What village are you from, horse thief?

True to his word, Lockjaw stayed with the pachys until Embargo started to recover. Whatever plants he’d mashed and smeared onto the holes in Embargo’s hide, they were working. His breathing became a little easier, his eyes started to refocus, he was starting to have feeling in his limbs again. When he started to stir - when Lockjaw was sure that he hadn’t accidentally killed Embargo and the two pachys could look after themselves again - the ovi left them. He apparently had other, very important things to do, but Deerlegs was almost certain it had to do with finding something to eat. She’d heard his stomach growl when he walked past her.

Deerlegs watched Embargo in cautious, quiet suspense as Embargo continued to regain some of his strength. She wanted to help him, but wasn’t sure… what exactly she could even do to help him. She continued to stand guard in the doorway until it looked like he was trying to stand up, which was when she made her way over to offer to help him up.

He still looked dazed and confused, but leaned on her as he found his feet. His strength still wasn’t quite his own, and the first step he tried to take almost saw him back on the floor, just because he couldn’t quite support himself. Without Deerlegs’s strength, he would have been on the floor, and he gave a quiet grunt in thanks.

It took some time, but when Embargo felt as though he could actually walk again, Deerlegs directed them towards the door. They paused just outside when Embargo had to shut his eyes against the difference in light. His pupils were taking longer to adjust to the change in light than they should; a side effect of the toxins, no doubt.

When they were able to start walking again, Embargo was surprised to realise that Deerlegs was pointing them back towards the outside of the dome. Towards the gateway, rather than back into the jungle. Was she giving up already? That seemed… very unlike her.

His tongue felt thick and awkward in his mouth when he tried to speak, and it took him a moment to really formulate the words: “Where… are we going?”

Deerlegs glanced at him, her usually fierce expression unusually subdued and otherwise difficult to read. Even her brow crests seemed strangely limp and unexpressive. “Highcliff. I’m taking us back home.”

She didn’t expect Embargo to pause when she voiced her decision aloud. She paused with him, and felt the weight of his confusion as he gazed at her.

He took another moment to get his mouth to get the words out cohesively. “We just got here.” And they hadn’t found anything. Wasn’t the whole point of her quest down here into the dome that she wanted answers that only the ovis could provide?

“Yeah, well, you almost got eaten by a plant,” Deerlegs replied with a sharp snort.

Embargo huffed, the closest sound to amusement that Deerlegs had heard from him, and she knew what the sound was for. He used to live in a hellscape where they used the corpses of their fallen loved ones and carnivores to feed the plants which they also ate, and those same carnivores hunted them from above and below. He’d never even seen the sun until recently. A carnivorous plant was not the worst thing he’d ever dealt with.

But even still, that was a situation that he had hatched into, that he couldn’t escape. He had no choice but to experience those horrors. Here, he did, and she had almost lead him into tragedy. She would’ve had to live with the weight of his death on her shoulders if she hadn’t been able to free him from the plant, or if Lockjaw hadn’t come along to help them.

“I want to stay,” he said with as much resolution as he could muster. It wasn’t her decision for him to stay or go, it was his. He was putting himself in danger so they could get answers and help Highcliff recover and, ultimately, flourish.

Deerlegs gave Embargo a long, searching look, then sighed. If they left now, then he’d been injured for no reason. They’d stay. But…

She looked back towards the dark, foreboding tangle of the jungle. Then she snorted and shook her head, her feather crests flicking. Plants were why they were here. It wasn’t an environment that either of them were used to, but she wasn’t going to let it get in the way of her goal. Their goal.

“We’ll go slow,” she agreed. More carefully and methodically than their last adventure into the jungle, and now they knew what to look out for. Some… of what to look out for. She was certainly going to be more aware of where she was putting her feet, which wasn’t something she thought she’d need to do outside of Highcliff. It wasn’t crumblerock they had to look out for down here, but tripwires and other foliage-based traps.

Rather than continuing towards the gateway, Deerlegs turned them around, walking close beside Embargo to support him if he needed it while he continued to find his footing. It was cruel, what the slingshot had done - one of a pachy’s most vital skills was their agility, and now Embargo was having trouble even walking straight.

They paused occasionally, both to look and listen for friends and foes as well as to give Embargo a moment to catch his breath. They never stayed put for very long, Lockjaw’s warning about the creepers still fresh on Deerlegs’s mind. She wasn’t sure that Embargo would be able to get free of the crawling vine’s teeth in his state, nor that she could rip through them to free him from their grasp.

