Emberflame Ridge there's no turning back now

Okeanos had been missing for far too long and finally, Ibis had the gall to hunt for him. There were enough bodies back at the marsh to keep the peace - and to keep everyone fed - so finally, Ibis felt confident enough to make her way back towards the ruins of Elysium. She did not know what she would find. She didn't know if she would have the willpower to climb among the willows on her own, especially after the last time she had visited. The sadness of finding it barren, and of telling Okeanos the pitiful truth: that she had been too much of a coward to visit after Lily's passing.

The forest around her gave way to the familiar sight of the mountain, just beyond. She moved at a good pace; soon enough the hillside inclined upward, and her progress lagged as she felt the burn of her muscles. Ibis had never been a particularly physical creature; she had been desperate to hold on to her weight for as long as possible what with the famine, and each step made her flood with doubt along with the muscle strain. What if all of this was for nothing? What if she didn't find Okeanos - or what if she did, but he was -- Stop that, you. She murmurs to herself sharply, He's fine. He's fine, wherever he is.

But Okeanos had never been apart from her for so long, not by choice.

As she hiked and the path diverged at a fork, she had to decide on her next step. The nights came quickly of late; the days shortening considerably, to the point that the light faded by mid-afternoon and left a chill behind. Ibis wasn't sure if she wanted to fight against the cold night as well as the mountain, remembering how dangerous it had been during the shakes -- so she had to choose between sleeping now and continuing in the morning, or taking a chance. In the end she sought the path creeping along a forested ridge. It was cold here too, dark, but sheltered and it would serve her well for the night.

Thus she began to slip between the trees; she could smell the light, frail scent of the willows. It was a washed-out floral scent which tugged at her nostalgia, distant though it was. The girl took a few deep breaths of the crisp air and thought she smelled something else - something deep, warm, familiar. Her heart thudded in her chest as she immediately thought of Okeanos. The scent woke her up from whatever stupor had settled upon her, and she began to hunt through the trees for that scent - that path - until a pale shape seemed to materialize in the gray light.

It wasn't her brother - well, not Okeanos, anyway. They were too fair-haired. Smaller, too. Round and soft and -- it hurt to think about, but, Ibis was reminded immediately of Olive. The wolf was busy digging at the frosted earth and as they fwumped! against a hollow they had made, Ibis clicked back to reality. She moved carefully in her effort to get closer without disturbing the stranger, her mind buzzing, wishing, hoping — and then when she paused in a shaft of light, she called out softly: Olive...?