The dragon leveled out inside the lower cloud layer, its wings adjusting to a cruising rhythm that was gentler than the vertical assault but still fast enough to push Raizen's hair flat against his skull. The white clouds pressed in from every side, the visibility still limited to a few meters, the Eon currents still tingling across his skin in competing waves. But the pressure was manageable here - uncomfortable, like standing in a really strong wind, but not deadly. Not like the upper layers, where the curved discharges wove their killing lattice above them.
Elin sat up. Slowly, her back straightening, her hands releasing the grip on the dragon's neck ridges. She rolled her shoulders, tilted her head from side to side, and exhaled with the long, satisfied breath of someone who had just completed something difficult and was ready to enjoy the aftermath.