Even as carefully as they went, even as much as Deerlegs tried to keep them on well-traveled paths, the trails once more gradually began to grow more and more narrow until it seemed like they reached a dead end again. Frustration and anxiety crept into Deerlegs’s heart, made worse when she was sure that she saw creeping vines crawling across the ground past the dense foliage they now stood before. They were getting nowhere, and Embargo was tiring.

“We will turn back and try again,” he murmured, reminding her not to give up. He certainly wasn’t going to. If all else failed, they could go back to the building where Lockjaw had tended to him and rest a while.

Deerlegs gazed into the dark tangle a moment longer, then flicked her crests and nodded. She turned them back the way they had come once again. They walked in tandem, not a word spoken between them. Deerlegs imagined Embargo’s silence came from his natural tendency towards not speaking much as well as fatigue. Her own came from the silent frustration boiling in her stomach. Back and forth and back and forth again with no forward progress. This was a pipe dream, and she was a fool for thinking that she could bring any hope back to Highcliff.

The quiet rustle of foliage made them both pause in their place, tense and ready to move if needed. Deerlegs had been paying extra attention to the ground to make sure that neither she nor Embargo tripped another slingshot plant - so what fresh hell was making this sound?

An oviraptor, almost perfectly blended into the dark shadows of the dense jungle understory with if not for the brilliant splashes of gold that stretched from her head to her tail and the purple leaf-like pattern on her left leg, stepped into view ahead of them.

“Oh! Hello.”

She seemed to be as taken off-guard by the pachys as they were by her. She shifted her feet, somewhat awkwardly. The orange-red earth surrounding Rainbow Lake was plain on her dark scales. It seemed she’d just come back from planting seeds on the surface.

“Is there… something that I can assist you with?” Supernova looked understandably wary of them, and confused as well. How had a couple of topsiders gotten so far into the jungle without a guide?

Now that they were faced with an oviraptor, Deerlegs wasn’t quite sure what to say. She shook out her feathers, trying to gather her thoughts.

“I had some questions-” she started, only to stop abruptly when Embargo leaned against her. Questions could wait. They needed a place to rest. “But I was hoping that you’d be able to help us get somewhere safe? We were attacked, he needs rest.”

Supernova eyed Embargo, no less wary than she was before despite his obvious state of fatigue. He glowed, and not because he was sporting any sort of armour. His eyes, his nostrils, his quills, even spots along his body. What an unusual creature. There must be something fundamentally wrong with these topsiders. It was a good thing, then, that the Atlanteans were here to help. They would make the islands better for everyone.

Supernova dipped her head. “Follow me, then. I’ll take you to the Court.”

Without Deerlegs asking, Supernova kept her pace decently slow so that Embargo could keep up. There were small holes that they had to crawl through, trees to squeeze between, and even plants that reacted to touch to move away from them to clear the path. Supernova’s guidance was that of an expert Highcliff guide, and Deerlegs knew in that moment that no matter how many times they had tried to push through the jungle, they would have failed every time.

Gradually, the towering trees and twisted undergrowth began to give way, if only a little, to something a little more recognisable. Buildings largely free of plant life except what had been permitted to grow, clean walkways that were full of life taking the form of dinosaurs that neither Embargo nor Deerlegs had ever seen. It wasn’t just oviraptors that walked the streets, but squat to the ground herbivores covered with hard, keratinised bumps and spikes all over their body and massive, heavy clubs at the end of their tails, as well as some of the largest herbivores that they had ever seen. Colossal creatures with spikes on their forelimbs the length of a pachy’s forearm, big enough to rival even an acrocanthosaurus or a therizinosaurus. The ground almost seemed to quake with their every step. Many of them were even plated in an additional covering - large amounts of material, natural and things left behind by the upwalkers, covered much of their bodies.

While the oviraptors seemed to dash here and there or shout about different things that they had available for offer - much like Magpie, in fact - the largest dinosaurs seemed to simply stroll through the streets at a much more casual, almost lazy pace. There were fewer of them in the streets, and the others seemed to make way for them whenever they were passing by.

Those with the clubbed tail were almost motionless except to chat amongst themselves, but were notably on guard, waiting for something. While some of the armour that the iguanodons wore appeared to be purely decorative or ornamental, the euoplocephalus wore theirs for protection.

It was one sucho guard - or warrior, or knight as Deerlegs and Embargo would discover them being referred to as - that Supernova lead them towards, much to both pachy’s great apprehension. She had a serious air about her, a sense of authority. Many of her feathers and osteoderms were covered by the camo-green half vest that was buckled to her shoulders and back, and she gave them a stern look as Supernova walked up with her two topsider charges in tow.

