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Azul didn’t think he'd ever seen Ruggie like this.
After everything that had happened at the spelldrive tournament, Azul and the twins had retreated back to their dorm, counting the day as a win, despite their dorm's poor performance in the actual tournament itself.
The twins, after a while, had excused themselves from the lounge, heading back to their rooms. So Azul was alone in the lounge, absentmindedly scrolling through magicam.
That was when he had heard the jangling of keys at the door of the lounge. Bolting up, he ducked into one of the booths, frantically pulling up Jade's number to call him if someone was breaking in. He relaxed when the door opened and heard a familiar voice.
"Azul? Hello?" "Ah, Ruggie, hello. Little late isn't it?" Azul leaned on the top of the booth, looking at the beast man. He looked exhausted. But he smiled, but it looked like the fake one he flashed at customers when he worked.
"Yeah I guess. Do you have a moment?" He looked down at his watch. It was getting pretty late. But from Ruggie's tone, Azul felt that whatever he needed, couldn't be kept until later.
So, the Housewarden nodded, motioning for Ruggie to join him in the booth. "So, what's got you in such a.." Azul motioned to Ruggie. "..funk? I guess? I mean something is clearly wrong, so what is it?" Ruggie laughed, anxiously running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, um, I guess I just wanted to talk to someone. About what happened."
Oh. Right. Ruggie had been directly affected by Leona's Overblot, or more specifically, his unique magic. While he hadn't been there to witness the Overblot, Azul had heard of what had happened. He had worried at the time, because he knew Ruggie was there, but had decided the hyena would be fine. He always was. Jade & Floyd agreed as well that they didn't need to worry about him.
Though, clearly, they had been wrong. Whatever had happened, had shaken him more than they had originally thought.
Azul glanced at Ruggie, who was rubbing neck. He seemed to alternate between that and anxiously rubbing his arm. "I mean, I almost died there."
Azul stared at him in silence. "What?"
"Yeah, haha. I can't believe it myself." Ruggie laughed it off, as if it were something funny he had said. But tears started forming in his eyes. Azul reached over to wipe them away, getting a small smile from the other.
"Almost killed by Leona Kingscholar. Can you imagine that?" He tried again to laugh it off, but let out a broken sob instead. As tears started flowing more freely, he leaned over onto Azul's shoulder.
"It was terrifying Azul."
Azul stared helplessly at the now sobbing hyena next to him, before turning and pulling him into a hug. He didn't hug people often, he was simply not one for physical touch. But it felt right in the moment, and it seemed that Ruggie appreciated it. He wrapped his arms around Azul in turn, now freely sobbing into the other's shoulder.
“I thought I was going to die, Azul. I was so scared.” He sobbed, Azul patting his head tentatively.
Other than that, Azul just stuck with holding him. He let him sob into his jacket, making a note to get it washed later. He eventually tried gently stroking the other's hair, which seemed to help him calm down a bit more. After a while, Ruggie pulled away, wiping his nose and face with his sleeve, hiccuping slightly because of how hard he had cried. "Thanks.." Azul nodded, readjusting his glasses. "Of course. Can I do anything else?"
Ruggie laughed, a genuine one this time. "No, no, I already owe you one for this so-" "You don't owe me anything." He stared at the other blankly. "What-?"
Azul sighed, fidgeting with a ring he had on. "You don't owe me anything for this. I don't know, it feels.. wrong to me, to make you owe me something after you were this vulnerable with me."
Ruggie gawked at him for a moment, before recovering from the minor shock of that statement. "Wow, you've gone soft Azul, Shyeheehee!" "I have not! Would you prefer it if I used this terribly emotional moment you shared with me against you?"
Ruggie stopped laughing for a moment, sheepishly rubbing the back on his neck again. "Ah, well I guess not. Thanks though, for being here. And listening, and stuff." Azul smiled, reaching over and rubbing one of Ruggie's ears. "No problem. We are friends after all."
They sat for a moment in silence, before Ruggie spoke up again. "So uh, I don't really wanna go back to Savannaclaw-" "yes we have a room open if you're asking to stay here. That however will cost you." "Oh come on Azul!" He groaned, sliding out of the booth and onto the floor of the lounge. "You're killing me here!"
Azul stepped out of the other side of the booth, looking down at him with a smirk. "You'll live. It's a pretty nice room. And, since you came and cried your trauma to me, I'll give you a small discount. Good enough?"
The other sat up quickly, a bright smile now on his face. "Well then, that's better! Lead the way!"