[ after a moment, she darts a look to the kids and then back to ishmael. as if to say "kids first," and she takes the time to reassure them. to apologize for scaring them. to distract them by working together to count beats per minute. 100-120bpm. the right rhythm to find. if they can think of songs they like to follow the beat to while performing cpr. someone shouts BABY SHARK.

ok, baby shark. SURE.

once the room is a bit happier and the kids are talking amongst themselves, giving hiyori and ishmael a minute, she approaches. what does she even say...? ]

I- [ she can't read minds, ishmael told her while hiyori fanned her warm face idly with a fan. it's better to be direct, it's better not to mince words. it's better to say what she's thinking. maybe that's why she gravitates towards ish, too. they aren't so different. hiyori is straightforward. ] I want to say thank you... and I'm sorry, Ishmael. I had no idea that was going to happen. I'm not really sure why that happened... at all...