things with mal are however things with mal are, but for now, at least, okeanos does not plan on leaving the vicinity of neverwinter forest. eventually he'll need to return to elysium and check in, and who knows what ibis will want, long term; he can only hope their desires will line up. but there's  no use dwelling on it right now, so he heads out for the day to explore the areas around the forest, intrigued by the rich variety of landscapes around. okeanos still misses home sometimes, but how fortunate, to be able to experience the world around him like this.

curiously he explores the spine and its steep walls, his thoughts too jumbled for any one to stick, until he catches sight of a stranger up ahead. the makings of some stable residence catch his attention, and so carefully he comes to a stop and calls, "sorry, am i trespassing?"

the man stops to look at him before shaking his head. he's large, like okeanos, and striking, but his attention is captured by the scars that adorn his handsome features. his own face tingles in sympathy, trying and failing to imagine what could have caused those lacerations. maybe, he thinks, he's a soldier like treason. it strikes okeanos as sad, but he thinks that's maybe condescending of him, so instead he says "thanks," and approaches the water.

the sheer rock and swamp seems inhospitable; he wonders how long the man has been here, if he's staying here at all. not having learned to be distrustful yet, he says aloud, "i'm okeanos, by the way. it's nice to meet you."

the stranger doesn't push him away, necessarily, and in fact seems receptive to okeanos' polite mumblings, but does not return them. he looks up from drinking to study his striking features, looking for signs of aggression or disapproval, or even a lack of interest; instead, he's treated to a strange rasp of a reply that makes his ears twitch. oh, okeanos thinks, putting two and two together, maybe he can't speak at all. 

for a second he feels embarrassed -- okeanos relies on words an awful lot for a creature of his stock, having been raised in an environment that valued peaceful communication, but not all communication needs to be vocal, he knows. still, he feels unsteady for having caught the other man at such a disadvantage, and hopes he can salvage the situation, somewhat. it'd be easy to just leave him alone and in peace (and maybe that's what he wants, okeanos doesn't know), but it'd be just terribly ill-mannered, he thinks. so instead he leans back down to finish drinking, buying himself some time. when he lifts his head again he says, "is it those wounds on your throat?" and kicks himself, because that's not exactly an answerable question, without words. "i mean--i'm guessing you can't or don't want to speak because of those," he amends, hoping that is more of a yes/no style question he can answer nonverbally.

holding his breath, he watches for a reply, worried he's offended the other man or that his question is still too difficult. when finally the man responds, a complicated gesture okeanos takes to mean not sure, his shoulders ease down, relaxing. his question is vague enough that he could mean 'i don't know if the throat wounds are responsible for why i can't talk' or 'i don't know if i won't talk because of the throat wounds', but okeanos elects to assume the former. well. whatever happened, it seems bad and not worth trying to dredge out one yes/no question at a time.

instead, thinking suddenly of his mothers, he says, "does it hurt?" pauses, and then adds, "would you like me to bring you some herbs to help?" given that he doesn't know the symptoms, help is maybe unhelpful, but there's herbs for pain and herbs for swelling and if the inside of his throat is as raw as the outside looks, he can probably make something to ease it. just in case, while he waits for a reply he begins to mentally compile what might work in the area, remembering the few things he'd picked up from his mothers in elysium.

okeanos isn't sure if the shrug is a yes, but it certainly isn't a no, and he's guileless enough to take that. cheerfully he says, "i'll be right back," turning already. he's some with him -- a small store for traveling -- though it does require him to scale the spine once more. he regrets this momentarily when he realizes he'll have to go back down and climb up again without falling, but, oh -- he's doing something nice, surely.

at length he returns, bustling back down with a mouthful of hastily assembles greens, hopeful the silvery man hasn't grown impatient and left in his absence. he carries lavender and nettle and a tiny amount of poppy, the most versatile things he could think of in a pinch, and goes to find panther to offer them with the same cheer he'd had when he left. "sorry it isn't more," okeanos says as he lays them down, "i didn't want to take too long, but i hope this helps a little."