it's hard to leave his home behind--for a long time elysium has kept him safe, nourished him, loved him. still, he feels no regret as he crosses the teekons towards lost hollow creeks, following his own memory and the faint traces of his sister's trail. this isn't his first visit to the hollow, but it has been a while, and the closer he gets the more the excitement of seeing his dad and sister again outweigh any longing for the sanctuary he's left behind.

besides--it probably won't be forever. 

he meets the border with a cheerful bounce in his step, not hestiating before throwing his head back and calling out hi hello i'm here dad ibis everyone, hopefully summoning @Terance and @Ibis -- though he'd be happy to see anyone, of course.

even though he's just seen her, one brief visit cannot make up for months apart. her voice, his favorite song, and then her -- okeanos allows her to crash into him, wrapping her in his embrace with a joyful bark. sweet darling ibis! it is as if he has been missing a limb, and now it has been returned to him.

he does not pull away, speaking close to her ear when he talks (he'll hug as long as she'll let him). "hi ibby," okeanos giggles, unable to keep the doofy grin off his face. "how are you? hows dad?"

oh! surprised joy lights his green eyes at the news of more siblings. he'll have to meet them -- and dad's new wife. what is she like? soft and gentle like his mamas? well, he'd have his chance now. her questioning gets a sheepish chuckle from him, nudging her shoulder before responding. "i've been studying with mamas, herbs and medicines and things," he says, "it's useful to know, but i don't know if i want to be a counselor or midwife like our mamas." he likes caring for others, but he does not know if that makes him a caretaker, or if it's just the way elysium is. 

as for her other question -- he hmms, gaze sweeping behind her to the rest of the territory. "well -- sorta. ibis, i wanna try to find mali." he takes a breath, plunging on before she can try to interrupt him (if she would), "i know i probably won't find him, and even if i do, he won't want anything to do with me, but -- i don't like how things were when we were kids. and i'm happy that our mamas have his dad, but i don't think it's right, how it went down." a frown twists his open, gentle features. there's other reasons, more selfish ones, but he wants to keep those secret. safe for him and him only.

"but i want you to come with me," he says, laying his cards flat on the table. it's a big ask, he knows, and if she wants to stay with dad and their siblings, well, he can't fault her. but! "our mamas' have their new wife and kids, and if dad does too--well, it seems like maybe it's a good time for us to, um, sow our oats i think they say." besides, he can think of no one he'd rather have by his side on a possibly indefinite adventure besides his darling sister. "so... what do you say?"

there is a moment when he can see his proposal register in her pretty eyes, and he begins to worry she will reproach him--but he needn't have, for she is quick to agree. he grins blindingly, about to suggest they go find dad when suddenly he arrives as if summoned by okeanos' thoughts. 

unaware that his dad has heard their conversation, oke steps forward to meet his embrace, basking for a moment in it. though he'd grown up away from him, he's missed his dad, and treasures what memories together he does have. "i'm good -- i heard you have a new wife? we have more siblings?" he asks playfully, pulling back with a knowing look to ibis. they'll both talk to him about their imminent departure, he's sure, but okeanos sees no real need to rush. not when there's new babies to smooch!

a soldier--okeanos, who  has only really ever known the gentle souls that tend to accumulate in elysium, has a hard time imagining what this treason might be like. but if dad loves her, okeanos is sure he will too, no matter what. he grins at the description of his new siblings, thinking of his three brothers back home (a milder set, perhaps). "mama olive had three, too," he says, voicing his thoughts, "all boys. i'm happy our family's grown so much on both sides."

glancing at ibis, he continues. "i'd like to meet them and treason, if that's okay." treason doesn't know him after all, and he knows mothers can be a little protective. but, oh, he should properly explain his intentions. "i'm not staying--permanently, here. there's something else i have to do, and--i was hoping ibby would join me." he nearly asks terance for permission, but bites his tongue--he's not ibis' keeper, she can ask for herself and/or make her own decisions. instead, he adds, "but i don't need to go immediately, and it'd be nice to visit with you for a little bit first, a couple of days, maybe, if that's okay with you and uncle rannoch?" okeanos dips his head slightly, respectfully; he knows his dad is happy to see him, but he doesn't want to come off as taking advantage of the creek, and he wants to do this properly, with no hurt feelings on either side.

his tail wags happily as terance agrees, even as he nods in understanding. after all, he's not been to the hollow in some time, and this treason doesn't know him at all, even if he is their blood... even if he can't meet them now, he's sure he'll get to eventually, when they're older. the wag in his tail only increases as his dad gives him permission to visit, suggesting they speak to gannet -- he nods seriously, saying, "i will -- i've learned a little about plants from mother, but a refresher is probably a good idea." 

at his dad's question, okeanos hesitates. when he'd left he'd not mentioned mali to seabreeze, but terance doesn't know the situation at all. how should he explain..? "well," he starts, slowly, feeling for each word, "i have an idea, but i'm not... completely sure, yet. but there's someone i want to try and find, and if i can't find him, well... at least it'll have been an adventure." hopefully that's enough of an explanation, he thinks, a little sheepishly: he trusts ibis to understand his impulse, but anyone else, he's sure, would want to know why he's wasting his time looking for a bitter ghost from his childhood with no intention of really... repairing anything. okeanos is just like that.