Hollow Crown ↬ Daenerys Targaryen

19

The wind rushes past Percy's ears like it would an arrow soaring through the sky. Vast blue sky and white clouds are the only thing visible, with minimal land just barely peaking through from below. The three dragons screech and roar, relishing in their natural way of life while the three humans join them for the ride.

The bitter cold of the North is magnified the higher up they fly, and he's sure he would have froze by now if it weren't for Viserion's naturally heated self warming him up. The creature's body is like a fireplace, not too hot to the touch and distributing what heat he does have in all the right places.

Daenerys and Jon don't seem as bothered by the cold as he is. The Targaryen because of her warm blooded lineage, he's assuming, and the Stark because he's lived in the north his whole life. Despite this, the bastard is still visibly uncomfortable, maybe more so than the Lannister. Understandably considering it's his first time flying, which most likely isn't something he ever imagined himself doing.

Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal move freely through the air, occasionally making twists and turns and descents and ascents. To anyone looking up from below, the sight is probably a terrifying one, seeing three full grown dragons - beasts of horror stories told by lords and ladies to instill fear - soaring through the sky. But to the three riders, it's a sight that warms the frigid cold.

All at once, the dragons descend from the sky in a blur of white and black, flying steadily down until the clouds pass. When his vision clears, the terrain of the north - snow, rock and ice - is all around him again. Thankfulness settles in his gut, the ground a comforting sight opposed to the endless view of the sky.

A faint sound reaches his ears, like music in the wind, and when he looks over, he sees Daenerys throw her head back with laughter. Her icy white hair flutters behind her, shining in the brief sun as her face is accentuated in the light. That familiar feeling replaces all others inside of him - the same one he feels whenever he's around the woman of his dreams, the woman who somehow manages to enamour him whenever she's around - and over all else in the world, Percy wishes he could somehow capture this moment and store it in his brain forever.

Then another feeling washes that away, one that he has a prediction will become just as familiar to him. Dread, anguish and sadness all bonded together to form one massive feeling of hopelessness. A feeling that slowly encompasses his body until his vision briefly flashes red, and he must turn away before Daenerys catches his look and mistakes it for something it's not.

And over all the knowledge in the whole world, Percy wishes he could understand it. He wishes he could understand why - despite looking at the woman he's certain he would spend the rest of his life with - he feels like all the joy in the world has been torn from his being and replaced with endless dread.

He's snapped back into reality, something he's thankful for, when Viserion makes a sharp turn around a hill. His eyes widen, hands moving to grip the dragon below him as to not be flung from atop the creature to his death. He huffs in annoyance at Viserion, but the dragon only looks back at him with narrowed eyes and a small growl, as if to say 'pay more attention then'.

Looking to his left where the other two fly alongside him, he catches the look on Daenerys's face. Her eyebrows are furrowed deeply, eyes staring at him with an unmasked - albeit rare - show of affectionate concern. Something about her posture, the way she's visibly gripping Drogon out of anxiety and looking as if she'll command them to land any second, gives him the impression that she had recognized his distracted attitude.

Percy tries to ease her worry with a smile, but he can't muster one that's nearly convincing enough to do so. Coming out as more of a grimace, he smiles as best as he can before focusing his attention somewhere - anywhere - else. Feeling her stare still on him, he silently commands Viserion to fly slightly lower, just out of her eyesight.