Kal swallowed. I mean, he did have to admire the craftsmanship, But the thing was still a hodge podge.
He nodded as he took a deep breath, aiming the weapon and bracing himself as he pulled the trigger.
Luckily, it shiot, and didn't hit anything.
Kal excitedly spun around to meet Zanna, practically jumping up and down. "Oh my god it works!!"
Zanna let out a whoop as it shot perfectly. Perfect! She watched Kal jump around and let out a laugh. This was clearly the first time he had ever had a project go well, or, that was her assumption. She had a huge grin on her face, "Hell yeah it does! Try and shoot a little farther."
Kal grinned like a maniac nodding as he aimed to shot it again, closing his eyes and focusing before pulling the trigger a bit harder, causing the energy to blast through the wall. His expression turned to fear as he looked back at Zanna. "Sh-shit…"
"Shit is right," Zanna said staring wide-eyed at the hole. Her face split into a wider grin as she went to grab Kal's hand taking it within her prosthetic one. She then began to run partially taking the gun from Kal, "Let's book it!"
Kal didn't feel as daring, or excited. He limply yelped and let himself be dragged away by Zanna, his heart pounding. Shit!!
Zanna could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she pulled Kal along. She loved the pounding in her heart as she ran back towards where Kal and her dorm(?) was.
(…yeah, sure! lmao)
Kalen was the opposite. The adrenaline only brought back thoughts of when he did something bad back home. The pounding of his boots against the floor only reminded him of trying to hide from her. The grip of Zanna's hand on his wrist hurt a thousand times worse than it should have, and he tried to break away, taking shallow breaths as his mind took him as a prisoner.
"No!! Please just… just stop!!" He cried out
Zanna stopped almost immediately when he cried out. She let go and turned to face him seeing he was clearly in some type of panic attack. There was hesitation afterward as she formulated a plan in her mind. Hesitantly she reached out towards him again as she said softly, "Kal? You there?"
Kal looked up, unable to conceal the fear that had engulfed him as he shook his head. "I-I-I just… I can't be alone. Please don't leave me alone." He stammered, genuinely pleading for any type of consolation. He jumped back again at the sight of her reaching towards him, sighing as he rested his head in his hands. "Im so sorry. I'm so so sorry… I'm such a fucking idiot."
"Hey, hey it's okay," Zanna kept in her soft voice. She felt guilt start to take hold, in some part she had probably caused this reaction. She gently went to move a little closer and attempted to touch him once more, "I'm not leaving you okay? I'm gonna move a little closer and touch you okay? If I can't or shouldn't do either just tell me. And- And if you can try and sit down."
Kal was still terrified, inching away from her touch with fear in his eyes before her gentle voice started to calm him. He closed his eyes, pursing his lips as he leaned into the touch, then immediately regretted it. The false pain shooting up his arm as he shook his head. "No I…. That's probably not the best i-i-dea…" He mumbled, slowly sinking to the floor
"Alright, I won't touch you," Zanna said sitting down across from him keeping her calm tone. She started beating a simple pattern softly into the floor 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. She kept going over and over again, "Think you can match the pattern with your breathing? Or, or tap it out with your finger. It's fine if you can't, but it might help you calm down."
Kal watched through his fingers, then closed his eyes, beginning to copy the pattern as his mind was slowly distracted. As the sequence increased, his breathing slowed and after a few minutes, he was no longer in the state of panic, though strands of the fear still circled him as he lowered his hands and sighed shaikly. "I'm so sorry…"
"You're fine," Zanna said softly as she watched him calm down from his state of panic. She kept tapping the pattern though and moved slightly closer to him, "It wasn't your fault, and if anything I should be the one apologizing for triggering it. Are you could to be touched now? Or do I need to wait a little bit longer?"
Kal nodded, focusing on her tapping as his heart rate slowed to a somewhat tolerable level. "I… I think i'm okay now." He rasped, wiping some tears, but still not mustering the courage to look at her. He couldn't. He had never let anyone see him like this. What would she think of him now?
"Okay, do you want me to touch you?" Zanna decided to ask a different question. She did move so she was sitting next to him making it both easier and harder for him to look away from her.
( @Lynn if you want to continue here. If not that's fine.)
(Sorry! Im working on it!)
Kal sighed, looking up at Zanna with a vulnerable expression before leaning in for a tight hug. He sniffed slightly, holding his arms around the girl.
(It's fine! You had to remake your account and I figured it might be nice to get these into your notifs.)
(Thanks for that, by the way!)
Zanna's eyes grew big for a moment as Kal hugged her before she wrapped her arms back around him. She began lightly rubbing his back, "I'm sorry I made you panic."
Kal shook hi shead, his words coming out as a mumbled mess of unintelligible sobs. He leaned into her, graciously accepting the comfort and love he had been deprived of most of his life.
"It's- It's not your fault." He managed to rasp, adjusting his position slightly. "I'm so sorry"
"Not your fault either," Zanna consoled him softly as Kal cried. She kept rubbing his back as she pulled him slightly closer for the sake of her comfort at the moment. She would have to lean a bit less than before, "You can't control your emotions."
Kal continued his cries, not willing himself to speak, until the realization of the situation hit him.
He was crying. in a hallway. Embracing the girl who saw him as a pest.
As a result, Kal quickly backed away, wiping his eyes and making sure no one else was in the vicinity.
''s-sorry…'' he mumbled again, barely a whisper
"Hey it's fine," Zanna kept consoling him even as he moved away. She moved to stand up and offered him a hand. She may not particularly like Kal, but she could tell he was going through it at the moment, "I'll help you back to your dorm and then you can decide whether you want me there or not. Sounds good?"
Kal nodded slowly, taking her hand graciously as he shaily rose to his unsteady feet. He continued to mumble "Sorry"s while he looked around the hall. "Yeah. G-good" Was all he could get out as his shallow breathing clawed at his ability to speak.
"Good," Zanna nodded not exactly letting go of his hand. He was still breathing fairly shallow and she wasn't exactly sure if he was really up to moving yet. But, she figured he was fine enough, "Mind if I keep a hold of you?"
Kal shook his head, letting her hold him while they continued to his dorm. He held up the access band, watching the doors slide open before collapsing on his bed and covering his face. "Holy… shit.." Kal mumbled, wiping tears from his eyes
Zanna followed him to his dorm where she wondered if she should enter or not. She did end up entering but stayed by the door unless Kal needed her to leave. She let out a cough as she heard Kal mumble, "Want me to go?"