Witch's Marsh You might need his help some day

She's sitting upon one of the more stable segments of the marsh, looking down at the mostly-frozen pond spreading out before her. In some places the water reflects her pale fur. In others, the ice sheens and distorts her. Maybe this is what Seabreeze was feeling like right now — present, but not in the right way. Blurry and confusing. Ibis took one paw and reached towards the nearest bit of ice, touching it with her little toe beans and putting a little weight there; it was too much pressure, and with a crackle the ice split. She withdrew with a sharp jolt of movement as if the ice had hurt her. The split crept up and twisted through her reflection's face.

Then, there was Okeanos. He was close and leaning against her, sharing his warmth like they always did. Ibis was staring at the split in the ice for a moment longer but when he spoke, she turned her attention away from it.

I'm scared for mum. She started to explain, but even saying that much was difficult. Her throat felt like it was constricting and her tongue was so dry — so she was quiet again, and resorted to burrowing her little nose against his warm dark fur. Her big eyes reflected some of the ambient light, but that's all that was poking over his shoulder. Okeanos was so much bigger than her by now and he looked so much like daddy — a thought that made her sigh deeply.