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The sound of Rybbon's faint cries wakes Cookie up from his slumber, an audible groan coming from his lips. He wipes his eyes roughly before forcing himself up from his bed. He walks down the hallway to her bedroom. He stands at the doorway for a moment, waiting for his vision to become a bit less blurry. And soon he spots her curled up in the same spot as always. She holds he knees close to her chest, shaking uncontrollably. He sees her trying to cup her mouth, hoping to soften her cries. It never did work.
Moving to sit beside her, he pulls her gently, forcing her to lean her body against his. He wraps his arms around her gently, tugging her close. She chokes on her sobs trying to get her breathing to calm down. Cook can feel the tears slowly soak his shirt but he doesn't care, instead pulling her a bit tighter. He gently tugs her hand from her mouth, her cries echoing down the hallway.
"What's wrong, Rye?" he asks. He hears his voice break a few times due to waking up. He ignores it, however, placing his full attention on her. She tries to speak but only goes into a coughing fit. He shushes he quietly, reminding her to breathe deeply as he gently scratches her scalp. As her breaths begin to even out, he asks again, "What's wrong Rye?"
She doesn't look up at him, instead playing with the bottom of her shirt, the seam beginning to unravel. She sniffles loudly before answering. "He's in my dreams now." She takes in a deep breath, looking for the words to say. "I kept seeing him around the house and around the district but now he's in my head too." Cook doesn't really know what to say. All he can do is hold her, hoping it helps her go back to sleep. "I think a part of me died with him," she admits sniffling.
"I know." A couple of seconds pass before she speaks.
"Promise me something," she says, finally looking at him.
"Anything."
"Promise you'll never leave." Her words tug on his heart, but he smiles nonetheless.
"I promise, Rybbon. I'll never leave," he says just as she did all those years ago.
