Page 78 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

“Can I try something?” I asked, knowing it was going to sound strange.

“Sure,” she said, still crumpled into herself.

I helped her up to standing, and then uncoiled my tail.

“I’m going to wrap myself around you,” I explained.

“Why?” Her lack of argument said enough about how trapped in her head she was.

“Sometimes pressure can be grounding with these things,” I said. “It could help.”

She only nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. I got to work, wrapping her from the bottom of her legs around to her midsection. It was a bit awkward, but my tail was long enough to reach up to her chest.

“Tell me if it gets too tight,” I said, letting my grip tighten just a bit, to give her some pressure to anchor to.

She took a couple of the deepest breaths she’d had since we started. The tension in her shoulders started to slip, and I could feel the relaxation settle over her entire body.

“Feeling better?” I asked.

“Getting there,” she said, finally using more than monosyllabic words.

I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that, but I kept a tight hold on her until she told me she was feeling better.

“Thank you,” she said, “how did you know that would work?”

Did I want to tell her? She just let me see her so vulnerable, but I hardly ever talked about Coltar anymore.

“One of the guys—my friend—who used to be on the ship had similar attacks. We did a lot of trial and error.”

Once we tried just dunking his head in ice; it was dumb, but it did shock him out of it. Though we found better things, like a weighted blanket, that weren’t as intense.

“Did he get another job?” she asked.

“No. He died.”

The words felt heavy on my tongue. It had been years, but sometimes I could still imagine him coming up the deck steps, probably still hungover from the night before.

“I see.”

We sat in a companionable silence for a little while. At some point, she leaned her head against my shoulder, a comfort for us both.

“Do you need to go back to work?” she asked.

“I should check on the crew,” I said, knowing I should be out there handling things. But the pull to stay here, to comfort her, was too strong.

“I’ll be okay,” she assured me, but her voice was still shaky.

I took a deep breath, trying to decide what to do.

“I need to check on everything,” I said. “But only for a minute. What if I meet you, in my room?”

She glanced up at me from the side of her gaze. “Your room?”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

We stood, and I led her to my room, settling her in my bed before quickly going to ensure the ship wouldn’t sink.