Northstar Vale i am a hallucination of myself at three years old

♥ @Ibis

     truthfully,

he has no real idea what he's looking for. it's not that his decision to leave okeanos was impulsive--no, the idea had been there for some time, at first manifesting in his dreams. he'd dreamt of walking off a cliff, but not falling, keeping one paw in front of the other on the air so long as he hadn't looked down. when the fear finally reached him, he'd looked down and seen a great, clay red river, and woke immediately.

atwood ignored this dream for some time, until the urge finally moved from the unconscious to his conscious. he'd asked okeanos a number of questions about his birth home, about his parents. okeanos' answers were thoughtful and thorough and yet he still felt a yearning. so, no, not an impulse but a thread he needs to follow, leading him back here. 

but here, that is, this imposing vale opening before him, that he can't account for (perhaps it is a genetic memory, or perhaps his spirit just knows the significance of the vale, the hidden familial histories embedded in the soil). it's not elysium. elysium he remembers in pieces, the bright flash of flowers, the comforting weight of willow branches overhead, blood and a mangled body--he could find it if he tried, but not yet. instead, he tilts his head and calls out, his voice trembling despite his best efforts.