He could not rid himself of the horrible taste in his mouth, left as a result of his travels with Resplendence and his altercation with Kaj.  Gods, if only he could remember - but wasn't it better if he didn't?  Wouldn't it be better if he simply disappeared, allowed everyone he had hurt to go about their lives, move on without him?  His mouth twisted into a scowl.  He had never been one for running from his problems, and to just try to forget - ha, the irony, the desire to forget that he had forgotten - was an awful lot like cowardice.  No, that couldn't be his path.

The stallion soared through the skies, guided by the fading light of the setting sun and the gentle guidance of his bonded.  If nothing else, Zarina's presence had begun to make sense, had begun to offer some sense of comfort to the golden steed.  She fed him memories, or at least the ones she still possessed; sending him images, scenarios, emotions through the bond in the hopes that it might jog something.  The only thing she had managed to do was remind him, in a way, that she had been with him through all that he had forgotten (not, of course, that that made any sense, at all, whatsoever).

She remembered the way to the Dragon's Throat, though, and that was their next destination.  The prince was exhausted beyond comprehension, both physically and mentally, and the marmoset had convinced him that he was in no condition to be making logical decisions about much of anything.  She clung to the clump of mane in which she made her nest - in which he remembered her nesting - as he soared.  As they approached the Dragon's Throat - or, at least, where the Throat used to be - bewilderment flitted through the bond as the marmoset noted the wall.  --We should land,-- she told him sharply, worried that they might be attacked for their airborne approach.

The stallion flew lower, circling tightly until he had just cleared the wall; Zarina sighed softly, for she had preferred they land outside the wall, but her bonded had always done more or less whatever he pleased.  Perhaps he would manage to somehow avoid the wrath of the Dragon's Throat; neither of the pair knew much more than that it was a desert, and a haven for pegasi.

Nasreen is here, the prince reminded her.  She will know what to do.

"more words."

OOC ;; @Nasreen

Quilyan

subtlepatterns.com | kaydeniro & larfsalot @ deviantart

The sand glimmered and gleamed in the setting sun, brilliant and golden and vast. If the stallion hadn't been so emotionally drained, he might have seen the beauty in it, been struck by the awe of something so magnificent - but, as it was, he was exhausted and bitter, and all that he saw was an endless sea of granules, stretching on and on into oblivion (for all he knew). The thought of his darling younger sister dwelling in such an unforgiving place mystified him. He thought back to their palace, with its soaring walls surrounded by greenery; he remembered the smell of rain on the air and watching the stormclouds gather in the distance, the way the forest was always refreshed after a good shower. He could still hear the whisper of the wind flickering through his favorite tree, a massive willow with so many hanging boughs that he could get lost for hours beneath its cover.

But this - this barrenness, with nothing in any direction except for that meandering wall - spoke to his tattered, shredded soul, calling him into the desert's depths. It was what he deserved, after all, wasn't it? To wander the sands of hell for eternity (or at least for a little while), wallowing in self-pity and self-hatred and the guilt of everything he couldn't remember. To be forgotten in the dunes that stretched ever-southward, perhaps never ending, perhaps stretching on until the edge of the world, and when he arrived at the precipice he would look over the edge and wonder what it would be like to simply leap, to think about flying, but to choose, and to plummet, to fall -

What would he find at the bottom of the edge of the world?

--There is no edge of the world. There is only the salt water.-- Zarina's voice broke gently through his swirling thoughts, bringing him back to reality. Where she was normally gruff and blunt, she was, for the moment, soft and kind, nudging and prodding him back into a frame of mind that was reasonable rather than shoving him into deeper waters. In that moment, he appreciated her presence more than he had since he had awoken on the shores of the - whatever it was, wherever it was, it didn't matter, did it? Either way, he understood, suddenly, what it was to be bonded, what it meant to share a mind with a creature so very different but, without a doubt, so very a part of himself.

He did not smile, not outwardly, but in his mind there was a glimmer of something that felt like hope, and his bonded relaxed, the concern easing from her (their) mind(s). The marmoset turned to settle into his mane, and as she did, she noticed the streak of brown and white that fell to the earth, that froze a moment, and then bounded toward them; she recognized the mare and sent a nonverbal cry to her bonded, who consequently turned with surprise, for it seemed that he would not need to find Nasreen after all, she was here, she was here, and he was overwhelmed by the sudden, crushing joy and sadness that came upon him all at once (when did she get so grown up? Who had she become? Wow long had it been since they had been together? How had he wronged her?).

"Nasreen!" he cried in a voice full of hope and regret, he rushing forward to meet his sister and offer his embrace. "You are here, thank the gods, you're here." He hoped that she would allow his touch, let him throw his head over her neck and pull her into him, permit him to breathe in her scent and know that she was real, and that she was here, and that she still loved him. He needed her to love him.

"more words."

OOC ;; @Nasreen No worries, darling! <3

Quilyan

subtlepatterns.com | kaydeniro & larfsalot @ deviantart