[ Kalmiya gives him a return squeeze, the circle of her skinny arms somehow more reassuring than a vice. Against his cheek, her chest vibrates softly with the short, quiet half-laugh she gives and he finds it nearly as soothing as the brush of her fingers along his nape. ]
Yeah, I know. [ And that does bring a small, genuine smile to his lips. At this point, he is more than well aware of her blindness to mess. Or in other cases, her near blinding delight of it.
What she says next, though, settles over him like a soft blanket. Within it is the same feeling he used to get when he was young, sharing a haphazard blanket fort with his sister on the cramped lower bunk, trying not to laugh too loudly and get shooed to bed. Kalmiya's warmth soaks through the tether as surely as tea with cake, bleeding across the lines to settle in his bones. ]
... Thank you. [ Arthur pulls away from her front enough to glance up, sincerity shining through. What else could there be to say? The enormity of what she's offered can't possibly be quantified or met with words that would do it justice. He knows she doesn't expect anything in return, because she has a bigger heart than most anyone he's ever met, but there's a sense that transmits across the connection: Likewise. Should she ever need it. ]
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Yeah, I know. [ And that does bring a small, genuine smile to his lips. At this point, he is more than well aware of her blindness to mess. Or in other cases, her near blinding delight of it.
What she says next, though, settles over him like a soft blanket. Within it is the same feeling he used to get when he was young, sharing a haphazard blanket fort with his sister on the cramped lower bunk, trying not to laugh too loudly and get shooed to bed. Kalmiya's warmth soaks through the tether as surely as tea with cake, bleeding across the lines to settle in his bones. ]
... Thank you. [ Arthur pulls away from her front enough to glance up, sincerity shining through. What else could there be to say? The enormity of what she's offered can't possibly be quantified or met with words that would do it justice. He knows she doesn't expect anything in return, because she has a bigger heart than most anyone he's ever met, but there's a sense that transmits across the connection: Likewise. Should she ever need it. ]