We Remember Everything

by Thunderscourge

Numb The Pain

“King Loki.”

It was the gathering before Loki and Luna’s secret wedding and everything was going as expected. Only a certain crowd were allowed to attend, those being Frigga, Trixie, Thor, Jane, Stark, Rogers, Banner, Heimdall, Fandral, some assorted friends and associates, and of course Trixie’s guest. Luna did not want anyone who may be opposed to the wedding in attendance, so the neutral Hogun and the previously opposed Sif each were not allowed to take part. Twilight had since returned to Equestria to help out Celestia with the royal workload, as well as to inform her of Luna’s coming nuptials. Sadly, due to illness, Celestia refrained from joining them for the proceedings, though promised to make it up to them afterwards and during by taking care of any duties she could.

The wedding was just a quiet ceremony to get the whole matter of them being married over with, not some place where something grand may happen or where a spectacle was invited to occur. Loki knew better to tempt fate by now. The throne room was still ruined, so instead a hidden alcove was to be used instead.

No guards were even posted, due to the crowd inside entirely being more competent than any guards who may join them, which in turn allowed someone such as Trixie to approach Loki without being stopped just as all of the others were beginning to arrive.

Loki smirked at the mention of his new title from someone who, in all technicality, was his daughter, “You need not treat me as some stranger.”

Trixie was wearing her purple dress again, freshly cleaned by the servants of the castle, and found herself poking at its collar as she began to forget what she wanted to talk to Loki about, “I just…”

Trixie was in her original form, a tall and lithe Unicorn rather than Alicorn, and as such Loki was able to look down at her and smile rather than look up.

“I suppose I am more comfortable with you than you would are with me. Our time in Hel was quite one-sided.”

That brought up old wounds with Trixie, who remembered with some irritation how long she had been rendered comatose. This irritation did not carry over to her voice though, as it was not focused at Loki but rather his future daughter and the Ursas, “Sorry I could not help you more…”

“You were deadweight for a good part of it,” Loki joked, though the instant deflation of her face made him realize that perhaps her ego had still not recovered from all of this. It had instead been shattered from the onset and crushed more and more every day since their paths had intertwined despite everything Trixie had going for her since, personal issues still dragged her down the entire way.

Trixie sighed as she thought about the little time they did interact there, and also what happened directly afterwards, “And I apologize that Kael’s interference prevented you from leaving.”

“I got over that years ago, or what feels like years ago. Time is distorted in that realm, you see.”

“Oh…”

Loki, in his full Asgardian royal garb, kneeled down and brought a hand to Trixie’s head, “Listen, just because Luna took you under her wing does not mean I do not have my own obligations towards you. Consider me your father or not, that is your decision, but so long as you are Luna’s daughter I will protect and help you however I can.”

Trixie felt her heart grow lighter at his words and touch, appreciating the gesture, “Thank you…and thank you for taking care of me before.”

Having cheered her up somewhat, Loki stood up and continued to smile down at her, “As I said, I will do whatever I can to help you. If you ever need me, or need to speak with me, do not worry. Remember, you will find that your mother and I are quite similar, as that is what drew us together.”

“You’ve already given me more than my real dad ever has,” Trixie grumbled as she averted her gaze to the side.

Her words gave Loki some pause, though he decided that he had time to perhaps address this issue before the events proceedings came about, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Trixie’s tone quickly changed to hold a great deal of venom, though pain was also making its way out through her voice, “My father is a rapist and my mother was a child he preyed upon. That ruined her life, and she took it out on me. She threw me out on the streets when I was a foal, and she not only went on to kill him but also to contract some disease that will kill her in the immediate future.”

Drawing upon his own connection to Luna, Loki extended the thread of family hatred to Trixie, “My father tried killing me by leaving me behind as an infant,” that caused Trixie to look up in surprise, at which point Loki shrugged and continued, “I killed him in the end, after I was adopted by my true father, Odin.”

It was common knowledge throughout the castle that Loki’s father, Odin, was dead and gone. One of the few permanent casualties from that day, and so Trixie felt obligated to say, “I am sorry for your loss.”

Loki could hear the entrance of many of the other guests and decided that perhaps he should prepare for the wedding, and as such he was forced to end the conversation.

“I thank you for your compassion but I must go now, though I do ask that you remember my invitation. I welcome your presence at any point, except perhaps in the situations when you should knock before entering.”

