Oswin was lucky Nova had found her when she did. Now that she’d been snapped clear of her glee with adventuring somewhere new she was quickly becoming aware of how exhausted and heat stricken she was. A bright smile still found its way to her face when it was confirmed this was her sister and Oswin picked up the pace a step or two so they could more or less walk these sands toward the oasis together. She couldn’t help but allow her blue eyes to flash toward Nova, marveling at how wonderful it was to come across family no matter where she went. First she’d met a sister she’d never known of in the Peak and now she at least knew another sister was here on the islands, too.

They made it to the water and Oswin lowered her head to drink. At first she was surprised by the taste and temperature as it was so very, very different than any water she’d had yet, but her dry throat and weak, sweat-sticky body pushed her to drink more regardless of how off-putting it seemed. Once she’d had her fill, Oswin lifted her pink lips and shook her head, smiling at Nova. “I’m so happy to have come across you, I missed you.” She said, truthfully and with a bright shine in her blue eyes. She’d missed all her siblings who hadn’t come with Valentine and the rest of the herd away from the islands.

Oswin followed Nova’s lead to take them to the shade after they’d had enough to drink and was pleased at the slight reprieve it offered from the sun. It was still unbearably hot and she could see the waves of heat in the distance, but she still felt this island had its own unique qualities.

Her attention returned to Nova and she considered the question her sister asked before they’d gone to the water. “I came back partly because I missed the islands. The mainlands were nice but there was just too much of it and it’s not like I could stay with father and my mother forever.” Oswin snorted, knowing that would have been an outcome Dock would have preferred. “But there’s another reason I came back,” she said, her voice going somewhat softer as she looked at her sister for a moment. Oswin trusted her family above all else and though Dock had always been too terrified to speak of what had happened to her, Oswin wasn’t quite in the same frame of mind. Still, she glanced around them to be certain they were alone or at least out of ear shot of passerby’s before she looked back at Nova.

“I have a half-brother,” she said with an air one used when confessing a secret, “he came to the Prairie when I was little and he and my mother fought before father drove him away. My mother never used to talk about him, but she hated him... for something he couldn’t help. She finally told me everything that happened and she told me his name, too.” Oswin paused and looked out over the sand. “I just hope he’s still on these islands. I need him to know his whole family doesn’t hate him.” Her eyes drifted back to Nova and she smiled softly. “I couldn’t imagine not having the family I have.”

She paused and frowned. “Speaking of, what brought you to live here?” A grin tugged at her mouth. “Was it a boy?”