Hushed Willows bating a whisper from a broken morning

Upon returning home she had expected to be swept up by her family and welcomed with love and affection, which she did recieve but it was in a limited manner; the Yule party had been occupying many minds and while they were happy to see her, it felt (at least to Ibis) that she had been forgotten by many of them. She'd seen Seabreeze, and she'd seen her brother, but all other chances to reconnect with her siblings had fallen short. Then, she'd found her father among the willows — a jarring experience considering all she had done to find him, only to fail. After the party she had been resting for long periods, withdrawn and needy simultaneously, until something worse befell Ibis — the loss of her mother.

Ibis did not know what had happened. The details weren't obscured from the children, but she had a hard time following the chaos as the adults sprang to attend to the body. A great fear had gripped Ibis in those first few moments, then days — a fear that she'd not just lost her father, but her mother too. That she'd be stuck with Olive (who she loved of course, but not with the same fervor as Seabreeze), or forgotten as her step-siblings became the center of Elysium. She stayed near Seabreeze whenever possible. Watching over her, guarding her, singing to her with sad little crooning, until she felt as if she'd been emptied out entirely. She just couldn't figure out what to do, and had to remove herself before the sense of dread and doom engulphed her.

Then, as Ibis distanced herself and put herself on "time out" for a little break, she saw Olive. The woman wasn't with Seabreeze right now, probably worried just as much but needing space too. The girl hadn't noticed the fall of night around the territory, but she felt the bite of the cold air as she left her mother. That cold pierced in to her, and without any logic to her thoughts, Ibis blamed Olive for that feeling. She watched the woman drift between the willows and was soon in pursuit.

Maybe if Ibis hadn't gotten lost, her mommy wouldn't have hurt herself. Maybe Seebee had been looking for her when she'd fallen? That thought put a hitch in her step, bringing with it a wave of intense guilt that made her belly feel as if it had dropped away. Ibis focused on Olive and picked up the pace, her quick little steps hastening until she was on an intercept course, feeling the cold air sweep across her little body and the cold settle in to her heart. Whatever happened, she didn't know who to blame or what to do to fix it, and she was immature enough to fixate upon Olive, choose her to take that blame.

Mum, she blurted, finding the sound catching in her throat. She was almost whispering; maybe the night air was making it difficult for her, or she had a need to whisper in case someone was around and sleeping. More likely, Ibis was conflicted about this exchange. She wanted to be angry and confrontational with Olive about the state of her other mother - yet, she couldn't do that. The little dandelion was at a loss as soon as she called attention to herself. As she prowled closer, she pressed her nose against Olive's shoulder and murmured, Is mum okay?