“Don’t remind me,” Trixie blanched as Loki turned around to leave, only to find himself nearly bumping into one of the guests. It was Kael’Thas, who had in his hands a bouquet of flowers he most likely acquired in one of the gardens, and who was dressed in clothes…similar to Loki’s own. Kael’s old clothes had been in tatters and had been deemed unworthy of the event, so Luna had provided him with some of Loki’s own. Loki rolled his eyes at the sight of this, for he had not been informed, though he did not really care.

Kael bowed and knelt down to Loki, his golden hair falling down over his shoulders, “I have been told you are the King of this place. I came to give you my condolences about your late father, as well as my congratulations on your wedding,” he stood up and presented Loki the flowers, Kael seemingly not sure what the customs of this culture were, “I too know what it is like to lose a father when under siege by a terrible foe, but a leader must stay strong even in times of such strife.”

Loki looked over the flowers with some confusion, though he accepted them graciously as he did not want to be a rude host, “Thank you,” a part of Loki wished to pay this Elf back for ruining his first chance at freedom, but the side of him that won kept his tongue silent on the matter. Instead a flash of light behind him drew his attention, and Loki turned to it with a smile.

Now standing right behind Loki was Trixie in her alternate, Elven form. She took some time to arrange her loose, silver hair before stepping beside Loki and smiling at him and then to Kael’Thas. Kael found himself perplexed as Loki gestured to Trixie, “I take it that this is your companion for the evening?”

“Companion? Another of my kind?” Kael questioned, still uncertain about just what was happening and now even more confused than when he arrived.

Trixie made sure that her purple dress had fully transformed along with her in the right ways before smiling at Kael again, the former Unicorn laughing a little at his perplexed face, “I thought that perhaps being the only four legged animal at this event would be a little awkward,” she brought a hand back to move a strand of hair behind her ear, “And besides, your race has a natural beauty to them. I take that being among your own kind will make you more comfortable in some ways?”

Kael took a moment until he realized that the voice coming from this Elf was the safe as the Unicorn he had recently spent the day petting. No stranger to transformation, he still found himself gawking at the transition from fuzzy creature to stunning example of his own race.

“Oh my, the Unicorn can shapeshift?” he stated the obvious, still surprised as he looked her over. Since her last transformation Trixie had increased the height of her Elven form by a few inches so as to match her current true form, and so she stood at a height equal to the Elven prince, “Are you normally a Unicorn, milady, or is that just another form you can take?”

Trixie blushed as she noticed the Elf admiring her chosen body, “My usual form, as it is. I hope you do not mind.”

“It is a little offputting, I must say, but I am not one to judge based on appearances but on actions,” Kael responded truthfully, at which point Trixie reached forward to take his hand.

Seeing that the two of them would be fine, Loki continued to leave the spot to head where he was needed, “If you two will excuse me.”

He was barely heard as Trixie led Kael over to where they should be standing. Loki shook his head while mumbling something about having a second wedding right after the first, only stopping his grumbling when coming to view the sight of Luna in her wedding dress.

Luna had not gone with the white dresses most would opt for, instead choosing a navy blue that contrasted the softer blue of her fur. Neither was it overly large or extravagant, being much more similar to a normal dress than a normal wedding dress. In fact, one would not likely consider it a wedding dress at all at first glance without the proper context, but it was perfect for the only marginally feminine Luna.

Finally, after so long, Loki was to marry the woman who he shared so much with.

The wedding went without a single problem, and at the after party Loki and Luna found themselves enjoying each other’s presence. They first danced alongside many of the other guests in a slow song sung by the three guests of Stark, during which one of them was whisked away by a certain womanizer originating from Asgard while the other two went on to sing uninterrupted.

Luna forced Trixie to stop being a wallflower at the event and had her apprentice do a magic show of sorts for the crowd, it being Luna’s hope that perhaps by showing off her talents she could win herself a certain husband. Minutes into being a wife, she already wanted to have grandchildren. And whatever foreign kingdom that came attached to their visiting prince.

After the dancing died down and was replaced with a crowd around The Great and Powerful Princess known as Trixie, Luna and Loki found themselves sitting at the back of the crowd.

Not likely to be overheard with all of the noise originating from the event, Luna began to talk to her husband cheerfully, “Loki, you know, you and I are going to be in this together for a long time. Think you can handle a few thousand years?”

Loki gave her a smile that slowly melted into a frown instead, “Perhaps, unless Thanos comes by again, as I expect he shall.”

Luna rolled her eyes, not wanting pessimism to be present on what was shaping to be one of the favorite days of her life, “We’ve defeated everything in our path thus far. I think we will be just fine.”

