Owing to the fact that both Viserion and Rhaegal had grown too large to leave the catacombs the way they had entered, Rhaena was swift to think of a solution. After bidding farewell to Sansa and Ser Barristan with a promise to return as swiftly as she was able, Rhaena had gone down with armed and dressed in almost entirely new garb. She possessed a new sword, one which was finer and better suited to her arm as well as the dagger she kept at the small of her back. A bow and quiver of arrows were also strapped to her body which was clad in soft riding leathers made for her at her sister's command with a boiled leather shoulder guard. The Seagard bracers now adorned her wrists, having kept them out of sentiment though Rhaena had a mind to properly outfit herself with armour and weapons as to prepare herself properly for the oncoming war. Having seen how the Dothraki use scythe like weapons called arakhs, Rhaena quite liked the look of them and saw the potential in their use. When she returned, she would ask either Daario or Kovarro to teach her. Taking her mind away from what she would soon need, Rhaena instead focused her attention upon Rhaegal and Viserion before her as they hissed softly in greeting, their fins rippling in what she had determined to be happiness whenever they made such sounds. "Peace my loves. Soon you will fly." She promised them as she touched her hands to their faces and felt the roughness of their scales and flesh like it were stone. Before anything, they must open a door. So with a smile and a lift of her hand to point to the furthest wall, Rhaena allowed her voice to drop as fire roared through her blood. "Dracarys."
Recognising the word both dragons turned their heads to look upon the wall, shifting their weight so that their huge bodies could focus upon the place Rhaena had directed their attention before opening their maws to release a torrent of flame and ruin. The wall began to crack and bubble as it melted before it could entirely break, withstanding the onslaught for a precious few moments before it then burst and crumbled with a hiss, pieces of it collapsing to the ground where a new entryway opened to allow both dragons to crawl out of their prison. Rhaena walked with them, her hand rested against Viserion as they stepped into the cool sight of the night sky with the stars gleaming above them. She thought it would be better to leave at night. Firstly it would mean they were less likely to be noticed, and also because both Viserion and Rhaegal had spent so long in the dark the daylight might have hurt their eyes at first. "Will you let me fly with you?" Turning to the dragons, both lowered their heads even as they breathed deeply of the fresh air, allowing it to fill their lungs. "There is somewhere I need to go and only you can take me there. May I ride one of you?" Her words rang softly in the air as the dragons beheld her and the magic translated her desire into thought and feeling. Both understood the desire to fly and since their littlest dragon had no wings of her own, were glad to lend her theirs. Viserion screeched and stretched his wings, flapping them in order to stretch them out before taking off into the air as Rhaegal rumbled softly and dipped his body down so that Rhaena could climb upon his back and sit just before his wings at the base of his neck. Each movement she made caused her body to pulse with anticipation, energy coursing through her as Rhaena tremblingly wrapped her hands around Rhaegal and wriggling to make herself comfortable whist fussing that she might be too heavy or hurt him in some way. A silly notion. How could she hurt a dragon?
Rhaegal patiently waited until she was settled before standing upright once more, turning his long, thick neck in order to look at her with one huge eye which gleamed intelligently. Looking at him, Rhaena could have almost sworn he was smiling at her. He began to move, stepping forwards and Rhaena instantly lurched, finding it very different to the motions of riding a horse. There was no saddle for her to cling to only horns and scales, so she made certain to lower herself down flat against Rhaegal's neck, barely breathing as her heart fluttered in her chest. He carried her closer to the edge where the city lay before a steep drop where nothing but open air lay in front of them. Rhaena continued to shiver in excitement, wanting nothing more than to simply take flight so she pressed her hand to Rhaegal's neck as heat flared throughout her, allowing her voice to meet with the wind and carry it like an echo. "Sōvētēs." Fly. With her command, Rhaegal spread his wings and cast himself from the precipice and bowed his head to dive directly down. Too exhilarated to even shout, Rhaena grasped on with all her strength as they plummeted towards the ground but she felt no sense of fear. Rhaegal would never allow anything to hurt her and she trusted him. At the last possible moment the green and bronze dragon opened his wings once more and gave a powerful beat against the air to arch his back and rise up, soaring upwards. Now Rhaena celebrated.
