Ailith reached out and placed a hand on William's shoulder. "Can you do something for me?" She asked, sitting down in front of him. "I'm going to tell you five things that I can see, and then you're going to do the same. It's going to help ground you. I used to do this with my brother when he had panic attacks."
William nodded his head shakily, “Okay. Okay.” William sat up better and tried to calm his uneven breathing.
Ailith held William's hands in her own. "I see the ground, I see you, I see my shoes, I see your shoes, and I see some rope in the corner. Now it's your turn. Give me five things that you can see. They can be anything, even things that I've already said."
William’s trop tightened on Ailith’s hand. He sniffled and started, “I see my jewelry, I-I see the clouds in the sky, I -hic- I see the hatch to the nest,” William took a deep, yet steadier, breath, “I see your-your shoes. I see…” William looked around, taking another breath. He was a lot better. He blinked his eyes, about to say he saw Ailith’s hair, when the shadowy figure approached him again. He buried his head in his arms, his shoulder’s shaking in silent sobs, “M-Make it g-go away.”
"William." Ailith said firmly. "I need to to focus on me, not the spirits, alright? They can't hurt you right now, I won't let them. What's the fifth thing you see?"
William looked up at Ailith hopelessly, his grip on her hands tightening. She was here, she was real, it was real. It was okay. William whispered quietly as if in fear of the spirits hearing, “I see your hair. It- It’s very nice,” Anything to get my mind off them, just focus on her hair, “Alright.” His breathing evened against, and his grip loosened slightly on her hand and he breathed, “Th-Thank you.”
Ailith tilted her head. "Thank you, and you're welcome. Now, I need you to tell me four things you can hear. I'm not stopping until you're completely calm, alright? Nothing can hurt you here. I can hear your breathing, the sea, the wind, my voice, and the creaking of the boat. Your turn."
“I hear-“ The whispers “I hear the breeze, I hear how my jewelry clinks every time the boat rocks, I hear the dog barking, I hear myself, I hear the noise the wind makes when it flings the ropes in the air.” William swallowed, chewing on his lip, but his nerves starting to calm down.
"Good." Ailith seemed to relax as well. "Three things you can feel. I can feel the floor, the rocking of the boat, and your hands. Now, you go."
“I can feel you hand, I can feel the breeze, I can feel my sandals,” William stopped sniffled and his tears dried up. Things seemed to come into focus slightly.
"Two things you can taste." Ailith said quietly. "I can taste sweat and the last food I ate."
“I can taste salt from the air and…” William tilted his head to side as he tried to decipher that sweet taste in his mouth from who know where, “Sugar.” His pulse slowed to a normal, calm beat and he almost thought of managing a smile. Almost.
(I just had a moment where I couldn't remember what the last sense was and sat here for a solid minute trying to figure it out)
Ailith smiled at him instead. "One thing you can smell. I can smell the sea."
(Ha lol I have those moments all the time)
“I smell rotten fish,” And without even thinking about it, William made a small smile. He felt a lot better, so he added with the most sincerity he’d ever used in his life, “Thank you, Ailith.”
"No problem. So," she broached the subject wearily, "do you want to tell me what happened out there?"
“I-“ Do I want to tell her? William nodded his head to himself. That way she was prepared to fight him when he turned, that way they wouldn’t become good friends, “I forced the spirits to help us. Mortals aren’t supposed to be allowed to force spirits, so I had to pay the price. The spirits were ‘fond’ of me, I guess, and they want me to-“ William bit his lip and stared at the floor, but continued, “They want me to be a living spirit, walking the earth. But spirits who stay on this earth turn into monsters. Like the ones we are going to fight. So since I forced the spirits to give the crew strength to keep us alive, I will turn into a monster when this is all done.” William didn’t dare look at Ailith’s face for a reaction.
Ailith blinked, absorbing the information. She looked at the ground, then back at William. "I don't believe you." Ailith said slowly, before continuing. "You aren't a monster, William. You're a, what, fifteen year old boy? If you turn into a monster it'll be by your own choices, not because the spirits are bitter about having to be decent to some kids. We'll find a way to stop this from happening to you."
William frowned sadly, not believing he had a second chance, “You will have to kill me. If I turn, you will have to kill me. I don’t want to be a monster, Ailith. Please kill me when I turn,” William begged, wrapping his hands around Ailith’s.
"I- It won't come to that. I promise. I won't let you become a monster." Ailith said, squeezing William's hands. "You won't be like them."
William closed his eyes, “I don’t want to kill one of you, though. If I kill one of you-“ William couldn’t finish the sentence, looking away. He would rather kill himself than one of them. William pondered the idea. It was a good enough solution, when the time came, to kill himself. Help fight off demon magic with the crew until he felt himself turning, then shove a dagger in his own neck. William nodded, satisfied with his own solution, “Okay. Alright.”
(Gtg see you later!)
(sia kiddo)
(William's thoughts go from 0 to 100 real fast. Anyway, bye!)
"Good." Ailith nodded, squeezing William's hands once more. "You won't kill any of us, and we won't let you turn into a monster. Do you want to stay up here for a bit or go back down to the others?"
Bahari and Lucas sat side by side on her bunk, Lucas's hands in Bahari's. She let him cry and sway with emotion, and when all the tears were gone, she risked it.
"Do you really want to see Claus?"
Lucas nodded, rubbing at his eyes. "A-Although, I suppose I… I-I could just look at myself in the mirror and pretend I have red hair, huh?" He laughed weakly, unable to make eye contact with Bahari.
(William's thoughts go from 0 to 100 real fast. Anyway, bye!)
"Good." Ailith nodded, squeezing William's hands once more. "You won't kill any of us, and we won't let you turn into a monster. Do you want to stay up here for a bit or go back down to the others?"
(Yeppers lol)
William chewed on his lip, now that everything had come into focus, he shouldn’t be trying to make friends. But… A little human contact would do him a lot of good, now that he’d calmed down and could function without having a panic attack, “I’ll come down, I think.” William took a deep breath and donned his golden jewelry once again, slipping into his usual self for now. He opened the hatch so Ailith could go first.
Aleena looked off the side of the boat and sighed
(Have they left yet?$