Ouroboros Spine and decides to be a villain

tags for reference!

slowly but surely, panther was getting better. stronger. his wounds were healing gradually and he is still cautious above all else but they do not cause him as much pain as they used to. they will scar, he does not doubt. despite that the lack of stark pain he still does not try to speak. out of hesitance, out of fear that he might accidentally disturb the healing processes of his neck and throat wounds; or perhaps out of the worry that even if he does try that he might not be able to. the two women tending to him appear to be able to understand him well enough without verbal communication and panther does not see his choice to continue relaxing his vocal chords as an issue.

while his physical wounds are healing well under the watchful eye and diligence of easy and reiko, his memories are still gone. his sense of self is lost. currently, all he has is the name easy's given him: panther and so he clings to it. even if it wasn't who he was before — because obviously he was someone before — it was who he was now.

panther tucks those thoughts aside for now, focusing on his path: a path well-worn from his trek to and fro the make-shift shelter reiko made for him to the spine's water source. at the last minute, on impulse, he deviates off his beaten path thinking that perhaps it was time to seek a shelter more suitable for at least @Easy and him, unsure how long @Reiko could realistically be away from her pack without them thinking she abandoned them.

slips in here :3c

things with mal are however things with mal are, but for now, at least, okeanos does not plan on leaving the vicinity of neverwinter forest. eventually he'll need to return to elysium and check in, and who knows what ibis will want, long term; he can only hope their desires will line up. but there's  no use dwelling on it right now, so he heads out for the day to explore the areas around the forest, intrigued by the rich variety of landscapes around. okeanos still misses home sometimes, but how fortunate, to be able to experience the world around him like this.

curiously he explores the spine and its steep walls, his thoughts too jumbled for any one to stick, until he catches sight of a stranger up ahead. the makings of some stable residence catch his attention, and so carefully he comes to a stop and calls, "sorry, am i trespassing?"

thanks for joining! ♥

panther's steps slow as he takes the unfamiliar path, not wanting to over-exert himself or accidentally re-open any of the scabbing wounds by being careless. it doesn't feel like he's used to taking things at this slow of a pace: especially with a sense of purpose but in part he didn't want to think about the potential ear-full he was likely to hear if he injured himself again. the spine is habitable but most of it was murky swamp and water and not a place that panther feels like he would stay in for any longevity once he's healed and strong enough to make long(er) trips.

the sound of a voice cuts through the quiet stillness and panther's steps pause and he turns to face the stranger who's path has crossed his own. panther gives a small shake 'no' of his head at the stranger's question.

the man stops to look at him before shaking his head. he's large, like okeanos, and striking, but his attention is captured by the scars that adorn his handsome features. his own face tingles in sympathy, trying and failing to imagine what could have caused those lacerations. maybe, he thinks, he's a soldier like treason. it strikes okeanos as sad, but he thinks that's maybe condescending of him, so instead he says "thanks," and approaches the water.

the sheer rock and swamp seems inhospitable; he wonders how long the man has been here, if he's staying here at all. not having learned to be distrustful yet, he says aloud, "i'm okeanos, by the way. it's nice to meet you."

glacial gaze watches the younger male's procession to the water, giving a solemn nod of his head at the gratitude offered despite that it didn't seem overly necessary to panther. this wasn't his place. it was just a temporary stop to where he was going — where ever that was. just one of the many things lost to him, though in hindsight it wasn't half as important as the more personal things lost. like his entire identity. where he came from. parents. siblings. lovers. kids. all of it was wiped clean like a blank slate.

attention is surfaced from the deep and abyss-like sea of his thoughts as the male speaks again, offering a name. okeanos followed by polite words that panther doesn't think he could return even if he wanted to. of course, he doesn't know the state of his vocal chords for sure ...but y'know. too cautious didn't necessarily strike him as a bad thing in his current situation. irregardless, panther tucks the name away and offers a low, apologetic sound: rasping and raw. an olive branch to communicate that he can't return the sentiment vocally. without easy or reiko he had no one to even give okeanos the name easy'd bestowed upon him.

the stranger doesn't push him away, necessarily, and in fact seems receptive to okeanos' polite mumblings, but does not return them. he looks up from drinking to study his striking features, looking for signs of aggression or disapproval, or even a lack of interest; instead, he's treated to a strange rasp of a reply that makes his ears twitch. oh, okeanos thinks, putting two and two together, maybe he can't speak at all. 

