Ophelia stayed with him closely, explaining that maybe, just maybe, if they moved forward, she would find a way to bring him back. The universe had other ideas. A roaring starting in her hears that began as an itch in the back of her mind. She looked at Mauja and watched the gold light drain from his pelt, the skin regrowing and fusing. Gold orbs seemed to fade, and just as she had feared his change to gold, she fear his return to who he had been before. A groan followed shortly after, as if their dream was merely a construct and the foundations were weakening. She tilted her ears against her neck, furrowed brows over narrowed eyes trying to find a way out. Her heart was beating faster.
Cloven hooves danced in place, and she jerked her head backward when a crack spread through the middle of the cave floor, sucking the life from his eyes. When he darted, she tried to move with him, ears pressed flat to block out the screaming. He moved back to her, and she stayed close, muzzle firmly pressed under his mane for as long as she was able. His icy blue eyes held a panic and fear that she was unable to feel, incapable of feeling with her physiology, though her heart beat fast and her limbs refused to stop moving. The geyser of gold split between them, and she widened her eyes, leaping at the edge. "No!" she barked, analyzing the rift, guessing if she could leap.
Sounds seemed to fade as he spoke, and she furrowed her brows, not understanding what he meant. How could she? "Mauja..." she replied, almost softly. Ophelia met his blue eyes with kindness and worry.
The ground gave way beneath his hooves like a waterfall, and he tumbled. She lurched forward, trying to snap with her teeth and grab him (foolishly), but she only managed to feel her own hooves slide against the rock, nearly tumbling in herself. At least he was not alone, as his owl followed. Everything slowed to a meaningless pace as he fell, his figure disappearing into a blackness to dark to see, and she was left alone, breathing heavily. Ophelia had failed, and she clenched her jaw, emotions rising high. "Damn this!" she barked, knowing that she had broken her promise.
Suddenly she woke.
A bitter chill from shifted winds hit her on the face, crystallizing tears that had rolled down her face in her dreams. Carefully, she cracked open her dual colored eyes, staring at the white, pristine horizon. All of it had been a dream, and she remained alone. She remained a traitor to her friends and family, lost among the a sea of faces she did not know. Quietly, she gathered her limbs beneath her and bowed her head, a hitching breath and a dully thudding heart the only real memories of her dream that she had left. Everything else was merely imprinted in her mind. She pressed north, not even looking back to the world she was leaving behind.
|
.svg/2000px-Google_Chrome_icon_(2011).svg.png){kind=icon}
