Lost Creek Hollow sicillian crest

maybe a @Terance or a @Treason? :3c set before this thread

after getting permission to stay, okeanos had gone off in search of a quiet place to rest, and had rested, and now, recovered from the journey to elysium, turned his thoughts to his dad and his new family. he searches himself for any bitterness surrounding the news and is satisfied to find none: he wants his dad to be happy. his moms do too, he knows, and is pleased he can bring them this information -- or, well, he can eventually. that dampens his spirits a little.

he'd made the choice to go willingly, and he knew that mean he'd be away from home for some time. he knows he doesn't want to return to elysium for a little while, at least, but the reality of that desire -- of being separated from his family -- hadn't really sunk in, so overjoyed was it with the prospect of adventure and reuniting with his ibis. think how much had happened in the short time ibis was gone!

but, okeanos reminds himself, he should be grateful. to have the chance to travel with his sister, to have the chance to visit his father and to even potentially meet his new siblings -- he's fortunate. swallowing the lump that's formed in his throat, the yearling rises, focusing on this feeling. they won't stay long. with that in mind, he sets out in search of his father, to maybe even meet his new stepmother, if she's willing, if he's around.

Yawn.  Treason was heading back to the den after a patrol.  Nothing exciting showed up that day, which was always a good thing.  They hadn't really had any new faces show up in a while either -- was probably about time to go out and do some recruiting maybe.  Okay, there actually was a new face around but he wasn't going to be staying long.  Honestly, if Treason didn't run into him, she wasn't going to care much.  So it went.

Anyway.  She was planning to stop by a cache, grab a snack to split with Terance and the pups if there was anything good.  If not, maybe she'd go hunting in the evening and see what she could find.  Needless to say she had things to think about other than to find Okeanos.  She walked down the well-worn game trail with her usual prowl.  Actually, she easily could have looked past him if he was intercepting from anything other than a direct angle -- her mind was wandering elsewhere, and she was deep enough in the territory that she felt safe enough not being on high alert.

it's not terance that he comes across, but a woman, who frankly doesn't seem to be all that aware of him in her path. abruptly okeanos stops, not wanting to startle or bump into her; he'd continue on his way but dimly his mind connects the proximity of the dens and the familiar smell on her coat, and he tries, hesitantly, "treason?" if he's wrong, well -- he can awkwardly apologize and move on, but if not -- he does want to meet her, after all!

She was pulled out of her thoughts by another's voice and a series of quick hints of emotion flashed in her eyes as she went the range from slightly startled to realizing who the unfamiliar nonmember was, to her normal stoic state. She tipped her head, Yes? She wasn't entirely sure what he wanted. Treason kind of thought really he should be under Ibis's escort entirely during his stay, but she was probably more strict about things than Terance to begin with. No idea what he wanted either, but it was probably best to not guess, as if he was anything like Ibis, she'd be wrong no matter what she thought.

he can't track the minute changes of her expression -- all he really can observe is that she seems stern. not at all like his mothers... not, necessarily, that that's a bad thing. straightening almost unconsciously, okeanos forges ahead. "i'm okeanos -- terance's son. i was hoping i'd have the chance to, um, meet you while i was visiting." pause. "and my new siblings, if you were okay with that." hopefully he tilts his head, waiting for her response.

Treason was left trying to figure out what she should expect from Okeanos.  He wasn't staying unless something changed, so what kind of position did that put everything in?  She wasn't exactly the person to go after if you just wanted open ended conversation.  There was usually some sort of spark to place things around and right now, she had no idea.  Treason was also honestly a little bit wary because she was wondering if he was as flighty and prone to whatever the hell overreactive nonsense as Ibis.  She'd been nothing but fair to the girl and she still freaked out.  Can't please some people.

At least he seemed to have a purpose and wasn't suddenly fleeing to the horizon immediately.  I was heading back to the den now.  You could tell me about yourself.  Or what you'd want to know.  She took another couple of steps as she spoke.  It wasn't a directly spoken invitation but to a certain point it was up to him if they walked and talked or not.  It wasn't like the den was right around the next turn, there was still enough walking to contain a conversation if that was the choice.

it's not exactly an open-arms response, but okeanos will take it, nodding eagerly as he falls into step with the woman. though he isn't sure what she wants to know, 'tell me about yourself' being just vague enough. he takes a beat to formulate a response. "well.... i've been with my mothers in elysium for most of my life, so i wanted to spend some time getting to see the world." what else is there about him? nothing that seems appropriate to share, so instead he changes tracks. "dad mentioned you're a soldier? what does that, um, entail?"

So they started back towards the den.  It wasn't an exciting walk, hence her zoning out before.  Fair enough, many do.  Including herself, but she wasn't exactly the wandering type.  She'd only spent a short time on her own before finding a new pack -- well, compared to the grand scheme of things at least.

But he turned the question back to her.  Hm.  Well, with that broad of a scope, easy enough to answer.  I'm trained to fight.  To serve worthy leadership and protect my pack from whatever threatens it, doing whatever's necessary.  She idly wondered what he'd think of that.  From all she knew about Elysium, they weren't exactly big on that kind of thing -- hell they let all sorts of people into their territory in large numbers and without much watch over them.  Treason hadn't been particularly impressed by their security -- or lack thereof.  It'd be a hell of a lot of work to keep watch on them all, and well.. She'd been left alone at times, so...  Shrug.

she is not exactly open, it seems, but she's at least giving him more than four word answers, so he thinks his question was the right one. but he isn't sure how to respond to her answer, because conceptually, it's foreign to him. no one in elysium served the leaders -- it was rather the other way around, and that seems to him the most natural consequence of leadership. as for protecting.. it's hard to imagine anyone coming to cause harm to his little sanctuary. "i see," he says, not wanting her to think he's being rude in taking too long to formulate a response. "i'm not a fighter, but i think i understand, um, wanting to protect your pack." in his case, it's less the pack, and more ibis, specifically, and his moms to a degree, though they can look after themselves. and now his little siblings, too. "when i was little i decided i had to be the one to watch over ibis," he muses, partially to himself, then blushes, unsure if that's a silly thing to voice out loud. especially since... he didn't come with her when she left - but he doesn't want to be overprotective.

"how did you learn to fight?" he asks next, hopeful his questions won't start to annoy her (and wondering how far they were from the dens, that he has to keep up with this somewhat anxious charade).

Treason nodded.  She could understand, even if he probably wouldn't prove to be anything other than a meatshield.  It did mean if he got into trouble it probably wouldn't go amazingly for him, but eh.  If Okeanos and Ibis were leaving, she'd let them learn on their own and all that.  She did contemplate making some kind of quip about how that must be hard because Ibis seemed to be particularly flighty.  Did he have to sit on her to make her stay put and not do something foolish?  Because she sure as hell didn't seem to want to deal with Treason ever.  Whatever, not worth dealing with.  It's what my family does, among other things.  I learned from them.

Mm. I don't suppose Elysium even has anyone who could fight?  It was more of an offhand comment than a genuine question.  It was one of the reasons that she certainly wouldn't want to be in that pack -- Treason was far too rough around the edges to make that pleasant even if she didn't have issues with Olive and Seabreeze to start.  Why they thought they could survive being as nonreactive as a tree was possible, who knew.  It didn't seem particularly feasible to live on the pity of others and the feeble hope that nothing bad would happen.