"Yeah, yeah, we know." He rolled his eyes, leaning heavily against Lily. She bit her lips hard enough to taste copper, forcing her breathing to continue at a normal pace as she met Rhydar's eyes for just long enough to get across her plea, before she was looking down at her shaking glass. Off off off. Please, get him off. She couldn't quite make herself move, too busy trying not to slip into a panic attack right there.
He set his glass back down and prowled over to the man, roughly grabbing him by the back of his suit and yanking him back. Still holding onto the other man, Rhydar put himself between him and Lily, further throwing the man away from her. "I don't think you get what I'm saying," he all but growled, narrowing his eyes. This guy…How many times is he going to do this sort of thing?
The man yelped, scrambling and attempting to regain his footing, quite the feat considering the amount of alcohol he'd consumed. Lily managed a single step back, setting her glass down to keep from dropping it before wrapping her arms around herself. "L-let go of me!" The man stuttered out, disoriented but managing to get his feet under him. "It was just some harmless fun."
"Harmless to you, not to her," Rhydar said calmly, though his anger was thinly veiled as he released the drunkard. "I suggest you leave before you do something you'll regret." He kept himself between Lily and him, standing his ground even as people stopped to watch the scene unfolding.
As the man looked around, he seemed to come to his senses enough to save his own hide, though not without quite a bit of grumbling on his part. He shot the two of them a glare, that likely cut Lily deeper than it did Rhydar, before tucking tail and slipping through the people gathering, disappearing somewhere among them in the direction of the door.
Rhydar watched him go, then barked at the crowd to get on with their lives. They all jumped and quickly found something else interesting. He turned to Lily. Worry and concern lined his features as his eyes darted over her face, his whole demeanor changing into something softer and less aggressive. He didn't dare approach her without her permission, just remained where he was. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"Out-I need-" Lily couldn't quite get a full sentence out, let alone one that made sense, but she gestured towards the exit, her control finally beginning to slip. She didn't fail to note the concern on his face though, managing to file that away for later, once she wasn't in the throes of a panic attack. Right now, she just needed to get out of the ballroom.
He nodded and got as close to her as he dared to wordlessly escort her out of the ballroom. He didn't stop there, however. He led her down a short hall until they reached a mini garden next to the ballroom that was also in the center of the palace, the roof gone to allow a more nature-y feel to the area.
A fountain bubbled in the center of the garden with simple but elegant benches seated around it. Flowered bushes lined the four pathways that led to the fountain from the different entryways. It was dark outside with an ocean of stars blanketing the sky above. Fireflies bobbed around them. The cool air chilled his skin a little bit.
The panic seemed to ease somewhat once they were outside, her shaking lessening just a bit as she attempted to regulate her breathing. In seven, out eleven, in seven, out eleven. Like a mantra, she repeated the words, barely registering sitting herself down on a bench. In most situations, she would have taken the time to take in the scenery and her surroundings, but she was somewhat preoccupied.
He crouched down in front of her, still keeping his distance but staying close enough should he need to catch her or something. He didn't want to keep staring at her like a creep, so he let his inner child out and attempted to catch fireflies from where he was, attention averted from Lily as he reached out for the little balls of light. His tongue slightly stuck out in concentration.
It took her somewhere around five minutes to get through the panic attack, but it felt more like hours inside the small bubble of peace in her mind that slowly grew. Now, she took deep breaths, looking up to watch Rhydar. "I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice barely audible as she kept her eyes from ever directly looking at him.
He jerked his attention back to her, then quickly shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry about," he said softly. He bit his lip, forcing himself from just pulling her into a hug or holding her hand in reassurance. He was better with physical interaction and comfort than verbal.
((It's heartwrenching and great at the same time that he's so much better at physical comfort but she can't stand any sort of physical contact at this point. Dynamics!))
"For flipping out?" She said, still incredibly quiet, tilting her head slightly as she shook it. She could still feel the ghost of the man's touch on her, but her guilt, and the part of her expecting some sort of punishment, distracted from that.
((lmao))
He sighed softly, resting his arms on his knees as he looked around, as if in search for some sort of answer to this dilemma. His thoughts wondered to the ring still around his neck, and he reached up to touch it, licking his lip ring once again. He then, wordlessly, took it off and handed it to her. "Here," he said, tone remaining as gentle as he could make it, "I've always used this to calm me down and make me feel better. Maybe it'll help you."
Her brows drew together in confusion as she carefully accepted the ring, cradling it in her palm as she looked down at it. "How?" The word itself probably didn't make much sense as a question, but it managed. She pulled her legs up onto the bench, sort of curling up into herself as though that would fix all her problems, and get rid of all her fears.
"It was my sister's before she gave it to me when I was a kid," he said, eyes dropping slightly as he spoke. "I had gotten in trouble by the servants because I got caught stealing some books from the library. I didn't even read them—I just wanted something to steal. I was bawling my eyes out, and she gave me that, saying it had a tiny little creature in it that protected its owner from whatever troubled them." He huffed a small laugh, spinning one of the rings around his fingers. "It's probably a children's myth, and I'm too old to believe in that sort of thing, but I've always taken that to heart and believed that nothing could hurt me as long as I had that ring with me." He shrugged and looked off to the side. "It's seemed to have worked more often than not. I'm not dead yet, which is surprising."
She was quiet as she listened, turning the ring over in her hands and studying it. A tiny little creature protecting her from her troubles would be amazing, even if she was well aware he was right about it being some sort of myth. Either way, a faint and wistful smile played on her lips, a product of the fresh air and soothing topic of conversation. "So it's a good luck charm of sorts?" She asked quietly, finally looking up at meeting his eyes.
He looked back at her, a small, slightly sad smile lifting up the corner of his lips. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." Damn, it's been forever since he's thought about Isla, and it was better if he just pushed that off to the side. He also didn't want to think about the fact that he was super protective of that particular ring.
He shook his head slightly to rid himself of those thoughts, reaching up to lightly grip her knee before standing up and stepping back, hands slipping into his pockets. "Feelin' better?" he asked her.
Surprisingly, his touch didn't make her flinch. She glanced back down at the ring before nodding, holding it out as she stood. "Yes. Thank you, for…everything." She said, her voice finally gaining back some solidity as she took a slow breath.
He shook his head at the offered ring. "Keep it. You need it more than I do." He shrugged nonchalantly at her thanks, looking around at the fireflies once again. "It was nothing. He's a prick and really should be banned from the castle for good."
She blinked, glancing back down at the ring, before looking back at him. It obviously meant a lot to him, so she planned to find another way to give it back. "How many…other women has he done things like that to?" She asked, turning her face up to the sky to watch the fireflies.
"More than I bothered to count," he said, voice laced with a hint of hostility. His hands were fists inside his pockets. "I have a feeling he's done a lot worse before, but I wasn't there to stop it."
She looked down at him, a sad and…tired look on her face. "Don't blame yourself. Men like him are fairly common." She said quietly, hesitantly reaching out to touch his shoulder, before returning her hand to her side.
Her initiating contact—however brief—startled him into silence. He swallowed and nodded mutely, shifting his weight as he pulled his hands back out of his pockets. His eyes scanned her face, noting the look she had.
"Too common." She shook her head, fiddling with the ring. "But again, thank you. And I'm certain it means a lot to the other women you've stood up for, as well."