Her shout and laughing cries rang through the air as Rhaegal flew with her into the skies where Viserion waited for them patiently. They both roared, circling one another as they adjusted themselves to the skies after so long trapped in the dark. Both could feel the same sense of freedom and utter euphoria of their scaleless kin, the little flesh creature who shared their blood. It only further proved to them that she belonged with them. Charging forwards, Viserion and Rhaegal took Rhaena to the stars so that she might fly among them and be crowned in their blessed light, gliding upon clouds and fly above the head of every man, woman and child below her. They showed her what it meant to be a dragon, to take to the skies and be lords and masters of all below it. Rhaena never wished to set foot on the ground again. Letting go of Rhaegal she held out her arms and allowed the wind to tangle through her hair and brush through her fingers until Rhaegal suddenly listed and she jumped to cling onto him once again. She laughed at his play. Viserion soared above them but rolled himself by tucking in his wings, seemingly dancing through the skies as Rhaena gazed to them in wonderment. Her entire life had led her to this moment and despite everything, she decided that it had been truly worth the wait.
Gradually she began to learn how to guide Rhaegal however she wanted him. It was not so much as giving him a command but making a gentle request and he would answer her without hesitation. If she wished to fly left, she would touch the left side of his neck with her magic flowing through her and speak the word in High Valyrian until she no longer required magic, only the touch or the word. She did the same for the right, and when she wished for him to dive she would place her hand upon the ridge of his neck and do the same. She taught him commands to fly faster, to slow down, to hover, to circle, to dodge and weave until Rhaegal was utterly hers to command, but still she never commanded him. It was always a request and Rhaegal could choose not to answer, but he had chosen to obey Rhaena from the moment her hand had first touched him because of who and what she was. They were meant for one another. The fire in his blood told him so. She was his and he was hers. Such happiness as this was almost too much for Rhaena as she explained to Rhaegal and Viserion where she wanted to go, allowing them to navigate back towards the west whilst keeping the coast and the ocean within their sights. Riding upon Rhaegal gave her such fulfilment that Rhaena wondered how she had not realised how there had been a part of her missing all this while. Now she felt whole, and a thousand times stronger than ever before. Her enemies would know a swift and painful retribution so long as she and Rhaegal were as one, and Viserion would not be far from them. Although she was yet to meet the third brother, Drogon, she imagined they too would reach and understanding with one another. From the way Daenerys had spoke of him and how she had named him for her late husband, Rhaena suspected that Drogon was her favourite. Although calling herself their mother and loving them each, Rhaegal and Viserion were not blind to their mother's favour of their larger, fiercer sibling. Still they loved their mother, but now they had someone who loved them so passionately that the love felt like fire itself and they basked in it. Rhaena was there's. Drogon could keep their mother.
After playing their fill Rhaegal and Viserion focused upon reaching the lands Rhaena desired to see with all the speed they possessed, soaring over the land faster than any ship or horse. They could travel hundreds of miles in a single night if they put their minds to it, though eventually they would need to stop and rest as well as hunt. Rhaena had rather sternly instructed them that they could only hunt wild beasts from now on. Any creature owned by a human was not to be touched and they were never to breathe fire upon living establishments unless given permission by either herself or Daenerys. Rhaena communicated this as best as she was able with her words and her magic which seemed to weave itself into the dragons' minds like a living spell. She still was not entirely certain of the true extent her power went, but Rhaena was no longer going to hold herself back from finding out. Magic had awoken in her when dragons had returned to the world. Now was the time to learn and study in order to be able to fully utilise all her skills for the sake of the war they would wage upon their enemies. She smiled at the thought, lying flat against Rhaegal's neck with her mind drifting until a light suddenly fell upon her face and caused her to wince against the brightness, raising a hand to block it before looking to see where it came from. Sunrise. They had flown through the night.
Daylight was now spilling over the horizon and chasing after them as if it had become the hunter and they the prey. Rhaena snorted at the notion. Still it would do well to get some proper rest so Rhaena called to Rhaegal and Viserion, telling them to keep watch for a suitable place to land away from habitation so that they could rest and hunt. Casting her eye below to view the land as it passed beneath them, Rhaena judged that they were over the Black Cliffs and nearing the city of Tolos. There were mountains regions on both sides which made for excellent resting places, and so the dragons found a place that suited their taste and landed where the ground was uneven but broad enough to house them, Rhaena sliding to the ground in order to remove her weight from Rhaegal as he folded his wings and lay himself down to rest for a moment or so. "Kirimvose Rhaegal." She thanked him softly as she began to stroke at his neck and kissed him, smiling as he rumbled acceptingly back at her before closing his eyes to sleep. Afterwards Rhaena too had to sit herself down for her legs were trembling too greatly to hold herself upright. Overcome with her experience, Rhaena sank back against Rhaegal and simply stared wide eyed into the open mountain range as Viserion hunted for food, his form little more than the size of a bat at a distance as he circled the mountaintops before suddenly releasing a burst of fire which must have meant he'd found something to kill and eat.
