THE WORLD IS ONLY WHITE NOISE // OPEN

[GABRIEL]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-size: 9.4pt; line-height: 1.4;"]A quiet, sympathetic hum trilled in his throat. He hated when children were inevitably involved. There was so little they could do in these situations, and he couldn't count how many times he had to relocate traumatized kids because the adults around were entrenched in whatever mistakes they'd made. Small faces with eyes rounded by fear, or so painfully hollow after seeing too much and shutting down, their only defense mechanism. Sure, Gabriel had joined up in the first place to help people in general, but the children- them especially, because maybe they didn't have the same issues, but he'd been in his fair share of dark alleys as a boy. He knew the many shades of helplessness and anger. It was why he did so well with Lazarus, with Myliu, with Moon, even, because he could there was a difference between treating them like a child and treating them like they were breakable. Children weren't as fragile as some people thought. Physically, maybe, but they could survive. They did, sometimes so much better than adults who were too stubborn to change.

Didn't mean Gabe couldn't have a futile want to find a place somewhere for kids to learn and grow without the rest of the world treating them like shit or glass. It wasn't much to say what he could to Har, but he hoped it would lessen a burden he shouldn't have to carry. The boy was managing, yes, but strain took its toll on everyone eventually. He was a pretty good example of that. "No te preocupes, chico. It will be okay." Gabe's inhale sent tremors through his body, and for a moment, he stood unresponsive, head low, mind stumbling through a dimly lit tunnel leading to writhing, gurgling inky blackness. He pulled away from it, inexplicably terrified of the sinister shimmer, and he pried dark eyes open, a fresh wave of crimson tumbling down dark fur. "No, no. He won't. Te lo prometo."

He had to go. He could feel the urgency strumming every tendon, weak as they were. Har was...he would be okay. Better here, maybe, even though Gabe still hesitated to just walk away from a boy taken. "Lo siento, Har." His name was odd on his tongue, pronunciations blurring. "No temas ellos." Was he saying anything coherently? He couldn't be certain, swaying in and out of that flickering corridor. "Cuídate. Don't worry about Twigs." He tried to smile with his eyes, but his muscles were less than cooperative, and his skin was stiff under the drying, red rivulets.

Time to go. He could do it. One step in front of the other. Breathe in and out. Easy. Except it wasn't a straight line, and he wobbled as he limped, wings dragging lines in the dirt as he tried to retrace the path he'd made before, and every so often the dirt quivered, became cold stone and then back again. He could feel the shadows squirming, pressing up against his back. Waiting for him?
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