Prompto stood before Ryella, talking and laughing with her. As soon as he'd gotten up that morning, he'd swiftly eaten breakfast and hurried out to see his dragon friend again. It was amazing just how much he enjoyed her company. He told her about his love of photography and chocobos, and mentioned a bit about the fun times he'd had with his friends back in the Crown City. Surprisingly, Ryella found interest in everything he told her. She was somewhat intrigued by the lifestyles of Lucians since she was born and raised in Tenebrae.

"Hi, Prompto, Mallow," Noctis greeted, interrupting the two.

Prompto smiled as his three friends approached. "You certainly left in a hurry after breakfast," Ignis pointed out.

"He came out here to mess around with his new best bud," Gladio joked.

Prompto laughed. "Not even gonna deny it. I just wanted to hang with Mallow for a bit. Oh, you guys have gotta see this game I taught her!" He cleared his throat and faced the beast. "Prompto says, purr like a cat." Ryella purred. "Prompto says, give me a hiss." The dragon bared her teeth briefly, hissing. "Prompto says, shake your head like a wet dog." Ryella furiously shook her head.

"Nice!" Noctis commented, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

The gunman glanced at him. "I know, right? Now flick your tongue, Mallow." The white dragon blinked at him, refusing to do it. The blond laughed. "You got me. You're too smart for this game. Prompto says, flick your tongue."

Ryella flicked her tongue out a few times as if she were a serpent. "That's actually pretty cool," Gladio said.

"Tis quite spectacular to see an animal with such high intelligence," Ignis added. "Mallow certainly is one of a kind."

"Good morning!" Sania cheerfully approached with a large tray full of cooked meat. "Look at this feast I brought you, sweetie! I've got some garula sirloin, bulette shank, basilisk breast, gigantoad steak, and shieldshears claws." Ryella licked her lips at seeing the assortment of meats. "Enjoy! I'll bring you some water in a moment. Wouldn't want you to get dehydrated."

She set the tray down in front of the creature. Ryella hungrily began eating. Sania hurried away while the boys stood by, chatting and watching the dragon. She picked out chunks of meat and scarfed them down. She'd nearly finished up the whole tray by the time Sania returned with a large bucket of water. The professor placed the bucket down close to the tray. Ryella paused in the middle of her meal to slurp up some water. She dipped her lips into the water, sucking in the cool, refreshing liquid. She swiftly returned to her food, finishing it off and taking several more gulps of water to wash it down. She licked her lips in satisfaction, no longer feeling hunger or thirst.

"Damn, she was hungry," the prince said, looking at the now empty tray.

"Well she's barely eaten a thing since she's been here," Sania replied. "So that's not too surprising. Now, to have a little talk with the hunters."

Sania met with the head hunter, Dave, in order to discuss the dragon's release. It took a little while for them to come to an agreement, but finally, Sania managed to persuade him. But for the beast to be truly free, the hunters wanted confirmation that she wasn't aggressive toward people. How they would go about that, the professor hadn't a clue. She only hoped they wouldn't do anything drastic. The hunters gathered around with firearms in hand, prepared should the creature attack.

Sania began unlocking the restraints, starting with Ryella's legs. The Guardian watched both Sania and the surrounding hunters, unsure of what they were doing. The professor removed the straps restraining the dragon's body. With the help of the prince and his pals, the chains binding and weighing down her wings were unraveled. Finally, Ryella could move again. She rose to her feet, stretching out her legs and back. She then spread her wings out, stretching them after the uncomfortable position they were chained in.

"Now all we need to see is that she won't cause harm to any people," Dave said.

Noctis swiftly responded, "Just test her out."

"Her extreme intelligence allows her to understand humans better than any other animal," Sania explained. "Her thoughts are much more complex than you realize."