Loki glanced over to Kael’Thas, who was seemingly entranced by the woman who was entertaining the small crowd. It made sense that she was appealing to him, simply being a taller version of what his mind believed to be the quintessential High Elf. His words remained about Thanos, but he held a double meaning with them, “I think it fair warning to explain that he is in love with our daughter.”

Luna did not see what he was looking at right away, “I would greatly enjoy removing him from her life,” after a moment she saw where Loki’s gaze had traveled, and a smug smirk grew on her as she thought about the trick Loki just played with his words, “And as for this daughter, I say we continue to play matchmaker. I could stomach being a grandmother at this age if it meant finally giving Trixie a family of her own that would keep her from thinking about her own depressing family situation. The one that includes a terminally ill mare I am not sure whether or not I should euthanize.”

“And I thought you were going to be this nice bundle of fluff once the Nightmare influence was gone,” Loki jokingly admonished.

“I will not let a monster like that near my child,” Luna chillingly noted before softening up at the sight of Kael’Thas clapping at the end of one of Trixie’s tricks, “Polite Elves with power are fine, though.”

Loki nodded in agreement, “Being pure always is as bad as being evil. One cannot solve all problems with smiles and rays of sunshine.”

His words brought a cheshire cat style grin to Luna’s face, who leaned over to kiss her dashing husband on the cheek, “And that, my dear king, is why you and I have an edge.”

Loki turned to face her directly, brushing his face momentarily against her fur, “However, love, we must also strive to keep ourselves above petty matters and feelings if we are to accomplish that. No more squabbles with Thor and your sister over things that do not truly matter.”

“You sure have grown up in your time away.”

“I had a lot of time to think,” he paused as he thought back to the friend and guide he lost along the way, “And to learn from the suffering of others.”

Before Luna could question him about the matter, Loki stood and prepared to part ways with his new bride temporarily, “Anyways, this is about to end, and after I need to speak with my mother and check on how she is doing. Can I trust that you will be fine in the meantime?”

A bit peeved that Loki brushed the topic away, Luna nonetheless smiled to him and decided to let it go, “Of course. Trixie wanted to learn how to dreamwalk, and since you and I will be busy the next few days I suppose I should get that out of the way now.”

“Just take it easy,” Loki warned, not wanting Luna to exert too much magical energy while pregnant.

“I will,” Luna promised before smiling broadly, “And Loki?”

Luna looked over to Trixie, who was now bowing to her crowd as her performance finished.

“Thank you for looking after her.”

Little to either Trixie or Loki’s knowledge, Luna had been able to listen in on their conversation. This now revealed to Loki, he sighed at how his little moment of compassion was revealed to his wife.

Loki shook his head all the while smiling, “Go. And make sure she does not disturb us later tonight.”

That wrought a fit of laughter out from Luna, “We won’t be dreaming, so I don’t think she will be able to.”

With the crowd cleared and only the two of them left behind in silence, Loki sat down beside his wistful mother. She was looking out from a balcony that had been a part of the ceremony, and her face held unresolved pain in it undoubtedly caused by her deceased husband’s absence at such a meaningful event.

To try and comfort her once again, Loki stood beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her in closer to him gently. She let him, only to sigh once their bodies brushed up against one another.

“Loki…”

He looked down at her, curious if she would go on. Frigga did not right away, first taking the time to look over the balcony and towards the beautiful landscape of Asgard, and then looking up at him with a soft smile.

“Your father would be so proud.”

Loki nodded, though he was not quite concerned about what a deceased man thought as how this still breathing woman was psychologically, “Will you be okay?”

Frigga appeared listless, not seeming too emotional one way or the other as she replied, “I am recovering. I think that the time I now have to myself will help somewhat.”

With a gentle kiss to the forehead Loki let her know he loved her, even after everything that had torn their family apart, “If you ever need anything from me mother, please let me know.”

Frigga rose her hand to stroke her son’s cheek, “Of course. I am so proud to have such a wonderful son.”

“And I am grateful to have such a great mother.”

A more powerful smile found its way to Frigga’s lips, the former Queen chuckling lightly at a piece of information she had come across earlier, “I hear that I am to be a grandmother as well. Your wife will be quite the queen, and your children will be unlike any before in Asgard.”

“You mean Frost Giant-Asgardian-Alicorns? We have not had those before?” Loki questioned in jest, causing his mother to laugh for what must have been the first time since Odin’s death.

“You know what I mean,” Frigga’s tone became more warning as the subject moved back to Luna, “Now make sure she takes care of herself. I have provided her with a suit of armor meant to protect her that will morph with her body. Make sure she wears it.”

