Fighting against the poison draws nearly every molecule of strength from his body. When Onni appeared he had nearly given up, simply unable to keep going. But somehow by the will of the gods, her magic had pushed into him and taken over the battle for him. If she hadn't been there, Cera was frightened even further to know that he probably wouldn't have been able to clutch at life for much longer. The haze he was trapped in faded, but he was left disoriented and sore. There was simply no more energy left in his body, even if he had wanted to keep it or use it. Tiny cheeks were stained, unable to produce any more tears. The only comfort he could find as the searing went away was that he was no longer on moss covered ground, but familiar sand granules were pressed against his side.

When he couldn't find Midas with his own eyes, panic began to take hold once again. The kind face of the mare did little to comfort him after he confusedly called her by a title she didn't possess. Only relaxing when soft, familiar tone met his ears. Head lying flat against the sand, unable to hold it up any longer. Whimpering softly when warm air touched his face, tilting his head in vain to try and move closer to the comforting scent. This wasn't the demon that had haunted his delusions all the way to the borders, this was his father. The only one he wanted to be there, and the one he wouldn't dare leave again. Cera was terrified, and the reminder of what had happened would have sent him into a fresh wave of crying if he'd had the energy. Instead taking strength from his father's memorized face and trying to calm himself. Extending muzzle the most he could, vying for a simple touch.

So caught up in the familiarity of his dad, Cera was nearly startled when Onni began speaking. But he fought to turn his eyes towards her, exhausted and hardly able to manage it. So open and vulnerable as he listened to her, managing a miniscule smile, pouring as much sweetness as he could into it. She'd saved him, and for that he quite literally owed her his life. When she turned and spoke to Midas, only then did he mumble out with the rest of his energy. Within moments he was soothed, the gentle rumble of Midas' voice easing him into a calm state. He couldn't have remembered what happened in that moment if he tried. All he could remember was the terror that lingered, a shadow that couldn't be burned away by Onni's healing fire. Tiny sobs, hardly enough to be fitting of a newborn shook his chest as Midas rubbed velvet muzzle over his face. Dazed and scared, unable to remember why but feeling it all the same.

Home. Cera clung to that word and to Midas' voice like a life preserver. If he was home then he was safe, protected by those around him. However even the cloud of safety that lingered in his mind at the reassurances didn't keep him from trying to weakly scramble away when he felt movement beneath him. He was too frightened, too far into his basic senses to understand what was going on. Only calming when he realized it was the sand itself that was moving, remembering somewhere deep inside his brain that it was Midas' ability. Falling limp again as he was placed carefully on Onni's back, eyes the only thing he felt like he could control and even that was with maximum effort. Even so he refused to look away from Midas, muzzle reaching out for him in childish need for touch. Reminding him of the night Midas had found him, how starved he'd been for it. "Daddy...stay..." Struggling to get the words out, afraid that Midas would leave the moment he closed his eyes for even a moment. Even more afraid that he wouldn't stay with him while Onni carried him home.