Mori drew in a couple harsh, wavering breaths, quietly crying into Tohru's side. His heart was pounding and he was trembling violently, keeping his eyes away from the dying girl. He couldn't bear to watch it anymore. He wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say, and he wasn't sure whether his tight throat could form words anyway.
“We should go inside…” Bean muttered. Luka and Lilac nodded. “Be careful though…”
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"You're not going to try to move her, are you?" Tohru asked, "That'll probably just cause her more pain than it's worth. But if you don't want to watch her die, I understand. I'll stay with her."
Tohru shifted a little closer to Hailey.
"I'll take care of your siblings, no matter what happens to you, okay?" he promised.
Mori kept his face hidden, trying his best not to think about what was happening around him. It was bringing up fragments of memories that he didn't know he had, and he wasn't liking it one bit. No matter what the others did, he wasn't going to look. He didn't want to watch somebody die.
Luka looked at his siblings before sighing. “We should keep her here…” Hailey looked at Tohru. “Thank you…” she smiled weakly.
(Pain)
"Ah," Josefine murmured. She just thought it would better than having Hailey lie out in the open, but perhaps it would indeed cause more pain than necessary. She took a breath, her expression grim.
Lyn wiped her tears. "Are we going inside?" she asked quietly. She really, really wanted to go inside, but if Lilac or her siblings didn't want to, she would stay.
Lilac shook her head. “I don’t want to go…” she muttered.
"Then we'll stay," Lyn murmured. She opened her eyes just so she could see Lilac, and began combing her fingers through the girl's hair. She couldn't deny that she had developed some motherly habits with Lilac, though she didn't really know why aside from the fact that she was young and innocent. Perhaps Lyn simply felt protective of her, but she couldn't see how she could protect her from this.
Mori braved a look over at the siblings, but it just made him feel sick. His breathing hitched and he pulled off his mask, stumbling over to the bushes to throw up. He knelt on the ground, hugging his stomach with his good arm and trembling violently. Having the mask off wasn't helping to settle his stomach much, either.
(Poor baby-)
Lilac hugged Lyn tightly. She was grateful for the other’s presence. She had gotten attached over the time span they’ve gotten to know each other..
Tohru looked over his shoulder to see if Mori was okay. He winced a bit and looked back to the dying girl before him.
He promised he would stay there. He could check on Mori once it was all over.
The man swept a quick glance across the others. They'd probably blame him for this somehow. He really had just looked at Hailey and immediately said there was nothing he could do. He didn't even try. Not that there was anything he could have reasonably done.
A couple fresh tears rolled down Mori's cheeks as he gasped for breath, the air around him practically dripping with blood. It was all he could smell, and he wasn't handling it well. He threw up again, although he was soon dry heaving considering how little he'd been eating lately. Hopefully they're distracted… they shouldn't be paying attention to me right now. I'll be fine, I just need to be… quiet.
(Poor guys)
(I have no idea what else my characters could do so-)
Lyn was still, continually combing Lilac's hair and trying to do what she could to soothe the young girl somewhat. Josefine was tapping her foot now, quite unable to keep herself still, so was also swaying back and forth occasionally. Seeing Mori vomiting, she wanted to move over to him, if only to do something instead of being so still, but he seemed to give off an air of not wanting to be noticed, she just stared concernedly at him.
Luka was still holding Hailey’s hand when he felt it go cold. Hailey went limp and Luka tried to hold back tears but he couldn’t. Bean pulled her brother into a hug, tears flowing down her face as well.
Tohru waited a minute after the girl had passed to say anything.
"Did… did you guys want to try to bury her?" he asked, "I'll help if you do."
He got back to his feet, ready to go check on Mori when he was able.
Luka nodded, still sobbing into his sister’s chest. Bean nodded as well. “That’s what Hailey would have wanted…”
Mori staggered to his feet, coughing weakly. His knees were weak and wobbling dangerously, and his face was very pale. He glanced over his shoulder to see the siblings crying. She… must've died already. A couple more tears rolled down his cheeks and he rubbed at them with one small fist.
Lilac soon rejoined her siblings and they were in one giant group hug. Bean held her siblings close, silently cursing herself for not being more careful with Hailey.
(aaaaaa)
Josefine’s gaze drifted back to the dying girl, and she watched as the light died in her eyes. That was probably a mistake. She felt her breath getting heavy and emotion rising behind her eyes. No, no, no. She did not want to cry right now. Blinking rapidly, she tried keep the tears from coming. It was hard though, especially once the other siblings hugged.
Lyn let Lilac go, and she moved closer to Josefine, leaning on her shoulder and careful to not look at the dead girl. “We can help, too,” she said thickly.
Lilac looked at Lyn and Josefine, tears streaming like waterfalls down her face. “Y-You…y-you’ll help?” she asked quietly and choking up.
(cries because these kids are precious)
"Okay, I'll see if I can find a shovel," Tohru replied, "If not… I'll make do."
He moved on, first to check on Mori.
"Are you alright?" he asked, pulling out his flask to offer the kid a drink.
Mori hiccuped weakly and accepted the water, sipping at it quietly while the tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm… I-I'm okay…" He whispered, his voice a bit raspy from throwing up. "Sorry for being a problem…"
Bean nodded and handed Luka Hailey’s cat headband. “She’d want you to have this…” she muttered. Luka nodded and held the headband close to his chest. Lilac looked away, trying not to cry again.
"I can assure you, you're no problem at all," Tohru told Mori, "You even tried to help."
He let out a deep sigh.
"Honestly, I would've done the same as you except- you know… I've seen a lot of people die already. You shouldn't have to see that at your age. It's… a lot."
He held out his hand.
"You can come help me look for a shovel, if you want, so you don't have to go near her. Otherwise, you can find a place to sit and rest for a bit."
Lyn nodded and Josefine said, “If you’ll have it,” in response to Lilac.
Lyn closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to mentally prepare herself just in case she needed to. Josefine’s gaze wandered to Tohru and Mori again. The small boy looked so young. She might’ve been his age when she crossed countries. It was so strange to think about, so sad, that when she was small she moved away from everything familiar to her, and he was now witnessing death.
Lilac immediately hugged her. “Thank you, thank you…thank you so much…” she cried quietly. Bean nodded. “Yeah, thanks…”