She bit her lip, unable to remove her eyes from his. He really hadn't been kidding. "I-" She trailed off, not quite sure what to say to that at all. He was the first-actually, the only-person who'd said anything like that to her. Part of that was her fault, for barely being able to look someone in the eye before she'd come here, but it meant a lot. Everything.
"Trust me, Lily, I am proud of you," he continued, lightly squeezing her hand in emphasis of her accomplishments. "Now, I don't know what was done to you for you to have those demons, but I'll do my best to help you overcome them. I can promise you that." His voice quieted and his facial features softened as he finished his grand speech.
She pressed her lips together, nodding slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she let go of his hand, and wrapped her arms around him before she could chicken out. "Thank you." She said quietly, her voice breaking slightly. The obligatory panic threatened to swell up, but she pushed it aside to look up at him.
Rhydar was shocked, to say the least.
He froze as she wrapped her arms around him, his eyes widening to saucers. He barely registered the protesting bruises, his focus zeroing in on just Lily—hugging him. Slowly, he slid his arms loosely around her, looking down into her eyes as she looked up at him.
Lily took in a slow breath, focusing on Rhydar's eyes. She…wasn't panicking. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. And it was true. Despite everything, she hadn't immediately slipped into a panic attack, like she thought she would. She shifted her arms slightly, to avoid upsetting his bruises, and spoke quietly. "This-the hug, is alright with you?"
He leaned down to press a light kiss to the top of her head. "Perfectly fine," he murmured. And it was. He couldn't count how many time he had wanted to hug Lily. To him, it was almost better than a kiss. He liked holding someone he cared about, and the opposite was true as well.
She blinked at the gesture, the warmth in her chest very quickly drowning out whatever panic was left. Safe. Warm, comfortable, everything she'd been missing since she had gotten free. And all this was coming from a single hug. Though, it was Rhydar. That seemed to be a common thing with him.
His eyes sparkled as he fixed his gaze back onto Lily's eyes. "See? Something worthy of being proud of." He kept his grasp loose just in case it got too much for her, and she needed to get away. He wouldn't hold it against her—in fact, he was honestly ecstatic that she was hugging him of her own free will.
"You…definitely seem to think so." And if she was being honest, she was just starting to believe he was right. "This time, you might be right, since it's been…years. Since I last hugged someone." She bit her lip for a moment before releasing it, the sparkle in his eyes giving her the impression she'd done something amazing to him.
"Well, I'm glad you've given me the honor," he said softly, eyes flicking down to her lips as she bit it before coming back up to her eyes. It was partially a joke, partially the truth. His tongue flicked out to brush against his lip ring—which he was surprised survived the beatdown.
It was her turn for her eyes to wander, just for a moment, as she huffed a soft laugh. "There really isn't anyone I would rather have given that honor to." And that was absolutely true. If it hadn't been Rhydar, it honestly probably wouldn't have been anyone.
He arched a brow, pulling back slightly to scan her face. He couldn't quite believe her words, but the look in her eyes shined with what he could see was the absolute truth. His heart warmed once he deduced that she was telling the truth, and his answering smile echoed that feeling.
Her lips pulled up into a soft smile without her even thinking about it, in response to his. Carefully, she gave him a gentle squeeze before releasing him, though she didn't step back. "I…didn't realize just how much I had missed hugs. Contact like that in general, actually."
He released her as well, not stepping back either to give her that choice as well. A lingering phantom of her grasp still wrapped around him. "Well, I'm always open for more," he said, sliding his hands in his pockets to keep from fiddling.
Her smile brightened at that, her swirling eyes sticking to warmer colors. "I might just take you up on that, sometime." She motioned back to the doors they had been heading towards, before holding her hand out in offering. "Let's get you to someone who can take care of those bruises."
He grinned in response to her smile, then took her offered hand without hesitation, his thumb working gentle circles over the top of her hand. "Yeah, I'd like to stop tasting blood. Nasty stuff, I tell you. Leaves a bad aftertaste," he joked before moving back to her side to start walking.
