Firefly Ravine and i brought your blanket, hand-woven, hand-dyed

okeanos is a good boy. never has he made any attempts to escape or wander without permission -- he doesn't even like to leave his den unsupervised. but after two moves and the rupture of his familial life, a little bit of his faith is shaken. maybe he can't rely on the adults in his life to provide for him and the other puppies, but he doesn't know if that means he can't trust them or that they're just.. not enough anymore. after all oke does not feel any resentment or upset towards either of his mamas! not at all -- but he sees how mali and the other puppies act, how their papa didn't stay during the big move even if he'd sorta come back. he's still not clear on all the details, but it's easy to understand their resentment. 

at any rate, it's not an act of defiance or rebellion that prompts okeanos to sneak out of the safety of the hushed willows -- it's more like... a curiousity. if he can't rely on the adults to supervise him anymore, he's gotta be in charge of himself, and he thinks maybe this is the best way to prove to himself that he can do that! 

every step away from the safety of his mamas makes him anxious, but he forces himself to press forward. he can do this! he is a big boy now. the sun is setting as he putters toward the ravine, entranced by the sight of fireflies lighting up down below. they look a little like stars, he thinks, only down below instead of up high -- and so he takes a seat, peering down to watch for a little.

This looked lonely.

It had taken Wraen a lot longer to find the best way to cross the deep gorge than she had expected. This daunting task had taken so much time that at one moment in spiteful anger she had considered jumping over, which would have ended her journey with her dead and broken body being carried away by the river, which roared at the bottom. Good thing that she was smart, aware that her actual size did not match that one of her personality, and had scraped up just enough patience to walk those miles up to a very unpleasant territory, which had consisted of rocks, sharp grass and spiny shrubbery, and find a proper bridge to cross the river there. 

Once on the other side, the whole different world had opened to her and in relief of all the previous frustrations that this task had demanded from her, Wraen made a little, silly dance of victory. Then - down to business - ears up and listening, nose to the ground, she began to search for something to put on the dinner table this evening. And an hour of effort or so later, Wraen was rewarded with really finding something. Or rather somebody. A young adolescent, sitting on the edge of the gorge and looking down. She did not recognize Okeanos, since the last time she had seen him, was, when the boy had been a little baby. Therefore she announced her presence with a low "wuff" and waited for him to turn and acknowledge her.

<3!

neither does okeanos recognize his auntie wraen, given how much time -- and physical space -- has passed since their last encounter. but he is still the polite boy he has always been, and her wuff makes him turn around, cautious about the edge he lingers beside. blinking owlishly at the stranger-to-him adult, he turns all the way around and says, shyly, "hi." a thought strikes him and his brow creases worriedly, adding, "m'i doin' somethin' wrong? is this your home?" there's no pack here, he knows, but still -- he's not trying to be where he isn't supposed to be, besides the 'being outside of territory' bit. he's still got a healthy respect for decorum, after all.

It sometimes happens in life that you meet people, who seem very, very familiar, but at the same time you know that you have never met them personally. Often it is one defining feature that stands out among others. For example, the shape and color of eyes, facial features, form of the body. Or many small, miniscule details that form a whole image. 

This was, how Wraen felt when the boy turned to face her, but aside from Rannoch's children and some other's that she had met in the valley, this boy did not stand anywhere between them. "Hello," she returned his greeting. "Nothing's wrong - I recently arrived to these parts with my sister and I thought that meeting a local and finding more about this area, would be the first step of not getting lost," she went on and after a pause added with a smile. "Or not get eaten by a bear or something."

the woman reassures him he's not doing anything wrong -- again, strangely, he can't help but feel he knows her -- though he doesn't know what she means by a local. the threat of bears she introduces makes his small face furrow comically, looking around as if one might manifest from thin air to kill them where they stand. "bear," he echoes anxiously, shaking his head, "no bears here, right?"

just to be safe he inches closer toward her. he may be slightly disillusioned with adults at the moment but she's his best bet against the threat of bears, all things considered. "i-i live over in th'willows," he mumbles, "but i don' go out alone -- ever. i'm tryin' to be braver 'cause i gotta take care of my sister an' the other puppies i know." he puffs up slightly as he says this. saying it out loud reconfirms his decision, even if bears are now a looming threat.

"I have not met any for a long time now. I think that they all are roaming the dream-lands at the moment," Wraen explained, feeling glad for the quirk of bears, who were the most fierce predators and competition to her kind. Barren winter months would be very difficult to accomodate two very hungry species of sharp-teethed and clawed beasts.

"Aha, alright - we all have to start somewhere," she nodded, trying to guess, how old the kid actually was, and whether this was the reason for his insecurity and lack of confidence. "I do not believe that any of those famed and brave heroes of the old myths felt brave and eager from the get-go of their journeys."

"Name's Wraen, who are you?" she asked.

whatever the dream-lands are, okeanos isn't sure, but so long as there's no bears around... wait. "you've met a bear?"  he asks, shocked, his posture relaxing. he definitely wouldn't like to meet a bear, but the idea that someone else has is kind of impressive, if scary. her comment on the fables of old goes over his little head, though he's curious -- in fact he opens his mouth to ask when she introduces herself. wraen. it's weirdly familiar... for some reason he thinks of papa. "m'oke-a-nos," the boy answers, his expression comically studious as he tries to place where he's heard her name before.

"When I say "meet" I do not mean us actually calling "how do you do?" to each other and doing a greeting ritual," Wraen replied, chuckling at the very image of a wolf and bear sniffing each other at a close proximity. "But - yes - I have seen some in my life from the distance and that is, where they look the best, in my opinion," she added.

"Okeanos - ain't you one of Terance's flock?" she asked, not quite readily revealing the fact that she was a related face too. The encounter with Ibis was too vivid in her memory and she did not want to deal with another tantrum.

wow im the worst sorry!!!

her explanation does not actually explain anything -- he squints in confusion, though the gist seems to be, to him, that she has at least seen a bear in person. wow!!! the thought is strangely terrifying -- but, he thinks to himself, if he had to -- if a bear was near his precious ibby or the other children -- he would have to deal with that somehow, right? the line of thought is interrupted by wraen's question. "oh, yes!" he chirps unthinkingly and then his memory catches up to him. 

"wa--OH!" he shrieks, expression bursting into excitement as his tail begins to wag furiously. oh how could he forget!! "gelman!" okeanos says, joyously, "you gave me gelman! oh, but... but i lost it in th'move," his voice trails off into a mumble, remembering, once again, the tragedy of his lost toy, the thing which stung the most of his slightly chaotic childhood.

Okeanos reaction to her is not as emotionally charged as Ibis's had been and she is glad to see something positive for a change. After Seabreeze had left with the children, she had missed them in the beginning, but after a while everyday tasks had taken over and she had lived with the thought of never seeing them again.

He recalled "gelman" and for a moment Wraen was painfully aware of, how little it was that he had received from her, when there had been so much to give. Stories and games, family history, pride in being part of the Redleaf flock and a sense of belonging. It was too late for that now, the boy had grown up and they were virtually strangers.

"How have you been, Okeanos?" she asked then. "I met Ibis few days ago and she was very, very upset about something."

They chatted for a little while longer, Wraen struggling to overcome awkwardness in communication with Terance's son, though compared to Ibis he was an utter sunshine. In the end it was time to leave and they bid each other goodbye not knowing, when and if they were going to see each other again.