for a second he feels embarrassed -- okeanos relies on words an awful lot for a creature of his stock, having been raised in an environment that valued peaceful communication, but not all communication needs to be vocal, he knows. still, he feels unsteady for having caught the other man at such a disadvantage, and hopes he can salvage the situation, somewhat. it'd be easy to just leave him alone and in peace (and maybe that's what he wants, okeanos doesn't know), but it'd be just terribly ill-mannered, he thinks. so instead he leans back down to finish drinking, buying himself some time. when he lifts his head again he says, "is it those wounds on your throat?" and kicks himself, because that's not exactly an answerable question, without words. "i mean--i'm guessing you can't or don't want to speak because of those," he amends, hoping that is more of a yes/no style question he can answer nonverbally.

panther does not hold the hold the questions — natural to sating curiosity — against okeanos. though admittedly they would have to be reduced to things he can answer with either a nod or shake of his head, or things he could answer with simple, non-verbal noises. there's a level of frustration that panther feels towards himself: is his inability to speak a side effect of the injuries, as he's assumed? or had he always been non-verbal? his blank-slate of a mind offers him no answers. he'd assumed by easy's words that once upon a time he'd been able to speak but unfortunately for panther what little easy knew of who he was in the past didn't really help him in the now.

what was the point? he couldn't remember and being 'reminded' of things did not appear to be jogging his memory at all; suffice to say panther's came to conclusion that only time would tell if he would remember or if memories: those precious and those heartbreaking would be forever lost to him. okeanos amends and even presented with something more viable for him to answer non-verbally he still takes his time in considering. a small nod so-so shake of his head accompanied by a lofty rise and fall of his broad shoulders are his attempts to reply: i don't know.

holding his breath, he watches for a reply, worried he's offended the other man or that his question is still too difficult. when finally the man responds, a complicated gesture okeanos takes to mean not sure, his shoulders ease down, relaxing. his question is vague enough that he could mean 'i don't know if the throat wounds are responsible for why i can't talk' or 'i don't know if i won't talk because of the throat wounds', but okeanos elects to assume the former. well. whatever happened, it seems bad and not worth trying to dredge out one yes/no question at a time.

instead, thinking suddenly of his mothers, he says, "does it hurt?" pauses, and then adds, "would you like me to bring you some herbs to help?" given that he doesn't know the symptoms, help is maybe unhelpful, but there's herbs for pain and herbs for swelling and if the inside of his throat is as raw as the outside looks, he can probably make something to ease it. just in case, while he waits for a reply he begins to mentally compile what might work in the area, remembering the few things he'd picked up from his mothers in elysium.

panther's ears swivel and perk atop his head before they flutter back to rest at half-mast atop his skull as he considers okeanos' question. there were moments when his healing wounds wound hurt ...sometimes on their own — a shoot of white hot pain — but mostly when he aggravated them whether on accident or because it was unavoidable. having an answer in mind was one thing but trying to think about how to communicate his response was the next challenge and there is a beat in which he continues his stretch of pause and gives his silvery-blue mane a soft shake to dispel and gives his head a tilt to either side in a 'so-so' manner to hopefully communicate what he means to be: sometimes.

but then comes the following question and the consideration of what reiko is already using to heal him with. the offer is extremely generous but panther is no medic and is not sure what mixing different herbs might do to him. frustration at his inability ( or choice ) to attempt to communicate verbally creases his brow. how to communicate that he is not alone? that he has a medic without words? impossible, panther thinks. so, he offers a low rasping noise in response: a small shrug. if you want but there was no obligation ( and no hard feelings ) if okeanos decided not to.

if anything, if okeanos decided to gather some herbs then he could take them to reiko and the pale woman ( if she was still in easy and his company that is ) could decide what to do with them.

srry for the wait! wanna wrap this up in the next round?<3

okeanos isn't sure if the shrug is a yes, but it certainly isn't a no, and he's guileless enough to take that. cheerfully he says, "i'll be right back," turning already. he's some with him -- a small store for traveling -- though it does require him to scale the spine once more. he regrets this momentarily when he realizes he'll have to go back down and climb up again without falling, but, oh -- he's doing something nice, surely.

at length he returns, bustling back down with a mouthful of hastily assembles greens, hopeful the silvery man hasn't grown impatient and left in his absence. he carries lavender and nettle and a tiny amount of poppy, the most versatile things he could think of in a pinch, and goes to find panther to offer them with the same cheer he'd had when he left. "sorry it isn't more," okeanos says as he lays them down, "i didn't want to take too long, but i hope this helps a little."