Having stayed awake all night Rhaena knew that she needed to sleep but found herself still too alert to consider rest. So instead, she took her bow and her arrows and hunted for her own food instead, sliding down the mountain slope in order to go looking for food. She was no great hunter for she had never been taught properly, but she had learned how to move quietly, and her aim was now a little better than before. It took several hours of searching before eventually Rhaena was able to locate something worth eating, a mountain goat, so she brought it down with a single arrow before retrieving it. The creature had died quickly so it was a clean kill at least. Rhaena reminded herself to tell Kovarro when she returned that she had managed to hunt by herself with her improved archery skill. All that was left was to skin and roast the creature so Rhaena set to work, using her knife to remove the pelt, gutting the creature so that she might cook it cleanly without spoiling the meat. Once something like this might have turned her stomach but now she was so used to blood, guts and gore that it seemed inconsequential now. If she did not do it herself then she had witnessed Lady feasting upon one of her own kills where nothing was left to the imagination since she seemed to prefer the softer parts of a prey's body. Focusing upon her goat, Rhaena thought how best to cook it. She could easily build a fire but did not have the means to skewer the goat on a spit and roast it, however gathering firewood was not exactly necessary…not when she herself had magic.
Concentrating on the palm of her hand, Rhaena found it had become easier to awaken that part of herself each time she tried. The flow of heat through her was the flow of magic and as she harnessed that power, she imagined flames dancing upon her palm. They came to life slowly, flickering into existence and licking tenderly at her fingers before gradually growing stronger the more magic she channelled towards her palm. The flames were bright golden with a violet hue, held within her palm until she presented her palm to the goat and willed the flames to jump from her hand to the raw meat. They obeyed instantly, a stream of fire coursing from her palm to engulf the goat with a little too much fervour so Rhaena hurriedly tried to regain control of them, not wanting to burn her meal to charcoal. She learned that she could control the flames almost entirely. Their direction, their size, even the heat. If she willed it, the flames would not burn anything at all but flicker upon flesh without any heat at all. A smile broke across her face. It seemed to her that Rhaena was fortunate to possess these abilities, that the gods had perhaps taken pity on her after all. Every step further she took in learning her skill revealed new possibilities, as magic did not end with just fire. Rhaena had always been able to charm many people, but now she was learning that her voice when imbued with magic had the quality of a siren's call and men were almost helpless before her, though to this there were limitations. The intelligence of the person, to begin with. If they were sharp of mind then they were not so easy to manipulate, and if they were aware that Rhaena had such an ability. If they were strong enough to fight her, then they could resist. Usually, it only worked so long as Rhaena was subtle and did not attempt to change their thoughts, only influence their emotions. In any case, this ability was meant primarily to help her control the dragons, Rhaena was certain of it.
The goat was a little charred but the flesh was still tender enough underneath to make for good eating. Using her knife Rhaena cut bits of meat from the carcass to eat it cleanly until she heard wingbeats and looked up into the sky to see the darkened shape of Viserion descending towards her. The wind rushed under his wings as he lowered himself to the ground, growling softly as he lowered his head in order to greet Rhaena whilst eyeing her meal so she laughed and allowed him to eat the rest so that there was no wastage. The goat went down his gullet in a single gulp. Viserion chittered contentedly, his white and gold refrain nudging against Rhaena to seemingly tell her that they should take flight soon if they were to reach their destination soon. Rubbing at his nose and stroking the spot between his eyes, Rhaena hummed a tune to Viserion as she then climbed up onto his back and settled herself against him, the dragon waiting until he had felt that she was settled before taking off and releasing a cry to summon his brother. Rhaegal soon found them, gliding through the air and together, the three of them journeyed further west to find the land of sun and sands.