Hushed Willows our time will come, too

SORRY i have NO IDEA what the posting order is so im just wingin' it

ellie's words do make everything worse, as he feared. okeanos knows the easiest thing to do is to take her side, to let the other puppies go away and make his way to mama like he's supposed to, and he nearly does, shrinking a little bit away from mali's fierce expression. only... he wants to break through to them somehow. he wants mali and brilliance, but especially mali, to like him for some reason -- he can't explain why, only that it feels like the most important thing in the world.

so with a slightly apologetic glance at ellie, okeanos says, "i like you," aimed at both of delight's children but mostly at mali. his pleading expression is replaced by something defeated -- resigned to this strange standoff but determined to keep at it. sucking in a breath he says, "m'not tryin' boss you around -- i just like you," like repeating it will somehow magically resolve the situation. he's not an idiot. he knows mali doesn't  like him (brilliance, the jury is still out, he thinks). maybe mali never will like him, but ... maybe if he just tries hard enough, he'll understand where he's coming from.