Hushed Willows I wish I understood.

it is only once they are settled that okeanos lets himself sniffle quietly,  not crying outright for fear of his mamas hearing him and asking, oke, what's wrong? he knows it is important for him to be strong and be brave, and he knows his mamas only do what is best for them, but the past few months of his life have been a confusing jumble. seeing papa brought back fresh confusion and sorrow that okeanos has not had time to work through. their move is, in a weird way, a relief of sorts, as disrupting as it is -- it is a distraction. focusing on protecting ibby (and by proxy, mali, since the rest of his family seems to have left) gives okeanos a way to channel his feelings.

he tracks ibis' movement across the den, holding his breath 'til she steps outside. carefully he extracts himself and makes to follow her, taking a quiet seat beside her as his own gaze trails star-ward. "pretty sky," he says softly, "looks the same from here, too."