Tate could barely even remember everything that happened since the time his mother passed. Both Cyanide and Celeste were gone, and he was too young to fully process it. All he knew was that he ran off in to northern woods and didn't come back for a while. Or well, ever. He was still here.

How could he come back though? He wasn't much an emotional type. Or maybe he was just not the... sad type. Which is why he had run off and hunted until he could see through his eyes again. Until he could remember his family back home. It was easy for him to be alone but with a family as complex as his there was that hidden desire to be surrounded by others again. Still he wandered along the lands of Boreas, wondering what he would do next. Would he come home, or would he search for something else. It was surprisingly a hard choice for him to make.

He walked through the pale trees that weren't stark against the snowy grounds, coming to the glowing shrine at the heart of this land. Once Ashen's home where his father had grown up though he wouldn't know that. He wasn't much interested in the beauty of the pool, but it somehow mesmerized him as he looked into the depths.

"Hotate"

Weathered birch creak quietly in the wintry wind. A dull light ebbs and flows from the pool that beckons those around it to step closer. Intricately carved stones surround the faint purple waters where fish swim back and forth, trapped for an eternity that they know nothing about. She doesn't know this place used to belong to her father's family or that he even grew up here. What draws her in is the serenity of it. A place where she can go to think and not be bothered for a moment. That allure that she can be present with her own mind and the gods above grants her an emotion she hasn't felt in a moment. Peace.

That peace would not be around for long as she realizes she's not alone. Approaching the pool, Delphi's gaze falls on someone she hasn't since since her mother's death and her other mother's disappearance. Surprised that of all places she would come across her brother, Delphi is speechless. She stands at the edge of the pool, her paws placed upon the rock, feeling the chill of winter begin to creep up her toes. Speechless. That's what she is as she blinks a few times. Her brain tries to register and doesn't for a moment until suddenly she does.

"Hotate," Delphi begins, her voice quiet. "I didn't think I'd see you again," she says, the tone of sadness clear because other than Maki and Unagi, none of her other siblings had decided to stick around.

Lost in the circles of swimming fish under the alter, Hotate didn't even realize that his sister was there standing on the rocks peering in, or across the pool with him. It was very unlike him to be caught so off guard, but it must have been fate that pulled him into the shrine and kept him long enough to see his sister again.

He too was speechless for other reasons. Delphi may not have thought she would see him again, but when he laid eyes on her he was struck with emotion he wasn't ready for. The reason he ran and the reason he hadn't come back. He held it well, but maybe she could see how much he panicked at the thought of feeling deep in his core. When he saw Delphi, he saw his mother. It didn't have to be her, it could have been any of them. But he couldn't face it.

"Delphi." He responded, hard like stone. No emotion at all as he kept suffocating everything that stirred around inside. How he could be so selfish. He stood there a moment, still not a word to say to her. The only warning he was about to run was when he took a couple steps backwards off the shrine. Almost wide eyed, then he was turning to bolt. He felt like tears were welling in his eyes as he ran, but they were dry. Just the effort of the mask he had put on for so long. He had to get away from her before he broke.

"Hotate"

Her name in his mouth was unusual. It sounded as if he... wasn't happy to see her. Or as if he had seen a ghost. She feels emotions well up in her as well as they stand there, staring at each other. A harsh silence falls over them as her name dies from his lips. The only sound she can hear is the thump of her heart and the swish of fish flicking at the surface of the pool. Almost unable to breathe, Delphi doesn't move. If she did, would he disappear? For a moment, she had believed her other siblings to be dead. Dead along with Celeste and Cyanide. Were she, Maki, and Unagi truly the only ones left?

Maybe if she opens her mouth, he'll stay. Become permanent and want to come home. Her lips part, moving to speak, but her eyes watch him take a few steps back. "Wait," she whispers, water welling up in her eyes, blurring her vision as he turns and begins to run away. "Wait!" Delphi shouts, her body careening around the pool, paws picking up speed over the frosty ground, trying to catch up to him. "I-Hotate!" She's breathless already, her heart in her throat, lungs flexing to try and suck in air. All she can do is keep running after him.