GODSENT | reyge

1-3; all bite, no bark

Again, Reyna is in a plane. She has no time to be nervous about this, however, when Sova is in the cockpit, gripping the wheel tight as his heartbeat hammers angrily. He had been expressively reluctant to be the one piloting Reyna over to Australia's Kangaroo Valley — he'd only agreed when Sage had come up to place a placating hand on his shoulder. Being that Sage was to be present on this mission too, Sova had been decisively more receptive to his role.

His reluctance doesn't keep him from sending Reyna the same distrustful side-eyes he tended to save for Cypher. But no matter; if anything, Reyna found it very amusing that she had as much of his attention as she did.

She ignores him for the most part, anyway, preferring to keep her sight and senses trained on the woman beside her.

Sage is in a thin white singlet similar to Reyna's—the standard issue ones that every single agent had in their wardrobes—and somehow, she manages to make it look like a piece on the fashion shows Lucia loved to watch. Her eyes, void of their usual seriousness, are fixed on the scenery of dense forestry outside, and her hands are empty of weapons.

Reyna decides that she quite likes this image of Sage too. It is open, relaxed, reflected in the way Sage keeps her head lolled back against the metal shell of the Vulture, the way her dark hair flows freely in the wind. In their lifestyle, it's rare that they could catch a break — not that Reyna would ever need one, her goals do not give her that liberty to.

"Sova." Sage nods in the direction of the pilot. "Here will do."

Without a word, Sova begins their descent, till Sage calls out sharply.

"Not too low." Her gaze is scanning the canopy below them, where the wind conjured from the Vulture's powerful engines were blowing quite harshly at the tallest branches. "The Great Reclaimer will not like it if we disturbed her territory."

Reyna double-checks that her pistol is fastened properly in its holster before she jumps down after Sage on the rope that Sova had thrown out for them. She lands heavily, knees bowing to break the force of her jump, and when she straightens, Sage is already upright, taking in the surroundings.

The trees grow tall, barely apart from each other, their thin trunks and roots punctuating the otherwise fully leaf-covered ground. It is dark and deathly silent; the air is only permeated by the rustling and crunching of dead twigs and leaves as Sage and Reyna advance through the forest.

"Stay close," Sage has the need to say as they head deeper.

"I'm right behind you, corazón." Reyna ducks under a particularly low branch and brings her pointer finger up to rub at the rough bark of the tree. When she pulls away, tiny remnants of brown fragments remain, and she rubs it between her thumb and forefinger, fascinated by the texture. "This forest is not doing very well."

"It isn't." Sage's voice is soft as she goes ahead, looking around at the barren forest with her brows furrowed cutely. "Kirra is extremely worried about how consequential the Rift that is right above this entire valley is."

"How will we find her?" It is humid here, and Reyna brings a hand up to the neckline of her singlet and tugs. Even in sleeveless wear, she feels the stickiness cling to her skin in an unpleasant way.

"She should be around the Rift."

They reach a clearing, and here, Reyna can see the Rift clearly, a rip in their reality, a black, gaping hole that served as a reminder to the threat this Omega Earth represented. They didn't even know of these Rifts were Omega's doing, even. The possibilities were endless, and Reyna feels fortunate that she doesn't need to do the thinking here: her job is to fight till her soul is sucked dry.