She glanced down at their hands, his movement bringing back the fluttery feelings as they started for the doors once again. "Sadly, I can't help with that, either. Beyond the handkerchief I gave you. And no, it really doesn't taste to good, does it?"
He shook his head and pouted his lips dramatically. "No, it doesn't. But I've been pretty distracted, so I didn't really notice it for a while," he added, his lips twitching in an attempt to smile. "I appreciate you trying to help, though. Better than I really expected, considering everyone's usual response."
She shook her head with a soft laugh, squeezing his hand. "I hope the distractions were appreciated. As for that, I think we've established my soft spot, and tendency to worry when people I care about are hurt." She didn't even notice the admission, spoken out loud for the first time. Sure, it had been obvious, but she had never said it.
He darted his eyes over to her in a quick, slightly surprised glance. People I care about. It was so strange to him for someone other than his siblings to actually care about him. "Yeah, it's been established a while ago—but I'm not complaining," he quickly added.
"Well, I'm glad you're aware of it, at least." She said, shooting him a smile, that same mix of warmth and softness that was saved for him. And she was, because it was obvious he didn't hear it enough.
He just hummed in response, returning her smile just as they reached the doors to the healers. He knocked a specific pattern against the wood, then went in without further ceremony. A disappointed and slightly amused healer with graying hair and hands on her hips greeted them. Rhydar ducked his head when he saw her. "Mama, I swear I didn't mean to," he said by greeting. She just tsked and gestured for him to sit on the table and Lily in a nearby chair.
Lily tilted her head, releasing Rhydar's hand with obvious reluctance as she quietly sat down in the chair. She twisted the ring on her finger, missing the warmth of Rhydar's hand already as she studied the woman curiously for a moment, before looking to Rhydar.
Rhydar hopped up onto the table, and the woman gestured for him to take off his shirt. He did so while trying to explain to her that it wasn't what she thought. She effectively shut him up with a stern look and proceeded to start healing him. With just a light touch to his bruises, they slowly lost their discoloration and disappeared entirely. Rhydar kept his gaze on a random spot on the wall to the side.
Lily looked away as Rhydar took off his shirt, the ghost of an amused smile playing on her lips at the woman's obvious disapproval of his injuries, and likely how he received them. It was interesting, the obvious relationship the two had. Like a mother and son, for sure.
When she got to his ribs, however, he received more than a stern look.
The old woman reared back when she touched the bruise, feeling the internal damage as well. She went off on him in a foreign tongue, and he winced as he received his tongue lashing. She finally switched to their language and said, her words heavily accented, "You fracture two ribs and say it not what I think? You stupid if you think you fool me!" She smacked him upside the head, though it was light and only stung some. Rhydar looked like a child being scolded.
Lily winced, her amusement gone as she flickered between worry for Rhydar, and shoving away the panic the sound of the smack brought up. However light, memories still clung to certain sounds and things. Trying to focus instead on the worry, she looked back at them, her brows drawn down in a frown. Part of her wanted to speak up, and ask the woman if he really would be okay, but she also wasn't sure she could handle the anger turned on her. So she stayed quiet, shoulders hunched slightly.
"I said I'm sorry, mama," Rhydar said, then sighed when he realized the answer she wanted. "It won't happen again, and I promise to make up for your troubles." She huffed and pressed her palm against the biggest bruise, healing the ribs before the bruise itself. His eyes flickered over to Lily and he nodded slightly to her, saying that he was okay and everything was fine. Most of the message shone in his eyes.
Lily let out a relieved sigh, some, but not all, of the tension leaving her shoulders. She gave him a weak smile, sliding the ring off her finger to once again hold it in her fist. She was incredibly glad the woman knew what she was doing, and still seemed willing to help, despite her scolding.
After a few minutes, Rhydar was as good as new. He hopped off the counter and kissed the woman's cheek. She accepted it with her fair share of grumbling, but kissed his cheek as well and made him promise to stay away from men twice his size. He assured her that he wasn't planning on doing it again, and she took that with a nod before head into the back room.