"You're trembling."

"N-No I'm not"His eyes darted left and right in the dark. Skarloey moved towards him cautiously, his eyes glowed like a deer in the headlights.

"I can hear it in your voice little one."

A bang sounded outside. Luke whimpered. Skarloey kneeled down. Luke was curled in on himself, a vice like grip on his ears.

"Fireworks. You're afraid of them aren't you." He breathed out.

"I'm fine."He murmured in response.

"Luke, it's okay to be afraid." Skarloey gently pried his small shaking hands with his large steady ones. "I certainly won't think of you as less for it."

Another firework exploded outside making Luke scream and launch himself towards Skarloey.

"No!No!No!No!"He sobbed clutching him tightly across his mid section. To be honest, the red haired man wanted to go outside and tell everyone off for scaring the boy but he had more pressing matters.

"I have you, it's alright. Shh, it's alright." He whispered soothingly as he cried and screamed. Skarloey quickly picked the child up and brought him to the bathroom, it was the farthest away from the fire works and had no window.

"See, now it won't be as loud."He whispered, brushing the green hair that was stuck this face away. Luke looked back up at him with his bright yellow eyes, miserable and panicked and glossed over.

"I-I don't wanna go back. Don't send me back please- I'll do anything!"He wasn't all there. His mind was somewhere else, in another time and place.

His eyes flashed a rainbow of colours and he grabbed his head again."STOP! Please!" Skarloey pulled him towards him again. "I have you. You aren't there. I have you."

'Badump Badump.' His heartbeat knocked him out of his flashback. Luke mumbled quietly in a language that Skarloey didn't recognize.

"Sorry."He finally said in english. "Thank you for that." He snuggled his wet face against Skarloey's chest, letting his shoulders slump down relaxed.

A hum came out of Skarloey as he adjusted the boy so that he'd be more comfortable. He would be incredibly stiff tomorrow but he didn't mind.

"No apologies needed little one."

Ciao~ I feel like I have a bit to explain, Skarloey often takes up a paternal role towards Luke and the other narrow gauge engines. He is one of the only ones who can talk him down from a panic attack and stop him from doing some serious harm. (to himself and others) Luke's magic is highly volatile(not in the vaporization way). He has little control of it during highly emotional moments. This is the result of something I feel as though I should explain later. Please remember to give me a number when you request characters :)