She lay in his arms, crying and whimpering. Gradually it began to slow, the tears stopping, the fits slowing to only the occasional moan of discomfort and fear. Concern and pity were warring on his face, his eyebrows folded with both of the emotions that were beginning to crest. She was so pitiful, so helpless. She shouldn't be out here on her own, she should be with someone. Soft strokes of her dark back were doing well to soothe her, as well as the occasional cooing that came from his mouth. After a long time, she began to uncurl herself and look up at him, eyes red and raw looking but clear from tears for the moment. Saul rubbed his free hand over her brow, trying to ease the pain and discomfort there. She was sat comfortably against him- her back rested against his left thigh and her legs were now curled over his right thigh. His left arm was a strong barrier around her back, resting on her side to hold her in place. When she had curled against him, his right arm had come across her whole body to join with his arm around her back, but now she was slightly uncurled it lay across her side in a more comfortable position. Despite the rather intimate places his hands and arms rested, it was a purely platonic embrace in which he held her.
She opened and closed her mouth several times, struggling with the words that were trying to get out. In her childish, broken speech, she said perhaps one of the worst things she could have said. Her parents were the ones to hurt her. With a sigh, he squeezed her body tighter for a moment, his strength a means to reassure her that she was safe now. She allowed her ears to flatten before she reached up to bury her muzzle in his neck. He sighed softly, left hand stroking the small of her back in long, soothing strokes once more. "They should never have hurt you sweety... No parent should hurt their child." He stated simply. He thought of his own mother- she gave her life to protect her children. He didnt hold much of an opinion of his father, other than a bitter resentment that his father hadnt wanted his children. He didnt have a mother figure, but he'd had plenty of father figures. All of them were gone, but it didnt matter anymore. Laying his cheek on the top of Tawny's head, he didnt know what to say to tell her that her parents couldnt hurt her anymore.
She withdrew her hands from their iron grip around his chest and in a surprise move, twisted his face so that he looked directly into her eyes. She spoke with perhaps a lot more coherance than she would have done, feverently telling him that he was a good guy. Saul's eyes softened further as she said she loved him. He knew instinctively that it wasnt romantic love. It was the love Saul had for Melee and Range, for Wretch and Eclipse. Family love. And Saul also knew that he felt exactly the same. He chuckled softly as her tongue darted out and swiped across his nose. He dragged the back of his hand across his nose as she curled up against him once more, her panic attack getting much better. "I would never hurt you my dear. And I love you too" He said simply, no ceremony about it. It was simple fact.
She shifted her body, getting dangerously close to some vital areas. She stopped before she got too close, thrusting out her wrists to show her hands. With a soft growl, she wiped them together, dislodging a lot of the dirt and grit on her palms. With a soft smile, he moved her again so that her back was against his chest, her legs on top of his. With deft movements, he removed the cotton wads and began to clean her hands from behind her, wincing every time the pad caught a bit of her skin that was grimy and drying. It was going to hurt, but it was a good hurt and it would be over soon.
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