[MythicDusk]

((Fair warning, there will be graphic descriptions of an anxiety attack in this))

Paranoia felt her heard cinch at how she had to tug her daughter along, her small lips trembling as she kept glancing over her shoulder towards where her father lived. She was worried about her. It was understandable.

"C'mon love. Lets go see some of your little friends, yeah?"

It was the reason Parri had tugged her all this way, with gentle urgings and soft words. With her thumb running gently over the small bones and ligaments in her daughter's hand.

"Poppa'll be fine, love. She's strong, remember? Now lemme see that pretty little smile of yours, yeah?"

The compliments, coupled with Parri's own wide grin usually got her daughter to smile. It usually lightened her mood, just for a few moments for Parri to see the brightness in her blue, blue eyes.

[MythicDusk]

Innocence felt something pull at her gut. Fright, worry, she couldn't tell. But she knew it gripped her ribs and squeezed so hard it hurt. She knew she wanted nothing more than to cry and run back to her papa's arms. She knew that the moment she had taken her eyes off her, she felt like something terrible would happen.

Innie nodded dumbly at her mother's words, not really caring about the animals that she had been brought to see. Not caring about the farmlands she usually loved so much.

Slowly, she moved her eyes to look up to her mother, her jaw working as if she wanted to say something, anything, that would make her mother understand the vice grip in her chest. Instead, all that came was a low moan of pain as tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

[MythicDusk]

Parri felt her heart tighten at the sound. A low, pained sound from the back of her daughter's throat. "Hey, hey, Innie, love, look at me." She spoke softly, cooing, her hands softly holding Innie's face, guiding her sight to her face.

"Look at me sweetheart. I know, I know you're scared but it'll be okay. I promise, it'll be okay."

She tried to soothe her daughter how she always did. After nightmares, after frights, after anything that made her bright eyes well with tears.

"Don't cry love. It's alright, no need to cry." She cooed, running her thumbs across Innie's damp cheeks, wiping away the tears with soft motions.

[MythicDusk]

Innie's breathing didn't steady, the vice grip of the iron around her chest still holding her, her hands sweating and shaking. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe. She screwed her eyes shut tears spilling further down her cheeks as her small shoulders trembled, as her small hands came up to curl into her hair, as her back bowed and her knees went weak.

She gasped desperatley, trying to speak, her words stuttering over her tongue as her entire body shook. Emotions of a thousand different faces swirled through her, pressed against the back of her teeth, coiled in her gut painfully.

For a moment, she thought she was going to die.

[MythicDusk]

As her daughter's anxiety degenerated, Parri felt her gut twist in horror, in hurt, in sympathy. "Oh my sweet girl c'mere."

Parri's voice was soft, tender as she pulled Innie close to her, as she slowly sat down and pulling Innie into her lap, her arms wrapping around her trembling daughter, who's breathless sobs broke her heart. Parri gently pressed Innie's ear to her chest, letting her listen to her heart and her soft words as they reverberated through her chest.

"It's alright sweet girl, I've got you. Take breaths with me, my love. I've got you. Nice and slow."

[MythicDusk]

Innie felt something tumble from her mouth. "Wh-what if poppa needs me?" Her voice was raw, rough. As it always was in the midst of her attacks. The soft heartbeat helped, the soothing words and low humm that echoed from her mother soothed her rambunctious heart.

It smoothed her furrowed brow and unclamped her jaw. It moved her fingers from her hair to tangle in her mother's shirt as she curled her small fist into it, her face buried into her mother's shoulder.

"What if poppa gets lost in her head again and needs me?" She hiccupped, her breath still shuddering through her.

[MythicDusk]

Paranoia felt her heart tighten with her stomach at her daughter's utterings. Her arms tightened around the little girl in her lap. "Oh, my love. She'll be alright. Remember, your father is a strong woman. She'll be fine, I swear." She ran her hand softly up Innie's back, her fingers tangling into her hair as she ran her fingers through it, humming a delicate song as she pressed a kiss to the top of her daughter's head.

"Listen little one. When you feel better we can go to your favorite store, get your favorite candy and go home okay? We can curl up together and watch your favorite movie until your father calls and says you can go home to her. It'll be just fine little one."

Her voice was a humm in her chest again, her lips pressing against her daughter's scalp as she inhaled deep, taking in the scent of her daughter's shampoo and letting it soothe her own worried mind.

[MythicDusk]

Innie hiccupped her sob into her mother's shoulder, still nestled in her arms. Her small hands trembling as she slowly released her white-knuckle grip on her mother's shirt.

She was suddenly so tired.

The anxiety had drained every drop of energy from her. Her limbs felt heavy, her skull felt like it was full of cotton. She just wanted to go home and sleep, despite the hiccupped sobs that rolled through her. She couldn't stop them. She knew her mother wouldn't demand her to stop them, but simply coo to her until all the tears were shed.

"I-I wanna go home." Innie gasped out gently, trembles rolling through her.

[MythicDusk]

Parri held her daughter, nodding gently to her statement. "Okay love. We'll take you home. You just need to take those nice, deep breaths okay?"

She continued to humm to her daughter, feeling her small form relax into her chest, how her body seemed to weigh so much more as exhaustion dragged at her daughter's musculature and sank its teeth deep into her bones.

Her poor girl would sleep for hours and be up in the middle of the night when they got home.

And yet, she didn't have the heart to keep her awake. Innie deserved to rest as much as anyone else.

[MythicDusk]

Innie nodded gently in return to her mother's soft demands, evening out her breathing, just like her poppa had shown her. One hand pressed lightly over her own stomach, feeling it raise and fall under her own palm. She closed her eyes and focused on the simple sensation of her lungs working, let the final few shudders of fear roll through her skin until they were gone.

A few times, she hiccupped, threatened to spill over into anxious tears again, but the soft cooing of her mother, her gentle arms wrapped around her helped. It always helped.

She felt her breathing steady, and she looked up to her mother with a tired nod, who gave a weary smile in return, allowing them both to stand and go home.