Robin had begun the process of calming down, but Mihaka suddenly grabbing him made him panic more. No no no no no! No air….no air… unfamiliar people, breathe, breathe! Can't breathe… no air. He couldn't even hyperventilate anymore. Too many stimuli, calm down, calm down, calm down! Don't pass out! Going to faint… no air… it hurts…
"?????"
Dara froze. She didn't know what to do –she was awful in stressful situations. "Okay, okay, she doesn't understand she doesn't speak English but she has to put him down what do I do," she muttered rapid fire, slowly approaching the girl. She held out her arms, hoping that Mihaka would take the hint and give Robin to her.
"!!!!!!" (Translation: I will protec this smol thing!)
The utter panic in Robin's eyes broke Dara. She'd seen that look in her own eyes when she was his age, hiding in the bathroom, trying to calm herself, just in case her parents were listening… She strode forward aggressively, yelling, "Please just let him go! You idiot he doesn't understand you he's just a kid and you're not helping!!"
Mihaka refused to let go of Robin, she used her healing magic to calm him. Her hands glowed, and his injuries began to heal.
She was stunned at Dara's yelling. She tried to ask her what the problem was but she couldn't communicate.
Robin's struggling grew weaker, and he was seeing stars. The magic allowed him to begin hyperventilating again, which was a start. But he couldn't handle this many people surrounding him. It was too much, too stressful. He felt lightheaded and exhausted.
Dara reached out and snatched the kid out of Mihaka's arms. At this point she knew she might hurt Robin, but her brain was muddled with fury. She didn't care. She shoved Robin off to Celestia and stared Mihaka down, daring her to come closer.
Robin leaned against Celestia, trembling. He was trying as hard as he could to calm down, but it felt like a huge snake was coiling itself around his chest and squeezing tightly. He remembered Timothy at home helping him to calm down during panic attacks, and he wanted to cry. Timothy… Grayson… He might never see them again. The tears fell from his eyes and he broke down, crying on Celestia's shoulder.
"All of you, calm down!" Celestia knew raising her voice would startle Robin, but she also knew everyone else's actions were just adding fuel to the fire. Celestia turned towards the native, her eyes narrowed. "You, stay away. You're making Robin feel worse. If you were trying to help, we don't need it. You're just making his situation worse. Panic attacks aren't a child's play." she felt her shoulder getting damp from Robin's tears and she started to get worried. She turned her attention towards the boy and pulled him closer.
"Shh, it's okay. Everything will be okay," Celestia whispered in a soothing tone, hoping it would make him feel better. "I can't promise you things won't be hard. I can't promise you that we'll get out of here before you know it. But I can promise you that we'll protect you. We're here for you. We're all scared, Robin. You're not alone. Dara, Skye, Fin, me… we're terrified, too. But we're together, right? We're not alone. We have each other, we've got each other's backs." Celestia paused, not knowing where she was going. Of course Robin wasn't afraid of being alone. He was afraid he was without his parents, that his parents were dead. How could she make him calm down without promising something that would end up being broken? She didn't know what else to say, so she just kept holding him as he cried, hoping he would feel better. Celestia thought back to what her family used to do when she'd have a breakdown or a panic attack. They'd take her where she felt comfortable. "Let's go out for a walk, Robin. Let's go find some animals."
"??????" Mihaka wondered what the strange woman was saying.
Skye's head shot up when she heard Celestia yell. The whole cave was in chaos. Nobody really seemed to know what to do. She shook her head, then slid down against the cave wall.
What're we going to do? she wondered.
Dara was ready to fight Mihaka, but Celestia's firm tone cleared the red from her eyes. She took a steadying breath. She stepped forward and gently took Mihaka's arm, dragging her out of the cave. "You're going back wherever you came from," she sighed.
Looking over at Dara, Celestia mouthed a thank you. Half for being able to calm down, and the other half for taking the girl away.
Robin nodded, forcing himself to take deeper breaths. He wiped the tears from his eyes and sat in silence for a minute or two, trying to clear his mind.
Celestia sighed in relief when she realized her words had taken effect. She let Robin take deep breaths to calm himself down, only grabbing his hand for support.
Though Robin's heart still felt like it would burst out of his chest, he had managed to control his breathing. "Calm down, calm down, calm down…" He muttered to himself, keeping his eyes closed. He kept seeing flashes of fire and such, wincing slightly when he did, but he continued using breathing techniques he had learned long before. Breathe in four, hold seven, breathe out eight, repeat… four, seven, eight, repeat…
"There you go," Celestia murmured as she felt Robin calm down.
Robin felt exhausted, but he opened his eyes weakly and looked up at Celestia. His hair was still a bit damp from the water being thrown in his face, and other than his leg, he seemed physically okay. Mom and Dad are fine… they're just in another cave, waiting for you, looking for you… now all you have to do is find them…
Celestia smiled softly.
"Do you want to sleep, Robin?" she asked, knowing he was exhausted at this point.
He gave a slight nod, leaning against the cave wall and running his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, ignoring all the anxious thoughts to the best of his ability.
Celestia pulled out a blanket, draping it over Robin's small form. Rubbing his head sorrowfully, she sighed.
It took a while for Robin to fall asleep, but thinking about nothing and clearing his mind usually helped. Counting sheep like most people never helped, it just preoccupied him and prevented him from sleeping. Eventually, he slumped against the wall, his breathing slow and calm.
(Hello? Is anyone on?)