You Keep Me Afloat (Player x Hassian) (Palia)

You Keep Me Afloat

Myra stared at her reflection. It stared back, shining on the surface of the metal pot on her stove. The water inside boiled, bubbles popping and crackling. She didn't feel in control of her body. Her hand slowly reached out to the pot, and her fingers brushed the handle. It was warm.

Myra blinked slowly, and a few strands of her pitch black hair slipped in front of her eyes. She put her finger on the side of the pot. It burned. She kept it there for a moment. The pain inflamed through her nerves, but she couldn't move.

She heard noises from outside. Someone knocked on her door.

"Myra?" A gruff voice called from behind her wooden door. Hassian.

She hummed, and somehow, she thought he heard her murmured response. Hassian turned the knob, entering the threshold of her house. Tau barked from his side, his tail happily swinging from side to side.

Myra lifted her head and she turned slightly, now half facing the Majiri and his companion. Tau quickly padded over, sniffing her leg and rubbing his fur against her. Myra smiled faintly, and she brushed her hand over his head.

Tau nudged his nose into her hand, and she felt the warmth of the hound contrast to her frigid palm. It felt nice.

Myra brought her gaze up from Tau and to the Hunter standing across from her. She suddenly became aware of the state her home was in, although she didn't think he cared that much.

"You were cooking?" He asked, hanging his cloak on the rack. He didn't usually need one, but the temperature had been dropping lately.

"About to. I got.. Distracted." She mumbled. She rubbed her now slightly injured finger against her shirt. There was a tiny bit of blood, she realized as it smeared against the fabric. Whoops.

"Is that blood?" Hassian stepped forward, his eyebrows scrunched slightly in concern.

"Ah.." Myra cupped her finger. "Just a small kitchen accident. I accidentally brushed my finger against the pot. Shouldn't bleed more than a few drops." She tilted her head to the side, staring at the floor. She should really sweep soon.

He shook his head. "You need to be more careful," He scolded her. Hassian stepped out of the room, walking to the other side of Myra's home.

Myra stared at the doorway he walked through. She reached her other hand back down to pet Tau, and he licked it. She chuckled softly. Myra twisted around and turned off her stove. Her thoughts escaped her, and a constant static made its home in her mind.

Myra turned back around. She tilted her head up to the ceiling, leaning back against her counter. Her eyes drooped, and she shut them. A sigh slipped from her lips as she waited for Hassian to return from wherever he went.

Hassian entered the kitchen, his footsteps barely making a single noise. He gently grasped her hand, and her eyes snapped open.

He tugged her hand, and he led her towards the dining table. She slumped into her seat. Hassian pulled a chair out beside her, and he took her hand into his hand again. There were medical supplies now on the table.

Myra frowned at the hidden expression he wore as he stared at her burn. Or, more accurately, her collection of them. Old and new. She tilted her head down, staring into her lap. He began to clean it.

"It wasn't an accident." He spoke softly. It wasn't a question. She pursed her lips.

"No. It wasn't." She closed her eyes.

He finished aiding her finger, and it was now clean and wrapped. She brought her feet up onto the chair and hugged her knees to her chest.

"I know that I am not usually the best with... talking. Or emotions." He said, slowly. Myra snorted at the statement.

"But you do know that I am here for when you need me, right?" Hassian stared at her. Myra looked to the side.

"Myra."

She closed her eyes.

She heard some shuffling, and she peaked an eye open to see Hassian kneeling before her on the ground..

He grasped both her hands and held them with such tender care that she almost cried.

"You bear my pin, and I yours. You know my feelings towards you, and, though it took a moment," he chuckled softly, "I know yours."

Myra felt her eyes tear up, but she smiled.

"But you can't hide the rest of your feelings forever. The good ones and the bad ones." He stared at her with conviction. Myra drooped, a breath escaping her.

"I know." She whispered, staring into his eyes.

"You have helped me come to terms with many different emotions and struggles. And I truly don't know if you understand just how much I wish to do the same for you." He confessed.

"But I can't help you if you don't tell me anything. I can see you struggling, Myra. You are distant. You seem faded, as if you are constantly somewhere else, simply leaving your body here without your thoughts. It.." Hassian hesitated, but then continued. "It scares me, Myra."

Myra felt the tears slipping down her cheeks, and her eyes crinkled. She hated seeing him in pain, even if it was only emotionally. The fact that she had been the one to cause him stress made her heart break, and her tears only worsened.

She slipped off her chair, falling to the floor in a heap as her crying turned to sobs. Hassian gathered her in his arms, and she leaned her head against his chest. His head rested against hers, and though she was getting his shirt wet he didn't seem to care.

"I'm sorry." She murmured. "I'm sorry. Im-"

He shushed her, and he wiped his thumb across her cheek. "It's okay. You don't have to apologize."

Myra continued to cry against him, and he continued to hold her, rubbing circles across her back.

"You don't have to explain everything right now. You don't have to bare your heart to me, or spill every thought and every secret right now. It may take days, or it may take weeks for you to tell me everything. As much as it would hurt, you don't even have to tell me ." Hassian voiced.

"As long as you try, and as long as you communicate with someone. No matter what, Myra, I promise you this."

He lifted her chin with his hand, and he stared into her teary eyes.

"You will heal from whatever it is that plagues you. And I will be here every step of the way." He vowed.

His hand moved to cup her cheek, and Myra moved her own to lay over his.

"You are the only one I could tell," Myra whispered. "I don't think I could tell anyone else."

Hassian leaned his forehead to hers, and they rested against each other.

"And that is okay. You will be okay." He stated.

Hassian layed a soft kiss to her forehead, and the two continued to hold each other.

There, on a heap on the floor, with Tau laying beside them, they would be okay. With Hassian, Myra would be okay.