"Wow, I did not imagine you to be... this." An unfamiliar voice was what caused Thea to open her eyes, squinting a bit at the bright light surrounding her, and the bright red and orange form in front of the leopard. Pupiless eyes surveyed her, tails wrapped around the dragon's slender form, and she continued, "I didn't realize exactly how fucked up you'd be in this life. Guess it's kinda my fault, though. Kind of. A good chunk of it's on you, though." With that, the stranger offered her a bright grin that somewhat resembled her own, only not including the malice that was often in hers.

It's her fault I'm like this? What is that supposed to mean? Confusion entered her gaze, and Thea blinked, before finally speaking. Ugly thing. Should've minded her own business. The little whispers were here, somewhat comforting Thea as she spoke, giving a voice to their opinions as well as her own. "Who are you? Ugly old-" The leopard was cut off as a paw slammed down on her head, claws digging into her skull for a few moments. "Listen up, shrimp. I'm trying to help you. What were you going to finish that sentence with, you ungrateful little shit?" Glowing eyes glared at Thea, and the young Fireball could begin to feel the older dragon's paw begin to heat up, singing the fur on her head. "N-nothing. I said nothing." With that, the paw was removed, and Thea gingerly touched the now-sore spot on her head, as the other female grinned as if nothing happened. "Good. Don't let them influence you." She could hear them, as well? No. No, she couldn't. Her friends only spoke to her. Her clanmates couldn't hear them.

"Now, what was I here for? Right. You know who I am, right? At least have a guess?" Thea shook her head, and the dragon's eye twitched, as if this irritated her greatly. "Wow. I did not expect you to be this much of an idiot. I'm Thea. Or, well, you. Uh, you're my reincarnation." She paused for a few moments as she let the younger Thea process this, before continuing. You basically have a darker essence in your aura, something left over from your last life. Those little voices in your head? Yeah. Those. I'm surprised nobody pointed it out to you. Maybe to not scare you. Or maybe they're all idiotic enough not to notice it." Thea opened her mouth to protest, but fell quiet as the other Thea held up a flaming paw.

"Good. Listen. Anyways, I was dying. I kinda gave the rest of my lifespan to imbed my own essence in you, so I could help you with keeping it in check. That's the only reason I managed to be here now." Finally, she stopped, allowing the Fireball to speak.

"So how're you gonna keep it in check, miss?"

"No clue. Figured I'd learn how to do it along the way."

"So why are you here?" Thea's voice grew irritated, and that earned her another attack, this time with a well aimed spine being shot, nicking her ear. I'm gonna die if I stay here. The fact she was essentially insulting herself never even crossed her mind, and she snapped, "And why the hell is former me so freaking violent?" A bit hypocritical, coming from her, but still. Continuing on, as if she didn't attack, former Thea spoke. "I guess... I'll be here from time to time, and be the voice of reason, since you don't seem to have one. Basically, I'm here as kind of a guide or advisor."

Thea had never felt the need for a guide or advisor, and certainly didn't need one now. She had been fine, even after murdering her own clanmates for the sake of cementing her faith in the beliefs she had been fed since she was a child, and she absolutely refused to admit she was scrambling for control of her life, and ended up costing multiple people things they considered precious. Their lives. Their happiness. Their futures. None of that mattered to the leopard, and it was clear she did not want help as she looked to the dragon defiantly. "I don't need help. Or a guide. Or an advisor. Now leave."

She could hear a tsk from her former self. "Really? You consider murdering people, like Roy, as something that's okay? I hate Bucky too, but it's a bit too far to go and murder somebody and pin the blame on somebody you don't like. Are you gonna do that to everybody you dislike? That's blood staining your paws now. You thought it was for justice, right? What's so just about staining your paws in blood just to frame somebody else who committed those same crimes?" The dragoness stared at her, before continuing, "Suite wouldn't have wanted that, right? That was the closest person you had to a mother figure. The loss you felt then, you ended up causing Riza and many others to feel that same loss."

