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Ellandra bit her lip; she'd upset Misha by her turn of phrase, but really, she was used to describing it in that matter. She reached over and patted the poor, confused Essentic's hand. "It's alright, Misha..... I - I phrased that badly. . . Running away with him might be a better term. . "

She hadn't meant to upset Misha or confuse him. He looked so grown up compared to little Ziazan and his siblings, sometimes it was easy to forget just how very young he really was. Not that she had an actual guess on his age, but he was very, very young, she could tell that much.

"Well. . . from what I gathered wh-when I ran into the Damont family, you'd already met Aria - th-the last time i saw her she was just starting to - to really develop her personality. She's very loving with little Sera, and - and she's got a good home there. . . th-then, well, there's Lauss; he's acting as a tutor....... he's very enthusiastic w-with his interests, he gets excited easily about them...."

She paused, smiling at Misha and just so very glad to be in the company of her friend once more. "I know there are - are others, but the only other one of your siblings I've met is - is Ziazan. . . . it. . . doesn't really have a gender, I'm not trying to demean the little one b-by calling it a-an it. . y-you'll see what I mean wh-when you meet it. It's - it's incredibly tiny, and very sweet."

Ellandra paused again, that slightly-goofy smile spreading across her face again. "It. seems strange, to you, I'm sure, but . . . Faolan's been very good to Ziazan, if - if you were worried. They're both so protective of one another; it's...... somewhere between a parent-child and a best friend relationship, Misha." She cleared the fog of lurv from her head with a brief shake, and smiled more clearly at Misha. "Your little siblings, as far as the ones I've met, are all doing well.... b-but.... how are you doing, Misha?"

Ellandra gave a little gasp as she saw how upset Misha was, and while she wasn't clear on why, precisely, she had a bit of an inkling. Not that the reasons why mattered, anyway. "Oh, Misha..." she said quietly, then moved over and wrapped the alter-from in a hug.

"Shhh, Misha, shhh.... " She mumbled softly, trying to comfort this teenage-looking being who really wasn't more than a highly intelligent child, emotion-wise. "Shhh.......... it's okay...."

She wasn't looking for him to try and smother whatever was upsetting him, she wanted to draw it out, get him talking, help him feel better - he was her friend drat it all and she wanted to ease this pain he was so obviously feeling.

"Shhh, shhh, just cry it out, Misha, I know it's strange but you need to, don't worry about anything else, just let it out, shhhhh..." Ellandra soothed, tugging the alter down the the ground where they were both sitting on the floor, and she rockd him a little, not really all that successfully because she was so small, but she tried, and she soothed, and she just plain mothered the poor overwrought bunny-ears because he needed it, he needed it more than anyone she'd ever seen, and she'd sooner be struck by lightning than to let her friend suffer.

"Shhhh," Ellandra soothed very quietly, continuing to rock and comfort the alter. "No need for thanks, Misha, shhhh..." she added, managing to move his hat a little to plant a gentle, chaste, rather-motherly kiss on the Essentic's forehead. "Just relax, Misha... there's nothing to worry about here, no mistakes made or to make, no need to leave yet, just relax...."

It was then that Ellandra really understood how she felt about Misha. The bunny-ears was somewhere between a friend and a little brother, someone who desperately needed all of the hugs and love she could give him. She couldn't change the way Longway treated him - and the woman probably did care for Misha in her own way, really - but she could, and would, always be a shoulder for him to cry on.

"I promise, Misha," she said very quietly, so quietly she wasn't sure he could hear it, because she couldn't even really hear it herself, "I will always..... always be there for you when you need me. I promise."

Ellandra tightened her hug a little, then loosened it again as she continued to rock him. "I... I know, Misha..... and I'm so glad..... so very glad............" And she was. This dear, sweet boy........ why had he let so much pain build up? He shouldn't be hurting like this, no, she wouldn't stand for him to let it get this bad again. "Can you promise me something, Misha...?" She asked quietly, still so very quietly, and softly, continuing to physically comfort this toddler-child-teen as she spoke.

Ellandra smiled softly, continuing to rock the bunny-eared Essentic, never once pausing in the soothing motion. "Promise me that if you start getting sad again.... even if you don't know why.... you'll come and find me; ask Banning to give you enough time to work a visit around an assignment or something, but try to come by.... I couldn't bear to think of you trying to work so hard while you're so sad..."

"Maybe it's not," Ellandra said quietly, but wanting to make her point nonetheless. "But life is... and as long as you're alive, you have to deal with life. It's just the way the world works - no matter if you're someone like me who has to seek out their Purpose....... or like you, who's born with their purpose as a part of them." All the while, she kept up that rocking, recognizing how comforting it was to the young Alter.

"It only gets more confusing, I'm afraid," and Ellandra was talking in a low, soothing whisper now, not minding in the least that she had her arms full of half-asleep overgrown toddler-bunny. "But if it starts getting too confusing to handle, come talk to me and we can try and un-twist it, hmm?"