Dave warily approached the creature. Ryella watched him with no intention of attacking. She wanted to prove to them that she wasn't a bloodthirsty monster, perhaps then she'd finally have the hunters off her back. She decided to try being friendly and held her hand out, palm up, toward the man. Dave stared at her open claws in front of him, puzzled as to what she was doing. Ryella purred, urging for him to take her hand. Sania bravely marched over and placed her palm against the dragon's, showing the hunter what to do. Dave carefully pressed his hand down against hers, smiling and meeting the soft gaze the dragon was giving him.

"Alright," he suddenly said, seeing the truth with his own eyes. "Despite everything up till now, this animal shows no hostility." He retracted his hand. "She is no longer under the watch of the hunters."

Prompto hurried over to Ryella, cheering happily and patting her on the arm. Sania and the boys had a small celebration. But Noctis quickly remembered what he needed to ask the hunters. Dave was already walking away when the prince hurried after him.

"Wait, Dave!" The head hunter stopped in his tracks, turning back around to face him. "While we're here, I wanted to ask if you guys have found any royal tombs."

Dave sighed. "The only one we've found yet is the one west of Saxham Outpost where a couple of hunters first confronted that white beast there."

Ryella thought back on the event. Those ruins I landed on... That was a royal tomb? That's what Prince Noctis is searching for?

"Well that's one, at least. Thanks."

Ryella suddenly remembered that this was the perfect opportunity to learn what she needed. Dave began turning to leave again when Ryella gave a small bark, catching his, and the others' attention. Her eyes darted down to Prompto where she saw he was wearing the tag and the pendant again, just like before. She nudged him forward with her nose, forcing him over toward Dave.

"Hey, Mallow!" the blond complained. "Cut it out! What are you doing?"

He looked up at the dragon, awaiting an explanation. Ryella pointed a finger at his neck. He looked down, noticing the accessories still hanging around his neck. He got the idea and picked up the dog tag, looking to her again for a response. Ryella nodded. Prompto turned to face Dave, holding out the tag.

"By the way, do you know the hunter this belongs to?" he asked.

Dave leaned closer to read the name on it. "Sure do. Haven't heard from him since his trip to Tenebrae. If his tag is here, I'm assuming that means..." His expression turned to one of sorrow. "Tell you what, if that's the case, I can return it to his family."

Ryella immediately stepped forward, giving a small roar of protest. "Thing is, Mallow here's been carrying around that tag for a while now," Gladio told him.

Ignis pushed up his glasses. "If I were to take a guess, I'd presume she wants to bring the tag to the family herself."

"That right, Mallow?" the prince questioned.

Ryella swiftly nodded in response. Dave hummed in thought. "Not sure I'm okay with leaving that task to an animal, no matter how smart."

"We'll make sure it gets there," Prompto insisted. "Just tell us where to find them."

"Very well. I trust you boys. They live in Lestallum, shouldn't be difficult to track 'em down."

They thanked Dave before he left. Sania too said her goodbyes and left on a wild frog search. After studying up on the dragon, and now seeing her free, she considered it a job well done and decided to move back into her amphibian studies. Ryella had an idea. Being unfamiliar with Lucis, she didn't know where Lestallum was, but she did remember where that tomb was. If she could take the prince's group to it, then maybe they could take her to Lestallum. After all, leading them to a tomb was the least she could do after they'd saved her twice now.

Ryella barked at them, earning their attention. She began nodding toward their vehicle parked by the gas pumps, urging them to go and get in. They stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted them to do. The dragon huffed upon earning only confused looks. She suddenly leaned down, snatching Prompto by the back of his collar and lifting him off the ground. He dangled helplessly from her jaws, clutching onto his vest to keep from slipping out of it.

"Why are you always doing this to me?!" the gunman whined. "Maaallooow!"

Ryella ignored his complaints and trotted over to the Regalia. She lowered the blond, plopping him down in the driver's seat of the car. His friends hurried over.

"I do believe she wants us to go somewhere," Ignis said.

"Yeah, but where?" Noctis asked.

