Phantom Hollow lovesong is playing

Along the river where Phantom Hollow meets the Heartwood.
@Okeanos is travelling with her.

Following the river made the most sense; it provided a place for the pair to wash themselves clean of the mud they'd had to tediously cross through — and when they finally took a break, Okeanos tried his hand at fishing up some dinner. It was thrilling to watch him try to scoop fish from the rushing torrent of the riverside; Ibis eventually gave it a shot to, but she knew she couldn't do it and didn't put forth much effort. Whether they went hungry or not, the pair rested. Ibis basked in the company of her beloved brother — then roamed while he napped, and gradually separated from him. She told herself she wouldn't go far but the realm was massive, and there were so many beautiful sights to see, plants to investigate, that she soon became distracted.

The flatland wasn't devoid of trees; they were interspersed across fields of green, or clustered along the waterways, providing shade beneath the summer sun. She was thankful for them - and furthermore, thankful when she crossed another branch of the river to the other side where an inviting forest waited. It was here that Ibis finally took a moment to rest and look around, realizing that Okeanos was somewhere else — that she'd somehow forgotten him, separated from him in her zeal to explore — but with a steadying breath she forced herself to stay calm. He wouldn't stay lost for long - she left an obvious trail, Ibis told herself. I'm not lost, she recited aloud, standing beneath some foreign trees that smelled sweet and held crowns of glowing gold leaves beneath the summer sun, I am not lost, I am fine, this is fine. Okeanos will be here soon. Just wait, be patient, and things will work out — or so Ibis hoped.

Eventually he left the coast and headed south. Loamy shores gave way to rolling plains underfoot, and they reminded Kaito of the meadow back home. They reminded him of company, and of the warmth of kin; of wrestling with Nikola, exploring with Padi, or dreaming with Chise. He thought of his family every day, and saw their reflection in many wolves he met. He missed them so, so much. But, he was here now, and he closed his eyes and drew in a breath. And he would be okay. The One was still with him, and every prayer he cried brought a calm assurance that though he felt alone, he was not alone. Not really.

But today he longed for someone tangible to meet , be they a stranger or a familiar face, and this morning, he had flip flopped his thoughts around until he finally just decided to ask the One to provide him with that. With someone good, and preferably his age - though he made sure to mention he would be okay with someone good and old also. Age didn’t matter a whole lot to him. He just wanted someone good, refreshing. Someone he didn’t have to worry about. He just wanted company, if even for five minutes.

Needless to say, he was still surprised when he heard a youthful voice rise from the edge of the woods; he had been curled in the shade of the trees, seeking respite from the hot summer sun, when he heard her, and his heart rushed with a startled burn. He heard her, of course - registered her attempt to reassure herself, and wished, in that moment, that he could have been smooth with introductions and weave some seamless way into her verbal musings like he had heard other boys do it before.

But every option seemed creepy at best, so he simply stayed tucked beneath the base of his tree and flicked his eyes left and right, as if the words would show up etched across the dirt. They didn’t, of course. What to say, what to say! Well, oh well, and he settled on the safest thing he could think of. “Hello,” and Kaito lifted his head from the shadowy nook, until the sunlight touched him with a dapple of gold and illuminated the bits of debris that cling to his flyaway fur, and he could see her silhoutte through a blinding squint, standing some couple of tail lengths away.

Ibis would've started to panic if not for her mantra. When she tired of speaking it aloud to herself she thought it instead, and became fixated on the sentiment it carried. Her eyes roamed as she looked for signs of Okeanos; he would be following after her swiftly enough provided he wasn't deeply asleep. Ibis took temporary comfort in the thought of Okeanos slumbering like a giant old bear; hopefully his hibernation wasn't a lasting one or she'd have to double back and find him. Best to stay put, she mused. Stay here and wait, and maybe (hopefully) he would come across her.

There was a voice, though. It sounded unfamiliar but the presence of another person made Ibis feel instantly better. It didn't sound like her brother but Ibis was eager to reunite with him, so she presumed he had found her after all. Something shifted in among the trees, and she paused - stepping like a nervous doe towards the brief rustling - and caught sight of someone's gleaming eyes catching the sunlight. A dapple of shadows cutting jagged leaf-shapes across a face she did not know. They looked young though, which assuaged her initial apprehension.

Hello— Ibis called back to him as she paused, ducking her head beneath a low hanging branch covered in pale bark, —I'm sorry, did I disturb you with my chatter? Her ears spun, settling in to an awkward vee before front-facing again. She couldn't make out much about the stranger besides presuming he was young; he had sounded young, maybe around her own age, but the rest of him was shrouded in shadow.

Where Kaito was shrouded by shadows, the stranger was touched by light, and when she ducked below the lazy branches, he found himself at a vantage to make out her face more clearly than before, and a silly grin stole the corners of his mouth.

"Nah, don't worry." he said in an attempt to reassure her, and he stretched out his legs with a long quiver, like every cool wolf did. "Nothin really bothers me," but he wondered if he had bothered her, soft and gentle though she seemed, and he rose to meet her like the good knight he hoped to be ahem, was. She'd been looking for someone - and she was lost, he concluded, regardless of how many times he had heard her whisper otherwise. "But are you - "

But his good meaning question nearly ended with a number of expletives - so distracted by the stranger, he didn't see the branch that swayed above him, but he certaintly felt the blow when he rose and twacked himself against it. His breath hissed between clenched teeth, and he recoiled with a sharp duck and a wince that stole whatever maturity he'd managed to slap onto his boyish face - which honestly wasn't much. His breath hissed between clenched teeth and he let his curses fall to an awkward laugh and a stiff conclusion of the inqurity he'd started, " - are you alright?" His voice pitched higher than usual, but he grinned, despite the new throb in his head.

omg kaitoooo

He moved to leave the shadows and with a few steps, nearly met her in the light, but something konked against the crown of his head - to which Ibis let out a concerned, oh!! and watched as he doubled-back. She moved in tandem with him, stepping forwards as he recoiled backwards, swaying slightly to get out of the way of the sagging branch in case it decided to swing for her face next; as he completed his thought (Asking after her despite his injury! Oh, how sweet of him, but how silly!) she ushered him from the darkness and tried to get a good look at his face.

The boy was young, as she'd discerned earlier. The branch really got a good whack at him, and while there was no blood being shed it was clear to Ibis that there'd be a nice goose egg rising there soon. I'm -- I'm fine, are you okay? That sounded awful! She commented as she pranced hurriedly around him, inspecting him for any signs of malaise or concussion. Was he swaying in his steps? Was he squinting at her because his eyes weren't able to focus? Or his pupils - were they blown wide? Ibis was no medic but she could recall a few tricks of her mothers back in Elysium.

He seemed okay, though. Still, Ibis' features were creased in worry. Um, do you need something for your head? What could she find for him? The pretty flowers were useless, and there weren't many grasses that she knew of with useful properties. Oh!! If only she'd paid more attention to mom! Or, focused more on the herbs in the Hollow than the winding trails of the valley.