Estinien had hoped to make this action quicker. When diving upon Gen this way, the intent had been to lift him only as high as necessary to hurl him down to earth again. There is nothing to be gained from staying still for too long when he is outnumbered, but Gen's grasp of the earth's aether successfully stalls his efforts. Long enough that this whole situation can happen.
It's not that he didn't guess Makoto would be coming - by now, if anything, he sees Makoto as a prolific backstabber - but that entangling himself too closely with Gen really did turn out to be a mistake. He twists enough to cast one furious red eye in Makoto's direction as he approaches, but not enough to keep him from trying to dig his dirk into his scales. It stings, and is annoyingly reminiscent of their previous encounter, but what really threatens him is the attack on his wings.
His wings have been a popular target for Estinien's nine-day battle in Venera, and the thick leather forming them is still marred by the abuse. Patches of dead scales and flesh where necrotic poison has hit, the biting chill of Kaeya's piercing bolts still defrosting. Nidhogg's wings are not fragile things, each segment strong enough to hold on its own, but he'd not prepared to risk it. Especially when Makoto's grasping wings seem much harder to dislodge than the rest of him would be.
Makoto's grapple and Gen's swinging mace mean that he has to change course. The mace blow knocks his knee forward, forcing his bottom claw to relinquish its hold, and as the spikes dig into his scales he decides to embrace it. Fine. If Makoto wants to tag in, he can tag in.
Estinien uses his remaining grip on Gen as a stepping stool with which to launch himself into air, taking Makoto with him, pulling his claws free but only while trying to take as much flesh as he can with him. In the meantime, if Makoto intends to grapple, Estinien will return the favour. His tail makes a move to coil around the demon, with the intent of holding him in place...
...all so that his leap into the sky can be punctuated by flipping into another Dragonfire Dive, straight back onto Gen and the ground he's sewn himself into. That Estinien is about to explode into flame may seem apparent. Whether or not Makoto is actually forced to come along for the ride, or whether he squirms away midair, it's fortunate that a dragoon does not necessarily need wings to fly.
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It's not that he didn't guess Makoto would be coming - by now, if anything, he sees Makoto as a prolific backstabber - but that entangling himself too closely with Gen really did turn out to be a mistake. He twists enough to cast one furious red eye in Makoto's direction as he approaches, but not enough to keep him from trying to dig his dirk into his scales. It stings, and is annoyingly reminiscent of their previous encounter, but what really threatens him is the attack on his wings.
His wings have been a popular target for Estinien's nine-day battle in Venera, and the thick leather forming them is still marred by the abuse. Patches of dead scales and flesh where necrotic poison has hit, the biting chill of Kaeya's piercing bolts still defrosting. Nidhogg's wings are not fragile things, each segment strong enough to hold on its own, but he'd not prepared to risk it. Especially when Makoto's grasping wings seem much harder to dislodge than the rest of him would be.
Makoto's grapple and Gen's swinging mace mean that he has to change course. The mace blow knocks his knee forward, forcing his bottom claw to relinquish its hold, and as the spikes dig into his scales he decides to embrace it. Fine. If Makoto wants to tag in, he can tag in.
Estinien uses his remaining grip on Gen as a stepping stool with which to launch himself into air, taking Makoto with him, pulling his claws free but only while trying to take as much flesh as he can with him. In the meantime, if Makoto intends to grapple, Estinien will return the favour. His tail makes a move to coil around the demon, with the intent of holding him in place...
...all so that his leap into the sky can be punctuated by flipping into another Dragonfire Dive, straight back onto Gen and the ground he's sewn himself into. That Estinien is about to explode into flame may seem apparent. Whether or not Makoto is actually forced to come along for the ride, or whether he squirms away midair, it's fortunate that a dragoon does not necessarily need wings to fly.