Luka looked over at Tali, frowning slightly. Inside, his inner gentleman told him to go over and help her, but his pride told him otherwise. She'd be fine, he reasoned, Probably just a stomach ache.
Another thunderclap rocked the place, sounding like 90 snare drums getting struck at once.
Tali was shaking now, just enough to be noticeable, as she found herself slipping closer to a panic attack, the scene behind her eyes just as real as it had been a year ago. She clutched at her shoulder with one hand, the other still pressed to her mouth just in case. Screaming, someone's screaming and it's not Ryan-it's her, Ryan is gasping next to her and the screaming turns to shouts, shouts for help-
Queenie wriggled out of the place she'd taken up on Luka's lap, not a fan of storms herself. She meowed once at Luka, before hurrying over to Tali, her purring audible even over the distance as she butted against her owner.
Luka sighed and stood put, walking over to where Tali laid and sat down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"It's just a storm," he said softly. "We're under, like, 3 feet of concrete. Nothing can touch us."
It's just a storm. Just a storm, he's right, and you know it. Tali choked on a wordless noise, her hand leaving her shoulder, leaving her scars that served as a permanent reminder, to thread through Queenie's fur, taking comfort in the purring cat. "I know." She managed to grit out, her eyes still shut tight. "But-"