[ Everything in him right now feels like such a jumbled mess, shaken and shaking to such an extent that he wouldn't even know where to begin anyway. So he's pathetically grateful that they let him get away with his diversion. A brush off that buys him a few moments to try and drag his composure back to where it's supposed to be. And all these messy conflicts going right back to being buried so deep he can keep hoping they'll never know the light of day.
His hand is reaching for the nearest cluster of crystals when Claude's warning makes him pause. Not looking up still, he reaches back to retrieve his work gloves instead. He still can't bring himself to meet either of their gazes, so he lets them talk over him instead. He's not even listening to their words right now, can't bring his brain into focus enough for that, while it floats in some cold empty numbness. Distantly, he's aware that that's probably not good, but at the moment he can't quite bring himself to care, either.
Their voices, at least, are soothing in their own way. A reminder of where he is, of who's watching his back. It's enough to stave off the return of any of his panic.
When he's gathered all the clusters of crystals he can find under this particular tree, he leans back on his heels again, knapsack secured over one shoulder as he looks up... but doesn't manage to get much higher than their waists, really. Going higher, meeting their gazes right now, seems like an insurmountable challenge. He doesn't want to see what might still be lurking in their gazes. ]
I think that's all of them here. Should we keep looking? Although there was a bunch under this one, so we might be okay with that.
[ He's not nearly so good at making his voice sound convincing right now. It's a close mimicry, but there's something hollow in it. ]
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His hand is reaching for the nearest cluster of crystals when Claude's warning makes him pause. Not looking up still, he reaches back to retrieve his work gloves instead. He still can't bring himself to meet either of their gazes, so he lets them talk over him instead. He's not even listening to their words right now, can't bring his brain into focus enough for that, while it floats in some cold empty numbness. Distantly, he's aware that that's probably not good, but at the moment he can't quite bring himself to care, either.
Their voices, at least, are soothing in their own way. A reminder of where he is, of who's watching his back. It's enough to stave off the return of any of his panic.
When he's gathered all the clusters of crystals he can find under this particular tree, he leans back on his heels again, knapsack secured over one shoulder as he looks up... but doesn't manage to get much higher than their waists, really. Going higher, meeting their gazes right now, seems like an insurmountable challenge. He doesn't want to see what might still be lurking in their gazes. ]
I think that's all of them here. Should we keep looking? Although there was a bunch under this one, so we might be okay with that.
[ He's not nearly so good at making his voice sound convincing right now. It's a close mimicry, but there's something hollow in it. ]