“Visitors from the islands,” Supernova introduced them as, doing an odd sort of half-bow when she spoke. Donna eyed them, her hardened expression unreadable. Deerlegs was sure they looked like they’d been dragged backwards through a bramble thicket with as long as they’d spent in the jungle, and Embargo riddled with wounds and smothered with an herbal paste. With all their travel, some of the punctures had started oozing blood again.

“They’re seeking refuge. The crested one has…” Supernova glanced back at them, her head tilted slightly, before she turned back to Donna. “Questions.”

Donna regarded them for a moment more before she nodded. “They can pass.”

Relief washed over Deerlegs, if only for a moment, before another voice froze that relief in her veins. “I can take them.”

Another oviraptor stepped towards them from within the Court with all the grace and air of superiority that the iguanodons seemed to carry with them. His dark feathers rippled with similarly dark, snake-like markings, and while Donna looked at them with judgment and Supernova with uncertainty, he simply looked unimpressed, and spoke with a tone of boredom. His eyes, though… said something more as he studied them. Deerlegs decided she didn’t like the way that he looked at them.

“Surely you have better things to do than lead a few topsiders around, don’t you Supernova?” His pale eyes were flat as he glanced towards her, Supernova almost seemed to hesitate, just for a moment, before she bowed to him as well - more steeply than she had to the euoplo - and walked off.

Being given an escort through the Court, Donna ignored them, returning to her duties with a short, curt, “Alaric” that sounded almost scornful. Though Supernova had been a stranger to them as well, these two felt markedly less friendly than she did.

Alaric started to walk off into the heart of the Court, the expectation being that they would follow him. He walked slightly more slowly for their benefit so that they could keep up, but only just below a normal walking pace. He had places to be and things to do, and babysitting a couple of topsiders who had no place here, and judging by the glowing one’s scent and general appearance, had not only invaded Atlantis but stolen from them as well.

Deerlegs walked beside Embargo, both trying to shield him from the massive bodies of the euoplos and iguanodons - who looked down their long noses at them as they walked by, wearing similar unimpressed expressions as Alaric, or curious, or even disgusted - and shield them from his quills. They were mostly flat and relaxed, but still prickled and scraped at her hide even under her feathers when they had to abruptly get out of someone’s way. She’d live with it without complaint; it was no worse than brushing up against a thorn bush at Highcliff, and Embargo looked dead on his feet even despite the paste Lockjaw had made to help him.

Alaric’s guidance lead them around the Court on quieter paths closer to the waterways, which Deerlegs was coming to realise surrounded the Court. They were on an island, the only way in or out being the bridges that they’d crossed to get here unless they wanted to swim. Deerlegs… wasn’t sure that Embargo would be swimming very far in his current condition.

“We need somewhere to rest,” she said after they’d been walking for a time. “Embargo-”

“We’re nearly there,” Alaric replied coolly, cutting her off. Deerlegs shut her mouth with a snort. Embargo was more focused on putting his feet down in a straight line, exhaustion pushing him into deeper silence.

They finally paused outside the concrete face of a plain-looking building that had moss and algae growing up its face, with no windows and only one door for entry. At the front stood two more warriors. One was dark, patterned with flashes of red and orange on her feathers, purple eye spots painted along her body, and sported armour decorated with bone spikes - the ones on the thigh plates were massive, as long as their legs. The other was perhaps the strangest creature that either pachy had ever seen. A euopolo, they thought, but wearing metal armour along its back, neck, and head, that… glowed, like Embargo, but the glow didn’t come from his hide or feathers. The armour even covered his eyes and nostrils. Was he blind? He had to be blind - there was no way he could see or smell past the metal, yet when they approached, it was him, Halberd, who looked up at the sound of their approach.

He snorted, a metallic sound that reverberated through the air. So he could breathe through the glowing grate over his nose, at least. Korppi straightened up and stretched, her feather crests flexing. “Get on with it,” she sighed.

Deerlegs glanced between them, a growing sense of unease building in her chest. She pressed up against Embargo, who in turn roused slightly. What were they getting on with, exactly?

She didn’t have long to wait and wonder, as Alaric spoke up only a beat later. “Invasion of Atlantean lands and theft of medicinal resources.”

