A crystal clear teardrop shattered on the stone cold surface of Kel's desk. A torrent more followed: she couldn't control herself. Her hands, wet from her tears were also soaked with fury. How could they do this? She though they'd settled down. She tearfully looked around at the mess that surrounded her: rubbish strewn on the floor, the clothes that Lalasa had made with such affection were ripped and what hurt most of all was the precious glaive that her mama had given was snapped into two. Suddenly, all the distress was replaced with a huge pang of hatred. It throbbed through her hurt, burning every part that it touched. This was no longer a churlish argument between the two but a full fledged fight. She would do all in her power to get revenge. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist but one wobble in her fingers made her collapse. This was stupid, she thought, burying her head in her hands. She tried to remember what her mother had told her to calm down and shakily took two deep breaths. Tears fought their way to her eyes but she determinedly fought them back. There was a loud rapping and the door burst open. Neal walked in with a comb in his hand and a large mirror completely oblivious to his surroundings.
"Kel, I – "
He stopped, surprised and took a step back. He caught sight of Kel, her shoulders hunched sitting dejectedly on her chair and caught sight of the chaos around him.
"Woah," he breathed, " what happened in here?" Kel couldn't take it any more. She stopped fighting the tears and allowed them to flow until they stopped of their own accord. Neal was taken back, like any other boy, a girl crying was not the best situation that he could deal with. However, he had the sense to realize that was Kel needed right now was some comfort whether it came from him or anybody else. Neal walked over, aware that the wrong comment would hurt her even more deeply. He touched her shoulder slightly; for the first time she flinched.
"Come on, "he eased, "You can talk to me, well, if you want. I'm here for you and you know I'll always be here" Kel turned around and looked at him with her red, tear-stained face. He searched her face and for the first time, saw the shakier side to Kel. The determined nose, the set mouth all seemed to disappear in a moment as the tears rolled down her face. He was alarmed; what happened to the Kel he knew, the Kel that would never give in to anything. He opened his mouth but sensed this was no time for words. He wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to come to him. She buried her head in his chest and sniffed softly. His arms around her brought such comfort, such relief that she forgot her worries for a moment. Slowly, her rapid breathing eased down to a gentle breaths and Neal released his arms. She looked down, ashamed and embarrassed that her best friend should see her crying like this. He cupped her face in his hands and made her look up at him. He could see the pain that bound Kel like this and wished he could help.
His long fingers gleamed as he drew his hands softly over her burning eyes. The gift of healing was a useful one at times and he knew Kel would appreciate it.
"There, " he whispered, "This should cool the pain down a little" Kel sighed as the pain was relieved and her body went back to normal. She looked around sadly at her precious belongings. She bent down and picked up the broken glaive. It was cool to the touch, the precious Yamani stone still gleaming in the dull light. Touching it brought back deep and faded memories of her childhood and for once, Kel wondered whether she had made the right decision. Neal's hand on her shoulder suddenly brought her back to her senses and she looked up at his worried face.
"I guess they had nothing better to do!" she tried to laugh it off in answer to his unasked question but her voice shook and Neal heard it. He brought her close to him and whispered gently,
"Just you remember, you don't need them as your friends. If they have nothing better to do than to harass your life, they've got me to deal with as well. And you know I'll be with you always, until you leave me that is!" She laughed softly. Never, she thought, I'll never leave you. Good friends like this were harder to find than that occasional lady knight. But, she thought, that itself wasn't impossible! She wiped her eyes and suddenly hugged him fiercely. Finally, Neal thought, she was feeling better. Relieved and thankful, for once Neal had nothing to say but hugged her back warmly in silence.