Koa
He doesn't hear her, or pretends he doesn't, though a pang of guilt does shoot through him at her quiet self-deprecation. While he doesn't know the depths of her past trauma, even a boy as dense as Koa can see that Soh is hurting, and in the absence of context and the presence of violence he can only blame himself. It's bizarre: minutes ago he was furious with her, and now all he wants in the world is to dry away her tears, to hold her close to his broad chest and protect her from the dangers of life.
"Oh, Sabastien was fine." The bleeding hasn't slowed at all, and Soh's nose is quickly ballooning in size. It's definitely broken, and Koa bites back a grimace as he considers what will have to come next. "I, on the other hand? I had a full-blown meltdown. Convinced myself I was dying. There's blood gushing out of my mouth, my jaw is on fire, and I'm just bawling." He screws his face up in demonstration, adopting the façade of a distraught child.
"So my Ma comes over, right? And she says absolutely nothing, just grabs my face between her hands and pop!"
And as he says it he does something similar, popping her nose back into alignment with practiced, careful hands. It'll hurt like a bitch, but if he's done it right (dear gods above, please let him have done it right) the pain - and bleeding - should start to subside.
"Oh, Sabastien was fine." The bleeding hasn't slowed at all, and Soh's nose is quickly ballooning in size. It's definitely broken, and Koa bites back a grimace as he considers what will have to come next. "I, on the other hand? I had a full-blown meltdown. Convinced myself I was dying. There's blood gushing out of my mouth, my jaw is on fire, and I'm just bawling." He screws his face up in demonstration, adopting the façade of a distraught child.
"So my Ma comes over, right? And she says absolutely nothing, just grabs my face between her hands and pop!"
And as he says it he does something similar, popping her nose back into alignment with practiced, careful hands. It'll hurt like a bitch, but if he's done it right (dear gods above, please let him have done it right) the pain - and bleeding - should start to subside.
i can't decide if it's a choice, getting swept away
