He watched her come back, his face grim. His grim on her shoulders lingered long enough for him to make sure her eyes at least somewhat responded to reality. He let her go and followed her carefully, the events of the past few hours rushing up to him as he could feel bile building in the back of his throat. It was tough enough for him to have to deal with being completely unequipped to help Athala, but it was another thing for the very thing he'd been running away from for years to back hand him so hard. The thumping tail of Fenrir grounded Ara back to reality, though, as he saw the big wolf look up to Atha with the face of an excited puppy.
Ara could feel a twist in his gut as he saw the kittens bundled up in the fur, little ears poking out - it was pretty fucking cute, but it was tough to take the news that a parent was lost, even if that was just part of the culture. He removed his gauntlets and settled down next to Atha, unusually close to her this time around. He stayed very still as Atha woke the kittens - he wasn't sure what was about to happen. These were the exact situations he had tried to avoid - he wasn't someone who could guarantee he would be around even 3 months from now. He was reckless and dove head first into situations he had no business living through. It was almost like he was looking to kill himself half the time.
He watched the exchange silently, though he gently steadied Atha when she swayed at Anweh'a's cry - a sound that absolutely broke Aragibal's own heart. He watched Atha gather the kittens up and sat awkwardly for a moment, then removed his own breastplate and very gently pulled Athala and the sobbing kittens into his arms and mimicked Atha, gently rocking all of them. He started to hum a gentle tune, a lullaby his mom used to sing to him. As he hummed and rocked them he could remember a time when he was young and his mother did this for him - it was clear that dad liked Monx better, and that Ara would never be able to measure up. He could feel an entire slew of emotions rise in his chest as he gently rested his cheek on Atha's head, pulling her closer and giving her a gentle squeeze. He's here, he's here, he's here, it's okay, I'm here. His grip on the huddled children and Atha was strong and reassuring, that he wouldn't let anything touch them as they huddled in these ruins.
He continues this until either Atha pulls away or it seems like everyone's calmed down. If it's the latter he would speak softly, not wanting to startle anyone. "We should go somewhere warm. Away from here, where the weather is nice." A pause as he takes a shaky breath. "We could go to Limsa. I have a friend with a house in the Mist. We could spend a few days on the beach."
His words feel far away, and he's not even sure if Atha is listening, nor is he sure how long they've even been sitting here in the cold. He would relax his grip a little so that Atha could sit up when she was ready and he would stay still for as long as he needed for her to gather her things up, still limitless in his patience with her. He wasn't sure how they would get the kittens safely in either saddle, nor was he sure how Fenrir and Sleipnir would respond to the children, but they would work that out. He would offer to hold the kids while Atha put her armor back on, if she would let him.
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Ara could feel a twist in his gut as he saw the kittens bundled up in the fur, little ears poking out - it was pretty fucking cute, but it was tough to take the news that a parent was lost, even if that was just part of the culture. He removed his gauntlets and settled down next to Atha, unusually close to her this time around. He stayed very still as Atha woke the kittens - he wasn't sure what was about to happen. These were the exact situations he had tried to avoid - he wasn't someone who could guarantee he would be around even 3 months from now. He was reckless and dove head first into situations he had no business living through. It was almost like he was looking to kill himself half the time.
He watched the exchange silently, though he gently steadied Atha when she swayed at Anweh'a's cry - a sound that absolutely broke Aragibal's own heart. He watched Atha gather the kittens up and sat awkwardly for a moment, then removed his own breastplate and very gently pulled Athala and the sobbing kittens into his arms and mimicked Atha, gently rocking all of them. He started to hum a gentle tune, a lullaby his mom used to sing to him. As he hummed and rocked them he could remember a time when he was young and his mother did this for him - it was clear that dad liked Monx better, and that Ara would never be able to measure up. He could feel an entire slew of emotions rise in his chest as he gently rested his cheek on Atha's head, pulling her closer and giving her a gentle squeeze. He's here, he's here, he's here, it's okay, I'm here. His grip on the huddled children and Atha was strong and reassuring, that he wouldn't let anything touch them as they huddled in these ruins.
He continues this until either Atha pulls away or it seems like everyone's calmed down. If it's the latter he would speak softly, not wanting to startle anyone. "We should go somewhere warm. Away from here, where the weather is nice." A pause as he takes a shaky breath. "We could go to Limsa. I have a friend with a house in the Mist. We could spend a few days on the beach."
His words feel far away, and he's not even sure if Atha is listening, nor is he sure how long they've even been sitting here in the cold. He would relax his grip a little so that Atha could sit up when she was ready and he would stay still for as long as he needed for her to gather her things up, still limitless in his patience with her. He wasn't sure how they would get the kittens safely in either saddle, nor was he sure how Fenrir and Sleipnir would respond to the children, but they would work that out. He would offer to hold the kids while Atha put her armor back on, if she would let him.