Thea's head tilted at the words, refusing to accept them, and it was probably made clear to the dragoness right away, who's eyes hardened.

"So, the ends justify the means. In the end, Bucky ended up being suspected. You hate him, too, right? We can try again. Make it more foolproof, and his life miserable. You should understand-" A loud growl silenced her, as smoke arose from the older dragon's nostrils. Pale blue optics stared at glowing orange ones, and to be honest, Thea thought she was going to be set on fire or something, before the older female sighed, lowering the claws that had been raised before.

"To be honest, there was really only one way I can think of right now, minus the whole 'beating some sense into you' plan, which doesn't seem to be working." A paw raised again, and instead of causing her more harm, was gently placed on the young leopard's head, a soft light being emitted.

That soft light was probably the reason Thea's whole world shattered that very moment, as images flashed through her mind, the emotions alongside just as strong, threatening to tear the child's heart apart with each new one.

The confusion she felt as she viewed blurry faces for the first time, as voices could be heard, soft and soothing, and ones Thea had always looked forward to hearing for the rest of her life.

Watching her grandfather die, body going up in flames at a moment that was supposed to bring joy and happiness, and ended in loss. Standing there frozen, and the uselessness she felt? It ended up driving her away from her family and friends, settling down with another group and spending most of her time there, even gaining somebody who would be a constant companion, somebody to trust, and that had ended up being a mistake, with Thea experiencing even more loss, and feeling less like she had a place in this world.

Watching the group she loved fall, and attempting to fix it herself, only to lead them further into ruin. She could hear the past regrets she had, changes she wished she made then instead of slipping and falling every time she tried to live up to the expectations she set for herself, and that she felt others had set for her.

The happiness she felt watching her kids, and the sense of protectiveness she felt over each and every one of them. Not that it prevented them from disappearing.

Happiness. Sorrow. Grief. Heartbreak. Love. Rage. Tears began to fall as Thea felt all of them, the memories she received quickly moving out of reach, for the most part, but the emotions? Oh, they stayed, and she could feel the pain that it caused, barely having time to adjust to these new memories and emotions before the realization hit of what she'd done.

It took her a moment to realize what the wetness was as it soaked her fur, and the fact she had forgotten what it felt like to cry made it even more heartbreaking for the child, causing more tears to fall.

Mom. Roy. They had died. They had died by her paws. Her paws were stained with blood. Mom had been innocent. Roy had done nothing to her. She had only killed him to try and save herself a world of pain, and ended up causing others the pain she was saved from. Everybody she knew and now realized she cared for had been hurt by her actions, her stupid decisions.

In a way, she had been a victim, too. She had never been taught right from wrong. She had never asked for the darker essences to be mixed into her aura, influencing her since she was young. And that had cost so many people so much, and so far, it had cost her nothing.

Yet it was no excuse for Thea's crimes. Nothing was. Those were only reasons for them.

At one point, Thea couldn't care if the world burned if it meant her goals were reached, but now, she watched the world she knew crumble around her, sitting there frozen as her own world burned because of what she'd done, and could only continue to stare, not even able to raise a claw to try and stop it. The dream, and the other Thea, slowly began to disintegrate.

Her shrieks could be heard as she shot out of the bed, as if the dragoness in her dream would come again, and cause her more pain. "Roy. Suite. Mom. Suga. Lit." She kept repeating those words, of people she'd killed and people she'd been helpless to do anything for. As if that would bring them all back. The memories she received were still blurry, but those names and a few other things were as clear as day. Claws unsheathed, the sharp points raking across the floor,

//tl;dr: Basically Thea comes face to face with herself from her past life, who first tried beating some sense into her and then resorted to less violent methods that kind of broke Thea, and now she's been hit with emotions she's never felt before, and enough memories that most of them she can't even access. So she's realizing exactly what she's done wrong and all the feelings of guilt and grief that comes with taking a life along with a bunch of other things are tearing her apart inside. She's now screaming bloody murder on the floor of her room.

Edit: Takes a few days before Roy returns

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