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For once, Ahio was early. Well... early in the sense that he'd arrived first. It was hard to be on time or late to an emergency meeting, really. He was swimming up and down the length of their hideout cave, trying to rehearse how he would break the news to Pekelo.

He was leaving.

It was only temporary. He would be back in a matter of weeks. But still, he was leaving the caves without Pekelo, and he hated that they couldn't go together, especially in the midst of this new development with the engagement and meeting Vaiarii, and... Oof, how Ahio hated the idea of losing out on precious time with Pekelo at this critical juncture of their lives.

But... he couldn't not. He couldn't let little Ikaika fend for himself, and he certainly couldn't ask the lost youngling to stay down here, away from his family, any longer than necessary.

So he'd called an emergency meeting, only... he hadn't done a good job of communicating the emergency. So when Pekelo waltzed into the hideout full of pep and holding a big basket of coral, Ahio knew he'd probably messed up. This was not going to go well...

Still, he swept over to Pekelo and wrapped him up in a tight embrace. "Pekelo, you made it!"

Ahio squeezed him for maybe a little longer than was necessary before drawing back to marvel at the fresh basket of delectable goods Pekelo had brought. Oh boy. He managed a nod. "Thanks, Pekelo, this looks amazing. We- They'll really enjoy it."

Because, well, Ahio would be gone.

He did his best not to fidget as he floated over to the blankets and perched himself down next to Pekelo, who seemed... particularly high in spirits today.

"Uhm, well, you know. Excited. Well, you see, it wasn't really excitement... per se, it was just... urgent," Ahio began. This was not a good way to introduce this. Everything he'd rehearsed had apparently just been tossed out in favor of whatever this mess was, coming out of his mouth. "I've got news."

He tried to stress that part, so that Pekelo would realize it wasn't necessarily good news.

How were they going to face it together when they would literally be apart? Ahio wasn't sure, but he couldn't keep Pekelo in suspense anymore.

"You know how we always dreamed of the surface?" he said with a little sigh, finding it terribly difficult to maintain eye contact as he said it. Pekelo's optimism in the face of this impending news only tightened the growing knot in his stomach. "Well, I uh... I think I'm going."

He shook his head. Not he thought, he was.

"I mean, I am going. Soon. Like, almost immediately." He took a deep gulp of air and finally forced himself to look up.

The short answer to "was he ready for this" was a resounding NO. But this wasn't the time to focus on that. He'd made this commitment, and for once, he was determined to see it through. Ikaika depended on him.

"I found this little youngling. He somehow made it down here all on his own, from the swamps. He needs to go home," Ahio said, trying to start at the beginning. "It's a miracle he didn't get eaten on his way down, there's no way he's making that trip all the way back on his own."

There wasn't necessarily a strict reason saying he had to be the one to go, other than a sense of obligation stemming from the fact that he'd been to the one to find Ikaika, and he'd been the one who promised to see him back to the surface.

"As far as I know, there are no other adults heading to the surface right now. My father just got back and he needs a good while before he can justify going back," he continued. "And I don't want to waste time convincing someone to do it. He needs to get back to his parents."

And perhaps there was a small part of him that was doing it because he was still afraid to see how this situation with Pekelo and Vaiarii would play out. He'd enjoyed their daily meetings so much, but inevitably, that would change, and Ahio was terribly afraid of the moments when he was alone with his thoughts and had to contemplate the future.

So maybe, instead, this trip up to the surface would help him get a little bit of distance and gain some perspective. If nothing else, it would distract him for a few short weeks.

Oh no. Before Pekelo even finished his question, Ahio was shaking his head. It wasn't that he wanted to deny Pekelo this chance to visit the surface, but it was so rushed, so unplanned, and the trip required strength and stamina. Plus, he couldn't just abandon his responsibilities here, not his engagement.

"Pekelo," he said quietly, with a small sigh. "You know that's not a good idea..." Saying those words hurt. He felt like he was denying his best friend the chance to fulfill a dream they'd shared since childhood.

But there were too many factors rooting against them.

"Going up takes... takes a lot out of you, for one," he said, cautiously. He didn't want to suggest that Pekelo couldn't make it, but he didn't want to stress his friend. "And what about your garden? And... well, and your engagement. Can you imagine what your mother would do if you left without warning." He didn't mention the Depths, but he knew the threat hung over them anyway.

"No, no, no, no, no," Ahio said, shaking his head rapidly. Although, he understood where this outburst was coming from. If it had been the other way around, he would have reacted in the same way. "It's not about you, it's not about any of this, it's just about..." He reached for the right words, but they seemed terribly elusive.

"I found the kid. I was the one who told him I'd make sure he made it back safely. I don't want to just pawn him off on someone else," he said after a sigh. "I want you to be there, but you have obligations here. You have responsibilities. You have so many reasons to stay."

Ahio only had the one. And he didn't want that one reason alone to mean that a child would be disappointed and have to return to the surface on all his own.

"My father wants me to go... he thinks this having this responsibility will be good for me. And in his words, 'You made the promise, you can make sure you see it through,'" he said, trying one more time to reason with Pekelo and make him understand that none of this was personal. None of this was a reaction against the engagement.

"I'm going to come back, Pekelo! I would never leave you here on your own! You know that. I'll come back and I'll... I'll tell you all about it. I'll make maps so we won't have to wonder where we're going. I'll take you with me when it can be a trip for just the two of us. No other obligations." He raised his eyebrows hopefully. "Please. Don't be angry with me. I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm just... just trying to do this one thing for myself. So I can know that I can be reliable once in a while."

Ahio sighed. Pekelo's fears were certainly not unfounded, but hearing them still hurt. He had nobody but himself to blame, and he hated that about himself. Still... maybe this was the opportunity he'd always needed to start to change.

"Pekelo..." he said slowly. "We were never going to get to be together all the time, forever. Not since... not since your mother first started thinking about who she would marry you off it. It was never going to be me." It sucked. But it was reality.

"I love you too. And I'm coming back, even if you're the only thing here that's bringing me back. I promise. I will always come back for you. If you don't believe anything else, I need you to believe that much," he said, staring toward the same pillows that Pekelo was looking at.

"Listen, we'll... we'll make a pact. A pact to go to the surface together, you and me, nobody else. It can't be this time, but I'll come back with all the knowledge we need, and we'll go up together."