[center][h2][b]Ophelia[/b][/h2][/center]

Ophelia gave Torquil a guilty look and took a few seconds to compose her thoughts before speaking--which was fairly unusual for her, as she normally found words positively spilling from her without so much as a second's consideration. 

"I'm so sorry, love, that was my fault--I was so scared by that thing, I misunderstood Mother Moon's whispers and told you wrong... I hope you can forgive me. I tried to save you, but... gods, what an awful thing. At least we know now that death here isn't permanent, I suppose... If--when--we ever encounter one of those things again, I think we simply have to rush it and kill it before it can afflict us with frenzy. Gods, what a horrible sensation--I knew it looked bad from seeing it affect Farren in Rebirth's Rise, but I wasn't prepared for how phenomenally [b]awful[/b] it feels. I'm glad you're back and safe, though, dear." Ophelia confessed, hoping that the admission of it being her fault--which she earnestly felt it was, knowing that Torquil relied on her for guidance--would at least assuage some of whatever he felt in this moment.

"I suppose now we wait for the Moonborn to get back with the chalice materials... Gods, and have you noticed that the little ones are slower to appear than normal? They, like this Dream, come from Flora--and as the Dream's connection to Flora is weakened by the false Paleblood, so too must they be. Has anything else odd happened with them? I wonder if the Golden Bastard has taken her hostage, or done something else to her..." Ophelia followed up, loudly enough that Gerlinde in the shop would be able to hear too. She didn't really have a point, just felt compelled to speak her findings out loud to get them out of the jumble that was her mind and into reality. Farren and Torquil weren't versed in the esoteric topics she and Gerlinde were, but often that presented an opportunity for them to make connections that the womens' minds simply wouldn't.