"Oh, sweetie…" Serna held Nix to her chest, patting his back gently. "I know, I know…" She blinked a few times, keeping herself from tearing up.
"I need you to take a few deep breaths for me, okay? In, and out, okay sweetie?"
"I c-can't…" Nix whined, wincing as his throat tightened up not. "I-I just wish he would've— t-told me beforehand— s… s-so we wouldn't have done it— in the first place…" He sobbed.
"He should have," Serna consoled gently. "You're gonna be okay, Nix sugar. We're not going to let him hurt you again." She picked Nix up in one arm, holding his head to her neck gently. She rubbed his back as he cried, keeping him close.
Nix wrapped his arms around Serna's neck, biting down hard on his lip with his ears flattened back on his head. "I-I thought he was b— b-better than this…" He whispered weakly.
"We all did," Serna admitted softly. "We… We all did…" She tightened her hold on Nix, hand on his head.
"And… a-and Cas was really upset too… not just for me. He… h-he's been raped before. Worse than me, and… I-I was a cat at that point… I had to watch…"
Serna fell silent, eyes widening a bit. These poor boys…
"I… I'm so sorry… He…" She closed her eyes a moment. How could Halm have done this?
"Not by Halm, of course, b-but I… he was really desperate when he was younger… he couldn't be alone, and he always ended up with the wrong guys. I-I had to help him with so many breakdowns, ma'am… He was so furious with Halm when he found out, but he just… h-he broke down again as soon as he came back from beating him up…"
Serna pursed her lips tightly.
"You poor boys…" She held Nix close. Damnit, why did everyone have to, to be hurt?
At least now she could actually do something to help…
Nix sighed shakily and huddled closer to Serna, hiccuping again. "Cas has been through so much… I-I'm worried about him. He's got the rubber band, but he forgot about it recently, and I just… I can't stand to see him hurting himself…"
Nix had so much to worry about. Not just Cas, but himself too.
"Zachary is with him. I'm sure he'll keep Cas safe. He'll… He'll make sure Cas uses his rubber band."
"But Zachary can't do a whole lot right now! Halm shattered him and he can't talk and I'm not sure he could stop Cas…" Nix whimpered. "A-And I'm his service animal, so it's my job to protect him!"
"You need to be taken care of too, Nix," Serna said quietly. "You're the one who got hurt. We'll all keep an eye on Cas for you, okay? Me and Gloria and Zachary. Cas won't be able to hurt himself. But you have to let us take care of you too…"
Nix rubbed at his teary eyes, his lip quivering a bit. "B-But he still has to be alive sometimes and that terrifies me… what if he does something to himself while we're not watching?"
"I'll make sure to keep a close eye on him, okay? I'm a goddess," Serna explained gently. "I can keep an eye on him without being with him, and no one is going to go so far away we can't get to him, I promise sugar." Serna cupped Nix's head in her gentle hand, wiping a tear away.
Nix nodded weakly. "O-Okay…" He whispered, huddling up against Serna again. "I know… um… I know he's an adult, technically, but he still needs a lot of help. He needs to be taken care of. His dad was abusive and his mom was totally out of the picture and he lived on the streets for a while and he just… he wasn't raised with the gentle hand he needed, so now he's really delicate. It's easy to hurt him."
Serna nodded.
"Okay then. We'll make sure to be gentle, yeah?" She sighed softly, rubbing the back of Nix's head. Everyone was just so… Broken. She just wanted to scoop everyone up and hide them away, to make all the sadness go away…
Nix sighed as well and nodded again, curling his tail around himself. "D-Do you think I'm gonna live longer now that I'm a person?" He asked. "Or am I gonna die soon?"
"Yes, you're going to live longer. You're not gonna die anytime soon, sugar." Serna gently rubbed his back, leaning against the head board. Just like Halm used to when they sat like this.
"O-Okay…" Nix buried his face further into Serna's shoulder, struggling to hold back fresh tears. "Mm… I didn't… I didn't like Zachary at first. He's still not my favorite person. But he makes Cas happy, and that's what matters to me… I trust him to take care of Cas, and to not hurt him the way his exes did."
Serna nodded.
"He's a good man. He'll take care of Cas. And it's okay if you don't like him. I, it's understandable for you not to really trust people right now."
Nix nodded a bit. "I was really upset about them being together at first because of all of Cas's exes… I mean, he wasn't even eighteen with most of them, and they all treated him so badly…"
Serna nodded.
"I know it must be terrifying to have Cas be with someone after that. We'll make sure he's safe, okay?"
"Okay… I'm just… I'm scared for him. Especially since Zachary's hurt right now and clearly I'm not doing so great either… I just hope that Gloria can help him…"
Serna nodded.
"She'll be able to help him. She can help you too, you know. And Zachary." She settled down a bit, rubbing Nix's back.