His breath came out foggy despite the fact that he couldn’t feel any temperature. He walked across the endless, black sea of dreams and thoughts. Everywhere he looked, through the water was a new memory.

Finally he found what he was looking for, a tangible fragment. Sitting on a pink, princess, plastic chair sat a little girl. She wore a stained, puffy, blue dress, and a crown missing most of the gems.

“Here you are Mister Fluffigins, your hot chocolate.” She poured the oddly red water from her little flowery teapot into a cup. The rhino teddy bear it was for had a permanent smile stitched into it’s face. She suddenly noticed him.

“Hello! Would you like to “sAvE!” play with me?” A happy smile danced upon her lips.

“Of course.”

One of the other stuffed playthings, a gray otter, dissolved into ashes. He wiped the ashes off the seat before sitting. The chair was strangely large and he had to spread his wings a bit.

“Hot cocoa?”

“That would be delightful.”

She poured more of that strangely colored liquid.

“Say? Would you know where I can Alora?”

“But I am Alora?”

“Yes, but not my Alora, I’m afraid I lost her.”

“Mom says if you lose it, you don’t deserve it.”

“Fair point, I…” He stared into the cup. There was something in the water. He swirled a bit trying to understand it. It finally dawned on him. It was a few small pieces of skin. He had to stifle down his breakfast.

“Don’t you want to try it?” He looked up, her voice was strange. Blood was splattered across her face and her eyes were cold. Her present was bleeding into her past. He brought the cup up to his lips and took a slight sip. He couldn’t taste it as expected. No magic could make any dream quite that realistic.

“So about Alora, do you know where she is?”

“Maybe.”

“Can you show me?”

She hoped up from her chair and grabbed hold of Mister Fluffigins. Walking around the table she grabbed hold of his hand. He got up and she led him further into the darkness. The images in the water became more and more recent.

Someone forcing a knife into her hands, a little boy surrounded by his family’s corpses. Her punishment for failing her mission to kill him. When he helped escape that despicable place.

She’d kill him if she knew what he seeing, he-

Her younger memory squeezed his hand tighter. He longed to hold her tightly and go back, to protect her from all this. But it wouldn’t help.

The closer to the present, the faster he could wake her up. They finally reached the last thing she remembered. His face yelling for her to stay awake after she had been cursed.

“Is that really how I look?” He turned to look at the little girl. The point of the walking wasn’t for him to find her, it was for her to remember. He knelt down next to her. She was trembling, not wanting to remember.

“I’m sorry, but I need you.” He placed his hand against her head and pulled her forehead to his. Once the spell was cast he pulled away. Mister Fluffigins fell with a soft thud. She stared in silence. Her breath now came out clouded and she was shivering. He wrapped his coat around her and picked her up. Spreading his four, giant, black wings, he made sure she was secure before pushing off the ground. He soared as fast as he could which only made her colder. Her breath was slowing. She was leaving him. He flew into the darkest part. Suddenly he emerged from the black nightmare. He crashed, harshly into a nightstand which broke instantly, then into the wall that cracked loudly. He could hear a loud yelp come from Penelope who had been sitting in a chair across the room. He rushed to limp shape on the bed. He gently lowered her spirit back to her body.

His own body lay in the next room over.

“Novae? Is that you?” Penelope looked around the room without possibility of seeing him. He ran back to his body. He awoke, warm once more. Tripping, not used to real legs, he made his way to the other room. She was awake, talking to Penelope. Almost no trace showed on her face. He stumbled to her and wrapped his arms and wings wrapped tightly around her.