Deerlegs’s outrage was immediate. “What?” she snorted, stamping a foot as her crests flared. “One of your own people gave us the paste when he found us in the jungle after we’d been attacked by a slingshot-”

“Unattended and invading Atlantean lands without a guide or an invitation, as I said,” Alaric continued calmly. “If you have no proof that you were aided, we have no choice but to assume you petty thieves and burglars.”

“That’s ridiculous, we just want-”

“I do not care what you want, topsider.” Alaric’s gaze was as flat as his voice, save for the bite at the word topsider. She’d heard it before, but the way he said it sounded like an insult. “You will enter the jail, and you will stay there until we can find proof of your innocence, or your release is otherwise ordered.”

“You will not run,” he motioned to the euoplos guarding the door, “or Korppi and Halberd here will be forced to take action, and I doubt that you could survive that.”

Korppi thudded her tail against the ground, which did make the earth shake beneath their feet, and Deerlegs could have sworn that she saw a smile in the euoplo’s eyes. Embargo leaned more against Deerlegs, trying to keep upright. It dug his quills into her hide and she grit her teeth. Embargo couldn’t fight or run in this state. She couldn’t leave him, and she was pretty sure that Alaric wasn’t exaggerating when he said they wouldn’t survive. Their tail looked as solid as any pachy dome, and she didn’t want to know what it felt like to be hit by it.

And there wasn’t anywhere… to run. They’d have to go back through the Court in a place full of dinosaurs that didn’t know them and seemingly didn’t like them, cross the bridge over the river, get through the jungle back to the gatehouse, and all the way back through the tunnel. They couldn’t escape if they tried; staying here was their only option.

And the oviraptor and two euoplos seemed to know it. Alaric even looked faintly amused that it had taken them this long to figure it out. He stepped between the guards, long fingers pushing the door’s handle down and pushing the door open. It was dark as night inside; the light from around the door and Embargo’s glow would be the only light that they had once inside.

“In you go.” Alaric stepped aside, motioning for them to walk forwards. If not willingly, then they would be forced inside. As well as the powerful clubs on their tails, these euoplos were uniquely fitting as guards. The horns on Korppi’s armour were sharp and could impale dinosaurs walking by if she went to crush them, and the longer ones served well to bar the way of anyone trying to get past. Halberd did, in fact, have excellent vision as well as a greater sense of smell, seemingly enhanced thanks to his visor. He could see well into the dark, as well as at a greater distance than most herbivores. He was looking directly at the two pachys, waiting for them to make a move.

After a moment longer, they did move. Deerlegs guided Embargo forwards, feather crests flat on either side of her dome in an obvious expression of her displeasure and unease. She hated this. She came here to try to help Highcliff grow and recover and now - this? Falsely imprisoned by an overgrown bird and his pet guard turtles? She doubted he was even going to look for “proof of their innocence,” but at least being inside somewhere, in this “Court of Atlantis,” they’d get a chance to lay down somewhere that plants were not a constant threat.

“You will be released from custody once your crimes have been pardoned or your sentence served,” Alaric said once they’d stepped into the darkness. Light spilled in from the doorway, though it didn’t reach all the way into the building. Still, it was enough to see that the building was much larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, where a deep channel was carved into the earth and water rushed along from where they stood to the far end of the building where light wouldn’t reach. Metal walkways lined either side of the channel and criss-crossed over it at various points, leading down even deeper.

“Food will be brought to you later. You can water yourselves in here.” Though they needed to be careful to not fall in. Those that ended up in the channel didn’t often make it back to the concrete stairs carved into the sides. The current was too fast, and they tended instead to get trapped against the metal grate at the far end of the channel. It was… a grisly fate, but could have been avoided if they had simply avoided the Court’s ire.

“What’s our ‘sentence?’” Deerlegs snapped.

Alaric sent a level stare back at her, looking only mildly insulted that she dared to speak to him in such a way. Topsiders simply had no manners. “As of yet to be decided,” he replied coolly.

Deerlegs glared back at their captors, her brilliant green gaze fierce right up until the moment that the door closed and they were plunged into near-total darkness. Small, soft points of light shone against her feathers where Embargo stood nearest to her, and his glowing quills shed a little more light on their surroundings. At least they wouldn’t be in danger of falling over the edge and into the water because they couldn’t see.

Embargo wanted little more than to lay down on the cool concrete. It was a welcome relief underfoot compared to the warmth inside the rest of the dome, though no less humid in here than it was out there. Before they could rest, though, Deerlegs carefully lead them down the stairs to the water where they could drink. The water was cool and surprisingly refreshing, clean and clear despite the dome being at the bottom of the ocean. Deerlegs wondered how that was. She also decided that she didn’t care. She didn’t care at all for their miraculously clean water, or their stuck-up attitudes, or their strange apparel. Once again, she was of the opinion that she never should have taken them down here in the first place.