Prompto gasped. "Oooh, I bet she wants to go to Lestallum!"

Gladio crossed his arms. "I don't know if it would be a good idea for a creature like her to go there. No offense, Mallow." The dragon grumbled lightly at that. "Lestallum's a big town, people would panic if they saw a dragon flying around."

Ryella did want to go to Lestallum, but not right at that moment. The tomb would come first, especially now that she knew Lestallum wasn't just another small outpost. She couldn't possibly go to a large town full of people...at least not as a dragon. But she would think that over later. She could easily lead them to the tomb she'd stumbled upon, she just needed to get them to follow her. The four males got into the vehicle, moving to their preferred seats. Ryella sprinted a short ways along the road heading south. She paused, gazing back at the group.

"Iggy, I think she wants us to follow her," Prompto told him.

"I do believe you're right," he replied, starting up the car. "Highness?"

Noctis gave a nod. "Follow her, Specs."

Ignis pulled out onto the road. As soon as they began following, Ryella spread her wings and flew up above the area. She hovered for a moment, finding her bearings. Judging from the position of the Disc of Cauthess, Ryella could tell they were a fair distance from the tomb. But she was certain she could find it again with her well-developed sense of direction. She glanced down at the Regalia before taking off.

The four followed behind and below her, still pondering over where she was leading them. She drifted at a slower pace and stayed above the roads, occasionally glancing back to make sure she didn't lose the boys. But they remained on her tail, staying at a decent speed to keep up with her. After a while of driving south from Meldacio, the boys caught sight of the turn that would take them to Lestallum. Surprisingly, the beast didn't take it, and turned left instead, opposite of Lestallum.

"Whelp, there goes Lestallum," Prompto said, looking back at the road that led to the town. "Wonder where Mallow's leading us."

"You don't think..." Noctis trailed off, thinking back on his discussion with Dave. "Is she guiding us to the tomb?"

"Hmm," Ignis hummed. "It does sound like the most reasonable explanation."

"Guess she decided to lend a claw in our search," Gladio said.

"She sure is something," the gunman added.

The drive took a couple of hours, but finally they'd reached their destination. Ignis parked the Regalia and everyone climbed out. Ryella flew ahead of them and straight to the royal tomb, landing on top of it like she'd previously done. The boys could see a dirt path that led through the trees and hear the low howl of the dragon who called to them. They made their way through the dense forest to where the tomb was located. Ryella perched on top, purring at them as they approached.

"Way to go, Mallow!" Prompto cheered, giving her a thumbs-up.

Ryella suddenly began snarling, her gaze moving past them. The group twisted around, realizing that a pack of voretooths were closing in. Before they could summon their weapons, Ryella leapt in front of them, stopping the monsters in their tracks. The dragon gave a menacing roar and stamped her feet angrily. The actions of the large dragon caused the voretooths to instantly flee in fear with their tails between their legs. Ryella huffed at the cowardly pests and turned to face the four males.

"Well you sure saved us the hassle of a battle," Noctis told her. "Nice job."

He walked over to the door of the tomb, using the key Cor gave him to unlock it. Sure enough, the door opened up, allowing the boys to step inside. Ryella crouched down, watching from outside as Noctis collected the weapon. It looked to be a shield, from what the dragon could see, and it glowed brightly before absorbing into the prince. The four then exited the tomb, rejoining the creature awaiting them outside.

"I suggest we find a place to rest," Ignis said. "It's getting late, and I estimate the trip back to Lestallum could take some time."

"If Mallow's staying with us, then we should probably camp at a haven instead of going to a rest area," Gladio added.

Prompto grinned. "Normally I'd object to that, but if it means Mallow can camp with us, then I'm all for it."

A quiet sigh escaped the prince's lips. "At least the sky's clear. Camping sucks when it rains."

Ignis hummed, looking over the map. "I believe we passed a haven on the way here. We can simply retrace our route back toward Lestallum."

"Alright, let's go," Noctis ordered.