Array 149 // Voice

[bloodseal_soul]

She's...

[Al's voice is soft, but thick. Not with tears, but with pain that somehow is beyond that. A numbness, a helplessness. He normally sounds so together, like he has everything under control, but right now he's small again. Small and utterly lost.]

Mom's gone.

[Click.]

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[notamageiswear]

[Screw replying to this, he's finding Al right now.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[Al doesn't cling to him, or cry. Instead, he just... looks at him. As if maybe, somehow, something will make this right.]

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[notamageiswear]

[Negi is a little out of breath, and he has to admit, his eyes are prickling with tears. But he won't cry. Not when Al is just barely keeping things in check.

He lifts one hand, putting it against Al's cheek, trying to give a shaky smile and failing.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[Al lifts a hand shakily, covering over Negi's. It's so easy, he thinks -- so easy for someone to disappear. And he may never see her again.

Just like last time, he doesn't understand. It just isn't sinking in. He's not holding it together, he's just so numb that he can't fall apart.]

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[notamageiswear]

[His thumb brushes over Al's cheekbone for a brief moment, and then Negi moves in to wrap his arms around him, pulling him in tight. He doesn't say anything, just... holds him.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[As soon as Negi's arms are around him, Al starts to shake. Trembling, shuddering as if he's cold. But he still doesn't cry.]

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[notamageiswear]

Al... cry, if you need to. Let out whatever you're holding back. Whatever you need to do. I'll be here to dry your tears when you're done.

[It's soft, barely a whisper in Al's ear. Negi knows what this feels like. He can still remember that night when he first came to stay at Whipstaff. And it isn't good to clam up.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[He wishes he could. Negi's voice in his ear nearly has him breaking down. He makes a small noise, shivers and breathes in against Negi's shoulder sharply.]

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[notamageiswear]

[His fingers find their way into Al's hair, and he stays like that for a good handful of minutes, just combing his hair wih his fingers, letting his fingertips brush across his scalp, all the while murmuring nonsensical sentences, shifting between English and Latin.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[The tears come, though not the actual crying. No shuddering, no sobbing. Just tiny unsteady breaths as the world slips through his fingertips.]

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[notamageiswear]

[Negi can feel the warm dampness through his shirt, but he only smiles, breaking out softly into Al's hair.]

The world will right itself again. All it needs is time.

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[bloodseal_soul]

[The words and concepts jumble together in his mind, but he can't form a sentence to Negi just how wrong he is. Instead, he lets his fingers and voice be comforting.

Instead, he's content to let Negi believe.]

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[notamageiswear]

[Honestly, Negi has trouble believing his own words. It's more nonsense that's coming out than anything. He's been staying strong this long, but now...

He presses his face into Al's hair, breath hitching once, twice. Trisha had been a mom to him, too. He'd never had one before he came here.

One hot tear slides into Al's hair, but no others follow just yet.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[Al can feel it. Wordlessly, he reaches up and pulls Negi into his lap, setting his chin in his hair and holding him. This. He can do this.

He knows how to comfort someone else.]

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[notamageiswear]

[Negi makes no move of objection. He simply lets Al pull him down, settling into his lap and pushing his face into the crook of Al's neck.]

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[bloodseal_soul]

[He doesn't know what to say, how to say it. Nothing will fill the void. Instead he hums softly, tonelessly, until it becomes a song they both know well.]