jog a bit to ease them all to a stop. Once he had managed to do that, he tucked his wings back at his sides and glanced back towards the two to see how they were faring.

As soon as the first bump signalled the landing, Riley's legs clamped down as powerfully as ever, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She even managed to let go of Jericho's neck, riding the rest of the landing out as she normally did. Of course, it figured her legs would work fine once they'd landed, and she'd cut the trip short.

She chuckled in a breath as she heard Malodore's voice, and leaned back to brush her face against it's beak for a moment, before bending down to give Jericho a long stroke across the neck. Thank you. I'm still not sure why you chose me, Jericho, but, thank you. As usual, that was unforgettable. I only wish I was at my full strength, so I didn't have to-

The adrenaline was wearing off, and her legs seizured just slightly before relaxing of their own volition. She felt herself slipping to one side, and carefully balanced so that she slid off of Jericho and landed on her feet, albeit with a little bit of wobbling. Her arms reached out for Malodore.

Malodore dismounted, then opened its beak in a smile as Luce tore up to them, its hat carried proudly in her mouth. "Grazie, tresorina - and grazie, molto grazie, to you as well, Jericho," it said, turning to give the dragon a low bow. Then it straightened, sweeping its hat up onto its head as it did so.