Once they had enough to drink, Deerlegs lead them back up the stairs to a safe distance away from the water’s edge, stepping as carefully as she could. Some of the concrete was slick with algae and mildew growth, and she didn’t want either of them to suffer a fall in here. She helped Embargo to the ground, sniffing him over once he was safely settled. He still reeked of herbs and blood, but she didn’t want to try to clean him off in case the herbs were still doing something. And she… wasn’t sure that the herbs were really safe to ingest, either. She didn’t know anything about this place, and her lack of knowledge only served to piss her off more.

She glanced towards the door, where she could just see the outline of it thanks to faint light peeking around it. The light disappeared every now and then, likely due to their guards moving around. She could just hear Korppi and Halberd chatting with one another, as though they weren’t standing guard over two islanders who had done nothing wrong. Not just that they’d done nothing wrong, even, but Embargo was wounded. He was ill. The wounds didn’t smell, but he was warm to the touch. It was… alarming.

Deerlegs got to her feet and made her way to the door. Maybe Korppi and Halberd would be more chatty now that Alaric was gone. He seemed like a right prick anyway.

“How long are you going to keep us here?” she asked. Her voice was undoubtedly muffled by the door between them but she knew that they heard her, because their chattering paused.

“Not too much longer, I imagine,” Halberd chuckled.

Deerlegs could hear Korppi smirk when she spoke as well. “Just until the next shift gets here. Then it’ll be them keeping you in there.”

Their laughter infuriated her further. “So that’s it? You’re just going to trade places with others until you get bored with us?”

“Calm down topsider,” Korppi snorted. “It’s not the end of the world. I’m sure the courtiers will find some use for you so that you can earn your freedom like the other topsiders that have come through.”

“Though in your case…” Halberd paused as he considered the implications behind their reasons for incarceration. “Who knows. The Queen herself may need to pardon you. Theft is a serious crime.”

“We didn’t steal anything!” she snorted. “Lockjaw gave us that paste to help Embargo- “

“Is Lockjaw here to corroborate your story?” Halberd asked. “Is he here to prove your innocence to the court?”

They all knew that very obvious answer. No, he wasn’t, or they wouldn’t be in this mess. Deerlegs scowled and left their guards to laugh at them.

This was ridiculous. She was so angry she could break something. Angry at the euoplos, angry at the ovis, angry at the iguanodons who had as of yet but undoubtedly would do something else infuriating. She was angry at Lockjaw for abandoning them, angry at herself most of all for being the real reason they were in this mess.

Deerlegs stalked around the edge of the interior of the building, sniffing and feeling along the wall when the light wasn’t strong enough for her to see any more details. Mostly, it was just more metal and concrete. She was surprised, then, when she felt a gap in the wall. Another metal grate at the far side of the building, this one above the water and embedded in the wall. It smelled of rust and old metal. She might be able to break it, though the steep angle would be tricky to get the right amount of force behind.

But… She glanced back towards Embargo, who she could tell was still breathing by the slow rise and fall of the glowing speckles on his hide. He wouldn’t have the energy to escape now, anyway. Korppi said that they could earn their freedom somehow, if “proof” couldn’t be found - and she still doubted very much that they would even look. Alaric hadn’t even been around to hear Deerlegs mention Lockjaw’s name, he had no idea who to even look for.

She walked slowly and carefully back to Embargo’s side, where she settled down beside him and began to try to groom her feathers. It was difficult, in the dark, and she could really only tend to them based on feel rather than sight. She knew it was a rough job when she was done, but at least it had made her feel a little better. If their captors didn’t hold to their word, then she now had a rough plan of escape when Embargo was feeling more himself.

It was hard to tell exactly how much time had passed by the time there were more voices outside their… “jail,” as Alaric had called it. Deerlegs barely had to squint when the door opened - the light had dimmed significantly since their arrival, indicating that it was at the very least early evening.

Another oviraptor stood in the doorway, their outline markedly more jagged than Supernova’s or Alaric’s. The dorsal spikes along Mischief’s neck and the back of his head were painted a bright, vibrant teal tone which complimented them perfectly, and framed his crest in leaf-like motifs which stood in brilliant contrast to the dark bands which wrapped around his body. He brought with him a bundle of fruits, vegetables, and other kinds of vegetation, which he set on the ground a few feet away from the pachys.

