If Kaphiri noted Amrei holding back in any fashion, he kept beyond her boundary with gentlemanly patience, or perhaps hadn't noticed at all. Most days, he was simply happy to have her company, especially if it was all to himself. He didn't need anything fancy going on for the moment to feel special. Though...

Well, magical pink blossom trees mid-winter definitely screeched special, to him.

He'd come back into confidence with his own legs since their last race, and he was glad to keep up with her as they frolicked; he wasn't sure he'd ever win, but at least it was better than being literally left in the dust. She seemed to notice the change as he did, and personally, he was glad for the confirmation he wasn't going crazy... crazier? In fact, he heard her mutter something to herself as she burst from the tunnel with a sudden stop. Sand cascaded in front of her in two arches, and Kaphiri dazedly blinked around at the desert surrounding them as he halted at her side. In the distance, past a river, he could see a spire of stone that might've been able to be called a mountain, were it shrunk down and tossed in the red dust of the wasteland in every direction. They were on the edge of a gorge, and the harder he looked, the clearer it became he was looking at an island in the distance.

When he turned so that he could see her again, it became clear she recognized the area, the wet shine of tears in her eyes. Kaphiri reached out to nuzzle beneath her chin, offering a moment of quiet comfort. He recalled the place she'd described growing up, and thought it must've been here -- he could see the waterways she'd described, the walls of the gorge, the neverending dunes.
He'd give her a moment to soak it all in on her own time.