Neverwinter Forest The man who's a dreamer and never takes leave

what ARE timelines anyway -- also mals new profile img/av is gorgeous!

the reality that finding mali is nearly an impossible task had already begun to sink in, taking some of the shine out of their adventure for okeanos. still - he's happy to be with @Ibis, and oh- they still need to go visit her friend, that's a task they can do. after that... maybe they should assess their options. he knows his sister wants to improve her scouting skills; perhaps they could courier messages from packs, like how elysium would send invitations.. or perhaps something else.

he's mulling these ideas over in his head, trying to predict what his sister (who is, he assumes, nearby but not in his line of vision currently) might like, when he picks up on an unfamiliar scent. after months apart, and a childhood not particularly closely spent, he can't recognize mali's scent immediately. still, there's something compelling enough, maybe just the idea of meeting a stranger, that makes okeanos trace it -- and suddenly he's confronted by an unmistakeably recognizable silver dapple coat.

in the split second it takes for him to register that yes, there's no way this isn't mali, who else has a coat like that, panic descends upon him. this part he hadn't planned for -- hell, mali hates him! for a beat he stands there, jaw parted, like a bumbling fool, before his mouth snaps closed with an audible clink. weakly, he calls out: "mali --" but any other words he could say die in his throat. 

well. here goes.