Kit kept crying quietly for a while, clinging to Marin for dear life. He was terrified, and the storm was continuing outside, so it was impossible for him to fully relax regardless. After several minutes, he started rapidly whispering hushed apologies over and over again.
Marin continued to hum as they held Kit, patting his back softly. They wanted to fix this, but they doubted Kit would be able to handle much at all with the storm going on still.
"Hey… it's not your fault, Kit."
Kit whimpered shakily and clung tighter to Marin. "Hurts… s-so… so sorry…" He whispered weakly. "My fault, my fault… s-shouldn't have gone outside in the storm…"
"It's not your fault, Kit," Marin said softly. "It's not your fault, okay?" The mage held Kit's cheeks, rubbing their thumbs against them.
Kit hiccuped and sobbed a bit harder, burying his face in Marin's shoulder. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… s-so sorry… please…"
"I've got you…" Marin moved their hand to rub Kit's back, wrapping their cloak around the both of them more.
"You're okay, nothing is going to happen to us."
Kit finally started to calm down a bit when the rain subsided, but he was still very jittery and tense. He was shaking violently, and he hadn't loosened his tight hold on Marin.
Marin hummed softly as Kit started to calm down, holding the child close to their chest.
"See, we're okay," they promised. "I have you…"
Kit nodded weakly, breathing heavily as he struggled to relax properly. He started whispering apologies again, a few more tears rolling down his pale cheeks.
"You don't have to apologize…" Marin tucked Kit under their chin, wiping the tears away.
"I'm glad you're okay, Kit. I've got you."
Kit sighed shakily, his breathing still labored as he slowly relaxed. "I… I wasted so much of our time…" He whispered. "Just… b-because I did something so stupid…"
"You didn't waste any time," Marin said softly. They held the boy close, humming. "You didn't do anything stupid."
Kit whined softly, clinging to Marin. "Mmmnh… but I did… it was a stupid thing to do and it's my fault we aren't out traveling right now…"
(Beep)
(Bop)
"We aren't traveling right now because it's raining," Marin said softly. "We shouldn't be traveling in the rain, whether or not it scares you." Marin ran their fingers gently up and down Kit's back, Willow touching his hair. He would be okay.
Kit still wasn't entirely convinced, but he at least stopped arguing. He buried his face in Marin's shoulder and clung to them with a shaky sigh. "Mm… whatever you say. We'll need to get going as soon as we can, though…"
"And we will, once we are able to." Marin continued to rub Kit's back, looking down at the small boy.
"If you say so…" Kit mumbled, his heart still racing. It took a while, but he eventually seemed to be calm, even if he was exhausted.
Marin held Kit the entire time, gently rubbing his back. The mage paid no mind to the weather outside, just having Kit lay against their chest.
Kit closed his eyes after a while, slowly relaxing in Marin's arms until he seemed to have fallen into a light sleep.
Marin moved to lay Kit back down on the bed when they realized that Kit had fallen asleep, one hand still resting gently on the boy's head. The mage didn't know what they were going to do with this poor kid. He really shouldn't be pushing himself to be a guide, but the mage knew there wouldn't really be any convincing him to go home.
Kit drew his hands close to himself, curling up on the bed. Laying there all alone really showed just how small he was. He was only ten years old and he was out on his own, pushing himself to be like his family. He whimpered softly in his sleep and shivered, curling up tighter.
Marin took their cape off, tucking it and the blanket around Kit as he shivered. The boy should be at home, getting comfort from his family. Not here, trying to take a stranger through the wild to get to the other side. Marin started to hum as Kit slept, keeping close to the boy protectively. They would do what they could.
(Time skip ig)
Eventually, Kit stirred again and yawned, opening his eyes with a soft whine. He glanced around and then up, noticing Marin above him. He hummed softly to himself and wrapped his arms around Marin. holding tightly to them.
Marin had taken to reading one of their own journals, looking down with a small start as Kit hugged them. They sat the book down, hand going to rest on top of Kit's head.
"How are you feeling?"
"Mm…? I'm alright, thank you… sorry…" Kit murmured softly, hiding his face in Marin's chest. "We should probably get going soon, huh? I-I wasted a lot of time…" He laughed nervously.
Marin nodded slightly before frowning.
"We should. Still, we didn't waste time." Marin stood up, scooping Kit up into their arms instead os making the child let go.
"Mmnh… if you say so…" Kit relaxed a bit in Marin's arms, but he still clung tightly to them. "We should be able to find more places to stay on the way, although we'll be doing a lot of camping."
Marin patted Kit's back, gathering up their supplies while still keeping the boy close.
"That is alright with me," they said, letting their cloak fall around Kit as they started to leave once again. WIllow popped her head out, offering Kit a smile.
Kit seemed a bit calmer now, and he was a lot better now that it wasn't storming. He was pretty quiet, much less chatty than he'd been when he and Marin had first met. He looked up at Willow and offered her a weak smile in return. "We'll want to head north for a few miles…"