His grip tightens over the frame as his personal concern is cheapened by some universal product of how the passage of time is meant to erode a normal memory, as Ranulf embitters him with the notion that even one facet of Ike isn't important enough to remember. He is. And that's where you and I differ, he stews with a flick of his tail. I still think about that. I always will. Who cares what he means to others right now; what about what he means to me?

Not perfect? Absolutely. Soren's soured mood quells by the time he recognizes he's drawing on Ike's words, and then his own offering for support and guidance, and at last he renounces the reflection of Ranulf for the real thing with a turn of his head. He relinquishes his hold on the mirror and empties himself of a sigh with all the breath he had been holding.

Those eyes of the dragon burn red as ever, though that hue has drowned out his sclerae and pupils entirely, just like when they first crossed paths in the Wilde. It serves as a minor frustration to Soren that everything at once is in focus, for he doesn't care about anything else detailed in his vision but his Bonded.

"Actually, I'm quite grateful that you can't replace either of them," he remarks. "Ranulf... It was Ike who said that, wasn't it?" A tinge of hopefulness colors his tone. "Do you mind if you... tell me a little more about that time? I want to hear it."