Deerlegs was on her feet, regarding Mischief warily. He didn’t look capable of harm, but could have brought them toxic foods to eat. Why should they waste resources on captives when they could simply poison them instead?

Mischief rolled her eyes, apparently having been through this song and dance several times before already. “Oh for pity’s sake, I’m not here to kill you. You can eat all of this, look.” She snapped up one of the fruits from the pile and swallowed it down without hesitation, then opened her beak to prove that she’d ingested it just in case Deerlegs was one of those particularly suspicious types who thought she’d hide it under her tongue or something to make it look safer than it was. “Eat. You’re not going to get anything else until tomorrow for breakfast.”

“How much longer are you planning on keeping us here, exactly?” Deerlegs snorted. How many meals were they going to have brought to them like this?

Mischief’s eyes were bright and she looked surprisingly chipper as she replied: “No idea! Not my business. Though I expect not for much longer.” She seemed to smile, her eyes even brighter. “You criminal topsider types are fortunate. There’s going to be a banquet, and the Queen wants many of you in attendance. I’m sure someone will be along soon enough to tell you how to work off your debt to the Court so you can join your fellow crooks.”

“We’re not criminals,” Deerleg sneered again. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mischief laughed. “Then why are you in here, instead of with the other topsiders?”

Deerlegs didn’t have a kind answer, and she didn’t need to give one, because Korppi spoke up. “Mischief, that’s enough. I wanna get that door closed again.”

“Aw, bored are you?” Mischief teased, all but dancing through the door again. Whatever was said after, Deerlegs stopped paying attention, and the closed door muffled all further conversation anyway.

She looked at the bundle that had been left behind. Or rather, looked towards where the scents were coming from, because she couldn’t see it very well anymore. She sighed and nudged Embargo, gently prompting him to wake up. They both needed to eat. After the day they’d had, her stomach felt like it was on the verge of eating itself, and Embargo needed to eat even more to recover more of his strength.

The darkness was filled with the quiet sounds of crunching, squishing, and tearing as they picked at the meal they’d been offered. She supposed it was fortunate that they had offered a vegetarian meal and didn’t expect them to eat meat. Even as an all-eater, she’d never been able to stomach the thought of eating something that had been breathing just a moment before. Once their meal was gone, she lead Embargo back down to the water for another drink, and back up again for more rest.

They repeated this ritual three more times - consuming what meal was brought to them, Deerlegs helping Embargo down and up the stairs to and from the water, resting and speaking quietly in the times between as Embargo regained strength and focus.

A different voice spoke up some time after their third meal - what she believed to be their second breakfast since their time in the jail began.

“Prisoner! Step forwards.”

Deerlegs heaved herself to her feet again. She bade Embargo to continue resting. Whatever they wanted, she’d deal with it for now.

The door opened, yet there wasn’t as much light spilling into the building as she expected. Rather than an oviraptor or euoplocephalus standing in the doorway, the light was blocked by the towering bulk of an iguanodon. Blindingly pale, save for her face and limbs.

She had to actually step backwards to properly see Deerlegs when the pachy stepped into the light. The iguanodon’s red eyes were piercing as she glared down at her. “Who are you?”

Deerlegs, her feathers scruffy and unkempt from improper grooming, glared right back up at the iguanodon. They didn’t even know who they were holding hostage in this building. She doubted they’d even care if they died in there. “Deerlegs of Highcliff. He is Embargo of Alpha Laboratory."

Agnus’s bloody stare was as uncaring as Deerlegs expected it to be. “With no evidence provided and given your debt to the Court, you and your companion will repay what you stole with physical labour in service of the Court.”

Deerlegs balked, but only briefly, and only slightly. She was confident that she could take on whatever the courtiers demanded of them. She was less sure about Embargo’s abilities in that moment.

“Embargo is recovering from injuries he got while we were traveling in the jungle. He needs more time-”

“We will leave shortly to begin satisfying your debt to the Queen.”

“I’ll do more if that’s what it takes, Embargo needs-”

“He will be present, or his debt will be lengthened.”

Deerlegs felt a presence by her side before she realised that Embargo had stood up to join her in the light. Whatever the courtiers wanted from them, Deerlegs would not face it alone.

With no further protest, Agnus snorted, as though the decision had been made. “Drink. Then we will leave.”

Deerlegs scowled, her feather crests still flat on either side of her dome. They hadn't been raised once since the two of them had been forced into this place. Embargo walked beside her in stoic silence, hiding his aches and pains once more as he joined her for a drink and geared himself up for whatever the future would bring.