“I will, mother.”

They were not the boisterous half of the family, and so they dipped into a silence that remained between them for what felt like an eternity. They did not need to say anything to each other, only appreciate the very presence of the other.

In the guest chambers that Trixie had been granted both Trixie and Luna were gathered, the latter having changed into her more regular dress for the occasion. The night was just beginning, and Luna had made sure to slip some sleep causing herbs into the drinks that their Elven guest was drinking. Not only should they help him have a deeper sleep, which he needed after his nightmare fueled dreams, but also it would allow the Alicorn duo to enter his sleep earlier.

“Okay Trixie, have you read the notes I gave you?”

“Of course,” Trixie nodded as she looked down at Luna, having transformed into her Alicorn form just to stretch out. After a moment she transformed back into her Elf body, only to forget to resize her dress and have it fall off entirely.

“I did not realize that was the kind of dream you were hoping to get across,” Luna joked as Trixie flailed around and tried to pull her purple dress back up as her magic worked to transform it to a fitting size for an Elf.

Trixie refused to acknowledge Luna’s joke, though she blushed heavily to show that it did get to her. After Trixie managed to fix her wardrobe malfunction Luna decided to continue, not wanting to waste any time that she could be spending later that night in her own bedroom.

“Now, this first time I am going to let you feel how it goes. I will take you along with me into his dreams, but I will sit back and let you do your thing. I will only step in if things are shaping up to be a nightmare you cannot handle.”

“Thank you,” Trixie politely responded as she sat down on her bed, Luna soon taking the place beside her. Standing and dreamwalking could have bad side-effects from Luna’s experience, and she had made sure to point out that fact in her notes to Trixie about how it all worked.

After some silence fell between them, Luna decided to play the part of parent and encourage Trixie.

“You know, you did well today.”

Trixie leaned her head on Luna’s shoulder, having to slant her body slightly due to her taller height to make the interaction work, “You were the main attraction. I was just there as a guest.”

“I think I prefer this humbler Trixie to the one who would boast a year ago,” Luna cooed, smiling as she and Trixie began to lay back and prepare for the process of sleepwalking.

“A lot has changed…” Trixie curled into Luna’s dress and fur, “I don’t need to act all great anymore when I know I am.”

“I just want to be worthy of being your daughter.”

That made Luna swell with pride, and she turned in towards Trixie to hug her gently, “You are in more ways than I could ever hope,” along with a quick kiss to the Elf’s forehead Luna asked, “Now, are you ready?”

Trixie nodded, and so Luna began the process.

“Okay, just rest your eyes. This may feel disorientating the first time.”

The dream that was entered was quite dreary and gloom in comparison to what Luna was expecting. Unlike Loki, who was repressing and also reliving his life when Luna found him, Kael seemed trapped in an exact memory. Luna and Trixie entered to find that he was sitting inside a damp cell with metal bars, his face a mixture between determined and forlorn. As if he knew something was going to happen, yet would not give in to it.

He did not notice them enter his dream, though Luna quickly took a step back to further observe the prison while Trixie attempted to soothe him. This was the younger Alicorn’s turn to set things right, like Luna had with Loki.

Trixie approached the cell, surprised to find that she was able to bend the bars and enter it with a wave of a hand. She had entered the dream world in her true, Alicorn body but was quick to morph into her other body. Luna was surprised that Trixie was so quick to learn, but she chalked it up to the instructions she left.

“Kael?” Trixie asked worriedly as she entered his cage. He appeared to be ripped from his thoughts as he turned to face her, surprise washing over his face.

“J-Jaina? What are you doing here?” the Elven prince stuttered, shock on his face. Trixie realized that perhaps, in this dreamlike state, he was not recognizing her.

“Who’s Jaina? Don’t you recognize me? I know I look a little different, but you saw me like this earlier…” her voice trailed off as some hurt wormed its way into her words. Being called by some other woman’s name irritated her in a way she was unfamiliar to.

Kael, slowly recognizing Trixie, nodded to her while lowering his head in shame, “I apologize…I do not know what came over me.”

Trixie had the feeling that he did not exactly understand that he was in a dream, chalking it up to how he likely was preoccupied with whatever memory this was. Still, she wanted to inquire about what he said before.

Trixie swallowed her pride and sat down on the imagined damp spot next to Kael’Thas in his cell, her voice inquisitive but not forceful, So, who is this Jaina? You seemed worried to see her. Does she look like me?”

