insoucianx | @insoucianx:
( @washivalkyrie | reply ) :
kai observed her antics with a worried look, and without a word to interrupt each deep inhale she took, waiting for her to finish her sentence. was he being too reckless ? was she suspecting he was up to no good himself ? he realised a little belatedly that could very much be the case.
“ it’s alright, ” he said with a shrug at her thanks, not minding the fact that she was staring past him, probably at the store that stood behind him. “ look, i’m sorry if i scared you or something. didn’t mean to, i just thought you needed help. i’m kai, by the way. ” it was only polite for him to introduce himself as well. “ don’t worry about your japanese. i understand you full well, you’re doing fine. ”
he gave her another concerned look. “ you were crying ? are things really okay with you ? ”
「愛」 --- “You’re too kind...” she mutters under her breath, awkwardly holding the handkerchief in her hands.
The sensation of the cloth was soothing her, and for better or worse, it gave her brain something to cling onto as she prepared herself. From what she had caught onto a few seconds ago, the youth.... or rather, adult, was older than her by a few years - somehow wandering on the streets at this hour, probably having been on his way home. He was seemingly a foreigner himself, or at least, that’s what he looked like - but she could have been mistaken.
"Uhm, it’s just... I’m a foreigner and I have trouble fitting in... I want to make friends but I’m always sticking out..."
That was but a measly attempt at explaining things, but maybe she was getting somewhere. If she just talked, or tried to talk more, maybe she would get better at it. Her pulse was still going haywire, but as long as she breathed slowly, and continued to do so, in and out, in and out, she would calm down.
...Or at least, that’s what she said would happen.
“I’m... not so good at putting my thoughts into... words... People don’t really seem to understand, and I... I tend to get frustrated with it, and then I get mad at everyone, but really, I... I just get mad at myself. And then I cry. ...And that’s pathetic.”
Inhale, exhale, and maybe it was not so much the breathing techniques her therapist had taught her, but the fact that someone had been so kind to be concerned about her wellbeing, asking and listening to her, that she already felt a little better.
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
