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Some days were harder than others.
Most of the time it was easy for Ashe to forget her fears, or to brush them aside if they tried to surface. The general insanity of her friends made for a good distraction.
But some days, the ones where everything was quiet or just a little too crazy, those were the ones where Ashe felt like the world would cave in on her, or she would cave in on herself. Nightmares would plague her on the rare times she’d choose to sleep, and then they’d haunt her in her waking hours.
Often when those days crept upon her, she would seek isolation. If they were away from home, she would go off to whatever nearest quiet place she could find, be it a park or a library or a forest. At home, however, she would go off to her tree. No one knew where it was, it was far enough away from the bar that the others weren’t too likely to stumble upon it by chance.
It was there, on a hard day, that Ashe was headed. Things had been quiet at the bar for far too long, and the previous night was fraught with worried dreams.
There was a cloying feeling in Ashe’s chest, hollow, like some cold hand was squeezing at her heart. It made breathing difficult. Walking too, apparently, as she stumbled over a root she should have seen if not for the tears clouding her vision.
Ashe stopped and sat. It was just too far to the tree for her to make it this time and her emotional dam was already bursting. She choked out a few sobs, resting her forehead in her hands as the tears ran of their own volition.
There was no telling how long she’d sat there, long enough at least for her head to hurt from dehydration, before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head just a bit to see a waterskin being offered to her, which she gulped from gratefully. Looking up a little more, Ashe could see the familiar figure of Markus kneeling in front of her.
“Hey there, Ashe. Don’t cry.” He wiped a few tears from her face with a corner of his cloak. “What’s got you so upset, huh?”
“I… I dunno,” she managed after a few gulps and deep breaths. “Just… everything, I guess. It’s not something I can explain very well.”
“That’s okay,” Markus told her with a gentle smile. “You don’t have to explain if it’s hard. I’m here for you, alright, so you don’t need to cry.”
Ashe took a few shaky breaths, trying to steady herself as she felt more tears welling up despite herself. “Is it okay if I cry anyway?”
“Sure, Aesling. I’ll be right here either way.”
“Thanks, Markus.”