“Jaina was…” Kael’s face sunk as memories washed over him, the man even cringing before he could manage to continue, “She was an old friend of mine. You look a lot like her in this body, though she was a human and not an Elf.”

Sensing some affection in his voice, as well as dejection, Trixie struggled to follow in her mother’s footsteps and continue her consoling of a wayward prince. Just what was he going to say if she pressed further? That she was some past lover or woman he loved?

Thinking about those possibilities, Trixie steeled herself and pressed forward. So what if there was this past woman? She, Princess Trixie Lulamoon, existed in the present and was here by his side to help him while this other woman was not.

“Saying her name hurts you. Do you wish to talk about it, or do you not wish to bring up past memories?”

Trixie ultimately left him the option to delve into it further, not wanting to make him uncomfortable if she did not have to.

A sad smile appeared on Kael, his head still hanging as he continued to slump against one side of his cell, “I remember little, but it is hard to forget your first love.”

Trixie fought the urge to cringe a little herself, instead focusing on using her long Elven ears to listen as Kael began to ramble about his past with some fondness. This was to help him through his sleep. That was all.

“She was a talented mage…Her skill was unparalleled among her kind, though it was nothing spectacular amongst my race. I saw potential in her though,” he smiled completely genuinely with happiness radiating from his words, “We became fast friends, and I became smitten by her talent and wit.”

On the sidelines, Luna had found that there were countless other cells like this one. The prisoners all shared the common traits of being Elves, and the dream even included ghastly forms of what must have been guards in real life. The guards, all seemingly human, joked about executing the Elves at the crack of dawn.

Luna felt repulsed at their wicked racism, for the longer she listened to them the more she could see that there was no crime. These humans were going to kill their Elven allies in cold blood just for being Elves, having used as justification of this murder the excuse of consorting with another race in an attempt to survive. What a crime when pushed to the brink of extinction.

After surveying this initial bit of information about the dream, she returned to hear Kael mentioning his first love. Luna wondered if she should end this now or let it continue, given her daughter’s obvious affection for the prince. She decided not to when she could see that Trixie was handling it like an adult, simply listening to him and accepting what he was saying without letting her own emotions get to her.

Kael’s hands and teeth both clenched tightly as tears rushed to his eyes, his handsome features suddenly marred by his own grief stricken anger, “She rejected me…” he quickly shook off the anger and returned to his depressed state, though now he looked over at Trixie with his sadness, “You see…my race ages slower than her own by a large margin. While we were roughly the same in actual development, I was older than she in actual days.”

Trixie took the opportunity to move closer and place a hand on his shoulder consolingly, which caused his tight body to loosen a little. They had only just begun to scratch at whatever was troubling him, but Trixie was feeling confident that talking all of this out could help him in the end.

Kael almost laughed in self-deprecation, holding himself back from finishing it because of a sense of pride, “At least, that is what I always told myself was the reason she decided to instead seek the companionship of an arrogant prince whose foolish actions would later ruin our world.”

Seeing his face’s sad state of acceptance made Trixie do something a little more rash. She brought her own hand over his, intertwining the fingers of their dream bodies before clasping his hand tightly.

“Nopony is going to hurt you here or now. I promise. You have people who do care about you now,” Trixie claimed, a warm smile on her face to match her statement.

As if he had not heard someone be so kind and supportive of him in years, Kael stuttered for a moment before finishing with, “Thank you…even in such trying times, it is good to have someone who I can rely on. Even if we only have until morning.”

Trixie smiled, even as she realized that he thought that they were truly in whatever memory this was. He was not likely accustomed to living through his dreams.

After a moment, Kael lifted his hand from Trixie’s to massage his head, his hand running over his bushy, blonde brow as he spoke in fake joy, “I am glad she and I never grew closer though. It would make the fact that she has become bigoted against my kind harder to take.”

While Trixie did not notice it, Luna rose an eyebrow at that last statement from him. It sounded as if it was future knowledge, compared to the current state of mind he was in.

To try and get his mind off the depressing tale of his romantic downfall, Trixie tried bringing up something she found attractive about him, “Well, I think your race is beautiful. You all have such nice ears.”

“Our race, you mean,” Kael attempted to correct, not remembering in his sleepy reverie that she was actually an equine. He lowered his hand to hers and gave her a small smile to show his appreciation, “And thank you. It is nice to have a friend in one’s final hours.”

Trixie clenched his hand with her own and looked at him with some of her own sadness in her eyes, “You’re not going to die, okay? I’ll make sure of it, so don’t leave me. I don’t want anyone to leave me ever again.”

