『Crystals must erode before their brilliance is shown』
"Move without a sound. You should only speak when it is time to say checkmate," were the words that Decadence said in the form of advice.
Agreeing to the words inscribed on that paper crane a ye...
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『Arc One: In Plain Sight』
"Do you feel better now?" The words were glazed over with sincerity and deep concern.
Cashire cradled the box of tissues he had swiped from the dresser. He plucked a tissue free from it before offering it over the sniveling girl. Worry swirled inside his orange eyes, although his expression appeared blank.
The question was phrased so Tanami could easily have answered 'yes,' but the crystal preferred to nod. The girl had her head downcast, hiding her eyes with her bangs so Cashire could not see the redness in them. She rubbed her left eye with the ball of her palm and used her other hand to grab the tissue. Without another word, she blew her nose into the tissue before crumpling it.
Dropping the box of tissues onto the light aqua comforter, Cashire pulled at the cuff of his blazer to straighten it out. It might have seemed pointless, but the tiny beads of rose quartz that decorated the fabric was another story. He flicked at one of the light pink spheres only to receive a clink instead. His lips pulled into a deep frown before he shook his head. His orange eyes flickered up to look at Tanami, who was hunched over and rubbing her eyes. Remnants of tears still managed to slip over her tear line, leaving behind wet trails on her pale cheeks.
Cashire felt as if his ribcage was constricting his chest rather than expanding with every breath he took. A blossoming pain he could not describe encased his heart. Wistfulness, pity, guilt? None of the emotions he could put a word to match what he felt. All he knew was that he found it hard to swallow.
I feel like shit just hearing, seeing, and touching you, yet I truly believe this pain is nothing compared to what you're feeling, Cashire thought. He inhaled deeply before releasing a heavy sigh. However, he did not feel any lighter. It would have been nice if he did.
"I'm assuming you're not going to tell me what caused you to break down?" His voice was steady yet carried a bit of compassion. Cashire wondered if he should act stern, but he knew being hard would not be helpful now. The last thing he needed was for Tanami to be annoyed or shut him out suddenly without any further explanation.
Being gentle was the best option right now. However, another sensation nudged at the base of his stomach. The slight churning of irritation began to make itself known. He was not made at Tanami due to her mental state. He might be less compassionate than others, but he knew when people hit their breaking points. He was frustrated that Tanami had allowed this to fester for so long that this happened. If she had just said something, anything, then maybe this could have been prevented.
It was a few seconds before the crystal ultimately decided to shake her head. Instead of trying to poke and prod for an answer, Cashire hummed in response. His brows twitched a little. There was no use in trying to force an answer out of the girl if she did not want to speak. He was not even sure if he wanted to try and get an answer anyway.
