Ophelia had not made this familiar trek since she was very young. The memories came flooding back like a wave through a broken dam. All of the smells and the sensation of sand giving way beneath her hooves took her to when she spied for the Dragon's Throat, when she and her sister knew that they wanted something more. More, such an evil word. More was the source of discontent. More was the prologue to selfish choices. She could practically feel her sister walking beside her, chatting in such a calm and easy way. The expression in her crimson eyes was young as her memories spoke dialogue that had been spoken before.
The Forsaken was lost within the perfection of her own mind, trapped within a reality that had already passed and she was experiencing again. With every year that pushed forward, every day she opened her eyes and saw something new to write into her mind, she came closer and closer to losing herself. Everything in her mind seemed so real that separating the now from the then was nigh impossible, and the only anchor to this world was Tinek.
He watched her carefully, felt the way her mind ran circles around itself and gently pulled her back. "Feel the way the sun hits your back, Phi," he would call softly into her memories, causing her glazed stare to meet his own. Tinek did not exist in those memories, not that long ago, so he had power. He could pull her back, but he feared the day when he no longer could. She needed help, but what doctor would understand an ailment she was born with? The Sun God had rid her of her memories before. Maybe she needed to be wiped clean every few years? Maybe she needed to just... restart. But, then, she would not remember him, and the pain he had felt when their bond was broken and she did not recognize him was still too fresh in his mind.
Fajira had helped him understand, but that did not make the hurt go away. Ophelia needed her sister and needed more anchors, something stronger to keep her in the present, but Tinek did not know what that could possibly be. He watched her as she gracefully made her way along the same path down to the micron to the Dragon's Throat, and he could watch her remember the twins who stole her identity and when she left. Surely she would remember now? Especially with a partially constructed metal wall to obstruct her path...
Ophelia blinked out of her memories, looking up at something that was not there before. She snapped back into the present and furrowed her brows. When did they build this, and why? Confused, she peered inside, cautiously stepping close. So much change... Damage even. What happened? The white and crimson mare felt Tinek land on her back as she stared into a land that was different enough from her memories to keep her grounded. "Everything has changed, Tinek..." she murmured to him quietly.
The silver dragon nodded. "Just because you isolate yourself does not mean that everyone else will stop living..." he replied, running his talons through her long mane. As he grew, he realized just how much she was still like a child. Despite everything, she had this innocence that could not be shaken, and that made him sad. She would always get hurt.
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