[Private, for @[Ophelia]

The sky blurred and burned, like a Monet painting gone all wrong. Colours that should have beautifully accompanied and harmonized with one another, screamed their dissonance and disobedience across the endless sky. Intermittent stars twinkled and beamed, trying in vain to add whimsical mystery to a sky which was becoming drenched in blood and regret.

Dark storm clouds bled through open sores in the sky, but the maroon soaked horizon would not give up that easily. A dying sun, vanquished to the bottom of your field of view, departed without a word; eclipsed by death. But it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.

The world had moved on.

Ophelia ...

"Fee-lah!"

The sound was small, muted, but excited. It was a burst of light in a storm of blood. Over the ice a small body skittered. It looked dark, due to its distance and the rapidly diminishing light, but it was clear that it was not black. As it ran closer, more details could be seen. It was as if someone had taken a raccoon and stretched its body out; stripes ran along its entire body and its elongated tail. Long nails dug easily into the ice allowing elegant and controlled movements as it ran forward, dodging inconvenient mounds of snow as it went. Closer now, you should be able to make out great golden rings around surprisingly expressive and intelligent eyes.

Oh and one more thing. In its mouth, it held a rose.

"Fee-lah!" It cried as it neared, trying not to drop the rose between its teeth. Sitting down on its haunches a few feet away from Ophelia, the creature blinked several times. Its sharp teeth were exposed as it tried to catch its rapid breath all the while holding the rose in its mouth. Realizing that that wasn't working, it gripped the long stem of the flower in one of its incredible dexterous hands, and continued panting.

"O-fee-lah." It greeted, now forming the unicorn's name with an extra syllable now that it didn't have to do so with a flower in its mouth.

Helovia was not prone to starkblasts, and yet the creatures senses were tingling just the same. Its wide, black eyes, suddenly turned North and it stood up on its hind legs, as if trying to see the storm it felt was coming. The sky twisted and churned in a bloody swell in the direction that its eyes looked, and the creature tittered and muttered to itself with confusion.

" 'orm 'ummin'." It murmured, turning to look back at Ophelia helplessly. But what storm?

The billy-bumbler smiled as Ophelia took the rose, appearing almost relieved as she did so. It nodded enthusiastically as Ophelia lowered and offered her shoulder for him to climb up. The bumbler looked to Tinek for a moment, and then folded its dexterous hands together and nodded. It knew that the two were bonded, and while Ophelia would know its appreciation soon enough, Tinek could be thanked now. "'anks" It muttered towards the pale dragon. Opening its eyes, it reached for the delicate crevasses in Ophelia's armor, pulling its delicate and light body onto her back. It weighed significantly less than Tinek, so her movements were not hindered any more than usual by its weight, as Ophelia raced away from the coming storm.

As her hooves pounded against the terrain, the creature muttered to itself, casting glances behind it every now and then as they left the storm behind them. Something wasn't right - it wasn't a starkblast that was coming - but it felt like one. It resonated within the bumbler's bones, causing it to fret and continue to mutter as Ophelia ran them away from whatever imminent threat the storm posed.

But what about the non-imminent threat? The threat which was coming, but had not yet arrived?

Something was a-hungry, and it was a-commin'. The bumbler just didn't know who, or when.

Once the worst of the storm appeared far enough away in the distance, the bumbler patted Ophelia's neck urgently asking her to halt. It stood up on her back, balancing with expert poise, staring at the red clouds. They appeared to have dispersed .. or were dispersing. Still, the blood soaked sky with its holes of darkness were not normal. Something was happening. This temporary reprieve meant nothing to the Bumbler. If anything, it only signaled things would be worse.

Rolling off of Ophelia's shoulders, the creature wrung its hands while looking at the crimson-stained mare. It patted its head, as if trying to remember something as its gold-ringed eyed narrowed. With hesitation or regard for personal space, the bumbler reached up and grabbed the rose. It began to diligently pick the petals off of the core of the flower, clutching them in one hand until the job was complete.

"Fee-lah." It commanded, using its other paw (which had dropped the stem) to make a 'come here' motion. It waited until she had lowered her head, before throwing the petals are her. Only, instead of hitting her bright white coat and floating to the ground, they disappeared.

As did her armor, but not before changing.

Her armor grew significantly lighter, but lost none of its strength. And in fact, it did not disappear at all - it merely moved. Elegant and lightweight chains glistened in Ophelia's tail and mane, looking like robust strands of tinsel amidst the shimmer of the Lost Stone shards.

" 'ommin'." It urged, pointing towards the disappearing storm. "-umfin' 'ommin'. Fee-lah be strong."