“Have you lost someone in your life?” Kael murmured softly, not even having considered that the woman beside him may have lost something just like he had.

The pressure now on her to talk, Trixie found herself nervous by the fact that she had not exactly talked about this with anyone yet, “I am going to lose my mother soon…and as good as I am with magic, nothing I have found can help her with her ailment. I have only found ways to cure ailments of magical diseases, not regular ones. How sad is that?”

Outside the cell, Luna felt herself sink a little. So that was why Trixie was reading all of those other books. She wanted to find a way of saving her terminally ill mother.

Kael was the one to become physical this time, reaching one of his long arms around her far shoulder to bring her into a hug, “I am sorry for your loss,” he did not seem to notice as Trixie snaked her arms around him as well, her face blushing profusely as he began to think back to his own life, “My parents passed just recently. Our city was lost when invaded by cadavers brought to life by a force known as the Scourge. I and my fellow prisoners here are all that are left of our kind to my knowledge. We have nothing left now. Our source of power and magic? Gone, leaving us with an unending thirst for magic that is going so far as to kill us. Our land? Taken by humans and the Scourge alike. In such a short time I have lost everything after once standing atop the world.”

Losing everything was something Trixie could relate to quite well, “I used to be a famous magician until I was humiliated and became a laughingstock, soon unable to work and make a living. I was destitute for so long that I know what it is like to be displaced from what one could consider ‘home’.”

Kael found himself surprised by Trixie standing up suddenly and assuming a fierce expression while jabbing an index finger at him.

“You’re the first person I could ever consider a friend. So, I’m not going to leave you like everything else. And I’m not going to leave you for some arrogant prince!” having let this out, Trixie softened into a smile, her voice becoming shyly calm, “I mean, after all, the only ones I know are my stepfather, my brother, and you…”

Her energy woke the lethargic Kael up a bit, making him start to observe the area with some actual attention. He soon stood up and smiled back at her, “I will hold you to that promise, milady.”

It was then that he fully picked up on the fact that his state of mind was not accurately matching what was around him, “Now, what is this place? This does not feel…real.”

“We are in your dreams…” when his eyebrow lifted in confusion, Trixie hastily tried to explain, “You have been suffering nightmares, and I thought maybe I could help you through them.”

“I see. That would explain why I feel so out of it,” he looked to his right to find that there were bars caging him in, “And the fact that these bars are the same as those that once entrapped me and my kin.”

Trixie nodded, glad he was beginning to comprehend, “This is a memory, so why were you in jail?”

The previously calm Kael snarled as he found himself perfectly able to recall why he was in this place, “For the crime of being an Elf. My kind always had a rough relationship with our human allies, but we were always allies. Then a brutal savage of a man named Garithos rose to power amongst their kind when my own was at its lowest lows. They abused their power and intended to execute us all on imagined crimes to justify their racism.”

Trixie found herself instantly fearful. Someone could be so cruel as to execute an entire race, an allied race, because of simple prejudice? She felt sick to her stomach just thinking about the cruelty that this poor man next to her must have been through, and found herself understanding why perhaps he wound up in Hel.

Kael began to calm down as he realized something about his memory, “However, this is where my memory ends…and given that I am alive, I must have escaped somehow, and I most certainly would not have left without my people. How that gets me to here I do not know.”

Trixie smiled as she realized what she could next do to help him, “Part of dreamwalking is the ability to bring up old memories. Perhaps we can rekindle some of your own should we explore your mind?”

Kael half-bowed to her, “I would be most grateful, but I must ask, why are you doing this for me? What do you have to gain?”

Trixie sighed as she felt herself rubbing her shoulder, trading her usual poking at the ground for this other nervous expression, “I feel sorry for you. Like I said, I lost everything I had before. Twice, actually. I hate seeing others in pain, and I would much rather have everyone never have to experience that sadness.”

That was enough to convince the Elf, who brought up a hand to shake with Trixie, “Then I shall cherish your hospitality and friendship.”

Trixie, not understanding what a handshake was, mimicked his motion and held her own hand out opposite his. He looked down at her hand as if this was a joke, which gave Trixie the cue that she was doing this wrong. She quickly pieced together that this must be the humanoid version of a hoofshake, so she took his hand quickly to mask her mistake.

On the sidelines Luna smiled brightly. A second generation of mending a broken heart through simple kindness.

Hopefully, Luna thought to herself, they could avoid having the man go evil again after succeeding at first. That would be a good improvement to make the second time around.