"Dia, why did you carry me to this place? Out of the kindness of your heart? Something isn't right about it, no matter how many times I play it over in my head... and trust me, I do keep playing it over and over again. Why help someone you don't even know?" A lump in her throat formed as she questioned him with slight hesitation. Tiah was so confused by the whole situation to be perfectly honest. She'd never had someone just... help her for no reason. Well, to be completely fair, she had never had much contact with anyone outside of her own family. That said a lot she guessed. She wasn't sure how to take in a selfless act of kindness? Was she that... damaged?
Her feelings confused her. She wanted to distrust him, she wanted to believe that he had some other agenda and would end up harming her in some way. Why did her mind go to places like this? Was it because her mother abandoned her? Her father sheltered her? She couldn't answer the question herself. She just felt this empty void inside of herself grow day by day.
And now here she was, placed in a situation she had little to no control over. A black out that turned into a... rescue? Or an attempt at one. Tiah just felt confused.
"Look, Tiah, I don't need a reason to help anyone. I wanted to. I saw you just... laying there and I panicked. I thought maybe someone hard hurt you, so I moved you. I did what I thought was... right?" Dia wasn't sure why the female was so concerned with his why when she should have been focused on his intentions now? He could kill her or worse, but she didn't even seem to think about that. She was so fixated on the act of kindness he had showed her, it was all very strange to him. Was she just not use to being taken care of? No. That couldn't be it. She looked very healthy and fit, she didn't have any visible scars, so what was the deal? He furrowed his brows in thought before speaking again.
"I promise it's really not much better than that." It was the truth after all, Dia had nothing to gain by being dishonest now.
"....I see." Tiah muttered, staring at him for a moment searching for answers in his eyes. Answers to questions she wouldn't ask.
"Well, I am thankful for your help. I'm not really sure why I blacked out before. I was just... I got overwhelmed and all of a sudden and everything around me went black. It was surreal." As she spoke the lioness re-positioned herself to sit close to him. Close enough that the two could see eye to eye without any strain.
"Has anything like that ever happened to you before?" The question came packaged in a soft voice.
"I can't say that I have. To be honest though, I don't have issues with anxiety like that." He could tell just from speaking to her for this short time that she was very stressed out. What about was another topic all together, but something about her seemed incredibly sad. Maybe she was just stressing herself to the point of faint but he really had no idea. His next question felt necessary, so he spoke very forwardly.
"Why are you so worried?" His violet eyes glued to her flame colored gaze. Would she even tell him?
"I...." She looked away from him briefly as she gathered her thoughts, lost in her own mind she sat still for a moment before replying with a gasp.
"Dia, I don't know what's wrong with me. I get so worked up, I get so angry. I become afraid. I worry about things I can't control. I've been this way my whole life." To admit this felt like such a defeating thing. Like something inside of her was broken and she had no idea how to fix it. It was a helpless feeling really, one that was hard to explain or grasp.
"I don't know how to stop it."
"If you aren't happy with your life, Tiah, change it. Take control of it. It's your life after all." He felt sorry for her. For the first time in a long time he felt like he wanted to help someone, he wanted to help her through these troubling feelings. She was talking to him so openly now, he felt sort of responsible for this.
"Do you have a family? You mentioned a pride before, but does your family know you feel this way?" The question was pretty simple. he just was looking for ways to help her work through her thoughts while she was being receptive.
"I have a big family, actually. But we aren't know for... being outwardly expressive. I don't have a mother. She left with my siblings when I was small. My father raised me alone. I have a half brother, a sort of step mother, thing. Cousins, uncles. All sorts of family." She paused for a moment before gathering her thoughts.
"But we aren't emotionally close. I can't talk to my father about this stuff. He wouldn't understand." She felt so embarrassed saying any of this out loud. As if she didn't already feel like a whining cub already, talking about this stuff made her feel guilty. Was she that alone in her own home? Really? She glanced back at Dia and gave him a faint smile.
"I sound crazy, I know. I'm sorry for rambling."
"Hey, wait, don't say sorry." Dia exclaimed, moving himself closer to her now. He wanted to try to comfort her but he knew he couldn't get too close without startling her.
"Well, if it helps, for now, if you want to...." He paused and stepped a little closer, stopping just a few inches from he. He was close enough to smell her skin.
"You can talk to me about it, I'm a pretty good listener." He was offering what little he could, as one forlorn soul to another. Dia didn't have much to offer, but what he did have he offered her gladly.
"I'm all ears."
Perhaps it was his smile, or the fact that he was sitting so close to her now that made her feel safe for the first time in a long time. Something strong overcame her scenes as she felt tears swell in her eyes and flow down her cheeks. All he wanted to do was listen. It was such a small thing, a tiny gesture that meant a lot more than he knew. She smiled softly and nodded. Maybe just for tonight she would let it all out. Maybe for to night she could... be herself. Vulnerable and naked to the world, at least emotionally right now she could be those things. She could be free.
"Alright. I'll start."
~end with 1,154 words