He knew something was off the instant she walked in. Gone were the authoritative, clipping steps that normally announced her presence. There was no air of confidence, of owning the workshop she'd helped him afford; that grandeur she fronted at every opportunity. No, the creature before him was almost another person entirely as she carefully closed the door behind her until it clicked softly. Those golden eyes that were so typically fierce and defiant barely caught the light as she kept them cast to the floor while slinking her way towards her upstairs apartment. Shoulders dropped, arms loosely looped into her belt and her tail curled almost too tightly on itself. This was not the woman he knew.

"Caz?" His voice was soft but deep and unquestioning like the roll of distant thunder. He set down the hammer he was repairing with a soft thud and moved on surprisingly deft feet to catch the woman before she could skitter out of sight and lock herself away. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Caz paused, one leg mid-step, and for a moment that fire returned as she looked him in the eye with a briefly angry frown. It soon melted into something akin to fear and then to neutral as the elusive woman often reverted to. Distant. Isolating her thoughts from herself once again because the darkness in her past was looming again.

"I'm fine. I jus-... I just need to lay down for a little while. For the night, probably. And alone." The last part stood out the most as Caz and Barden had very particular ways of working out the stress and angst of any given day. If Caz wanted to be alone then something was most certainly up.

There was a brief and unintentional stand-off as Barden considered moving and Caz thought about demanding he do but in the end neither did anything and so they were at an impasse. Until she balled her fists, raised one hand and lay the back of it to his chest with a few heavy taps, her head bowed and breathing shakey. He heard her try to speak. The sound of soft breaths, lip-wetting, little sighs. Words that wanted to happen but just couldn't because Cazador was very good at second-guessing herself. At tying her thoughts into a knot while at the same time letting them run loose in bundles, unable to find the right thread to pull. While she struggled to keep her composure the large tiefling first held her upper arms and then while one hand ran down to hold her free one, the other moved up to the back of her neck. He drew her closer. Close enough that his cheek brushed her forehead and horn and her soft breaths washed against the exposed skin of his chest.

"Come on. You don't have to explain; you can just let it out. You are safe here."

---

Sometimes Caz has an existential crisis moment where she realises she's really, REALLY not well adjusted to anything at all and even her emotions and ability to empathise with anyone is stunted or hidden. She can't be genuine around anyone for any length of time and it wears her down to the point she has and continues to break down. Her brain can't cope if she's in exceptionally stressful situations and it takes it's toll.

Fortunately Barden is a good lad and knows how to take care of his upstairs neighbour. HUGS SOLVE EVERYTHING OKAY.

Caz is also my comfort food atm because she's something I can hide in and let happen; talking about her is exciting and fun to me and getting to take part in a DnD campaign with her is honestly the best thing to happen this year. I love this idiot and atm I need her. We're both bad at things but she has confidence.

Barden belongs to  Rashkah