I kept my arms tight around Raven, who was trembling against me. She was exhausted in a way that went past the physical, her breathing uneven and her whole body carrying the weight of someone who had been holding too much for too long.
I looked her over carefully. She wore long fitted clothes but she was thin beneath them, her skin pale and her dark hair matted in places. I brushed it back from her face gently and tucked her closer to my chest. She stilled slightly at the change in contact, her sobs pausing for just a moment before they resumed.
"It is over," I said quietly. "You are safe now. It is really over."
She cried harder at that and I let her. Sometimes the tears got worse before they got better and that was alright.
