[attr="class","littlejay"] she stumbles for him, and jayden drops to his knees. his arms are open, ready to accept her embrace — it hits him harder than he might suspect. surprise flickers in his violet gaze, as his fingers wrap around the body that is smaller than his.

[break][break] jayden can count the number of times on his hand that he's been hugged - like this - and of course, it would be Eris Halla to do this to him.

[break][break] she was there for him when he'd been in a drunken stupor at the hst dinner, had been the only person who had been willing to keep his company at that time. even if his memories of that night were blurry at best, he was still grateful. indebted to a girl like eris halla, who he shared more in common with than he would care to admit.

[break][break] his fingers tangle in her hair.

[break][break] "of course i'm alive. why would you think —"

[break][break] like an arrow through the chest, he stills. of course.

[break][break] "... i'm sorry. i heard about... " his throat closes around the word, fingers grasping her shoulders.

[break][break] "i heard about... him."

[attr="class","ooc"] + Eris Halla

☉

[attr="class","littlejay"] even though it's not the first time he's brought it up, his throat still closes around the word.

[break][break] he's not sure if it's worse or better that he wasn't hear for it. perhaps that's selfish of him to think about. he wonders that if he was here for it, could he have done anything? would it have even mattered?

[break][break] it doesn't matter. what matters is the fact that Eris Halla is his arms now, crying.

[break][break] he lets her cry for a few moments more. "eris," he murmurs. "eris, i'm here."

[break][break] "i'm alive."

[attr="class","ooc"] + Eris Halla

☉

[attr="class","littlejay"] Alone.

[break][break] His throat constricts, something squeezing in his gut at the memory of the word. He remembers the countless night that he had spent after Rocket's disbandment, believing that it was over. That the only people he had ever known, the people he considered to be family more than his own blood, had left him.

[break][break] Being alone was a terrible thing.

[break][break] "You won't be alone Eris," he says softly. "Not as long as you're a Rocket."

[break][break] He's not sure what compels him — he reaches for her cheek, rubbing the tears away with a thumb.

[attr="class","ooc"] + Eris Halla

☉

[attr="class","littlejay"] Skinship was a concept new to Jayden. In fact, he had only recently learnt it — growing up in Rocket tended to do that to you, the lessons of Kantonian Rocket even more so. Even when he'd been gasping for breath, even if his connections with Cillian Quinn ran deeper than blood, the assurance had not been physical.

[break][break] Physical contact was a concept foreign to people like them.

[break][break] And yet, he'd reached for Eris. And he was reprimanded.

[break][break] Jayden flinches, like he was slapped. It is a small thing, a subtle thing, and likely in her state of distress, Eris would not know it. Still, the awkwardness climbs across his skin like fire-ants, a mixture of embarassment and uncertainty and confusion. It's at times like these he was sure that he misses people like Chu-e Choi or mint frost, people who would surely know how to quell this situation.

[break][break] Fingers grip his knees for lack of anything better to do.

[break][break] "What do you need Eris?"

[break][break] Space?

[break][break] "Do you want me to get... your other papa?" He thinks of Leon Vercetti.

[attr="class","ooc"] + Eris Halla

☉

[attr="class","littlejay"] Bring him back.

[break][break] His heart clutched. Once upon a time, wouldn't he have given anything to have Chu-e Choi back? It wasn't even about himself. It was about Rocket, was about Eris, was about everyone who had suffered in the Underboss' absence.

[break][break] Jayden's fingers clutch against his knees. Something in him prickles - as if he wants to reach forward and hug the other, but doesn't dare it. Not after she had already established a boundary.

[break][break] His voice breaks.

[break][break] "Let's take you home, Eris."

[break][break] He offers a hand.

[attr="class","ooc"] + Eris Halla

☉

[attr="class","littlejay"] To someone else, the scene is heartbreaking. After all, Eris is only a child — a child who had no choice in her upbringing, had no choice in the way that Rocket had afforded her care. At least in Jayden's case, his life had been his birthright. An inheritance. In Eris, it was nothing more than an ill-fated turn of events.

[break][break] Her parents had died, but they had wanted better for her.

[break][break] Jayden's parents had died, but they had wanted exactly this much from him.

[break][break] When trembling hands reach out to grab his, Jayden finds his own hands slipping into hers. The child's hands are so small, yet fit so easily into his. The warmth that seeps through his palms — he is almost reminded of his own childhood, of everything that he's had to experience. Is Eris losing Chu-e Choi anymore distressing than losing her own parents? Is Eris losing her adopted father any more heartbreaking than THEO BECKETT trying to kill him?

[break][break] Is it worse than him losing Chu-E?

[break][break] Jayden doesn't have answers. He wishes he did, but all that's left is a sense of hopelessness that not even Eris' hand in his can fix. He wishes he had answers for her too, but he doesn't.

[break][break] His throat is thick as he leads them away from the Tree of Life.

[attr="class","ooc"] + Eris Halla

☉