it hit at once.

conversations, three of them—no, four—five now—were being spoken into my ears all at once, all belonging to distinct voices, some deep and some husky and some hurried—it hurt my head to distinguish each one—below it all was a constant clamor of shouts and laughter and chatter that was impassively barreling into me, past me, through me—the press of their energies, so many of them, packed into a density that i could physically feel on my skin, the weight pressing itself into my chest—heavy, it was too heavy—

a piercing cluster of squeals flew past in front of me, accompanied by the stamping of little feet, and i stepped backwards to avoid their path but jostled the shoulder of someone behind me, someone that i realized much stronger than i was. i felt my foot catch on the uneven stones and braced myself for the fall—

a hand—rhea’s small and strong hand—gripped my forearm and pulled me upright, and suddenly the overwhelming din muted.

her palms cupped my ears. i reached up to touch them lightly, making sure.

her left palm lifted itself a fraction. “better?” she whispered, close. i nodded, actively catching my breath.

“good. i’ll get us to somewhere quieter, okay? you cover your ears and i’ll hold onto your arms. just keep looking at the ground.”

“okay,” i said shakily. i switched her hands with my own, the sound defeaning for only a moment until they muffled once more. her fingers wrapped around my wrist and she set a quick pace, winding us around passersby.