Because of this determination - now focused on the objectionable trees - Volterra misses Isopia's awestruck expression, instead only turning back to her when she gives a small cough. He turns just in time to see her transform into her massive dragon form, and the sight of it makes him shudder. Not out of fear - although it may seem that way to the mare - but because of the sudden assault of memories that has slammed him from every angle. Her flying with him hanging loosely in her talons, his terror at the sudden lack of ground beneath his feet; the landing, and what followed. The last time he saw her draconic self, it was followed by the happiest event of his life. Now? It brings only sorrow, and a heavy sense of what might have been.

Dragon-Isopia flies upwards and begins to dislodge the branches with her hands. Yes, that is certainly a useful way to move them, and the stallion nods his approval. Using his own magic, Volterra begins to move the roots away from the other fallen trees too, so the Mountain can move them at her leisure. In this manner, it shouldn't be long before the trees have been shifted to expose the ground to the sun again, which should hopefully meet with Kisamoa's approval.

On his back, meanwhile, Vérzés peeks through his fingers, an idea formulating in his mind. Innocently he leaps upwards, gliding lazily towards Isopia and using his dragon body language to say "I help." He dives towards one of the branches poking out of Isopia's bough that is helping to stop the tree from moving, a reasonably large branch but one that he manages to chisel off with his claws and a handy blast of ice breath. Holding the heavy limb of wood in his arms, the red dragon flies forwards as though about to deposit it a safe distance away. Subtly, the ruby reptile suddenly releases his grip with a mentally exclaimed "whoopsie!" to his bonded, and the branch drops through the air like a wooden bullet directly towards Volterra.

The stallion startles, darting to the side, but the branch crashes down onto his back with an explosive cacophony of noise. The beast snarls and pins his ears as pain rockets up his spine, but his mental walls drop at the agonising distraction, giving Vérzés a window of opportunity once again....and this time, he will not let it slip. Through the hole he barges, holding back nothing, sending his words like an arrow into Volterra's gaping mind.

"HUBRIS SAID THAT MOUNTAIN GOT MEMORIES TAKEN AWAY AFTER FIGHT. SHE NOT REMEMBER YOU, SHE NOT REMEMBER BABY."

The branch rolls off the Indomitable's back with an inexorible thud, but he hardly notices. He is stood, frozen solid, a blackened statue staring numbly up at his dragon. It starts with a ringing in his ears, warning bells sounding everywhere in his mind as he digests this information, this life-changing information. His heart races, the throbbing pain in his back ignored completely.

"What?" he says aloud, not caring to keep his voice over their bond. The words make no sense - it can't be true. Vérzés swoops sadly down and lands on his withers, wrapping his hands around a section of thick mane like he used to when he was a hatchling, a gesture of mutual reassurance. "I sorry." "You're lying," comes the mammoth's snarled reply, feeling his temper rising. Yes, that's better. Temper is good. Temper is safe. This knowledge can't be true, and he can't make himself think about it - it's better to get angry at his lying little shit of a dragon. Why is the red doing it? To try and drive a wedge between them? He must be jealous, but how dare he!

"Not lying," says Vérzés timidly. He's frightened; frightened of the beast that he may be about to unleash, frightened of what Volterra might do or say when the realisation hits him. Like Hubris, he's frightened of the devastation if the leviathan fights back, this time; they could kill each other. The second Volterra's denial lifts, the storm is going to hit, and it's going to tear the world apart.

"YOU'RE LYING," roars the stallion, slamming one massive hoof against the ground as he feels the final threads of his temper fray away. Why is the red doing this? Why must he lie? "She wouldn't do that. She's better than that - we're better than that." His face is twisted into a snarl, his iron walls of denial rippling around the soft centre within - the tiny bud of belief, the horrible, heart-wrenching sensation that he knows his companion is telling the truth. That it makes sense, that all her behaviour fits in with what his dragon is telling him....no! He won't let himself believe that, because it can't possibly be true. He knows Isopia would never do such a thing, knows it with a belief that fills his heart with resolve and determination.

He forces his voice to calm, looks up at the Isopia-dragon in the trees and addressing both her and Vérzés. "Of course she remembers me." Don't be so stupid, is what lingers, unsaid, between them. His voice is loud, confident, but it holds a question, demands a reassurance from her; she'll laugh, say of course she remembers him, and they'll go about their business. She would never forget him.