Taking roots after the misty rain

Ch-3

'Meng Yao is having a panic attack!' Jin Zixuan realized.

He had seen some disciples of his sect have them during the sun shot campaign. He had seen the disciples of other clans have these attacks. He had held Jiang Yanli through them when she woke up from nightmares of the destruction of Lotus Pier. He knew the signs. Jin Zixuan was surprised it had taken him this long to figure out what was wrong with Meng Yao.

He immediately got up and reached out to Meng Yao on the other side of the carriage. He placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"It's alright, it's alright. Everything is going to be alright, we will get through it together, okay?" He said in a comforting voice.

But Meng Yao didn't seem to hear him, he merely tightened his hold around his mother. Had Madam Meng been conscious, she would have been writhing in pain from how forcefully she was held.

 Jin Zixuan noticed this.

'I think I'll have to first loosen his hold around Madam Meng. At this rate, he will hurt her and it won't be good for him when he realizes this later.

He tried to pry Meng Yao's arms off her but it only resulted in him holding her even more tightly.

"D-Don't...leave...Niang, st-stay...Do-Don't take...her a-away..." Meng Yao struggled to speak through his gaps. His eyes were filled with tears and fear.

"I'm not taking her away, no one will take your mother away. But you are holding her too tight, you will hurt her, why don't you loosen your arms a little?" Jin Zixuan tried to placate him. He rubbed Meng Yao's shoulder gently with one hand and traced circles on the back of his brother's palm with his other hand.

"Shh...it's alright, everything is going to be alright. Shh..." Zixuan comforted him while he tried to get him to loosen his arms.

"It's alright if you want to cry. You can cry, I am here for you. You are not alone, you have me, you have your mother, everything is going to be fine." Zixuan whispered. Meng Yao began to loosen his hold gradually.

This indicated that Meng Yao was starting to get better.

"Well done, you are doing good. Now, why don't you try to draw in long breaths? I'll accompany you. Breathe in." Jin Zixuan said in an appreciative tone. He loudly inhaled to let Meng Yao know that he was keeping his word.

Meng Yao glanced at Zixuan from the corner of his eyes and saw him holding his breath. He shakily turned towards him and tried to inhale forcefully against the gasps that didn't provide him any oxygen at all. He was beginning to feel dizzy and his chest felt like he was bound against something with a rope tightly.

Jin Zixuan saw Meng Yao copy him. He tried to hold his breath for some more seconds hoping Meng Yao would too. These few seconds will be the break he needs to start healing.

Unfortunately, Jin Zixuan was not someone from the southern clans who grew up diving in rivers and lakes, he was not a swimmer or even an athlete who could hold his breath for a minute or two easily. Currently, his face was rather laughable. Meng Yao was weak right now, his mind wasn't aware of any social customs and courtesy. He cracked a smile at this random person in front of him trying to help but ended up making a clown of himself.

Zixuan saw this and let out the breath he was holding.

"A-Yao," He spoke habitually, "are you feeling better now? Do you need me to get you something? Do you want some water? Or I have a few candies with me! They are really good, they are sweet but not sweet and have a lemony flavor that is not too sour. Zixian made them a few days ago, but don't tell her that. She'll hunt me down if she knew I have taken some candies from secret stash today." He said, getting flustered at saying that he was scared of his Shimei. Meng Yao let out a small laugh then immediately brought a hand in front of his face to cover his mouth.