Halm nodded again.
"He's gonna need it. I'm just glad he has you. I'm… Totally lost in this." Halm never really paid attention to the memories of those who were like this, and he'd never had first hand experience before. He was bullshitting his way through this and praying he didn't screw anything up.
Nix nodded again. "I know what sort of things are likely to set him off… so I know what to avoid with him." He sighed softly and lay Cas's arm back down. "He's very delicate, if I'm being honest…"
Halm tilted his head a bit. He could handle delicate. It was part of his job, to be gentle with everything. He tucked Cas back in absentmindedly.
"Alright then. Is there anything I should avoid talking about?" Of course, he figured any mention of Cas's father was a no go, after what they went through.
"Um… he does really poorly if he's ever yelled at. Loud noises are bad. Shattering glass especially is bad… he's also really insecure about his height, so it's best not to mention it. He's terrified of dogs as well. He gets really upset if he feels dumb for any reason, like making fun of him for being afraid of something or anything of the like…"
Halm nodded along as Nix listed off things to avoid. He didn't think he had ever screamed, which would be good. He could keep the loud noses down too. With the glasses… He could switch things out with plastic glass, to keep it from shattering. He'd have a bit more trouble with the height, but it should be no big deal. There weren't any dogs here, and Halm had no intention of making fun of Cas.
"…I can deal with this," Halm said finally.
Nix nodded a bit. "It can also be hard to prevent him from encountering triggers because he's so accident prone. Here, it should be easier. Dogs are everywhere on earth, and the other things he also encountered regularly. He also doesn't like being reminded of his incompetence in several areas. For example, his inability to swim, or ride a bike, or generally do a lot of things that most people know how to do. Since his father never taught him those things, he still doesn't know, and he's self conscious about it. I don't recommend comparing him to a child because he already feels like one simply because he hasn't learned a lot of basic skills."
"Alright then," Halm said. "Anything to make sure Cas is okay. And it really should be a lot easier here. It'll be easier to just not have anything that could trigger him." Halm looked down at Cas a moment.
Nix nodded a bit. "He had episodes often on earth just because of how easy it is to upset him… but hopefully it'll be better here. He'll still need to be watched carefully, though."
"He does have a lot of triggers… But we'll be able to protect him, right?" Halm looked back at Nix.
"We'll take care of him."
Nix nodded again. "I'm certainly going to try my best…" He sighed a bit as he looked down at Cas. "He's fragile."
"Well, we'll just have to be careful…" Halm lightly put his hand on Cas's head.
"Mhmm." Nix lay back down and huddled up with Cas. "I hate to see him hurt…"
Halm laid down too. Cas was definitely exhausted, to sleep this long.
"I do too," Halm said softly. "So we'll just have to keep him safe."
"He'll be alright eventually… he just really needs to rest. Hopefully." Nix sighed, running his fingers through Cas's hair.
"He'll be fine, most likely…" Halm wrapped his arms around Nix and Cas again.
"I'm just worried his body will reject him…"
"What does that mean?" Nix asked worriedly. "Is he still in danger? Is there anything I can do?"
"There's nothing we could do. It's like an organ transplant. The body might accept Cas, or it might reject him. Only time will tell." Halm sighed softly, concerned.
"It should be okay, though. The body should accept him again."
"How do you know?" Nix asked nervously. "What are we supposed to do if that happens? Will he die again?"
"It's going to be okay, Nix," Halm said gently. He cupped Nix's head in his hand, rubbing him gently.
"The body was Cas's before, so it should take to him easily. And, if it doesn't… We'll have to get him a new one. He'll be okay, I promise."
"But he doesn't want a new body… he wanted this one back." Nix sighed softly. "I worry that inheriting a new body with his memories still intact would be traumatic."
Halm nodded.
"I'm afraid that no matter what happens, this is going to be traumatic to him. He did die, after all." Halm sighed a little. "All we can do is be here for him, for now." Halm was doing his best.
Nix nodded. "Thankfully, his body wasn't damaged at all when he died… I presume that would have complicated things."
"Very much so. It would have been nearly impossible for him to go back to it." Halm glanced down at Cas, sighing softly. He looked back up as Nix.
"We're going to have to make sure he doesn't get hurt."
"Mhmm… what about his soul?" Nix asked. "I remember it being very self destructive when you pulled it from his body."
Halm nodded.
"That's true. I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on it. And I can't do what I did before to make sure it wouldn't act up- it would interfere with the body too much and could cause it to reject him." He sighed. Things were so much more complicated now.