okeanos does not want to go near elysium, so he brings
@Ibis down and away instead, through the glade. he doesn't really have a plan for this part -- there's no way to even guess where mali might be, and though he traveled a lot as a child, most of it is forgotten. briefly he thinks about trying to find the place where bracken sanctuary used to be, maybe seeing if mali went that way, but... he's not sure where bracken sanctuary used to be. well. picking a direction and striking toward it seems fine for now -- so long as the company is good.
smiling, he turns towards his sister and bumps her gently.
"whatcha thinkin' about?" he asks, eager for the opportunity to make up for their few months spent apart during their travels.
Ibis had many plans for when they left the Hollow, but as soon as they stepped foot outside the boundary and really got moving, they faded from her mind. Dissolved like dust in sunlight. While her thoughts had initially focused on the big wide world the pair's departure felt as if it had been darkened by change; the loss of some fast friends that Ibis held dear, an extended family that had just begun to mean something to her — Aengus, Breccan — even a budding role as the pack's messenger and the connections she could've fostered, given time — Ira, Korei.
A lot weighed on her. The freedom Ibis anticipated, coveted, came slowly and felt so much more complex than the girl was prepared for. She was lifted from the brewing dark cloud of her thoughts by her brother's lively voice, his touch, the familiarity that she had so missed in the weeks following her departure from Elysium. They were together again and that should have been enough. She tried to smile and be her best self; it felt forced at first, but then Ibis said, Nothing,
which she knew Okeanos wouldn't believe - and she didn't want to lie to him, especially now. Everything. I'm... Happy to be with you again, big brother.
Her smile deepens, strengthens. Ibis noses through his coat briefly as she tries to match his stride, but has to speed up to compensate for their size difference.
he would have accepted nothing, though once she continues, he remembers the way she'd sighed, the sadness that seems to haunt the edges of her expression. "i'm happy to be with you, too," he says automatically, laughing a little as she speeds up to keep pace with him before slowing down to match her, instead. "how was it, being with dad? you gotta tell me everything," he says, hoping to expand a little on everything. he doesn't, after all, know what she's been up to, what it's been like at the hollow -- but he wants to.
Her heart was racing; probably from the tempo she had picked up to follow along, although that descended back to something she could handle when he noticed and slowed down. The last thing she wanted to be was a burden to her own brother so rather than take his adjustment thankfully, Ibis let it feed in to her self-doubt just a smidge, although she was relieved not to have to push herself as hard to scurry alongside him. When the conversation shifted back to dad and Ibis' time within the Hollow, she felt her throat constrict a little, and her mouth run dry.
It was --
not what I expected, she wanted to say, but also didn't want to dishearten Okeanos, and she didn't want to lie to him either, leading to a disquiet as Ibis tried to order her thoughts a bit. A pause, and shes to explain again. It was busier than I expected, not like Elysium at all. There were always people running off to do something, and their claim - the forest - was sprawling and large and beautiful, so sometimes I would go days without seeing anyone.
It made things sound sad in her mind, lonely, and Ibis knew she was projecting some of what she felt in those early days in to her explanation. Dad was often busy, and I figured that everyone was busy doing something so I may as well get busy too. I got started by studying everything in the forest I could find; the trees, the flowers, the grasses; for the most part they were different from Elysium's and I wanted to figure them out.
She recalled the first time she'd found her clover field, and then the last time she had looked upon it, and took a breath.
About a week in to my stay, I ran in to Treason -- she was very, um, round.
Pregnant, she could've said, but her first thought was to mention how tall and intimidating she was, how stern, and yet Ibis couldn't find the words for how she'd felt at that fateful encounter. She smiled as she spoke though, amused at herself for some reason or another. I tried to be friendly with her but she gave off such a scary vibe, and she was so much bigger than me - I got kind of scared, and ended up running off to the safety of what I was more comfortable with - my plants. After that it seemed like Treason and I... Weren't destined for any kind of bond, it was like she'd made up her mind about me right there.
It had been her own fault for letting her nerves get the better of her. At this point Ibis went silent again but didn't show any signs of continuing her narrative, taking a little break after all that chatter.
he listens quietly as she describes her experience, picking up on some of his sister's sadness about it with his own. the description of treason makes him chuckle and nod; he waits a beat to see if she wants to continue before he speaks. "treason scared me a little, too," he admits, knowing it must seem foolish -- after all, he's big, and she was perfectly fine to him. but.. "she's not anything like our moms... which isn't a bad thing, i mean, but... i understand why you weren't able to get along." not even just their moms -- everyone at elyisum was so kind and gentle to him, being confronted by any other kind of energy is startling. (well... except for mali, he supposes, who hated him with a particular vigor that okeanos did not find offputting at all.)
"i'm sorry it wasn't what you thought it would be," he offers, bumping into her gently with his shoulder. "that does sound lonely. but it's cool you've been studying the plants," he adds, smiling. "you should tell me what you've learned sometime."
It felt better now that she was outside of the Hollow, even if it had been hard to reach this point. She loved her father and knew, in time, she'd love her new siblings - but Treason was someone she just didn't understand and Ibis was happy to be away from her. She didn't feel as guilty over that realization now that she'd spoken to Okeanos about it; he seemed to have a similar view of the woman, or at least some sympathy, and that was enough for Ibis. It was surprising to the little fawn that her bear of a brother could be intimidated by someone; he had grown up, become quite a force. Maybe if the pair of them had been raised in the Hollow as opposed to Elysium things would've been different — Okeanos could've been a warrior, and she could've pursued her messenger job sooner. How different would they have been? Busy-bodies like Terance, or cold and stern like Treason? It was a sobering thought, and Ibis realized she did not have the constitution for that sort of lifestyle.
That does sound lonely,
Okeanos quipped. But it's cool you've been studying the plants - you should tell me what you've learned sometime.
Ibis caught his smile and found her own grew in strength, and with her tail fanning happily behind her body she gave a little shrug, I didn't get to learn much after I moved over. There's a girl in a nearby pack that I was going to visit and do a sort-of... Knowledge exchange, with, but then we left the Hollow. I don't suppose we could, um, pop by there while we hunt for Mali?
Ibis' eyes lit with interest as she proposed this, and watched for his decision.
sorry for the delay my dear!! started my new summer job and its KICKING MY ASS. wanna wrap this up?
his own smile increases as ibis' slowly unfurls. he listens intently, happy to see how she lights up when talking about her friend, and nods.
"of course! where does she live?" he asks immediately, curious himself to meet whoever she is. maybe he could learn something too, after all! there's many things he still wants to learn, interests half-sparked and half-developed, one of the precarious joys of adolescence. and hopefully they'll run into mali en route or nearby or.. something.
Wrapping!
Ibis was gleeful when he agreed, and proceeded to explain who Korei Julia was - as they walked and talked, she filled her brother in about Easthollow, and the pale girl who loved flowers as much as Ibis did; she spoke of their first meeting in the clover field and segued to talk of Ibis' travels, at which point she'd run in to Korei again. Telling her brother of Easthollow was one thing but, she felt as if he'd really benefit from seeing it in person. Then he'd be able to meet Ira too, and all that Ibis wanted was for her little world to mesh and mingle, becoming a big happy family.