She clings to him even harder and jumps when the cat brushes against her leg, her voice breaking into unintelligible whimpers instead.
Era, in tiger form from the corner of the room, gives a low growl, but doesn't move, his golden eyes trained on the little tabby for a long moment before he, too, huffs in concern. He's not afraid of the tabby, but... his mistress definitely is. He has to trust in Camus to decide what's best for her for now...
"It's ok Era. Ran won't do anything besides purr and eat all the fish." He's still holding Dove. The cat just sprawls on a pillow, purring at her, waiting for her to calm down.
"Relax, friend. Nothing will happen in this home."
It's all too fresh, too there in her mind, and even with her best friend trying to calm her, she can't relax with that presence so close to her. 'Ran' rings a bell, somewhere in her terrified mind, but.... nope.
The shaking is making her weaker and her hold on him is starting to slip, but she still clings as best she can. There's not much aside from him to hold onto, now.
"Ok Ranmaru, go bother Reiji and Ai, ok?" The cat stretches before hopping down to go trot out of the room. Probably off to bother the two mentioned. Camus gets comfortable sitting on the bed before pulling her even closer, probably as close as he can get her.
The tears fall fresh at both the offer and the guilt that comes with both his attention and Ran's departure. After everything, he's still willing to be at her side, even after months of cold separation. "C-Camus..."
He didn't have to be there for her, yet deep down, she knew he would be. She had always known, and would never even begin to deserve it.
There's even more hesitation underlying her guilt. Dare she let him sing to her, knowing he would send her into dreamless sleep? To escape it all, even if only for a short while was more than tempting, but to be laid vulnerable while the world collapsed round her....
She nodded against him anyway, deciding that it would be much kinder to die in her sleep than anything. They wouldn't come after Camus... would they?
"Shh, my friend. Please, rest. You need more time to recover." He starts humming a song loud enough so she could hear. "I will be here for you when you wake up." There was a book nearby, he was settled in for the long haul. And if he needed to get something, Reiji had volunteered to sit in his place.
She nodded once more, desperately willing herself to believe him and settling down just as he had placed her, clinging to the blanket below her. It was going to be a long night..
When Camus notices that she's starting to relax, he switches from humming to singing a song from their childhood days so she would sleep.
Once she's sleeping, he'll relax and grab the book next to the bed to read. He's not going to leave unless he has to, and if he does, Reiji will be there to take his place.
For a while- a short, short while- she sleeps peacefully, curled into a small ball at his side. Later into the night, however, the nightmares creep in, sending her into quiet fits of whimpers and twitching fingers at first.
He'd been sleeping lightly when he felt the twitching beside him. Setting the book down, he rolled onto his side and reached over and rested a hand on her arm.
The touch to her arm has her pulling back and rolling dangerously to the edge of the bed to get away from him, arms moving to cover her head with little whimpers of 'no no no' muffled into the sheets.
Ah, that was bad. He couldn't tell if she was still sleeping, or if she'd managed to wake up at that point.
"Dove, it's me, Camus. Wake up." He didn't want her to fall off the bed, so he gripped her sleeve gently, in case he needed to pull her back onto the mattress.
She continued to shake for a few moments, even after he started singing, but once she slowly registered what exactly was being sung, she began to relax, half conscious but coming to little by little.
...within moments, she'd be staring, eyes filled with tears before she shakily crawled closer.
He finished the chorus after he noticed she was awake and smiled. "Good to see you're awake." Totally ignoring the tears that had come to his, even while singing.
There's not much else she can do but sob into his chest, trembling all over from fear, exhaustion, and all the trauma's she's convinced she's brought upon herself. Even in his arms, it takes her a long while to settle down, but whether it's from his attention or the sheer lack of energy within her is unclear.
Either way, she's probably only a little bit conscious whenever Reiji brings the tea.
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Era, in tiger form from the corner of the room, gives a low growl, but doesn't move, his golden eyes trained on the little tabby for a long moment before he, too, huffs in concern. He's not afraid of the tabby, but... his mistress definitely is. He has to trust in Camus to decide what's best for her for now...
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"Relax, friend. Nothing will happen in this home."
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It's all too fresh, too there in her mind, and even with her best friend trying to calm her, she can't relax with that presence so close to her. 'Ran' rings a bell, somewhere in her terrified mind, but.... nope.
The shaking is making her weaker and her hold on him is starting to slip, but she still clings as best she can. There's not much aside from him to hold onto, now.
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"Would you like me to sing to you?"
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He didn't have to be there for her, yet deep down, she knew he would be. She had always known, and would never even begin to deserve it.
There's even more hesitation underlying her guilt. Dare she let him sing to her, knowing he would send her into dreamless sleep? To escape it all, even if only for a short while was more than tempting, but to be laid vulnerable while the world collapsed round her....
She nodded against him anyway, deciding that it would be much kinder to die in her sleep than anything. They wouldn't come after Camus... would they?
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"Only you, me, and the boys know of this place."
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She nodded once more, desperately willing herself to believe him and settling down just as he had placed her, clinging to the blanket below her. It was going to be a long night..
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Once she's sleeping, he'll relax and grab the book next to the bed to read. He's not going to leave unless he has to, and if he does, Reiji will be there to take his place.
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"Dove. Wake up."
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"Dove, it's me, Camus. Wake up." He didn't want her to fall off the bed, so he gripped her sleeve gently, in case he needed to pull her back onto the mattress.
"It's just me and the guys here. No threats."
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...And starting to sing.
The song of their childhood...
...One he hadn't sung in ages. Not since she left.
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...within moments, she'd be staring, eyes filled with tears before she shakily crawled closer.
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"Come here." Holding out his arms for her.
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Heart torn in two, she fell into him, her own arms hugging him tightly as she buried her face in his chest. "I-I'm sorry... I-I'm so so sorry..."
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"The past is the past, and something we can talk about later."
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Either way, she's probably only a little bit conscious whenever Reiji brings the tea.